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Time sure flies when you’re having fun, and this past weekend was no exception. “I’m attending Blog Brûlée!” I had been exclaiming for the past couple of months, and now that it’s over, I find myself hesitantly crossing the event off of my calendar. I ate some pretty amazing food, stayed at the exquisite Smugglers’ Notch resort where I was treated like royalty, enjoyed gorgeous views and crisp weather… you get the picture. (Disclosure: my attendance was partially paid for by the sponsors of Blog Brûlée).
I shall share the details and the scenic pictures soon, but until then, get ready to see a lot of smiling faces ;).
The co-founders (from left to right): Gretchen, Deanna, Robin, Regan
To be quite honest, I was overcome with intimidation and nervousness up until the very moment I met everyone (to those I shook hands with..I apologize for my clammy hands), but all the uneasy feelings swiftly changed to relaxation and cheerfulness. “Maybe I belong here” changed to “I Do belong here” by the end of the weekend.
Yes, we were there to have fun and be “wild” (hitting the hay by 10 pm), but more importantly, we were there to learn from the speakers and from each other on how to become better bloggers and become a force to be reckoned with in the blogosphere and beyond. To do so, we’ll need each other to lean on, support, motivate, and even help grow thick skin with brutal honesty that comes from a place of genuine love.
(Anne // Liz, Meme – my roomies)
EA Stewart, the Spicy RD, spoke to us about “building your virtual community.” I loved how she premised her talk around sharing the timeline of how her blog started and has evolved over the years.
The pieces of advice that really resonated with me were:
- Work hard. Just like with everything else in life, success doesn’t happen overnight. All those “big fish” or hugely successful bloggers, that I constantly compare myself to, were also small at one point. I loved EA’s imagery that big or small, we are all swimming in the same pond. So I’m going to start by ditching my self-debilitating thoughts and begin practicing gratitude like Kara. I’m going to work on building up my confidence and keep on truckin’.
- Set realistic goals. I tell myself that my faith and family come before anything else. However, between school, cooking, blogging, etc., I’ve realized that the two most important things in my life have taken a backseat. No wonder I’ve been feeling so bogged down lately. I learned that it’s ok if I can’t post 3+ times a week or if I’m not on top of social media at all times. I must find what works for me and, once again, stop comparing myself to others.
- Toot your own horn. Boy…this is a rough one for me. But going back to the whole building my confidence thing, I’m going to make a conscious effort to create and share, as EA put it, my “star studded” profile and work. I’m def going to need some accountability!
- Express and be yourself! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought to myself, “Gosh, why can’t I write like her? My style of writing is so boring…” and on and on. As you can see, I’d have so many more hours in my day if comparison was not part of the equation. “But I love your voice,” I vividly remember Marisa telling me as I shared with her my struggles. Come again? Really? This is just one of many examples of the overflow of encouragement and strength I gained from this weekend. I’m going to work on following my instinct, embracing what I consider an approachable, friendly voice.
- Share the love. 80/20 rule – 80% of the time, share other people’s content and 20% share mine. I’ll be quick to admit that I’ve been incredibly bad about this, but no more! I want to follow the footsteps of EA, who to me is like a social media fairy godmother. She waves her magic wand every time I post something so that its reach may be multiplied.
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(left to right: Kara, Mckenzie, Danielle, Kristina)
(ladies not mentioned above: left to right – Jenna, Julie, Holly, Ashley, Jen, Ann)
I’m truly thankful for this amazingly passionate and supportive community that I’m a part of, and I hope that we’ll be swimming in the same pond until we’re too big and fat to move..even then, I hope we stay together ;).
enjoyed spending time with you Min!!
Me too! Too short though…
Wow! What a great trip, Min! I’m so glad you had such an inspirational time – I love all of these pieces of advice. Thanks for sharing them:) I’m looking forward to being part of your virtual community! xo.
Aww Sarah! I’m so thankful that our blogs brought us together, and I look forward to getting to know you more, my sweet dear friend. P.S we def need to do another video call soon! So fun 😉
Thank you so much, Jenna! Our time together was wayy too short, but I’m thankful that we can stay connected through our blogs ;). Hope we can see each other in person in the near future as well. P.S the color yellow was made for you!
LOVED reading this! I feel so blessed to have met and connected with you at Blog Brulee, even though I was pretty positive before that we were BFFs from reading your blog! You are fabulous and talented and a beautiful person, inside and out!
Haha thanks, Rachael! The feelings are mutual ;). I’m also thankful for the extra time we got to spend together before parting ways…the cab driver just popped into my mind haha. Can’t wait to talk to you soon!! Time to set my goals so we can share.
Oh Min, we were thrilled to have you at Blog Brulee and from the second you were invited, we had no doubt that you BELONGED with all of these talented bloggers. We are always our own worst critics, I guess, and like Marisa said, I love your voice and and always enjoy reading your posts. And I always use YOU as an example on being a stellar commenter on other people’s posts as you always leave thoughtful and thorough comments. I love seeing how much you’ve grown with your blog in such a short time – you will go far, I have no doubt – be true to yourself always (geez, now I’m going to tear up 🙂
Ok you got me all teary…Thank you so much, Deanna, for believing in me and for supporting me through my journey. I tell people that the best thing I did was join the Recipe Redux, which led me to all you remarkable ladies. I appreciate you so much and am so thankful to have you in my life!
I was following all of you along on Instagram and it looks like you had a wonderful time in Vermont! I used to visit Smuggler’s Notch often in the winter to ski and it is a great place.
Thanks, Ashley! And I, too, have been following you on Instagram ;). Glad you’re having a wonderful time. I’ve actually never been skiing so I just may have to go back with Tim in the near future.
you SO belong! i’m so glad you had such a great time… we knew we we’d picked an exceptional group out of this community, and you all only proved us right. so glad to see the relationships you’ve developed to take with you along this fun blogging journey!
Aww Gretchen. Your gentle and sweet spirit truly warms my heart. Thank you so much for bringing all of us tother! It truly was an unforgettable experience, and we all can’t thank you guys enough for making it happen. I don’t feel so lonely anymore 😉
Min! I feel so grateful to have met you! I only wish we could’ve had more time together this past weekend. You are such an inspiration to me and I look forward to staying connected. Thank you for sharing my post – it’s not always easy to re-shift the mindset toward gratitude so I hope we can all continue to remind each other that we each have something unique and important to share and lots to be grateful for! xo
Same here! I truly enjoyed our conversations and look forward to getting to know you on a deeper level. You’ve accomplished soo much already, and I can’t wait to see how much you grow as a person and as a successful professional ;). And yes, let’s definitely keep each other accountable because it’s oh so easy to fall back to negativity and self-doubt.
Oh, this sounds like such a fun (and enriching) experience! I love your tips and they could not have come at a better time. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately about life in general and you are so right–it’s okay (and way saner) to set realistic goal. Thanks so much for sharing! Someday I’d love to attend an event with lots of like minded souls 🙂
I’m glad this post resonated with you, Amy. Life sure can get rough, but a positive mentality can get us through anything. And I hope you’ll get to attend one soon as it is so good for the soul ;).
How neat that you could go! I love all the things you took away from your time there. Thanks for sharing them here!
It truly was an unforgettable experience! I learned so much and have come back refreshed ;).