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A few weeks ago I spent a wonderful long weekend in New York City attending a few conferences and enjoying the most amazing city in the world. It was jammed packed with a lot of events, too much food, exploring the city, and some great laughs with great friends. I talked about the first part of my trip in this past post here, attending FashionistaCon, and getting together with some of my favorite people in the world. I had to break up the trip in two in order to fit everything in!
The FashionistaCon, which was held on Friday, was very informative and I left excited to move forward in my career. The next day I woke up with no agenda. I have seen all that I wanted to see, so I decided to just walk with no destination in mind. I walked ALL day long—no seriously, I started at 9am and didn’t get home until a little after 7pm. I basically covered all of downtown. I started off walking the High Line. It’s so nice to walk it in the morning, even though it is packed with people, it still feels calm. I also sat in Madison Square Park for a while, right by the fountain (another favorite thing to do!), and listened to a man who had a voice like Frank Sinatra sing songs. I love the randomness you can encounter in the city, and it was nice to just sit there for a while and listen to him. After the little performance I walked downtown to West Village, then to the Gansevoort Market to grab something to eat, headed to Soho to shop, and then over to the East Village area. I ended the long walk with a little happy hour at Linen Hall. I love walking around the city, getting lost and seeing new neighborhoods or streets you haven’t seen before. I miss this about living there, always something to do or see with no plans in mind and your day is still filled with wonderful experiences.
The next day I was up early, excited and ready to head to the last conference of the week, Simply Stylist. This year the conference was held at the W Hotel in Midtown East. The day started off with a VIP brunch for those of us who had the VIP ticket to the conference—you can choose between 3 different types of tickets, which will give you access to different parts of the conference. VIP gave you access to everything and I highly recommend getting it if you decide to attend the conference.
The brunch was delicious and it was so nice getting to know some of the other girls there. I already knew Tillie, from My Stiletto Life, was going to be there and we spent the day together. I met Tillie through Instagram and we officially met during Fashion Week. We quickly became friends, so I was happy she was attending the conference as well!
During brunch we were all gifted with lovely products from Library of Flowers. I already had some of their products like this and this, so I was pretty excited to get some more goodies from them! We had some time to kill between brunch and the beginning of the panels so Tillie and I decided to go outside and take some outfit pictures.
dress // shoes // purse // sunglasses // earrings
And then I met up with my Tinder Date….
Only kidding! He wanted to be a model too….. always making new friends….
I wore this dress from Tory Burch and am completely in love with it! Now on sale BTW!! It is not fitted especially at the bottom, but that is the look and it still has a little shape to it. It is super comfortable to wear and I love the print. It was perfect for the conference, stylish and comfortable.
After our photo shoot we headed back upstairs for the first panel of the day with the moderator Catt Sadler from E! News, and Miss Universe and entreprenuer, Olivia Culpo. It was a great way to start the conference as both ladies were so funny and sweet. I am a E! News fanatic, so seeing Catt Sadler and being that close to her pretty much made my week! Olivia seems like the sweetest person in the world, but would still laugh at your vulgar jokes, I want to become her best friend. She talked a lot about believing in yourself and following your dreams. How staying positive will only benefit you.
The rest of the conference I was excited to see Lilliana Vezquez from The Today Show and Meredith Vieira Show, model Ashley Graham, entrepreneur Cara Santana, celebrity stylist June Ambrose and many more. Each panel had its own discussion topics and each person talked about their rise to success. How they would do ANYTHING to get the job or the promotion they wanted or to take the risk and start a business. How confidence under the power of who you are is key to any success story. One of the most important lessons I learned was that things take time to manifest. If something I am working towards is not happening right away, it does not mean it will not happen or I am not successful. Nothing happens over night, it takes time, dedication, hard work, and consistency.
After each panelist discussed their journey, we broke into breakout sessions lasting 30 minutes each. This is when we learned more about blogging, with lots of tips and advice like how to network with brands and how to turn your site into a business. I picked up a lot of helpful tips on different ways I can layout my blog post that will be more efficient for you the readers.
Besides the panel discussions, there was a separate room full of fun activities. Dove and Shop Style were both sponsors of the conference. Dove had a spinning wheel where you could win different prizes–I won a bracelet. There were tasty treats and yummy drinks, a chance to get your hair and make up done, and a DJ playing fun music. It was nice to network and mingle with the other bloggers and brands. There was also a woman who was illustrating portraits, unfortunately the line was always long and I didn’t want to miss any of the panel discussions, so I didn’t do it. Wish I did!
Favorite quotes of the day
“It’s not about winning, it’s about the experience, the risk”
-Olivia Culpo
“It’s an incredible time to be a woman. We don’t have to be a pretty face to succeed. We are smart, we own businesses, we are doing it!”
-Olivia Culpo
“The secret of life is that you never arrive. Your potential is endless, explore more”
-Olivia Culpo
“The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you don’t know anything”
-Julie Anne Quay
“Be humble and believe in yourself”
-Julie Anne Quay
“I am a woman who wants to empower other women”
-Ashley Graham
“Don’t ever complain”
-Madison Guest
“When you walk into the room, know you are the light”
-June Ambrose
“I am the CEO of my life and you treat me with respect”
-June Ambrose
“Take what you have now and take advantage of it. Life will hand you promotions”
-Olivia Culpo
After the conference Tillie and I walked over to The Smith for dinner. I had salmon with a side of brussels sprouts. It was great getting to know Tillie more! I am so grateful to have a new blogging friend and someone new to hang out with when I am in New York!
The next day I woke up early to take my second and final Soul Cycle class. I did A LOT better than the day before and had a blast! After class I walked around Union Square and enjoyed the farmers market before my flight that afternoon.
I miss New York SO MUCH already! I always feel inspired when I am there. It’s a tough city to live in for sure, but for every tough day there is something magical that happens. My next NYC trip is tentatively in March to attend the New York Junior League’s Winter Ball for a mini-reunion with my provisional group! Hopefully I can head over there a few times before that, especially during the holidays.
I left NYC feeling refreshed and energized to start new endeavors and to work harder than ever. Before going to New York I was feeling a little down and frustrated about some of the sacrifices I have been making to do this blog and other projects I have been working on, but being in NYC I was reassured I am where I need to be, doing what I am meant to do, and am on the right path. I have to keep working hard, stay positive, and keep believing in myself!