This past weekend I went to my first blogging
conference. I went to Brandcation
Bloggers Gone Coastal. It was hosted by
Brandfluential and Momdot. It was in
Pensacola Florida. I am not sure if I
had ever been to Pensacola before and it was absolutely beautiful. The scenery was nothing compared to all the
wonderful women I met. I had spent almost three years chatting with these women
so having the opportunity to meet them was so exciting. We spent time bonding
together and learning about brands and going on adventures. It was definitely the experience of a
lifetime. We had some amazing sponsors
that made this whole thing possible, without costing a fortune to attend.
I want to take a little time to thank all the sponsors:
Adventures Unlimited invited us out to go zip lining and tubing.
Portofino Island Resort was our accommodations in beautiful condos.
Dunkin Donuts
Thanks for the bagels and coffee. An Everything bagel hit the spot after a long
trip in.
Jambu sponsored
the wacky Blog Olympics where we had to do all kinds of silly things. They also provided us with awesome tote bags for our swag.
Hotel Coupons
for sponsored our Murder Mystery Night. They have awesome coupons to help you
save on travel.
Circle PR made it possible to go on the Dolphin Cruise
Dole provided us with some healthy condo snacks.
Stargazing with Dewey was such an experience.
The
Swag Sponsors:
Mogo Charm
sells adorable magnetic charms for kids that Noah loves.
The Tervis
Water Bottle was one of my
favorite swag items because it is a great water bottle that is pretty much leak
proof. They also sell glasses that contain patches of different things like
sports logos and even monograms.
Capsul Cases are hard wallets so you don’t have
to worry about your cards getting all bent up.
The Village company
makes Mr. Bubble products and other luxurious bath items.
Hasbro provided us with The Game of Life zapped
for iPad and you play with both a game board and your iPad.
Noah is so excited
to listen to the Kidz Bop CD I received.
Carex sells
all kinds of cool products. We all received a Pediatric medical kit complete
with a thermometer and different items to dispense medicine. We also received a
detachable pill box that some of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer awareness. My
favorite item from Carex is the Neck Buddy pillow. You heat it up and it is
heavenly. I have it on my back right now
after having it on my neck.
Lush Gourmet Foods makes delicious gourmet nuts
and I was lucky enough to try some.
Nivea provided everyone with a sample of fifteen
lip care products, Sun Kissed Lotion and body wash and a men’s product to try
out. I love Nivea!
Lady Fortunes makes beautiful cookies and treats
with your company’s logo on them.
I don’t know how
many times I have had to lug my purse somewhere because I had no pockets for my
phone. I am so excited that I received Pami
Pocket because now I don’t have to worry about carrying my purse
with me, which weighs a ton.
Island Def Jam Records provided us with some
music to jam to long after Brandcation is over.
Ayala’s Herbal Water provided beverages for all
the ladies to drink during the conference.
Wikki Stix is one of Noah’s favorite items I received.
He loves shaping them in fish and sting rays and other assorted sea life.
Phone Fetcher will definitely be a life
saver. I am always losing my phone in my
purse. I really need to clean it out. I
am so glad that I don’t have to spend time looking for my phone because I can
attach it to my purse.
Page Stationery makes really cute personalized
stationary and cards.
Cereusart
provided everyone with a wine charm. I love that mine was a starfish.
Annemarie Gianni Skin Care provided everyone with
a sample of their organic, wild crafted and natural skincare products.
Veri Peri Sauces makes sauces with a kick of
spice and they had me at Garlic!
Twin Cottage Industries makes really cool
bungee bookmarks. They hire mentally disabled people to make the bookmarks
which are absolutely awesome.
Kids Gear provided me with kid friendly
headphones. If you know me I am always breaking head phones and these are well
made and will survive the headphone curse!
Smart Mouth makes Activated Mouthwash that uses
patented Smart-Zinc Technology.
Sacs of Life
gave me my favorite swag item so far. They gave everyone a brown diaper bag
that doesn’t look like a diaper bag and makes a great bag for a mom on the go.
Bright Star Kids provided me with a really cute
cupcake bag tag. They must have known I love cupcakes!
KleenSlate makes dry erase paddles for classrooms
so children no longer have to shout out the answer and it helps shy children
participate too.
EAD Designs
provided everyone with an owl decal and a blogging geek car decal.
Wahmies Eats
makes reusable casserole covers which is awesome because I am always fighting
with plastic wrap and losing.
Blue Orange Games provided everyone with a game
to share with their families.
DVO Enterprises
makes the Cook’n Recipe software. I have so many random recipes that are
written on paper, from the newspaper or printed out. I tend to lose them
sometimes and with this software I can keep them all safe digitally and access
them on my laptop and tablet.
When I was in school I was always forgetting my locker
combination. I wish they had Wordlock
when I was in school because I could remember a word to unlock my locker.
Our
Giveaway Sponsors:
Rubbermaid provided the prizes for the Blog
Olympics teams.
Etching Expressions makes really cool etched wine
labels and personalized plaques.
Belkin makes all kinds of fun tech things. I received
a tablet holder for when I am cooking in the kitchen and don’t want to spill
anything on my tablet. The coolest thing is it does not use screws so it won’t
ruin your cabinets.
Velvet Pepper makes beautiful purses and
bags. I really need a new purse.
Frangelico is Hazelnut Liqueur and everyone
received a bottle and hand crafted Frangelico chocolates.
Tiny Love provided the Musical Stack & Ball
Elephant as a giveaway prize. I know one of the other bloggers would have done
anything for her son to get one.
Atlantic Luggage makes great luggage that is lightweight. My mom has a suitcase that weighs 17 pounds which is a pain when you have a weight limit of fifty pounds. I will look in to purchasing her some new luggage.
Drama Queen Bows makes really sweet bows for
little girls.
I also wanted to thank our wonderful hosts who spent 5
months organizing and planning:
I plan to go in to more detail about our adventures and some of the awesome sponsors and swag items we received. Noah has already gotten in to and ran off with quite a few of my swag items.
