BlogHer12: The Favorites

By now you’ve gotten a glimpse into how great my BlogHer12 trip was.  I am so glad I decided to break it down into a series of posts because they have been challenging enough to write, let alone trying to cram everything into one post!  Thanks again Sarah for the inspiration :)

Of course I saved the best for last!

The Favorites…

By far the best part of the trip was rooming with Diana.  I got to know her online just before BlogHer11 and I liked her immediately.  She was one of the first people to tweet me back on Twitter (swoon!) and I loved her honest and funny approach to blogging.  She also has a two-year old little girl and she’s an Army wife so the similarities just kept on coming the more I got to know her.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to be with Diana when she got her sweet little boys’ footprints tattooed on her wrists.  You can read her story HERE.  She’s shown so much faith and courage during this tragedy and she’s inspired me and thousands of others to cling to God when your world gets turned upside down.  If you’re the praying kind, lift her precious family up in prayer as they navigate the rocky territory of grief.

I won’t go into all the details of the tattoo event because it’s Diana’s story to tell, but everything worked out perfectly for us to go the exact day and time that we did.  The shop (Adorned) was beautiful and the tattoo artist (Kris Magnotti) was so kind and sincere.  The whole thing was perfect.

Toward the end of our visit, we made our way down to Ground Zero to check out the 9/11 Memorial.  I’d been there in 2006 with Andy, but at that time it was just a big construction hole and the surrounding buildings were still damaged.  Today it’s home to a beautiful memorial park with giant fountains in the tower footprints and a museum built to look like a tower rising.

Being there was sobering.  Remembering that day and all the lives that were lost has such a way of shifting your perspective on everything.  The conference didn’t seem like such a big deal, the swag seemed meaningless and all that mattered was life.  Being able to walk and talk and breathe each day is a gift that we too often take for granted.  We never know what tomorrow holds.  It’s so important to keep that perspective and focus on the truly important things in life.

And the final favorite; the city itself.

Manhattan is one of my favorite places on earth.  Each time you walk off the subway you are in a new place.  Every neighborhood has a different vibe and a beautiful backdrop.

New York has been cast as the main character in countless movies and rightly so.  It’s a tiny island that packs a big punch.

I’m not even sure how to verbalize my love for The Big Apple, so I’ll just share a bunch of pics :)

And that, my friends, is the end of my BlogHer12 recap series.

Feel free to drop any questions you may have in the comments section!

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BlogHer13 – CHICAGO OR BUST!