More Healthy Living Summit: Day 1 and Finding My Voice

After posting my first brief recap of what was happening at the Healthy Living Summit, I decided to take the time and break up the weekend into smaller portions. I learned so much this weekend and met so many amazing people that doing one post per day just won’t do it justice. So a bit more about HLS Day 1 on Friday before we move on to the other days.

You’ve already heard about my first Zumba class, but let’s talk swag. When the Healthy Living Blogs team said there would be swag, they weren’t joking. I’ve already given you a teaser of all the goods, but check this out!

How much awesome stuff can you stuff into one bag? A LOT! Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, baked goods from the Dancing Deer Baking Company , a Soy Joy banana bar, Cascadian Farms Organic Granola, Musselman’s unsweetened applesauce, an Odwalla Sweet and Salty Almond bar, Erewhon Buckwheat and Hemp cereal, Oh! Nuts Pistachios, a Reboot supplement from Rebootizer, Love Grown Foods granola, cheribundi tart cherry juice, Sneaky Pete’s Oatstanding beverage, Omega 3 water, HAPPYTOT butternut squash and apple mix, a fruit and vegetable strainer from Driscoll’s berries, Hydroxatone Instant Lift Pads, fantastic blog motivation cards and stickers from Daily Feats, my favorite headband/sweatband ever from Five Bamboo that says, “Be Healthy, Be Happy” with the HLS12 Logo, lip balm from Chobani and Stonyfield, a giant Wild Harvest sticker, and over a dozen coupons from companies like Laughing Cow, Wild Harvest, Cabot cheese, and tons of others.

Whew! That’s a lot of stuff, right? Not to mention the HLS t-shirt from Five Bamboo and the awesome sneakers I already showed you! The absolute best part about all this swag was learning about so many new companies and products. There is so much more out there than I realized. It was also great to try some of the local products and re-experience some old favorites.

Then it was time for a session on building a brand with Derek from Greatist.

Derek and I lived in the same house in college, but I had no idea what he was up to these days and he had awesome advice. Perhaps his best, which was reiterated all weekend in almost every session, was to find your individual voice as a blogger and be authentic. This is something that really hit home with me because I have been experimenting with a lot of different things trying to find my voice and I’m very much looking forward to revamping my approach and focus in the next few weeks.

On Friday night, I got even more inspiration when I had the opportunity to meet more bloggers at the cocktail party sponsored by Rebootizer. You may remember when I posted my Amazing Me list inspired by Caitlin’s. Well Caitlin was at the cocktail party and it was so incredible to meet her in person. Going through the process of making and posting my list was huge for me, so meeting her and getting to thank her for that inspiration was, for lack of a better word, amazing.

I also finally met Heather, who won my Healthy Recipe Roundup, and Courtney!

I also had my picture taken with my faux roomies, Stellina and Rachael who are both local bloggers like me. The photo of us is compliments of Stellina. I never thought to have the picture taken on my camera. D’oh!

I spent the next few hours mingling with dozens of other amazing bloggers, drinking a couple of glasses of red wine, and eating fantastic food.

Afterward I took a cab home for a good night’s sleep in preparation for Day 2. Stay tuned to hear about the workouts, sessions, food, and even more amazing and inspiring people from Saturday!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about people you’ve met who have inspired you. Who do you wish you could meet?

Similar Posts:

• Healthy Living Summit – Day 1 (brief recap)
• Final Recap of the Healthy Living Summit 2012
• Healthy Living Summit Day 2: Blog Sessions and Workouts
• WIAW #5: Mixing It Up
• Healthy Living Summit 2012: My Agenda