Haven Conference 2017

Well, I’ve wrapped up another weekend at the Haven Conference in Atlanta, and it did not disappoint! If you don’t know what this is, it’s a home decor/DIY blogging conference that’s been held annually since 2012. Last year was my first year attending, and you can read that recap by clicking HERE.

 

It was a bit of a whirlwind, so bare with me as I try to start from the beginning. We actually vacationed in Northern Michigan prior to this conference, so I flew out of Traverse City instead of Detroit. It was a 6am flight, so I had quite the early morning, and unnecessarily so considering once I got to the airport, the flight was delayed due to thunderstorms. The tricky part was, I had a connecting flight in Chicago, and because of the delayed morning flight, I JUST BARELY made it to the gate in Chicago in time to catch my flight. I was feeling so triumphant when I made it, and then had a huge blow when I got to Atlanta and learned that my luggage was left in Chicago. Folks, mama needed clothing options! I was impressed by my ability to keep it cool. When you have an event like this, you spend so much time figuring out what you’re gonna wear, and then all that’s thrown out the window when your luggage is lost. Good thing was, while I was vacationing up north, I did some last minute online shopping and had it shipped to my hotel in Atlanta. I’m SO glad I did that! So I actually was indeed able to change out of my airplane attire and into a cute green jumpsuit, but I ubered to a nearby Marshalls and Target to find a strapless bra and some new shoes (flip flops weren’t cutting it. Lol) Not too shabby considering the circumstances. I’m just glad I had my makeup bag in my carry-on!

 

So, let’s get to the cocktail party! It was SO cute! I can’t tell you how excited I was to know that Brian Patrick Flynn (one of my fave HGTV designers) was hosting along with Delta Faucet. He was so fun! So glad we snapped this pic before I had too many glasses of wine;)

 

You can shop this jumpsuit by clicking HERE

 

Here’s some outtakes of us laughing about his broken toe and boot…

 

 

 

There were colorful balloon clusters everywhere. And live music. Loved it! Had so much fun catching up with old friends and meeting new ones! I tell you what, in my experience, the blogging community is incredibly friendly! Everyone is excited to chat and learn from one another. And as close as you are to friends back home- childhood friends, college friends, “mom” friends… your blogger peeps just “get” you. Sounds silly, but truly, no one knows exactly what you “do” like your blogging buddies. No one knows your stresses like they do. No one knows your obsessions like they do. No one knows exactly what you need to hear or what annoying tech help you might need, like they do. No one accepts a late night text like they do. There’s something really special about that. Even my poor hubby is confused by my occasional 4am bedtime trying to make a deadline, or stares at me blankly when I’m having a panic attack in the morning because something didn’t post correctly and that means I’ve messed up the flow of a blog hop. Bloggers, you feel me? It may be a bit weird because they’re relationships that are built online, but I’m so thankful for these people in my life! 

 

So, truthfully, a lot of my closest blogging buddies didn’t attend this year. But two of them live in Atlanta! So after the cocktail party, I met up with Brittany from Addison’s Wonderland and Kelley from Kelley Nan. It was so great to see them both! So inspired by these girls and thankful for their friendship. It runs deep enough to drive me back to the hotel and walk me up to my hotel indian pharmacy online no prescription room. Thank you, Brit! Lol! Apparently I needed to eat more during my crazy day of travels! Oy!

 

 Brittany & Kelley! Xoxo

 

So, day two! My luggage arrived at the hotel just in time to get ready for the day! Now we could get down to business… classes, classes, classes. Haven is a wealth of information from some pretty awesome pros. I loved the video class taught by Benjamin Uyeda of Homemade Modern. I also took his concrete class. I remember last year feeling so overwhelmed with blogging information, that I told myself this year I wanted to at least take one “fun” class for play. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how easy concrete was to work with and how many fun projects you can do. I left inspired. 

 

Here he is rolling my bracelet in the concrete for some pattern:)

 

 

Other classes I took: A blogging organization class taught by Abby from Just A Girl And Her Blog, a class on Pinterest taught by Alex from AVE Styles, and an SEO class taught by Sabrina Snyder from Dinner, Then Dessert. There were definitely more I wanted to attend, but quite a few overlapped, so I had to pull straws! Learned a ton and had a blast!

 

Find this skirt by clicking HERE, and the shoes by clicking HERE

 

I certainly can’t wrap this up without mentioning Home Depot! They are the main sponsors of the conference, and I’m proud to be one of the bloggers they work with. I did a Fall Style Challenge for them last year that you can find by clicking HERE, and this fall they hired me to do a post all about adding pops of color- stay tuned! I’m made for that post, eh? Anyway, Home Depot invited the bloggers they work with to a fabulous dinner off site at a restaurant called Five Church. It was fun! We were assigned to tables, and at our place setting was our name on a key. Cute! And the menu was on marble! What? Loved the special touches! And the live music! And the people! I’m just sad I left my goodie bag on the bus:(

 

 

 

 Me with Katie from Bower Power, and Rachel from Shades of Blue Interiors

Shop my dress by clicking HERE, and my shoes by clicking HERE.

Me with Charlotte of At Charlotte’s House, Abby from Just A Girl And Her Blog, Chelsea from Making Home Base, and April from House By Hoff

 

Speaking of Home Depot, I’ll end by saying this… Home Depot chose me as one of 12 bloggers to present a pitch to them at the conference (and anyone else who wanted to watch) for the possibility of getting chosen for that project to be paid for. I was honored, and I submitted my sad, sad, master bathroom. Unfortunately, I didn’t “win,” but it was a great learning experience. I will say though, that I had a bit of a nervous stomach all weekend for it, and spent some time alone in my room going over it (it had to be under two minutes, so it took a little rehearsing). So as fun as this conference was, that pitch definitely had me a bit “in my head” all weekend. Felt a little distracted. But, no regrets!

 

 

 

Some extra pics with new friends…

 

Charlotte from At Charlotte’s House, Heather from Southern State Of Mind, Rachael from This Is Our Bliss

Shop my green top by clicking HERE.

 

 

At lunch with Charlotte from At Charlotte’s House, Erin Spain, and Heather from Southern State of Mind

 

Thank you all for reading! This post was a bit wordy! Let me know if you have any questions. And if you’re new to the blogging world, I highly suggest attending this conference! Next year it’s moving to Charleston! Fun!

 

Things I packed…

 

Quick reminder! Nordstrom Anniversary sale ends August 6th! Here’s some of my favorite picks. You can scroll and tap to be directed right to the item!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Haneen

*Affiliate links used in this post

 

 

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