The Blog Connect Conference 2018

This past weekend was the third annual Blog Connect Conference #theblogconnect hosted by PHL Bloggers. PHL Bloggers is an amazing community of bloggers and small business owners from the Philadelphia area. The conference was held at the lovely Saxby’s Headquarters at 2300 Chestnut Street. As the event was located at the Saxby’s Headquarters there was free tea and coffee all day long (including latte, espresso, etc. in any size)!

Once you arrived and checked in, you could get your headshot taken by Julia Dent (which I definitely got taken!). Breakfast which was provided by Saxby's consisted of bagels and cream cheese, fruit, and pastries. There was a chance to mingle and get settled in before the conference started promptly at 9:00AM. As this was my second year attending the conference it was so nice to see both familiar and new faces!

This year’s blog theme was: Find Your Roots. It’s all about going deeper into the skills you already have, developing good habits and creating content. There were many wonderful speakers and sessions all day long!

Listing of Speakers:

Emcee

Andy Shaw // Instafather

Keynotes

Sarah Von Bargen // Yes and Yes

Tara Gentile // CoCommercial

Speakers

AK Brown & Diamond Hudson // Just Bloggers: No Explanation

Len Markidan // Podia

Antoinette Minor // The Young Professionalist

Michelle Conron // Cashman & Associates

Judy Freedman // A Boomer's Life After 50

Amber Burns // Space on Third

Panelists

Jessica Lawlor Jessica Lawlor / Melissa Alam Femme & Fortune/ Sarah DeGeorge Socially Dedicated

After the morning speakers, we had lunch catered by Snap Kitchen. Snap Kitchen provides fresh, prepared meals using high quality ingredients. After lunch came the afternoon session with more speakers and breakout session. There was also a mid-afternoon snack break with Federal Donuts (seriously they are SO yummy!).

Here are the FIVE biggest takeaways which I took from the conference:

Morning keynote speaker, Sarah Von Bargen from Yes and Yes made us think What does blogging success look like to you? Success looks and feels different for everyone. In order to reach your version of success, you need to create habits which set you up for success. Those habits can be daily, weekly, monthly, etc - whatever it looks like to you. Success is not measured in how many likes you might get on Instagram or how many followers you have (which is SO important especially in today's world!). It's what makes YOU feel successful.

Len Markidan from Podia did a great presentation on How to earn a living from blogging without sponsors, advertisers, and affiliates. He discussed useful tools and steps in order to come up with a profitable course idea and using Google.com and Reddit.com to do your research in order to find a topic worth teaching. I thought was very informative and this got me thinking how I can apply this to my blog.

Judy Freedman from A Baby Boomer Woman's Life After 50 discussed How to avoid blogger burnout. And YES blogger burnout is a real concept! Judy spoke about mindfulness and certain techniques we can use everyday. One of my favorite techniques she taught us was
STOP – BREATHE – BE.

Antoinette Minor from The Young Professionalist spoke about What to post and how to post on social media. She suggests posting 1x day on Instagram, 2x - 1x day on Facebook, and 3x - 5x on Twitter. I have to admit I never gave much thought into how often or how less I was posting on these social media websites and it's so helpful to have a guide!

Michelle Conron from Cashman & Associates gave us insight into How PR agencies work with Influencers and Clients. Michelle gave us tips on what they look for when vetting through bloggers and influencers. It's also important for bloggers to have consistency among social media platforms (for instance when it comes to branding) and be able to back up your numbers.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, if you ever have the chance to attend a blogging conference I highly suggest it! It may seem intimidating but it’s really great to get out there, network and to meet new people! You honestly never know who you may meet and what new things you may learn. It’s also awesome to be in a room full of individuals who have similar interests with you!

The Ultimate Girls Weekend in Montreal

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of going to Montreal for a girls trip! Between all of us living in different cities and hectic schedules it’s always so hard to find a weekend when we are all free! A girls weekend is all about catching up, exploring a new city together, eating yummy food, dancing the night away and making new memories together!

Where To Stay

We found a cute three bedroom one bathroom apartment on Air B&B near Mount-Royal Park. The place was a little small and the walls were thin so you could hear your neighbors but the place was cute and very clean! The location itself was really good as everything was walking distance or a short Uber ride away! The location is about 30 minutes from the airport (you can either Uber or Taxi which is $40).

As far as currency goes, there are only a few places that are cash only which included La Banquise (Poutine) and Notre-Dame Basicilia which take both American and Canadian dollars. We were also able to use our credit cards everywhere (just make sure there are no transaction fees!).

Itinerary
What To Do and What To Eat

Day 1 - Arrival Day

The first night we had dinner at Le Serpent. The place was industrial looking and really cute. For appetizers we started with the Beets appetizer and Burrata appetizer. For the main course I had the Bucatini which was really good. The portions are on the small side but the amount we ordered was just perfect.

After dinner we headed to the infamous La Champagnerie. I would highly suggest this place for a girls weekend or a fun night of dancing. The drinks were really good and we had an area by the bar. They will also let you saber a bottle of champagne if you want! There was also a DJ playing music that night (the music was on point!). 

Day 2

No girls getaway is complete without some sort of spa services! We had massages booked for all six of us at Rain Spa. It is located on the third floor of the Hôtel Place d'Armes. The 2,500 square foot spa has 10 treatment rooms spanning two floors. There are many different services, a traditional hammam room (included with any services more than 60 minutes), and a rest area serving teas and flavored water. 

For lunch what we initially wanted to do was go to Olive and Gourmando since they are one of the top rated place in Montreal for lunch. However, there was a 45 minute wait for a table so we ventured around the streets of Old Montreal and passed by the Notre-Dame Basicilia (more details on that down below).

While wondering the streets of the historic Old Montreal and in dire need of food, we discovered Venice MTL. We loved the atmosphere and vibe of this place (everything was honestly so Instagrammable!). We ordered poke, flatbreads, and tacos. Everything tasted really good.

Afterwards, we walked around Old Montreal and stopped in at Maison Christian Faure, which is a charming pastry shop for pastries and tea. It was honestly the best afternoon.

We then headed back to our Air B&B to rest and re-fresh for dinner and a night out. For dinner we headed to La Banquise which is the best poutine place in Montreal. They have over 30 different types of poutine and it was definitely worth the wait! They are open 24/7 so you could literally go there any time you want!

We ended the night at La Distillerie No. 1 which has the most amazing cocktails, a fun DJ, and board games! The menu was so much fun to browse through as it is unique. One of the owners of the restaurant was actually one of the bartenders! 

Day 3 - Departure Day

The last day we ended the trip with some yummy brunch and mimosas at Restaurant Hambar, which is located in the heart of Old Montreal.  

Afterwards, we walked over to the Notre-Dame Basilica which is a must-see if you are in Montreal. It was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful.

It was a great way to end the trip and we had a great time visiting Montreal!

Resort Review: CHIC by Royalton Luxury in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Today on the blog I am sharing my resort review of the CHIC by Royalton Luxury in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  But first, a few outfit photos as requested from our trip!

Floral Off The Shoulder Dress: Express / Sandals: ASOS (Similar)
Crossbody Purse: Tory Burch / Sunglasses: Sperry (Similar)

Tassel Beach Romper Coverup: ASOS / Sandals: Steve Madden (Also here)
Sunglasses: Sperry / Straw Tote: H&M (Not pictured)

Full blog post on this look is HERE.

Dress: Tularosa (One of my favorite dresses!) / Sandals: Steve Madden
Crossbody Purse: Tory Burch

Now onto the review of the CHIC by Royalton Luxury in Punta Cana in Dominican Republic.

My husband and I have been to Punta Cana several times and this time we decided to switch it up and stay at the CHIC by Royalton Luxury.  One of the reasons we love visiting Punta Cana is because it’s only a 4 hour direct flight from Philadelphia so if you leave early enough in the day you will still have a full day ahead to enjoy yourself!

TRANSPORTATION + TRAVEL

Once we arrived in Punta Cana, our travel agent had booked us a private car so we were able to get through the airport quickly and were off to the resort in no time. I highly recommend a private car in Punta Cana because if you book a shuttle service there will be other people on the shuttle with you. The shuttle will make stops at other resorts.. so what may seem like a short trip will end up taking anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours. From the airport to the resort it was about 45 minutes in our private car.

CHECK-IN PROCESS

Once we arrived at the resort we were greeted with hand towels and a tropical drink. We were escorted over to the Diamond Club to check in (which we paid extra for and highly recommend – more on that below). Check-in was a breeze. I liked that instead of a room key you have a bracelet which you swipe to get in and out of your room – makes life so much easier than having to remember to carry around a room key! The Diamond Club definitely made the trip. I think without this amenity our stay would have fallen flat. In the Diamond Club you get your own butler (shoutout to Omar and Samuel who went out of their way to take care of us), top shelf alcohol, and access to Diamond Club lounge – drinks and snacks always stocked from the morning to 11PM, your own beach and bar area, access to the Mermaid pool and a few other amenities which we didn’t use (i.e. unpacking and packing luggage service, ironing, etc.).

ROOMS

The resort has 320 rooms which all have modern touches and are very spacious. I did wish that the dresser was larger since it only had three small drawers. I did like the bathroom vanity area – there were two sinks and also a magnified mirror. There was also a large tub next to the shower in the middle of the room. We would have to remember to close the blinds if you were showering since we had a swim up room next to the beach area so people can definitely see into your room. There were also a lot of bugs outside. I didn’t notice them on the first or second day but by the third day we made sure to keep the swim up pool side doors shut at all times. The cleaning service also came by twice daily – once in the morning and once at night. Another feature which I really liked is that you could order room service straight from your television! Another added bonus, an in-room, ready pour drink dispenser! WiFi was also great through-out the entire resort!

BEACH + POOL AREAS

The beach was extremely clean and I didn’t see any seaweed that was on the shore. The waves were high though so there was either a yellow or red flag out each day. There were plenty of chairs and huts to sit under at the beach. The Diamond Club also has their own beach area complete with their own bar. So you could essentially sit in a cabana on the beach without having to pay extra which is an amenity I really liked.

There was one big pool, a smaller pool next to it with a swim up pool bar, and the Mermaid pool (for Diamond Club members). The activities near the pool area were fun. I participated in Zumba and Spin aerobics. There was a foam party during the day on Saturday (I believe these parties happen twice a week). We did have to play the pool chair game so if you were at the pool after 11AM you won't be able to find a chair. So one of the days we did end up purchasing a bottle and a cabana since there were no available lounge chairs but it was worth it to have your own area especially if you are with a group.

FOOD + DRINKS

One of my favorite things about the resort was that they had a specialty coffee shop. Every morning we would try a new drink – from lattes, to cappuccinos, to frappuccinos - they had it all. I thought that the food was very good at the resort! We tried the Middle Eastern restaurant the first night. The tabbouleh, wings, lamb with couscous, chicken with rice were amazing. The next night we tried the Italian restaurant, Vespa, which was also great. Our favorites were the Diablo pizza and Lasagna. The last night we had dinner at the Steakhouse, Hunter. We had the tuna carpaccio, Cesar salad, French onion soup, and filets. We were able to arrange our dinners seamlessly through the Diamond Club. During the day we primarily ate around the pool. We had the most amazing chicken burgers everyday and fries (just thinking about this is making me hungry.. it was THAT good!).

RESORT ACTIVITIES

We participated In a few of the activities. As I said before I did the Zumba in the pool and also the Spin class in the pool. There were nightly parities set up each night. My favorite was the circus themed party on the first night (Wednesday) which was in the lobby area. There was also weekly foam parties. To our disappointment, the Casino was also closed randomly on Wednesday and Thursday and then randomly opened Friday and Saturday night. Lastly, we also got massages at the spa. The Spa was really nice, however, the sauna/steam room weren't working also to my disappointment.

All in all we had a good time. There were a few things that should have been told to us when we checked in about certain amenities not being available instead of us having to find out ourselves later on (i.e. Casino + Spa) but other than that we had a great vacation! It's always nice to get away someplace warm during the winter!

Tassel Romper Beach Coverup in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Tassel Beach Romper Coverup: ASOS / Sandals: Steve Madden (Also here)
Sunglasses: Sperry / Straw Tote: H&M

Today I’m sharing with you all a beach look I wore while vacationing last week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. This romper is super comfortable and versatile. I love how the tassel is colorful but the romper itself is very neutral. I ordered this romper last minute from ASOS but thankfully it arrived on time! Shoutout to ASOS and their fast two day shipping! Even though I wore this as a beach look I think it would be cute to wear on its own in the summer!

I am also currently working on a travel review of our time at the Chic Royalton which will be on the blog Thursday! So make sure to check that out too!

You can also shop some of my favorite romper coverups below.

Christmas Village in Philadelphia

Sweater: Zara (Similar) / Jeans: LOFT / Jacket: Vince Camuto
Boots: Sam Edelman (Dupe for the Stuart Wetizman Lowland)
Sunglasses: Sperry / Handbag: Marc Jacobs

It's that time of year again when Christmas Village is back in Philadelphia! My family and I went to check out Christmas Village on Saturday which was probably not the best idea since it was the first weekend and also a holiday weekend - needless to say it was very crowded! This year Christmas Village is split between Dilworth Park and LOVE park which I personally don't think was the best decision as LOVE Park is still under construction making the paths between the booths hard to walk through with the crowds, but nevertheless, the same booths (and even more) are back this year!

My favorite places hands down to visit have to be the food booths. My top two favorite each year are The Baked Cheese House and the Berlin Döner Kebab Booth. Also, I've been wanting to try the Helmut's Original Austrian Strudel but the line is always so long! It's so much fun to walk around and check out all the booths. Also, this year, there is a light show where City Hall is which is nice to check out in the evening. And lastly, don't forget to take a family photo in front of the Christmas Tree!

For my outfit, I kept things simple with a warm ruffle sweater, jeans, and OTK boots. I linked a few ruffle sleeve sweaters below.