A Day With the SITS Girls, at Heart and Home

Saturday I spent the day in San Francisco,

at the Westin St.Francis Hotel. 

 I was with 100 other blogging women.

We were all in town for the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp.

I didn't get many pictures of the 100 other women,

or the speakers, or the food.

There were too many things to do, and too many people to talk to.

I got a little nervous, and I forgot.

I know you'll forgive me.

From the conference room when the fog cleared,

 there was a view down to Union Square.

Typical of San Francisco summer weather, the fog cleared around 4:00.

Just in time to see the festival wind down and the crowds disburse. 

The building with the arched windows on the right is the Marriott Hotel.

That domed tower in the center is very pretty.

Too bad I don't know what it's called.

I'll have to get back to you on that. 

The meeting took place way up high, on the Imperial floor, in fancy Victor's.

Not on the ceiling, but isn't it interesting?

Inside, the view was clear, but the temperature was chilly.

Frigid actually.

You would think they could afford to heat the place,

 considering what they charge to stay here!

We were all shivering by the time the meeting was over.

A frosty and very wide awake bunch.

Here are a few of us, hoping to warm up,

 and getting ready to eat lunch in in the beautiful Alexandra room.

It was freezing in here too, but lovely,

and there are fabulous 360 degree views of the entire city

when there is no fog.

And when the frost clears off the inside of the windows I imagine.

Is it just me, or do you think it's weird to put the food on the tables

 before everyone is seated?

I'm just curious.

 But I've got to admit our lunch was tasty!

Dessert was very delicious, too!

That got eaten before I remembered to document it,

you just have to trust me.

Getting ready to go again,

we're taking our places for the second half of the meeting.

We listened to some interesting talks about all sorts of topics,

from blog security, to ideas about monetizing our sites.

Tiffany Romero, co founder of SITS Girls,

who is very pretty, BTW,

and Ted Rubin of Open Sky, gave us some info.

I particularly enjoyed Kristy Campbell's writing tips.

She was a sweetie to talk with, too.

And has such beautiful red hair.

I've always wondered how I'd look as a redhead.

Hmmm. That's something to think about.

I wonder if I could pull it off.

I think I have the temperament for it, for sure.

That could become one of my changes, for the future.

After the event, I went into the lobby and rested my tired self on the sofa.

Actually, I leaned w a a a y back and got my feet up a bit!

It felt so good!

That's when I noticed how ornate the ceiling is in there.

All these years I've been running inside the hotel
to use the very nice ladies' lounge

or ride the glass elevator to check out the the view,
and I don't think I've ever really looked up.

Anyway, I got very comfy, had a nice chat with some out of town visitors,

and enjoyed some good people-watching.

There was a big party happening in the bar.

Some people really should not wear strapless dresses.

Or 5" heels.

That's all I'm saying about that.

It was a day well spent.

The things I learned helped me clarify my thoughts and feelings

 about Heart and Home.

I feel more confident about some of my decisions now.

AND:

I met some nice women, and shared blogging tips and stories with them.

Even spent a little time in the lounge with a couple of Michelles.

Bright, young, beautiful women

who are just starting out in the world of blogging.

And I learned a few things about attending a blogging conference.

Like, bring business cards. (Who knew?)

And wear a winter coat.

At least I felt stylish in my comfortable new "Penelope"* shoes. 

Until next time,

XO

Heidi

*If you haven't already, check out the movie. Then you'll know what I'm talking about.