Down & Out In Beverly Hills~ The Road to Lucky Fabb Series- Part I

A week ago I sat here, just a girl, sitting in front of a computer; asking it to love her. I never met a friend from Twitter I didn’t like… Actually I never met a friend from Twitter at all. And I never attended a conference by myself, even sometimes frustratingly declining invitations because of lack of partner in crime to attend them with.

But that was all a week ago, and as we all know, everything can change in a week. Though, Technically not too much has changed. I look the same, I feel the same, and wake up every day pretty much feeling the same. But something is different. Something that lies deep inside a person, only rearing it’s ugly head when fear forces it too, and only visible when we feel it’s presence, or lack there of. That is confidence.

When I clicked the button and bought my Lucky Fabb Ticket about six weeks ago, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had already been to the last Lucky Magazine Bloggers Conference back in Sept in Ny, did I really need to spend the money to go all the way out to Beverly Hills to attend again? Plus, I didn’t know anyone. I could barely attend an event alone, how was I supposed to fly halfway across the country to do it for 2 days?

But when I clicked that button, I made a choice. A decision to take matters into my own hands, lead with style, and be myself. Of course, it helped matters to extend the vacation through Monday, and stay on with one of my closest friends in Agoura Hills when the conference ended. That part of the trip was not just a reunion with my friend, it was a reunion with calm, tranquility and ocean. As much as I love New York, it was a moment to steal away from a city that’s always on, to a place where I could just be. But more on that later…..

Because before I could reach that final destination, I had to take a journey. A trip down a road paved with bloggers, sponsors, writers, stylists, celebrities, strangers, but at the end of the day, just people. Women. Women who are passionate, women who find style in the every day, but most of all, women who are Lucky to be that Fabulous. Lucky Fabb’s most recent LA conference taught me a lot about the person I could be, and the person I want to become.

For one, it turns out the art of Twitter friendship is not lost on me. I struck up a random conversation with 2 amazing bloggers, which led to a random roommate pairing, which in turn left me with 2 new awesome friends. I felt like I was there with old friends, and by the time I had to say goodbye, I felt as if I’d been gossiping, laughing and creating glamour shoots with them for years. They will provide me with the excuse to take more trips and  visit their respective cities.(Or least have them come visit me.. I mean, I’m the one in the greatest city in the world!)…….

When I arrived at Fabb, I knew I wanted to get something out of my time there, but didn’t know exactly what that was. I’ll take a cue from Drew Barrymore, one of the amazing speakers there, and spit some truth, instead of general fluff; I’m not even totally sure what I did take away, because there is so much to digest. What I do know for sure is that I left with an arsenal of knowledge. A huge mountain of ideas, information, lingo, sites, and contacts that I need to slowly disassemble, rebuild, and then beging climbing my way back up, aiming for the top each day.

There was a million one liners, one sentence how-to’s, and verbiage sputtered about, that kept me spinning like a top for most of the time. But a few things stood out among the rest. Drew Barrymore taught me that honesty is stylish, when she imparted on all of us a number of truths; including that you can’t actually have it all.When you become passionate about one thing, you sacrifice another (mainly referring to her daughter, Olive taking center stage).

Alle Fister, from Bollare had some great advice to impart upon us, and for a mind like mine, constantly fluttering, she gave me some perspective which I plan to take into action. Namely, simplifying my goals, starting with writing out 3 things you need to start your business, 3 goals, and 3 ways to reach each of those goals. It seems crazy that something that simple could make such a difference, but sometimes you need someone else to lay it out for you, so you can step away from it and see it for yourself.

Bestey Johnson left me with the indelible feeling of both confidence and fatigue, and re-established my faith in the quirky, and the individual. Betsey is certainly her own person; unique among a sea of similarity. As I listened and snapped pictures with her, wearing my kids saddle shoes among a sea of high heels, I felt the power of how that individuality can shape one’s persona. When she exclaimed how much she loved my shoes, taking her back to another time, it only proved to further solidify the thought.

In the day to follow I would learn about increasing my traffic from David Cook, at The Find, and get advice from Beso.com on how to monetize with affiliates, and work with them. I also had the pleasure of meeting the equally adorable Jessie of Sweetthing and Kimberly Genevieve at the Drew Barrymore launch event and then attending their seminar, showing us all the ropes of a perfect photo shoot.

I have a lot of work ahead of me, including revamping, re-prioritizing, and working to catapult myself into the next level. There’s everything from grasping SEO, to learning how to monetize properly, to what I really want to represent. I know that for me LA was not the final destination, but rather, just the beginning. In the end, in a world where our blog, or brand seems to be what defines us, I went into the SLS Beverly HIlls a proverbial girl, but I landed back at JFK, a woman. And as I grabbed my giant Le Sportsac Gift bag weekender, overflowing with goodies, I headed back to the island, to begin the journey for real.

Check out My Instagram to see more fabulous Pictures from the Trip, and continue the Journey with me….

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