That one time I dragged my husband to a blog conference

Have you ever relished the idea of leaving town and putting your husband in charge of the kids JUST so that when you got home you could hear those glorious words “I don’t know how you do it?” And maybe if you are lucky you’ll get a “You are super woman!” thrown in there too. I had that experience a few years ago and it was fabulous :)

I knew he had had a glimpse into what motherhood was like, but I wanted him to know what it was like to be a full time BLOGGER. So I took him along to Haven!

Doesn’t he look thrilled? Hahaha! It had more to do with the selfie than the trip ;) He is not a huge fan of selfies.

There are a lot of reasons to go to a conference. One of them, for me, is I get to teach! And it is even more fun when you get to teach with a friend. Brooke and I taught a hands on painting class sponsored by Home Depot and the crates we all got to paint and take home were from Crates and Pallet. I want to thank all of you who came to the class and for taking pictures that I could steal off of instagram :)

All the pictures shown in class are now available to see on my Haven Painting Class pinterest board!

Another reason to go to a conference is to connect face-to-face with brands you work with and maybe connect with new ones.

My Homes.com girls rocking their blue and orange! * Mike Holmes representing 3M * I got to tour the headquarters of my fave Home Depot * 3M DIY is new to instagram so go give them a follow!

And of course Minwax who so graciously offers to sponsor me for the conference. There is no way I could make it without them :)

Thanks Rhoda for letting me steal your picture!

I also love working with P&G. Shane and I hung out with Brooke and Mandi in their room as they were getting the decorations ready for the lunch. Shane totally glue gunned the wood hoops together. It was cute seeing him get his craft on in a room full of ladies :)

(Source: Southern Hospitality)

Dinner with HomeRight and the other ambassadors. I love this company!

One of the days we took off and went to see the LDS temple that was only a couple of miles from our hotel. So pretty!!! I wish we would have had more time.

And of course another reason to go to a conference is the chance to hang out with people who “get you”. The people who understand how exciting it is when you figure out coding at 2am after working on it all night. The people who also suffer from project ADD. The people who negotiate contract terms on the phone while they are quietly playing Go Fish with their kids on the floor.

Proof Shane was not the only dude there. There were so many couples! Here are a few of them :)

So how did Shane like his first blog conference?

When he wakes up I will ask him…….

He really did crash the second we got home. But he had a wonderful time and everyone made him feel so included and welcome. I think he may want to write a post himself about the experience!

One more thing….. Haven wanted to have a chance to give back. They have partnered with Habitat for Humanity ( you know I LOVE them!). There are going to be 20 Atlanta bloggers helping build a house and the rest of the Haven Mavens across the country will volunteer, shop at a Restore, or just take a selfie in a “Hands of Haven” t shirt. Even if you were not at Haven, you can buy a shirt and help the cause. For more information, visit their site.