Shh, the boys are napping...finally... I hope. I think my oldest son is very close to dropping his nap but mommy's not ready yet.  So for now, while they sleep, I blog.
Last weekend I attended Blogpodium a conference for lifestyle and design bloggers in Toronto. It was my first time and I loved it! So inspiring and informative. There were a few nuggets that stuck with me so I thought I'd write a post on it so I wouldn't forget them.

1. Make your posts personal. This one is fairly obvious but for some reason a light bulb went off for me when I heard this at Blogpodium. I love my blog posts but I know they tend to be mostly  instructional and I need to inject more anecdotal comments. I guess I struggled with this one because I felt the personalization needed to be related to the project but ah ha it does not.

2. Don't second guess yourself. Again fairly obvious but I am the most indecisive person in the world. I often let the opinions of others change my gut instinct. I'll start a project, hear someone's opinion, change my plan, dislike the final output and start over only to complete it the way I originally planned. No more.

3. Wabi Sabi. I had never heard this one before but it was something Tiffany Pratt mentioned in her key note speech. Wabi Sabi = find perfection in imperfection. Whether writing a blog post, creating a new DIY, raising the kids, doing laundry or anything (yes, I try to be perfect doing the laundry) this outlook has changed my life and almost freed me a bit.

4. Take great photos. Random Acts of Pastel provided some great tips on taking great photos for Instagram. Key tips include: natural light (but not direct sun), use bursts for action shots rather than trying to pose, for layflats layer the items smallest to biggest away from the sun to avoid large shadows, experiment and take your time - it can be worth it.

5. Get regrammed. Be strategic. If you want to be regrammed try to take a pic that features the brand/magazine properly and effectively. Tag them in your post and be sure to like their page and pics as well.


Blogpodium was a great conference. I met many fellow bloggers with inspirational stories.
What a day. Until next year!

... Gotta go, I think they're awake : )