Stopped Freaking. Started Packing. BlogHer '12, Here I Come!

Jewelry? Check. Favorite shoes? Check. Jewelry? Check. Do I really need to pack anything else?

In less than 24 hours, I'll be on my way to the airport for BlogHer.

You'll be happy to know I've stopped freaking out.

It was J that first put everything in perspective for me. It's unlike him to wax poetic speak more than three sentences at at time when it comes to conversations like these but after listening to me ramble on for days I think he'd finally had it.

"Listen, Jen," he said with his this is my final answer voice. "You don't have to do this. You're going because you want to, because you love it. So go HAVE FUN. Do only what's perfect for you and the blog and forget the rest."

Hmm. Shockingly good advice from someone who I'm convinced is only one-quarter-listening to me most of the time.

Then there was this post from Mom 101, which was awesome. If you're going to BlogHer, it's definitely worth a read. Basically, the highlights I took away were:

1) Look good.
2) Remember why you're there.
3) Stop talking about nervous you are.
4) Voices of the Year ROCKS.

I had a great lunch date/strategy session with my girl Diane in which we both realized we had really different objectives for the conference this year than we did last year. We talked fashion, blogging goals, and she promised to help me practice reading over a glass of wine Thursday night. So excited to be teaming up with her again...seeing her reminded me how much fun we have together.

And then I talked to my mom, who reminded me that BlogHer chose my work for a reason...and I should go, be myself, and feel confident about it.

Go? Have fun? Be confident? Look good? Fun, confident and looking good all boil down to one thing (and one of my favorite things in the world): FASHION.

So I stopped freaking. And started packing.

Tank and jacket from H&M. Anthropologie necklace. Boyfriend jeans by Goldsign. Steve Madden wedges.

My little no-napper (who passed out in the car at 5pm, naturally) and I had a blast playing in my closet today while Baby N slept. She acted as fashion consultant (a role she's shockingly good at) and tried on every single pair of shoes I own. I finalized my outfit choices, complete with shoes and accessories. Packing for 90+ heat and potential thunderstorms in NYC was no easy task. But I think I did OK. And with all those pretty necklaces, do I really need anything else?

Source: tieks.com

I'm pleased to report that I mostly shopped my closet. My only big splurges were the most amazing pair of foldable ballet flats from Tieks, (thank you, thank you, thank you, Tieks, for the discount and the free overnight shipping!) which will be living in my bag in case the wedges fail me, and a gorgeous new necklace to wear for the Community Keynote. Because reading for Voices of the Year is a once-in-a-life-lifetime experience...and once-in-a-lifetime experiences deserve a little bling (or a lot), right?

Source: jcrew.com 

While I recognize that BlogHer is not supposed to be all about the fashion...for fashion-obsessed mom bloggers like me, whose opportunities to be fashion-y are few and far between...the clothes are at least half the fun.

So, my suitcase is packed, minus toiletries and makeup, which I'll do before I got to bed. In an unprecedented display of organization, I'm pretty much all set to go...which means that tomorrow, I'll be able to relax and soak up every minute with my little ones.

Because no matter how zen/excited/nervous/happy I am to be going to BlogHer (and wearing a whole lot of super cute outfits), I'm really sad to be leaving my family behind.

I'm going to miss these little monsters like crazy...