As always, my favorite part of a blog conference is the people. I had a blast seeing old friends and meeting new ones this past weekend at the Healthy Living Summit in Boston!
On Friday, after the photo walking tour, my roomies (Theodora, Ashley, Gretchen) and I, plus Tina, all enjoyed dinner in the hotel before heading to the official HLS kickoff event — the cocktail party!
I was rocking a new dress I picked up at the beach from a random boardwalk shop — only $25! Total win. My friend Hilary bought the same one because we both loved it so much!
photo via Gretchen
The hotel restaurant was actually awesome — we ate outside with pretty views and the waiter was nice enough to oblige our numerous requests for photo shoots, too. ;)
MY OTHER RECIPES
Plus, the food was amazing! A bunch of us ordered the lobster cobb salad and it was deeeelicious.
After dinner, it was off to the cocktail party!
In addition to mingling with friends both new and old, a bunch of us rocked the photo booth and corresponding props.
It was a mini Reach the Beach Relay team reunion! 7 out of the 12 of us that ran it together were at HLS. :)
And here I am with my friend Meghann, one of the conference’s fearless organizers! It was great to see her again, too — I think the last time we saw each other was when we were in Vegas together last December for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon!
All of us were exhausted by the time the cocktail party was over at 10 so we decided to be lame go ahead to bed. Besides, we had to get up early to run! Theodora and Ashley are training for marathons and were up at 4:30 a.m. to run 15 miles; I got up at a slightly more respectable 5:30 a.m. to meet a group of fellow conference attendees that had signed up as interested in running 4 to 6 miles together.‘
We had a great group — I love going to healthy blogging conferences because there’s always someone willing to run with you! I’d never met any of the ladies on the run before but everyone was really nice and we all became quick friends.
There were 6 of us total and we ended up running 6 miles at around a 9 minute mile pace, chatting away the whole time. We ran along the Charles River and the views were beautiful!
I was so glad I dragged myself out of bed for it. Plus, the weather was actually cool — I’d forgotten how much easier and more awesome running is when it’s not 95 degrees out!
One of the main highlights of the conference this year was the food — all the meals provided (breakfast both Saturday and Sunday and lunch Saturday) were really awesome — lots of healthy options and variety. I was impressed. Saturday’s breakfast was sponsored by Wild Harvest, and they did a fabulous job. Conference attendees had submitted recipes using Wild Harvest ingredients and the winning recipes were showcased, along with a lot of fruit, some yogurt parfaits, etc. I wish I’d gotten a photo! My favorite was a delicious egg frittata with a lot of veggies.
Breakfast was followed by a welcome and some icebreaker exercises, and then a quick Crossfit workout with Reebok!
Reebok sent a ton of their Crossfit coaches to lead us all in a short 5 minute WOD (workout of the day) to give us a taste of Crossfit for those who hadn’t tried it yet. I loved the back of the coach’s shirts! #getafterit :)
After an intro on proper air squatting form, we got right into the workout, which was as follows:
- Repeat the following until 5 minutes is up!
- 7 air squats
- 15 jumps
It was fast and fun. :)
After a quick change to normal clothes, it was time for the real conference sessions to begin! Stay tuned for more in part 2, including a recap of the panel I was on about working with brands as a blogger.
Awww, what cute photos. Glad it was fun, and so sorry not to have been there. xo
The photo booth told me it missed you. :) xo
It was great to meet you! It was such a fun weekend.
Ditto! :)
Great photos! It was nice really nice to meet you this weekend!
You too! :)
I want that “get after it” shirt! And your pink dress = adorable!
By the way, had my first REAL CrossFit class last night in Ballston — I think I’m in love (and it hurts to sit). :)
I know I want the shirt too!!! And yay glad you loved the class! We might check out that box soon if you like it – love Crossfit Dupont but it’s a pain to drive all the way there!
Yeah, now that I live in Arlington it feels like such a schlep to get over to Dupont area (even though I love it!). Def try Ballston – the coaches are so supportive!
ps. recap is on my blog :)
Yes I loved your dress from the cocktail party! I can’t get enough of our crazy photo booth pictures!! It was so great to see you!
Great seeing you, too! :) xo
It looks like you guys had a great weekend! I love your dress! Sometimes those little beach shops are the best when you find a good deal. It’s funny I was in Cape May this past weekend and one store would have adorbs dresses and then the next would have JErsey Shore Neon Belly shirts. lol
Haha I know it’s totally hit or miss!
I LOVE that lace dress – the color is perfect!
Love that dress! It looks comfortable — is it?
Yes! It’s very soft.
Love your dress! Cute and a bargain – cannot go wrong with that.
Looks like a super conference — and looks like, as always, you made the most of it. Well done. Look fwd to part II — and to a quick update on the new internship! How’s it going?
So far so good! I’ll share more updates soon. :)
I look forward to hearing about your session since I missed it on Saturday!
Love the dress and the food looks delicious. Looking forward to Part II
I almost got that cob salad but decided on the grilled watermelon salad at the last minute. Wasn’t that great food! I was so impressed!
That is a pretty dress. Pair it with a wide belt (to hide the seam)… a long chain necklace & wedge peep toe heels. Sorry. I know you didn’t ask for fashion advice… but I just had to share my thoughts :) Perfect dress for a day at the beach as well with a wide brim straw hat. OK. I’m finished.
Cute ideas! :)