Back with a post!The ITWBN Second Birthday #itwbn ♡
Hi all,
Yes it's been a while! I have had a few things going on and I may have lost a bit of my blogging mojo. Bloggers have had some bad press recently and it made me question "what am I doing with my blog"?
Then I took stock and went back to basics - why did I start blogging...for fun so I need to remember that when I get doubtful!
If it's fun for me (and hopefully for whoever reads it) then thats why I started it and it's why I will continue with this little blog of mine! :)
First up is a post that I have had in draft for a bit and needed to put the final touches to...it is all about the Into the West Blogger (aka ITWBN) 2nd Birthday which was held in The Connacht Hotel on Sunday 8th May.
I have been part of this group for a while now and it has been an integral part of my blogger journey. This has helped whenever I have felt like packing it all in. I attend an event or am part of a twitter / facebook chat and it gives me momentum and motivation again! It has also been great in meeting fellow bloggers who have gone on to become friends – I think this is something I wasn’t initailly expecting and it has been a real highlight! See a some of these fab bloggers below at the event!
Now back to the event itself – we were welcomed to the lovely Connacht Hotel which basked in the glorious sun on the day! I registered and made my way into the lovely bright room where I chatted to new and familiar faces as I perused the stands and then made my way to the my seat. The tables were all named after celebrities - I was at the Niall Breslin table (as someone said, if only he was at it!). I was sitting with some lovely fellow bloggers: they were all new to me but for Ruth who I know from previous events (and now call a friend).
The speakers on the day were Olivia Collins from http://www.foodpr.ie, Nikki Bradley fromhttp://nikkibradleyspeaks.com and Gill Carroll from http://www.56central.com and http://www.37westcafe.com/
Professional and personal journeys were shared. What I took from each of the speakers could be adapted to all parts of life. Here are points I learnt:
Olivia had great advice...what stuck with me was "Be your own brand"...sometimes we can look outside ourselves when it's right there all along!
Nikki was just "wow"...it's the best way to describe her. She's been through so much and still has such positivity and motivation! What stuck with me from her talk was to "Be open, right place right time...just say yes!".
Last but by no means least was Gill Carroll...you could feel the motivation and positive vibes from her! She really is a get up and go kind of person. She has two successful businesses so it is no surprise! The lasting thought from her talk was "what are your core values?". Again it's a case of don't look outside yourself - bring it back to the core.
In between the speakers we had time to mingle, take photos, check out the stands a bit more and...eat. What a spread from The Connacht Hotel:
We washed it down with some gorgeous Solaris Tea which was one of the stands as was Juicy Lucy juices another beverage choice of the day. Tasty and healthy...what's not to love!
The other fabulous stands on the day were:
Bellissimo
Suzie Mahony Designs
Siren and Soul
McCambridges
Studio 53
The Cool Bean Company
Clothes Party 2U
Lookwest.ie
A big thank you to all the exhibitors...they all were very welcoming and no question went unanswered.
After the speakers there was also a blogger panel led by Kerry. The bloggers gave their opinions on the various social media channels from Snapchat to Instagram. Snapchat is definitely the social media chanel right now but the others are still holding their own. The panel were diverse in what their favourite was and why. Of course like everything there's pros and cons to all. I think my favourite is Instagram.
The goodie bags aka "swag bags" were fabulous as always – I shared a few bits already on my social media pages. Thank you to all the generous sponsors!!
Boots No.7 Ireland
Thalgo Ireland
Blank Canvas Cosmetics
The Body Shop
Propercorn
Fleastyle Market
Ultra Pure Labs
Irish Health hour
Wicked Whole Foods
Wet n Wild Cosmetics
Paese Cosmetics
The Lodge Barna Mustards
Mothercare
Last but by no means least I have to mention and give kudos to the Sinead and Saibh– the brains behind ITWBN – another well organised and well run event where every little detail was thought of.
If anyone is thinking of starting a blog...join this group!!
Thanks again to everyone involved in the day and hope to meet everyone soon again!
Bye for now and to keep up to date – don’t forget to follow me on Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram and snapchat – @Mags_style too (I'm still learning on this one though!!) xxx
Yes it's been a while! I have had a few things going on and I may have lost a bit of my blogging mojo. Bloggers have had some bad press recently and it made me question "what am I doing with my blog"?
Then I took stock and went back to basics - why did I start blogging...for fun so I need to remember that when I get doubtful!
If it's fun for me (and hopefully for whoever reads it) then thats why I started it and it's why I will continue with this little blog of mine! :)
First up is a post that I have had in draft for a bit and needed to put the final touches to...it is all about the Into the West Blogger (aka ITWBN) 2nd Birthday which was held in The Connacht Hotel on Sunday 8th May.
 |
| Happy Birthday ITWBN!, |
I have been part of this group for a while now and it has been an integral part of my blogger journey. This has helped whenever I have felt like packing it all in. I attend an event or am part of a twitter / facebook chat and it gives me momentum and motivation again! It has also been great in meeting fellow bloggers who have gone on to become friends – I think this is something I wasn’t initailly expecting and it has been a real highlight! See a some of these fab bloggers below at the event!
 |
| Top photo with Ruth, middle photo with Grace and bottom photo (thanks to Clóda!) is with the lovely Clóda herself, Shona, Ruth and Kerrie. Check out their blogs! |
Now back to the event itself – we were welcomed to the lovely Connacht Hotel which basked in the glorious sun on the day! I registered and made my way into the lovely bright room where I chatted to new and familiar faces as I perused the stands and then made my way to the my seat. The tables were all named after celebrities - I was at the Niall Breslin table (as someone said, if only he was at it!). I was sitting with some lovely fellow bloggers: they were all new to me but for Ruth who I know from previous events (and now call a friend).
 |
| The table plan! I was seated with: Fashion Truth by Ruth How to be Fed Gaeilge Le Glam |
The speakers on the day were Olivia Collins from http://www.foodpr.ie, Nikki Bradley fromhttp://nikkibradleyspeaks.com and Gill Carroll from http://www.56central.com and http://www.37westcafe.com/
Professional and personal journeys were shared. What I took from each of the speakers could be adapted to all parts of life. Here are points I learnt:
Olivia had great advice...what stuck with me was "Be your own brand"...sometimes we can look outside ourselves when it's right there all along!
Nikki was just "wow"...it's the best way to describe her. She's been through so much and still has such positivity and motivation! What stuck with me from her talk was to "Be open, right place right time...just say yes!".
Last but by no means least was Gill Carroll...you could feel the motivation and positive vibes from her! She really is a get up and go kind of person. She has two successful businesses so it is no surprise! The lasting thought from her talk was "what are your core values?". Again it's a case of don't look outside yourself - bring it back to the core.
In between the speakers we had time to mingle, take photos, check out the stands a bit more and...eat. What a spread from The Connacht Hotel:
We washed it down with some gorgeous Solaris Tea which was one of the stands as was Juicy Lucy juices another beverage choice of the day. Tasty and healthy...what's not to love!
The other fabulous stands on the day were:
Bellissimo
Suzie Mahony Designs
Siren and Soul
McCambridges
Studio 53
The Cool Bean Company
Clothes Party 2U
Lookwest.ie
A big thank you to all the exhibitors...they all were very welcoming and no question went unanswered.
 |
| All the wonderful stands at the event |
After the speakers there was also a blogger panel led by Kerry. The bloggers gave their opinions on the various social media channels from Snapchat to Instagram. Snapchat is definitely the social media chanel right now but the others are still holding their own. The panel were diverse in what their favourite was and why. Of course like everything there's pros and cons to all. I think my favourite is Instagram.
 |
| The Blogger Panel |
The goodie bags aka "swag bags" were fabulous as always – I shared a few bits already on my social media pages. Thank you to all the generous sponsors!!
Boots No.7 Ireland
Thalgo Ireland
Blank Canvas Cosmetics
The Body Shop
Propercorn
Fleastyle Market
Ultra Pure Labs
Irish Health hour
Wicked Whole Foods
Wet n Wild Cosmetics
Paese Cosmetics
The Lodge Barna Mustards
Mothercare
 |
| Contents of our "Swag Bags!" |
Last but by no means least I have to mention and give kudos to the Sinead and Saibh– the brains behind ITWBN – another well organised and well run event where every little detail was thought of.
If anyone is thinking of starting a blog...join this group!!
Thanks again to everyone involved in the day and hope to meet everyone soon again!
Bye for now and to keep up to date – don’t forget to follow me on Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram and snapchat – @Mags_style too (I'm still learning on this one though!!) xxx
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