Ottawa & the BConnected Conference

Ever since I met Debbie at mom’s group, we’ve connected over being moms and bloggers. Recently, we had the opportunity to travel to Ottawa together for the BConnected Blog Conference. We had so much fun traveling and learning together. Here’s my five favourite things from this weekend!

#1: Friends!

I was so excited to be able to travel with Debbie. We also caught up with Jessie, a military wife who is the graphic designer behind my lovely logo. They are beautiful, inspiring mamas and it was so much fun to spend time with them.

A big reason that Debbie and I decided to go to Ottawa for a conference was to catch up with all our online friends there. We were the only ones at BConnected from western Canada, but it was worth it to meet in person so many bloggers we know from a Canadian blogging Facebook group.

It was also awesome to travel with Debbie because I brought my baby with me to the conference. Having a friend along to help hold Pearl when I needed a break was a huge stress relief. Plus, when I thought I lost Pearl’s soother and she wouldn’t fall asleep without it, I had a friend to sympathize, brainstorm, and go on a late-night soother run with.

#2: BConnected

I’ve been to quite a few blogging conferences now, since my first here in Vancouver three years ago, and BConnected was one of the best. It was hands-down the friendliest conference I’ve ever attended; the organizers worked hard to connect all attendees via a Facebook group before the event and held a contest during the conference to encourage us to meet others. All the sessions were amazing; I came away feeling so inspired in my blogging efforts.

#3: Canada

Ottawa is of course Canada’s capital city and something about being there for the weekend made me feel so proud to be Canadian. It was seriously amazing to walk around Parliament Hill (Debbie and I took so many pictures there!) and to see the Supreme Court, the Bank of Canada, and the House of Commons. I would have loved to have more time to spend in Ottawa exploring the history there!

#4: Hotels

I gotta say, I love staying in hotels. They are usually so pretty. The coffee maker is right beside the bed. And someone else does the laundry. The Courtyard Marriott was no exception and it was so handy to be staying just upstairs from where the conference was happening, especially since I had Pearl with me. I was able to pop up and downstairs with her as needed. And we were walking distance to all the sights we enjoyed in #3.

#5: Koalas

From the name of my blog, you’ve probably already guessed that I love koalas. The organizers at BConnected figured this out too and included an adorable stuffed koala in my swag bag! Oz is now at home, hanging out with the rest of my koalas: Rolf, Eucalyptus, and Koala Bear (my first koala and blog mascot).