Being a pet blogger myself and knowing many talented pet bloggers who enjoy their work as much as I do, I want to make time to see and talk to them because they inspire me. Looking at our day to day responsibilities I feel many of us are so consumed with social media, our work, our families, our homes, and our pets that we need to set aside time to be inspired by others. It is our precious free time that gives us the ability to reach out to do the things we love like going out with friends to see a movie (The Secret Life of Pets comes to mind), or starting a DIY project or making plans to travel to be in the company of other like minded animal lovers.
Because my time is precious, I find I have to carefully plan my special events so I can make them a priority. My personal goal this year was to focus on going to the annual pet blogging conference I go to each year. This year the conference was taking place in Chandler, AZ. I marked down the exact dates on my calendar to reserve the week of the annual BlogPaws Pet Blogging and Social Media Conference. I reserved five days in June on my calendar to attend this amazing event at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa and I ferociously guarded those days so nothing else could interfere with my plans.
Photo above: The first view I saw when I walked into the Lobby of the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa.
After spending five days in Chandler attending the BlogPaws Conference, I am here to report I feel reinvigorated, educated, inspired, and reconnected to our rockin pet blogging community. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends and meeting new friends. By making the decision to fly into Chandler a day early, I was rewarded by getting to spend quality time visiting with my beautiful niece Lisa, her husband Brian, their two children Wren, and Bridger.
My beautiful niece Lisa, her husband Brian, their two children Wren and Bridger
The last night of the event was a Red Carpet event to lead up to the BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Social Media Awards. Everyone had a grand time and my Deaf Dogs Rock Facebook page was recognized for Best Pet Microblog for 2016. What an honor for us to be recognized by our pet blogging peers. I am so thankful for our BlogPaws community.
If you are a pet blogger or have thought about starting a pet blog, consider joining our BlogPaws Community and make plans to attend the 2017 BlogPaws Conference in Myrtle Beach, SC.
A big shout out to the entire BlogPaws team and the organizers of this great event. You all hit BlogPaws 2016 out of the ball park!
Photo above: The BlogPaws executive team taking stage.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I will leave you all with some of the photos I took and others from the BlogPaws Facebook page by Annabelle Denmark Photography and Silver Paw Studio.
Enjoy! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock
My friend Bernard
Photo above: My dear friend Bernard Lima-Chavez and I. I knew Bernard was going to be busy with his new position working with the BlogPaws team so we figured the only way we could see each other during the conference was to have connecting rooms. The photo above was taken right before we headed down to the Pre-Event Welcome Social sponsored by PetSmart
Workshops and Education sessions
Photo above: Where else can you take your dog to educational blogging workshops and social media sessions?
The BlogPaws Exhibit Hall and Cat Style Lounge
Meeting the Brands face to face in the BlogPaws Exhibit Hall and Cat Style Lounge – Photos from the BlogPaws Facebook page – taken by Annabelle Denmark Photography
Pawject Runway!
One of my favorite events of the BlogPaws Conference is the Pawject Runway Fashion Show featuring pet blogging celebrities. Twenty contestants team up with their pets and have five minutes to make a costume from a table of random crafting/sewing supplies. This event is fast paced and so much fun! Be sure to watch the Pawject Runway video below.
Fashionistas everywhere!
Catching Up With Friends
Photo above: Catching up with my friends Bernard Lima-Chavez with dogandhisboy.com and Carol Bryant with Fidoseofreality.com
There were adorable pets everywhere!
Photo above: So good to see Jean Dion and her 8 pound Boston Terrier Sinead. This is seriously one of the cutest (and smallest) Bostons I have every seen. Jean’s blog is dionjean.blogspot.com
Kama and her beautiful Chihuahuas. Check out Kama’s website at www.KamaLovesAgility.com
The Sheraton Wild Horse Resort was beautiful!
My room was located on the ground floor next to the water falls near the ducks.
Early every morning and in the evenings I would sit outside in the 100+ degree weather to work and catch up on my Deaf Dogs Rock duties.
Family Time
Photo above and below: I was so happy I flew in a day early to see my niece Lisa and her family. They drove three hours to go swimming, have lunch with me next to the pool, and I finally got to meet her children for the first time.
Photo above: From L to R: Lisa, Bridger, Christina and Wren
Photo above: The best time to hang out at the pool and go swimming was at night when the water had cooled a little bit. Night time temps where around 100 degrees.
The 2016 BlogPaws Red Carpet and Nose To Nose Social Media Awards
The 2016 BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Award Finalists along with some of the BlogPaws team – Photo by Silver Paw Studio
Photo above: My escort Bernard Lima-Chavez was quite dashing in his Tuxedo – Photo by Silver Paw Studio
Photo above: Carol Bryant with her super dog Dexter – Photo by Christina Lee
Photo above: My sweet friend Amanda Yantos with dogmomdays.com (and a BlogPaws Ambassador) with her dashing Chihuahua Winston
Kama with KamaLovesAgility.com
Photo Above: Christina Lee with friend, Author/Blogger Larry Kay from Positively Woof
Photo above: Bernard Lima-Chavez with the beautiful Maggie Morton (with ohmydogblog.com and editor of BlogPaws)
My sweet friend Katharine McMahon with her Italian Greyhound Duff
The 2016 BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Award Winners
Photo above: The 2016 BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Award winners (left) with (far right)Yvonne and Chloe Divita with BlogPaws – Photo by Silver Paw Studio – Click here to see the list of blogs who won each category.
Photo above. Here I am on the stage excepting my Nose-to-Nose Social Media Award for Best Microblog 2016 – Photo by Silver Paw Studio
Our Deaf Dogs Rock BlogPaws Nose -to-Nose Award!
BlogPaws SWAG!
Photo above: Here is an example of the BlogPaws Conference swag bags! They were so big I had to ship my bag full of goodies back to Virginia. Here is a photo of my deaf dog Nitro checking out my swag bag with all the fun pet products. In this photo there where a few extra items giving to me by our friends at Natural Balance and Honest Kitchen.
If you would like to know more about the 2017 BlogPaws Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, please click here.
