Altitude Summit last week was fabulous. It's so fun to meet other bloggers (especially the ones you look up to!) and benefit from their advice. If you're totally confused as to what this thing is (or why I'm blogging about it the second year in a row), let me fill you in: It's the best conference out there for design-savvy, awesome bloggers. I say this not because I put myself in that category, but because you can find the best of the best bloggers in the design/lifestyle/diy community. It was such a thrill to meet Danni, catch up with Kathleen, tag along with Kirsten, chit chat with Ryan & Cole and rub elbows with countless other creative superstars. I saw this conference as one of my last big hurrahs before Felix makes his debut. It was so energizing to socialize with like-minded men & women! To sum up what the conference was all about, I think the bullet points from Tina's closing keynote will do more justice to the conference than my words ever could:

• Always credit your sources.
• Respect the reader.
• Keep it light.
• Blog with the right intentions, know what's important.
• Images, images, images!
• Find your place & own it. What makes you different?
• There is such a thing as blogging too much
• Be personal & approachable.
• Know what not to post about.

I like that this bullet list could go beyond the realm of blogging & into every day life. It's so important to be respectful, genuine, positive, personal & unique whether or not blogging is a part of it! I thought it was great to hear all of this at the beginning of the year, when I'm still thinking about resolutions.

image via alt summit flickr page

I had an absolute blast teaching calligraphy at Alt! I had the hopes of getting a few pics of my own of the class, but alas I left my camera battery at home. HUGE BUMMER. Thankfully a few shots were taken by the Altitude Summit Photographer to document my experience. The class went incredibly well, despite my nervousness. See, the night before class I had a horrible nightmare that the class went poorly & everyone was saying awful things about it. I'm self conscious like that. Thankfully that nightmare (and the one about my water breaking during the conference) was never realized.

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Thrifty & Chic: Alt Summit Excursion

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As part of the Alt Summit festivities, there was a small group of us bloggers that went around Salt Lake for a little thrift shopping excursion. We had such a great time getting to know each other & talking shop. Everyone found great stuff and I'm sure many of the ladies were more than a bit frustrated trying to fit all their goodies in their luggage for the trek home. Again, I went with the intent to find a headboard, a chair, a sideboard and/or dresser. No such luck. I've got to get more aggressive on my hunt for these things. Time is ticking & I need to find at least a few of those items before Felix arrives. While I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, I did seem to find a few things I couldn't justify living without. I scored the above Nine West leather purse for $2! Since finding my brown purse, I've been wanting something black, too. These will both be my everyday purses. The black purse is sort of small, but has plenty of room to hold all of my stuff, plus a few baby/diapering essentials. It's got two compartments so I can separate what's mine from all the kiddie riff raff. I found these pinkish, nudish patent leather heels for $9! It's a tad more than I'm used to spending when it comes to thrifted shoes, but these babies are 1)BCBG -originally around $200! 2) super hot & 3) very comfortable for 4 inch heels. I'm totally digging the nude heel these days, I think it lengthens the legs & looks hot. Unfortunately there are some scuffs (not pictured) that I've not been able to take off with my usual nail polish method. I may take them into a cobbler to see if removing them is even possible.

Penelope is showing off her favorite dance move: the plié.

No thrift shopping experience is complete without a glance through the little kid's section. I found a burbery look-a-like plaid jumper for Penelope for $3. It's SO darling on her! I really couldn't pass this one up. I love it. Have you found any good deals lately? Please Share! Last week's awesome thrift finds: Abby found the most adorable Crew Cuts sweater for $3 & Mary found a real vintage Burberry coat for $4!