As previously mentioned, BlogHer 2013 in Chicago was amazing. Something that everyone often hears or wants to hear about is the swag. I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of it. Be prepared to bring an extra suitcase for all the stuff that you’ll bring back. Rule #1, be smart about what you pick up. If you are extra smart you will go through the items at the end of each night and get rid of the items you do not want. That’s if you have enough time / energy at the end of the day.

It’s not all about obtaining “free” items, at least not to me. I was exposed to companies that I’ve never heard of, products that have yet to be released and made contacts with companies that directly relate to my blog. More so, it’s opened me to new ideas to touch upon my blog that I’ve never even thought about. Win – win all around!

Now to the good stuff, here are some of my favorite items!

Speck iPhone 5 camera case and some pretty fabulous nail polish. This case rocks my world. Thank you Speck and Best Buy!

This is the most comfortable shirt and … well… how can you not like it?!

Udi’s – the best gluten free cookie / cookie in general that I’ve tasted in a long time. This may be bad news!

Books! From meeting Kelly Edwards (who also signed my book) to the St. Martin’s publishing books… who doesn’t love diving into a good book?!

An array of children’s items that was mixed in with a few things that I picked up along the way. My niece / family will be very appreciative of these (as well as some good items for the family vacation road trip).

South Fort Walton Beach hosted a party (quite possibly the best party I attended while at BlogHer) and provided each guest with a Mophie! How awesome is that?!

A collection of items from the swag bags as well as the Walgreens bag I won (filled with a small pharmacy). I also won a bag from Universal Studios with a Minion (see previously posted Instagram photo), Spiderman, Transformer and the awesome Harry Potter Wand (at the top of the post). Heather and I were having fun practicing magic! haha

Unpacking all of this was a different story! Cannot thank the sponsors enough for these products. Absolutely amazing!