We... are back!

It. was. awesome.

Located in the grand ballroom of the very hip Navy Pier right on Lake Michigan,

I met some wonderful women and heard some really inspiring speakers that were featured in the June issue of Country Living.

I went with Alyssa,Vana, Jeanne and Kasey.

But I also got to meet up with the really nice Janet , and some other fab bloggers like Julie of Red Otter and Beth from Green Cricket.

I also was able to meet and chat with the Editor-in-Chief Sarah Gray Miller. She is one of the nicest people. She's the kind of gal I wish was my neighbor because I know we'd be sitting on the back porch, hanging out, watching our gardens not grow together.

What did I learn?

*If you want to go into business, or are not sure what you want to do,

make a list of your strengths, weaknesses and passions. That can help give you a direction or insight to what might work for you.

*If you are submitting your product to a magazine, publication or TV make sure you have the CORRECT editor and have at least 2 ways they can contact you back.

*Lead time is normally about 4 months so if you want to do a seasonal thing, make sure you give it enough time.

*One of the speakers Mary Liz Curtin said "Don't forget the roosters."

meaning, Roosters are something people have always bought, always stock your tried and true with all of your other things.

* And the squeaky wheel gets the oil.. don't give up!

If you get a chance to go next year, it's a great way to network and meet old friends you didn't even know you had! As I get the chance to head off to Farm Chicks next weekend ( Thank you frequent flyer miles!), it was a good warm up for traveling alone. I took the train to the city by myself, and I have to admit, as a bit of a country girl at heart, I was nervous about getting on the right train and getting to where I need to go... Normally, I just drive into the city.

Oh, one more thing I learned....

I love these 4 inch wedges, but they were not made to either walk 2 long city blocks from the train station, or to break into a fast sprint to catch my boarding train at the end of the night either...

believe me.

Jen