Weekend Links, Savvy Blogging Summit Edition

Last weekend I was in beautiful Colorado Springs for the Savvy Blogging Summit.  We made it into a road trip for our family and had a great time.  (Those are my kids at the top of Pike’s Peak.) I’m planning to share next week about how we saved money on food during our trip.

The Savvy Blogging Summit was excellent.  I learned so much from sessions, and talking with other bloggers.  The people at this conference are not only smart, but they are generous in sharing what they know.

I’m so thankful to the organizers of this event:  

Erin Chase from $5 Dinners – I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with her blog and cookbooks.  She offers fantastic resources for frugal cooking.

Toni from The Happy Housewife – Toni is a military wife and homeschooling mom to 7 kids.  She shares all kinds of secrets to making that work from recipes, to deals, to running a household.

Andrea from Savings Lifestyle shares deals, strategies to earn and save and much more.

Crystal Collins from The Thrifty Mama talks healthy living on a budget.

I caught up with friends:

I was so happy to see my friend, Liz again.  She runs the blogs Hoosier Homemade (cupcakes, cupcakes and more) and It’s a Blog Party.  She and her husband have a new blog coming that you are going to love.  It launches next weekend and is all about frugal cooking. I can’t wait to share that link, but the paint is still wet over there so we’ll have to wait.

I met Dana from A Slob Comes Clean at last year’s Summit event.  She is a hoot!  She’s also honest about her journey toward more order in her life.  Dana also has a new blog called What We Ate with Micky.  Food and Disney – two of my favorite things.

It was so fun to see Connie from Smockity Frocks again.  She has a wonderful series on her blog on How to Survive a Layoff.  It’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you find yourself in that position.

I made new friends:

I was so excited when I heard that Amy Clark of Mom Advice was scheduled to be the keynote speaker and to do a session on brand/blogger relations.  Then I got to meet her and hang out at lunches and dinners and the zoo.  I made a new friend!  Check out her blog if you aren’t already a fan.  She shares all kinds of good ideas and recipes.  She even has a section called The Aldi Queen, packed with recipes and meal plans from Aldi stores.

I also met Heather from Freebies 4 Mom.  I’m not sure how I’d never visited her site before. I must live under a cyber rock.  Heather is fantastic.  We had great conversations about eBooks, publishing, marketing etc.  She is a very savvy woman and if you like to get free stuff in the mail, you need to check out her blog.

There were so many more people I met.  Everyone was wonderful.  If you’re a blogger who wants to grow your business, this is a great conference to attend.  Next year it will be in Atlanta in October.  I’ve already got my ticket!