( BTW, in case you’re unfamiliar with Create + Cultivate, it’s a conference for female entrepreneurs in the digital space, & I spoke on one of their many awesome panels at the Chicago conference two weekends ago! PS, here is the link to what I’m wearing in all of the below photos. )

Pretty much, speaking at the C+C conference was a dream come true in the many ways I thought it would be, but beyond that it also held so much more weight and inspiration than I could have possibly expected in ways that were much less tangible. The ways I expected it to resonate with me were pretty obvious. I was looking forward to spending the weekend with creative, successful, like-minded women in the digital space who I would no doubt be able to draw inspiration from, including several women I have already admired in the blogging space for years. (Hint: Garance Dore, Emily Jackson from Ivory Lane, & Amber Fillerup from The Barefoot Blonde!) I was also excited to meet the girls attending the conference and hopefully pass along some words of wisdom that they could take home with them and apply to their own blogs and projects in the works.

Obviously I was also excited to check out Chicago, hang with my fellow speakers at the W rooftop speaker dinner on Friday night, soak in some epic knowledge at the conference and take endless amounts of photos with the super-Instagrammable set up at the event. I had my photographer Danika in tow and we were ready to take on the day by storm. (So ready, in fact, that I straight up left my cell phone in the back seat of our cab right before the event started. I noticed with about ONE second to spare, chased the sh*t out of the cab driver – in my heels – while he drove away, and by some stroke of miracle caught him before he was gone with my phone forever. Then I solemnly swore to myself I would *hopefully* stop letting my nerves/excitement get in the way of my common sense, but the day kept unwinding as such… #TypicalTBB.)

Getting glammed up before going on stage!

Those were the clearcut things I knew I would get out of the event. But what I didn’t realize was how much more I would walk away with that day. I happened to be placed on the panel that was to speak about “Using the Digital Space for Good through Blogging, Commerce & Content.” It sounded like pretty open speaking terms to me, and I wasn’t sure exactly which way our conversation would flow. I was down for whichever way it ended up going, since my blog is so rooted in lifestyle content, inspirational content (I try, at least) and commerce (TBV Apparel!) but I still wasn’t sure how exactly to prepare.

The way the conversation ended up going totally BLEW MY MIND and ROCKED MY WORLD in the best of ways. The night before we spoke I met an awesome girl, Camellia, who works for the organization I Am That Girl, and I instantly pounced on her for info because I knew her boss, Emily Greener, was the moderator of my panel the next day. After talking to Camellia for .02 seconds I already knew I was super into what I Am That Girl is all about and that I would be in great hands with Emily as a moderator. Plus, Emily had sent over potential talking points including, “What is your favorite non-material accessory, i.e. compassion, creativity, passion, etc.” and I already fell in love with her. (Sidenote: where has I Am That Girl been all my life?!?! I am OBSESSED with everything they promote and stand for.)

Then, the morning of, (after I had chased down my phone #thankgod), I met some of my other panel members. Tracy Le from Darling Magazine became an immediate soul sis as we chugged wine spritzers at 9:30am (okay, I chugged, she delicately sipped) and Katie Sturino from The 12ish Style & Toast Meets World (and wifey of The Fat Jewish!) calmed me down by just having her and her doggy nearby. There was also the fab Julianne Goldmark from EmiJay (who started her company when she was 14!!! And I thought I was the young one!) and Kathleen Wright from Piece & Co who I also had an instant connection with.

Posing with Tracy & Julianne before heading down to speak!

Am I gushing about them too hard yet? Is it clear that I fell in love with these women and everything they stand for before we even stepped foot onto the stage?

I was getting a little nervous to speak, even after the wine chug sesh, because hello this was an awesome opportunity and I didn’t want to forget to say anything important! But Emily warmed up the audience for us by being her super real, down to earth, radically honest and beautiful self and by the time we walked on stage my butterflies were still there but my nerves were gone.

Just a little pre-speaking sippity sip

We went on to talk about awesome things from finding and maintaining balance in the blogosphere (both health-wise and work-wise), starting companies that inspire people on a daily basis, building a business at a super young age (Julianne!) and how family plays into that / how important their support & guidance is, how we stay true to ourselves when sh*t gets messy and stressful, and so much more.

Our killer lady panel getting it going!

I was so high off of the speaking adrenaline I was later told by some of my blog readers in the audience that I held the microphone up to my mouth even when I wasn’t speaking — which made it so clear that I wanted to leap right back into speaking as soon as there was a window for me to! But I promise I wasn’t a speaking hog… That can be so annoying on a panel of 6 super awesome women who all want the chance to speak from the heart and go into depth.

So, after we spoke and the hour + 15 mins whizzed by in the blink of an eye, I walked off the stage with not only a heart bursting with happiness and inspiration, but 6 new girlfriends who motivated me in a whole new way. The whole thing was too awesome for words.

Danika and I stayed for pretty much the rest of the day to listen to other people speak and to hang out in the super cool speakers’ lounge upstairs, and by the time we left in the early evening we were pretty much only leaving because we were starving and wanted to try one of the awesome restaurants we’d been recommended to go to while in town. We ended up going to The Girl & The Goat, which was hands down one of the BEST meals I’ve had in a very, very long time. I could eat that chicken every day… And the green beans! Ah!

Afterward we had drinks with the one and only Hillary Sawchuck from A Drink With, on the SoHo House rooftop overlooking the city. It was a pretty picturesque end to an epic day. We chatted about all the things we wish we could have covered on our panel (the conference would have had to quadruple in length in order to cover EVERYTHING we wanted to say, but it was a damn good overview) and of course all of our observations and enjoyments from the day.

Also these hotties rocking TBV Apparel at the event made my day & then some!

Sunday also rocked. I had juice at one of the yummiest low-glycemic juice places I’ve ever been to, Owen & Alchemy, with a long lost soul sis of mine Jessica Murnane from One Part Plant. (We have the same kickass literary agent.) And the juice bar was INSIDE of Eataly, which is one of my favorite markets on earth… I’ve missed it dearly from my NYC days and was all too stoked to find out that there was one in Chi town.

Then Danika & I hosted a super fun meet up at Real Good Juice Co for some of my Chicago based TBB readers. (Surprise, surprise, they were all girls! Where the guy TBB readers at?! I know you guys are out there!) It was so fun and so special to meet the girls I’ve chatted with from afar, and I also fell in love with Real Good Juice. If you’re ever in Chicago do yourself a favor and mosey on in there… Their smoothie/juice names are on another level of awesomeness.

So, basically, that’s why it’s taken me so long to recap C+C. It was too great, and there were so many layers to it. It was also mentally and physically exhausting, because when I travel to events like that I FEED off of the energy of my surroundings… So much so that I don’t even notice when my body/mind starts to get super tired, jetlagged and on overload. Then I crash hardcore, which kind of happened last week, but not in a bad way. Just in a “damn Jordan you need to sleep in past 8am JUST ONCE, PLEASE kind of way” and a “no need to workout majorly every morning, J” and I even napped a few times midday last week to recover. #balance

I hope to speak at many of the C+C conferences to come, and hopefully even share my book with you guys at one of the upcoming events! I have some speaking ideas up my sleeve…! Speaking of the C+C team, a HUGE thanks to Jaclyn, Hope and Priscilla and their team for putting on a sensational event. They are the ultimate rockstars.

Have you been to Create + Cultivate before?! What are your thoughts on the event? If you haven’t been, you’ve got to check it out. It’s an unreal event that you will learn so much from — and gain tons of inspiration from to boot. 

ALSO, we stayed at the W Hotel City Center & I loved it. It was perfect for the weekend. We also went to an event at the W Hotel Lakeshore which I also loved… I may actually choose to stay at that one next time! And of course there is always SoHo House which I adore & fell in love with while I was in town!

More photos from the weekend…

Speaking it up between two badass babes!

Chatting with two awesome conference goers + bloggers after my panel. Xx

Strolling down to the stage to speak w/ the panel crew!

THE BEST meal from Girl & The Goat… I want to go back again and again!

Toast being the cutest babe on earth… I want his life.

Awesome humans all around

Create + Cultivate gathers the next generation of curious creatives, entrepreneurs & business leaders to enlighten, entertain and inspire across multiple categories such as fashion, design and business. Many of the speakers & panelists were top bloggers, celebs & writers that I have admired for years, and a few others were my friends who are amazingly cool & inspiring enough to entertain a room full of curious creators who are killin’ it.

Also, while I was there I was freaking out because what a lot of the bloggers were saying on stage about their experiences are exactly what I find myself saying to my readers, friends and other growing bloggers all the time. Seeing such distinct similarities between my daily blogging lifestyle and those of Julia from Gal Meets Glam, Geri from Because I’m Addicted, Shea from Peace Love Shea, Devon from Devon Rachel and more was an outstanding and eye-opening feeling.

Naturally, the decor was unbelievable (I mean, hello, a room full of bloggers & creative cultivators… what’s to be expected?), the Photo Booth was a BLAST (especially because it was hosted by my Be Social PR babes a.k.a my management company), the pop up shops were on point, the SUJA was a’flowin’ (I think I spent more time hanging out with Sam in the Suja booth than anywhere else!) and even the break time activities were pretty glam… I mean that literally, there was a glam squad onsite!

The only thing I could possibly complain about, and this is only because my sensitive tummy makes things a nightmare for me sometimes, is that I was running on zero food all day because I couldn’t eat any of the snacks or the lunch that was provided! (I just started on the FODMAP diet to try to cure my latest tummy probs.) But that’s my own fault for not bringing my own snacks or being more prepared… Whoopsie.

Here is a walkthrough of my day & some of my biggest takeaways from the experience:

A) The first person I saw when I was walking into the conference at the ripe hour of 8:30 a.m. was the beautiful Betsy Jones. She had been at my Orange Theory event the night before because of our mutual friend & yogi master Laura Conley, but we didn’t get the chance to meet. We both recognized each other on the street from the event the night before, and we couldn’t help but freak about how serendipitous the run-in was. She is a killer woman, and I am so glad we got to hang throughout the day yesterday! And of course we snapped this selfie to send to Laura!

B) After checking in & exploring the cool digs, it was time for panel #1: Julia Engel, Geri Hirsch, Gabi Fresh & Vanessa Flaherty. I loved hearing them speak and talk about their inspirational stories from transforming blogging from a hobby into a business for these top bloggers. The best part of this experience was finally getting to meet Julia Engel from Gal Meets Glam, since we have chit chatted back and forth for a long time & I totally idolize her and all that she has grown her blog into!

C) After that we had a panel on the art of styling/branding, where we were introduced to the app “A Beautiful Mess,” where after much trial & error (lol Kaitlynn & Priscilla!) I came up with this “digital business card” which I used precisely zero times yesterday but perhaps I will start using it from time to time. I got super into it and it reminded me that I need to get back to my crafty roots more often on the bloggy.

D) After that panel discussion we had a lunch break whereeee unfortunately I wasn’t able to eat the food they had because of my tummy, but I did have a blast in the Photo Booth… You know I love a good photo booth!

E) Next was small group mentoring where we got to pick two different mentors to sit down with and ask all of our burning questions! I met with the incredible Devon Rachel & Erin Weinger from Pretareporter. They were both super cool, down to earth, authentic and sweet. I loved their personalities and it was easy to see why they have both become so successful. I also loved hearing Erin’s story about how she came to start working at The Hollywood Reporter, especially since it included juicy tidbits about her shamelessly introducing herself to some of her journalism idols which eventually won her jobs at their companies. Yesss for being a persistent, confident go-getter! I am all about it.

F) In between every panel I bounced back over to the Suja booth because for 1, my love Sam was working the booth and I wanted to hang with her, and for 2, I desperately needed hydration and sustenance because I was starting to get dehydrated & hangry.

G) The next panel was headed by YouTube sensations Mr. Kate, Chriselle Lim & more! Super interesting for me since I am working on growing my YouTube and am currently in love with anything and everything on-camera! They had some great tips. One of their tips was how Snapchat is the newest up & coming form of social media and connection. (On that note, add me on Snapchat!!! I’m @jojoyounger. I’ve been having a blast with it.) Also, I found out that the lovely girl behind Mr. Kate went to LMU just like me– smallll & amazing world!! I love love the connection.

H) Next were the absolutely sensational Julianne Hough, Whitney Port, The Fat Jewish & Shea Marie. I adore each & every one of these rockstars– both the IG stars and the actual stars! Hearing where they all came from & their thoughts on the art of Instagram was super cool. And The Fat Jewish had everyone rolling on the ground laughing.In fact… I also took a selfie with him post-show and sent a bunch of texts to my friends who love him. He was hysterical and most definitely unlike anyone else I’d ever met before. Don’t mind my green tongue… I told you that all I had to eat that day was Suja juice!

I) After that were Aimee Song & Alex Taylor of Who What Wear which was fun to watch because I know Alex personally and she inspires me to no end. And Aimee is an awesome, kickass, successful blogging businesswoman whom I also adore!

J) Anndddd there was more, but then I absolutely had to bounce because I was dying of starvation at this point and needed some major food in my life. Also, my awesome friend & graphic designer (she designed my TBB logo!) Jess Hannah spoke, but I was in a different track so I didn’t get to see her! However, just for fun & in honor of her massive accomplishment, I am sharing this hilarious old photo of us from our high school days. Clearly we thought we were ravers.

My main takeaways from the day…

1. “BE AUTHENTIC!!!” -Everyone who spoke, especially the killer Julianne Hough + Devon Rachel who were both super passionate about authenticity. My JAM!

2. Don’t get ahead of yourself by taking on too many projects too early. Wait for the best things to come, and if you work hard then they will. –Julia Engel

3. Snapchat is going to be the next big thing. -Almost everyone who spoke, especially Geri Hirsch + Mr. Kate

4. “Having a real job, is like, so 90’s.” – The Fat Jewish. LOL I agree

5. Don’t ever respond to haters. Just delete & report abuse! -Whitney Port

6. It’s not ALL about video quality, sometimes a good “day in the life” vlog shot on your own computer is just as wonderful, interesting and endearing. – Chriselle Lim + Mr. Kate

7. I need to bring snacks with me everywhere I go… haha, but really.

8. I want to start speaking at more conferences/panels!

9. Being around like-minded individuals inspires me and makes me incredibly happy.

10. I love hanging with my blogger babes… Hi, Kaitlynn!

In conclusion– follow your dreams to create & cultivate. They WILL come true if you put in the time, effort, work, love, passion and energy.

Feeling more inspired than ever to kick ass with TBB + keep creating fresh, new, fun, aesthetically pleasing and well-written content for you all.

But really… Thank you for reading. Without you, there would be no bloggy!

Xox, TBB