Ok, so you knew it was coming, a recap of ALT.

I’m a huge fan of personal growth.  I have been since I was a teenager and especially since my days of working for him.  I think adding value to yourself should really be a high priority.  I went to ALT last year [recap here] so I had an idea of what to expect and I had an expectation to not only learn but to connect.

So last Wednesday, I hopped on a plane [and only if it was as easy as it sounds.  I had 4 little la la’s to leave and big fear to conquer in just getting myself there, me and airplanes are not great friends] and headed for Salt Lake City.

I had a pretty great time in pretty much every possible way.  I totally loved my roomie.  She is one of the sweetest people evah and highly talented.  Have you seen her magazine?  The panels were amazing.  The keynote speakers were amazing [I think he was everyone’s favorite].  The opportunity to meet so many talented and successful women was beyond amazing and ever inspiring. And truly, connecting with others and having conversations about life, blogging, ideas and design just might have been the times when I learned the most.  There is so much to learn when we just listen.  Yes?

At this time my thoughts are scattered here and there and everywhere in between.  So many things to think about, review, take in, implement and watch.  It is probably going to take me a good week or two to just sort though all of the goodness.  Last year I said I was optimistically overwhelmed and yet again I find myself this year feeling the exact same way.  The good news is that I’m optimistically overwhelmed about new things this year, which only means that I have grown since last year and that makes me feel a different kind of overwhelmed.

And you know what could have be overwhelming? A place filled with hundreds and hundreds of stylish, bold, smart and successful women.  I mean just the outfits alone are something to behold.  But you know what, more than overwhelming it was major inspiring.  Inspiring to see the individuality among women that share very similar interests and ideas.  Some are outgoing, some are quiet.  Some are writers, some are decorators.  And if I let myself, I could have been a little overwhelmed and focus on what I am not but I tried to be my most outgoing self [yes, there is still room for improvement here] and be me amongst the crowd.  Isn’t it great that we all have our own unique voice?  And if we all embrace that and put in our work than that is the very thing that will make room for all of us.  And there is room for all of us…..and wouldn’t you know that on a whole that is what is celebrated and embraced at ALT!  Everybody helping one another out and lending a hand in helping each other succeed.

Maybe I’ll share some more specific thoughts in the coming weeks as I sort through it all?

If you want to see more pictures [and I’m talking pretty pictures, not my crap iPhone ones, you can check out the ALT Flickr stream].  Also, do you know what was over the top this year?  Like to the extreme? Business cards!  So much so that, on Wednesday, I’m going to do a post on some of my favorites.

And if you are looking for some further inspiration and ideas on success… this article is a new go to for me.

Oh, and last thing, check out this great article about ALT  in the Huffington Post by my new friend Estelle!