I usually associate the word conference with dull, boring, and completely devoid of anything fun. The Southern Blog Society completely changed my tune. When Ashley Brooke asked if I wanted to road trip to Charleston with her for SBSCon on the weekend of my 27th birthday, my answer was, “I want to go to Charleston… and not sit in a business conference all weekend.” Upon further inspection, I discovered that A) All my favorite bloggers from my geographical– and cultural– region were going to be in attendance, B) Charleston, in addition to being one of the cutest towns in the South, is known for having a plethora of world-renown oyster bars with {shocker} amazing oysters, and C) Lilly Pulitzer, Vera Bradley, Swoozies, Hallmark Signature, and an impressive handful of my other favorite swoon-worthy brands would be represented, I immediately submitted my application for a ticket. Pure elation struck my entire being when I received a confirmation email from the Southern Blog Society that I would officially be attending SBSCon.

Insanely huge thank you’s are in order to Cathy and Jessica, co-founders of the Southern Blog Society, for putting on this wonder of a production, The Belmond at Charleston Place for setting a ridiculously high future standard for the real definition of southern hospitality, and Kim Graham Photography for capturing all of these beautiful photos from an absolutely epic weekend. My rooms, bae, and bff and I booked two nights at the aforementioned host hotel, The Belmond at Charleston Place, and were literally awe-struck by the aesthetic of entire property, which was tucked away under some of the most beautiful southern greenery I’ve ever seen, was.

Oh, and in case the Southern Blog Society didn’t do enough with the whole “organizing the entire weekend” thing, they designed a precious yet equally handy Charleston Travel Guide for everyone.

The official festivities began with a kickoff cocktail reception hosted by Swoozies on the Belmond’s rooftop terrace. I didn’t pack for supersonic temperatures, so the second I spotted Lilly in the window, she came running to my rescue. Outfit post here.

And for all your insanely kind people who say, “You can’t take a bad picture!”, here is compelling proof otherwise. I call this my I want to eat you face.

In addition to providing us with much-needed snacks and cocktails, Swoozies gifted everyone with their own personalized notepad, pen, and collection of napkins, cookies, and confetti.

The next day consisted of breakfast at The Belmond, business at the Riviera Theatre, and a whole lot of Southern Blog Society swag. My Calvin Klein popover sheath dress, originally debuted at Easter {yes, it was a REPEAT}, was all the rage, so I’ve linked up my outfit post here. As for the accessories, my pearl earrings are Kendra Scott, and the tassel necklace is BaubleBar.

This is what Ashley and I look like when we’re sending each other inappropriate Instant Messages back and forth during one of the incredibly informative presentations. Yes, we know we belong in middle school.

By the time we finally got our immature lives together, it was already time to network. One of the best things about being surrounded by fellow southern belles? Mimosas are a societal requirement, and they must be embellished with exclamatory pineapple drink decor.

Between toting around my new Kate Spade classic Davney computer bag, which is currently sold out in pink, (complete with laptop, laptop charger, and miscellaneous Apple accessories), juggling mimosas, and attempting to carry a zillion bags on two arms, I’m confident I got in a solid two months-worth of exercise.

After filling our brains with incredible southern lifestyle/fashion blogging knowledge– and networking with reps from the most renown brands in the country, Ash and I met up with some of our favorite Southern Blog Society girlfriends for drinks and oysters at Pearlz.

And a birthday weekend just isn’t complete without overdosing on ice cream and rainbow sprinkles.

Sunday was one of the most bittersweet days I’ve had in a long time. I awoke to the sweetest texts, beautiful flowers from S, and a card truly representative of our decade-long friendship from Ashley Brooke— but in the back of my mind, I knew my time in Charleston with the Southern Blog Society was rapidly drawing to a close.

We enjoyed a final farewell breakfast sponsored by Hallmark Signature at The Belmond and probably definitely overstayed our welcome in the dining room, but we didn’t care. Anytime you give southern lifestyle bloggers access to food and/or a photo booth with amazing natural lighting, you should tack on an additional two hours to your estimated dining time. Plus, we were saying our sad goodbyes to some of the coolest girls in the country, and those kinds of farewells just can’t be rushed.

Plus, it was my birthday, and Ashley made me take 375385 birthday princess pictures. Birthday outfit recap post, including 27 totally awkward random facts about me, linked here.

Is it time for SBSCon 2016 yet? Words cannot describe how thankful I am for the talented bloggers and founding members of the Southern Blog Society, Cathy and Jessica. I left Charleston with a fashionable fire beneath my feet, a newfound passion for blogging, and a whole new circle of blogger besties whom I absolutely adore. Y’all are the bomb, and you inspire me daily.

But, no seriously– can we go back?