A Weekend in Las Vegas: IOM Conference

I mentioned that I was recently in Las Vegas and I thought you’d all enjoy seeing what I was up to. I used to go to conferences all the time in my early blogging career. I’ve been to so many conferences and it’s always fun to meet up with like-minded women who are doing the same thing I’m doing. We connect on levels that other people just don’t get, because this “job” is so unique and different. Being a blogger or influencer/content creator is such a new thing that it didn’t even exist 20 years ago. It really is amazing how the internet has changed things in so many ways in the last 20 years or so. New careers have been created out of nothing and now this industry is booming. I had the pleasure of speaking at the Influencers of Midlife conference, a new conference created by my friend Robin LaMonte, who also lives in Atlanta. Robin and I became friends a few years ago when I visited a showhouse and she was one of the designers of the showhouse. She still does some design work around this area, but now she’s an influencer and blogger too. It’s so fun to connect with others in my peer group. We are the same age and therefore, have a unique outlook on life from this older midlife (senior) perspective.

The conference was 3 days at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. I’ve only been to Las Vegas one time, about 5 years ago when I went for a brand event. I was there for 24 hours. That’s been my only experience with Las Vegas. It wasn’t a place that was on my bucket list, but I thought it would be fun to go back. It was quite the place!

The Paris Hotel in Las Vegas is a beautiful hotel, which I’m sure all of them are luxurious and over the top. It’s like Disney World on steroids to me. Larger than life in everything, with beauty all around, yet the casino takes over too. This was the self check in line when I got there.

My hotel room was beautiful and I got settled in right away from my long travel day. The Influencers of Midlife conference has only happened one other time in 2019. Then in 2020, when she was doing it again in Atlanta, the conference was cancelled because of you know what. Robin asked me to speak again this year on blogging, so I was happy to be there to share my experience in this blogging and online world.

View from my hotel window.

The hotel was really pretty.

It was a great place to land and rest after a busy day.

Back to the inside of the Paris Hotel, it’s like a city encased under a larger than life sky ceiling. Restaurants and shops are everywhere. And lots of people! I’ve come to the conclusion that Las Vegas is not the town for me. It was fun to visit, but I have no desire to go back. I’m not a gambler AT ALL and all those people are a lot to take in. The streets are busy too. We only went outside a couple of times, once to walk to dinner at a neighboring hotel and once in a bus to a magic show. It’s just not my kind of place, but people seem to love it for the shows and food. We did have some great meals!

Walking around, there is so much to take in so I took a lot of shots to try to capture the ambience inside the hotel.

So many beautiful things to see everywhere.

Gordon Ramsay’s steak house.

It’s so big inside, like a small town square.

Gambling is everywhere and people definitely flock to the machines.

Now, as a side note, I had just had my cataract surgery two days before I left for Vegas. It was a big success by the way, but I couldn’t wear eye makeup for a week, so that was a bit of a bummer for me. Here I was going to a conference of over 50 women, most of them in the fashion arena, and I couldn’t wear eye makeup! I was not happy about that, but I made the most of it and put on my face, with blush and lipstick and called it a day. I did let them know when I got up to speak that I had just had cataract surgery. Everyone was so supportive and sweet!

More around the hotel.

See the cobblestone like streets inside the hotel.

These hotels are amazing and I’m sure there are even bigger and more grand ones.

Martha Stewart’s restaurant, The Bedford.

Bobby’s Burgers.

We opened with a beautiful reception the first night, where we all got a chance to meet and connect with each other. I literally only knew Robin, so it was very fun to meet these other ladies. Some of them I follow online, but many of them were brand new to me and it was great to meet them all. We are all trying to make it online as a business and it was great to share ideas and talk shop with each other.

My session to speak was first thing the next morning and I enjoyed sharing my blogging story. I simply told them how I got started blogging and how much it has changed my life, along with my divorce and how all that impacted everything. I shared how God has completely restored me after losing so much in the divorce and how my life has changed since then. They were all so sweet and supportive. What a journey it’s been! I’m still so thankful that God gave me this blog and it has supported me for all these years in such an impactful way. It was an honor to share my story! Many of these ladies are on Instagram only and I warned them of the importance of having their own website, something that we all own ourselves. We can’t just rely on Instagram or social media sites that can be taken away from us. Most of the ladies at this conference were fashion/lifestyle bloggers, so they are focusing on that for the most part. There were a lot of clothing photoshoots going on while we were there.

The inspiring keynote that first day was Cristina Ferrare, who you all probably know from seeing her in the media from a young age, as a model, spokesperson, married to John DeLorean, being on television and more. Her speech was very inspiring as she shared her battle with cancer and how she has beat it and is now going to go into modeling again as a senior adult. The possibilities are endless now with we women of a certain age and I love that! We can do whatever we want to do nowadays. I love that brands recognize the value of the over 50 woman and what we have to offer. That’s why Robin put this conference together. To bring together women, most of them over 60, is truly inspiring to see how we are all making a difference in our worlds.

We had a delicious dinner at Giada’s one night and that was very nice.

Delicious food, great conversation as we sat around the tables with each other.

So good!

Dessert cookies were delicious!

I snapped a few shots outside when we walked back from dinner. Las Vegas is always lit up and never stops moving apparently.

Bellagio Hotel is stunning.

I met so many sweet and inspiring women and Shauna, Chic over 50, was one of them. She’s from Utah and I remember when I found her on Instagram and started following her. I shared her on my Instagram stories as an over 600 to follow. She’s so cute and if I might say so, intimidating because she’s so darn gorgeous! But, she is so sweet and down to earth. She went through a horrible marriage and divorce too and married her sweetheart 4 years ago so we bonded over finding the loves of our lives at a later age. Go follow her on Instagram, she’s a powerhouse over there. Both these ladies are so very inspiring in the fashion world. I was in awe of them. Shauna has a beautiful blog too, Chic over 50, so check it out as well.

Sheree, SheSheShow on Instagram, is also very fun and sweet! She’s been blogging and on Instagram for many years now and is great friends with Shauna. They are quite the pair and a very inspiring ladies. I loved getting to know them after following them online for a few years. They both have blogs, but focus mostly on Instagram, I think. We had fun sharing ideas and chatting about the business. It’s so interesting to talk with other ladies who do this online thing. Sheree’s blog is She She Show as well. I think SheShe is what her grandchildren call her. Too cute!

There were about 35 of us there at the conference, so it was small and intimate, perfect for getting to know each other. I enjoyed chatting with so many ladies and talking shop with them.

Vanderpump Rules at the Paris Hotel was a beautiful spot to photograph and many of us went in there for photoshoots.

I am not doing all that much fashion anymore, but Chico’s gave a few of us some clothes to wear, so I’ll gladly show you this outfit from them. It’s a gorgeous fall print floral tiered maxi dress (affiliate link) that I really love. And it’s on sale now too! I got a size 0 in the dress.

Eiffel tower replica. I didn’t go up to the top, but someone told me I should. Of course, everything costs in Las Vegas. The prices are out of sight.

Pool area at the Paris Hotel.

We had another delicious dinner inside the hotel at Mon Ami Gabi. Another wonderful meal!

Creme brulee for dessert. I will always choose the creme brulee!

More shots around the hotel.

We ended the conference on the last night with a fabulous magic show, Shin Lim. He and his partner in the show were so good, we were amazed! A group of us had breakfast at the Cafe Americano the day we left and that was fun. I headed to the airport with a full heart and ready to get home. It’s always fun to travel, but equally as fun to get back to home, sweet home.

We had a few group shots taken by the photographer that Robin had at the conference. She captured some nice shots of all of us. What a gorgeous group of ladies! Robin, the brains behind the conference is the lady in the purple and beige top with pulled back blonde hair. She’s a hard working gal!

A few of us who work with Chico’s got clothes to show off, so we went outside for a fun photoshoot. I learned a few tricks on how to make photos more fun. They just said to laugh and laugh and not just stand there to make the photos look less staged and posed. It really does work to make the photos look so casual and off the cuff. Everyone just looking cute and having fun, laughing and looking all around.

I was trying to get in the groove and didn’t quite make the cut, but it was a fun session to be a part of. These ladies know their stuff! go over to Shauna’s Instagram to see the video she put together for us.

What a fun time in Las Vegas! Even if the city isn’t my thing, being with all these ladies was a blast! They were warm, welcoming, and genuine and I love making new friends in this online world. And they are women in my age group, so even better! Midlife (or slightly past) ladies are a force to be reckoned with!

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