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!
I’m with you on not having any desire to visit Las Vegas again! Too noisy, crowded, and no natural areas to just go for a walk. Simply not my idea of a vacation. I am glad you got to meet up with your fellow bloggers and that you enjoyed your time with them. Also, I think you look just as pretty without eye makeup as you do with eye makeup!
Thank you, Joyce, but I sure don’t feel as good without it. I think makeup enhances any woman’s looks.
Y’all are very inspiring! 😊
Rhoda, I enjoyed reading this so much. I considered going to this conference since Las Vegas is easy to get to from California and there were so many women I would have loved to meet. Like you! Las Vegas is a lot and when I go I seek out the casino free hotels … for a more relaxing hideaway, but it is fun to get out and see all the activity. Very much an adult Disneyland as you say. And I’d love to visit Martha Stewart’s new restaurant, The Bedford. And others like Giada’s place. What a lucky bunch to hear you, an OG blogger, speak on your journey and encourage others. We’ll meet one of these days. xo
Awww,Juliet, I was hoping you would come to this one, but I understand. And yes, we will meet one day. Robin is doing this one again next year and still figuring out where, so I hope it works out for more to come. It really was fun talking shop with everyone. This business is like no other!
You look beautiful either way but I understand the discomfort of no mascara, at least. I’m dying to see that beautiful Sphere they have built in Las Vegas. It looks so interesting. Your trip really does sound fun and I’m going to look up these other bloggers.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos from your trip. You are so lucky to be a part of this motivated group of ladies! Your dresses were so pretty, and you looked amazing. What I couldn’t get over is that you were able to fly so quickly after your cataract surgery! Glad to hear it went well.
Yes, they told me it was fine to fly 2 days after. I’ve been keeping up with my drops and my eye is doing great!
what an honest but still inspiring article !!!!! it was nice to see comments that were enlightening informative and honest. It is great seeing the facts of the trip with the caveat that it is not a place you would like to revisit. Too of ten one reads a gushng report about a place or article that one knows cannot be true. BUT you always make genuine assesments of clothing makeup DIYs family challenges ie aging parents’ transitioning. I thank you so much for this,
Wow, I was so excited to hear about the conference and your thoughts about Las Vegas completely ruined it for me. I’m not a Vegas person and I don’t gamble but I have been there at a conference. To be there on a conference with so many delightful women – well, that should have been your priority on this post. I met two of my BEST FRIENDS rooming with them in Vegas – we had never met! Loud and clear that Vegas isn’t your place – I’m hoping your room at the hotel wasn’t comped! I’ve heard the Paris Hotel is lovely!
Hi, Monica, I’m a pretty straight forward person, so yes the conference was a lot of fun and being with these women was the priority and the reason I was there which is what I talked about the most. I really enjoyed the beauty of the hotel, the restaurants and meals we had, the magic show we went to. All of those things were very nice, but the Vegas strip isn’t my thing. I mentioned that in one or two spots only. The whole post is dedicated to the conference particulars and what we did. The hotel is very lovely and yes my hotel was comped.
Rhoda,
I am so HAPPY that you came to my conference in Las Vegas. Yes, Vegas is an adult Disney World but I thought it would be a fun place to hold this midlife conference.
Granted, we were probably the best-dressed group in Las Vegas but I am glad that you enjoyed meeting the women who thoroughly enjoyed your knowledge as a blogger!
XXOOXX
Robin, and it was fun. I have no regrets at all about going. You did such a great job with hosting and all that went along with the conference. I think we were the best-dressed, no doubt!
What fun to see your trip to the conference and some of the LV strip. Paris is a beautiful hotel/casino. I think if you had been there with time to spare and could have seen some of the great shows or exhibitions and gotten off ‘the Strip’ you would have a different take on it. There’s a difference between LV and the strip. People I know that have lived in LV don’t go to the strip unless it’s to take out of town guests or see a great show. And going with someone that’s been there previously is a huge help. It is indeed noisy and crowded on the strip but it can be fun in small doses. I do think you would have been awed by the Titanic exhibition, can’t imagine anyone not being awed. And one of the commenters earlier said she stays at hotels/resorts without the casinos and that is a great option too. I think conferences choose LV on the strip for the excitement and something different. The view from the Eiffel is amazing day or night. Maybe you will have the opportunity to go again and stay an extra couple of days/nights, take Mark and see a great show and take a tour off the strip to see what LV has to offer off the strip….you would be surprised. Even the Hoover Dam is amazing and the tour interesting.
HI, Dee, I’m sure the surrounding areas are really nice to visit, like the the Hoover Dam, which I’ve never visited. I just mean the strip itself, as you mentioned is not my thing. Mark has no interest in going at all. We did see a great magic show!
I with you about Las Vegas. My husbands company used to send them out there for conferences. I would get to go but gambling is not my thing. There is a lot to do but it’s a place I visited and don’t care to go back. I loved the blue dress you wore in your speech. Can you tell me where it was from. You looked so nice, but you always do.
HI, Jan, that blue dress is from Chico’s last year. Thank you!
Look like all you ladies had fun and a wonderful trip. You and the others look so lovely. There’s so much to see and do in Las Vegas. We’ve been there three times and my favorite thing to see was the Hover Dam. We even went on the tour down and under the dam. It’s a beautiful site. Thank you for sharing your beautiful events with us.
Linda, I have never been to the Hoover Dam, but I am sure it is spectacular.