naturalledrea6 Comments

The BOLD Experience

If you are not following Dayna Bolden, I don’t know what rock you have been living under but you need to go follow her ASAP. Dayna is one of the influencers that inspires me through being her authentic and true self. She inspires women everyday to do things with love, passion and style while being authentic. 

When I saw that she was hosting her first event, I knew I had to be in the building. I heard Dayna speak for the first time at BlogHer a few months ago and was truly inspired by all the gems she dropped and how welcoming she was to talk and take pictures with everyone after her panel was over. I was so excited when I secured my ticket for The Bold Experience because they went pretty fast. I couldn’t wait to network with other women and catch up with a few blogger friends. Overall, I couldn’t wait for this event!

The first thing I noticed once I walked into the venue was the decor! The attention to detail and how the space was filled was on point. It was such a fresh, bright and clean design. 

I loved that notebooks and pens were provided. I packed my notebook and had a pen handy just in case. Sometimes you don’t know if those things will be provided at some events, you want to be able to take notes and remember what was said for future reference. 

We started the day networking with each other, grabbing something to eat and taking pictures.You could also take headshots and grab some exclusive merchandise that Dayna collaborated with Mess In A Bottle (a black owned business) just for the event. 

Myself and Dayna Bolden

Before Dayna hit the stage, we heard from keynote speaker Michelle McKinney who was just everything. She is the founder of Dreams Unleashed that helps women to discover their God given dreams and helps bring them to life. I was just taking in everything that she was saying to us and I could look around the room and tell her words sinking in with everyone. Michelle gave us 5 questions to ask ourselves to really level up for 2019. 

The question that stood out to me the most was “Do I introduce myself like I’m the shit or do I downplay my achievements”? When she went deeper into it, it really made me think about how I really show up for myself. Do I present myself confidently or still act a bit stand off-ish or shy? How I present myself and talk about myself is important to my brand.

After Michelle, it was time for Dayna to hit the stage and drop some gems. She went over how she got into blogging, how it went from her side hustle to full time job, her work/life balance and so on. 

She encouraged all of us in the room to figure out our why, figure out why we want our certain goals and why we want to do it. After we determined our why, figure out our who and what. This information was extremely helpful for me as I’ve been struggling with the direction of Naturalle Drea and how to take it to the next level. 

I love how Dayna encourages us to be authentic in the world filled with social media frauds and people who front for the gram. You can be true to yourself and transparent self and still have that success. At the end of the event we had a candle lighting ceremony which symbolized that lighting another woman’s candle will never dim your own. 

When I got back to my room after the event, I opened a hand written thank you note from Dayna and I shed a few tears reading it. I just couldn’t get over that she actually wrote thank you notes to everyone but it was personalized to us. What stood out to me the most was “Living Boldly comes with intention, first it takes believing that you can then acting on it. Be Great, Be Bold and go after everything you deserve”.  I was just blown away and also the swag bag was everything lol!

I walked away from The Bold Experience feeling so much better about myself than when I walked in the door. I feel so inspired to be a better version of myself and level up. I took away so much from this event and it was just amazing. I highly recommend getting on the email list for The Bold Experience 2019. 

Let me know how you plan on leveling up for 2019. See you guys tomorrow.

naturalledrea6 Comments

Fearless Con 2018

It is something about being around some boss women who are ambitious, go getters, confident and just fearless that really inspires me. I love being in a no judgement zone where women can come together, make new connections and walk away feeling more empowered and inspired. This is what the Fearless Conference is all about.

I had planned on vlogging during the conference but after the first speaker, I wanted to live in the moment and enjoy the conference instead of worrying about catching footage on my camera and on social media. I was on social media during the conference but it felt good to just enjoy and soak up this information I was learning.

20180929_170429

This was the 4th year of Fearless Con and I was so excited to be in attendance this year. I last attended in 2016 and had an amazing time. Fearless Con was founded by Melissa Alam who created this conference after the frustration of not finding conferences that were geared towards diverse and creative women. The two day conference is filled with panels, workshops, happy hours, networking and so much more.

Day 1 of the conference was filled with some amazing bosses who gave us the tools to make our brands and businesses better. We heard from Christina Blacken who taught us how to shift our inner fears , Tamara Darden who taught us how to take dope pics on our phones, the founders of Soom Food who taught us about the strategies for growing a business and even our fearless leader Melissa had a workshop on web design. I really took away so much from each workshop that I attended.

DSC01133

DSC01137

DSC01145

After a day filled with workshops, lunch and shopping, it was time for a fun happy hour. I met some amazing women and played this fun game called Nasty Woman. If you watched the 2016 debate, you would know the reference lol. I loved playing the game, it was just so much fun. I highly recommend this game for your next girls night.

20180929_190740

Day 2 was filled with the panels in this really cool space. It used to be a high school but now a community space and I just loved how they decorated it to make it so welcoming.

DSC01147

DSC01151

20180930_095557

The day started off with breakfast and I was obsessed with the loaded French toast from Lokal Artisan Foods Group. I had two helpings of it lol (yes it was that good)!

20180930_112121

The women who spoke on day 2 were so powerful, motivating and inspiring. We heard from women from all backgrounds, nationalities and professions tell us that it is an amazing time to be a woman and we can do anything.

DSC01160

During the lunch break we had the chance to shop with some local vendors and take some pictures.

After the panel was another fun happy hour. I didn’t want to leave because of this gorgeous view of the city and I was having too much fun lol!

We all just talked, danced, enjoyed some drinks and food and just had a great time. It was the perfect ending to this conference.

Overall, this conference was just everything! I walked away feeling more empowered and proud to be a women. If you are ever in the Philadelphia area, I recommend attending this conference. I can’t wait for next year! See you guys Thursday!!

naturalledrea5 Comments

NJ Natural Hair & Beauty Expo

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual NJ Natural Hair and Beauty Expo. I was excited because it was an event that was not too far away from home and I was attending this event with some friends. We actually turned it into a much needed girl’s weekend where we just relaxed by the pool, ate food, laughed( a lot lol), talked about life and just had a good time.

The NJ Natural Hair and Beauty Expo was created by Keisha “Kei” Reeves two years ago. The event is dedicated to showcasing natural hair and beauty in the New Jersey area. There were guest speakers, hair demos and panels  It also gives exposure to small businesses as well. I really loved that all the businesses were black owned businesses. There was a good mix of hair products, body care, accessories, clothing, authors and so much more. I loved that I was introduced to businesses and products that I have never heard of before.

DSC01114

DSC01116

DSC01120

We underestimated how many people would be in attendance because it was crowded lol! It was a lot of squeezing by people and saying excuse me and sorry for bumping into others. It is good thing when an event is crowded but there was not enough space to really walk around until the early crowd died down. It is the 2nd year and there is room to improve and accommodate everyone in attendance. I was able to get around to visit all the vendors I want to get to.

It was a little hard to pay attention to the main stage while everything was still going on. It was in the same room as the vendors and everyone was talking and shopping and it kind of drowned out who was talking. Again, this is just my takeaway and experience.

Overall I had a good time. It was a great event and awesome to see so many come out and support. I got some new products that I can’t wait to try and also got to support some black owned businesses. I loved that the event was held close to home and did not have to travel very far. I would attend this event again next year.

naturalledreaLeave a comment

BlogHer Day 1 Vlog

Hopefully you guys aren’t tired of hearing about BlogHer yet lol. I have my Day 1 vlog up now so you can visually see the experience and Day 2 will be up tomorrow!

Enjoy and leave a comment if you attended or plan on attending! See you guys tomorrow!

img1534394463960

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VLOG!

~** Drea Notes**~

My sone turned 7 yesterday. I can get over how big he is getting and how fast he is growing. It seems like I just had him lol!

I have been enjoying my vacation this week. It is always good to take time off and spend time with family and relax.