BlogPodium: A Toronto Recap

I'm finally getting around to this Toronto recap, which I will endeavour to make shorter than the New York one (it was only half the days after all)!

Vanessa picked me up on Friday morning not very bright eyed and definitely not bushy tailed, after a 9 hour drive back from New York (thanks Memorial Day traffic) caused me to have only 4 hours of sleep. She laughed at my inability to form a coherent sentence but after two large coffees, I was back on track!

Vanessa admiring the Suzanne Kasler Collection

We arrived in Toronto hours later, just in time to squeeze in a little shopping at Elte and West Elm before meeting a few fellow bloggers for dinner at Terroni. Our evening finished off a few hours later after drinks at South of Temperance with fellow bloggers Barbara and Beatrice.



We woke up much better rested on Saturday morning, in Ocho's uber-comfortable beds, ready to tackle the day ahead. Once the mandatory coffee run was checked off the list, it was off to Aberfoyle Market!



Little did we know it wasn't actually open on Saturday's but a kind soul who clearly saw the desperation in our eyes after an hour of driving, pointed us in the direction of the largest Antique Fair in Ontario that just so happened to be taking place a little 10kms away. Can I hear a "score"? And score, we did!

After the antiquing madness and an unwelcomed roadside Wendy's cheeseburger (I know) we were back in Toronto just in time for Blog Podium on the topic of monetizing your blog. First order of business was a highly informative key note introduction by Nicole of Making it Lovely, followed by a panel composed of Christine, Lindsay, Cheryl Kozoriz of Gluckstein Home and Laura Muirhead of Tribal DDB.

Cheryl Kozoriz, Laura Muirhead, Linsday, Christine, Lee-Ann Allaire

Needless to say our heads were filled to the brim and so was our notebooks (and by that time, so was the trunk of our minivan, thanks to some lucky antiquing)!



Then it was time to socialize with a much needed glass of wine in hand with fellow bloggers Christine, Vanessa, Nancy, Barbara, Nicole, Sarah, and many more. After squeezing in a shop stop at Victoria's Secret we were back at South of Temperance for another evening of blog, chit chat and fun.

Sarah, myself, Barbara, Nancy

Our previous antiquing trip had sparked a lot of interest at Blog Podium, so when we decided to go back to Aberfoyle Market the following day, we  were not alone!

Myself, Nancy, Barbara at Aberfoyle Market

More goodness was seen and purchased but, after a few hours, we were ready for the drive back home and, in my case, some much needed sleep!

The minivan packed to the brim!

Want to see more photos from the trip? See the rest of them on Savvy Home's Facebook page!