Why I Chose Creative Estates!!!

If you are on twitter, you will know that most of the conversations happening these days are about Blog Conferences.
My initial reaction was I am not ready.Not ready to meet the fabulous women I chat with on twitter and facebook, fabulous women that leave inspiring comments on my blog, and lastly, the fabulous women that send emails just checking in.Hmmm....Maybe I am ready.

So after reading through the websites, I was pretty much dead set on Creative Estates.
I mean seriously, the home that it is being held at is more than Gorgeous and the price is unbelievable!It was definitely a bonus that Arizona is within driving distance :)

And then all the buzz about Snap Conference had me conflicted.One night I even convinced myself that I was going to Snap instead of Creative Estates because I knew more people that were going AND the Queen Bee Market is there. I talked to the Hubs and he was on board, but there was something that I still was unsure about....enough to not buy my ticket right then and there.
Here are the questions I asked myself that lead to my final decision:1. What am I looking to get out of a blog conference?2. Am I truly ready to make this leap?3. Is my blog and shop ready for this next step?4. Am I going to be comfortable?5. How much will it cost?
It ends up that although I think I am ready to start this adventure, I am not ready to get lost in the shuffle and feel overwhelmed.  Creative Estates is appealing because there is a attendee limit which leads me to believe it will be more intimate, more relationship building, more like a girls weekend of fun.I am beyond excited for the line up of teachers Shealynn, Linda, Ashley, Ilene, AshleyAmazing women that I can learn a TON from.  And living in a house with them for 3 days...SOLD!
After breaking out the costs for Snap and Creative Estates - it turns out that because of the location and having the registration include lodging, Creative Estates was going to be more than half the cost of me going to Snap.  Now, if you have been reading my blog, you will know that the hubs was unemployed from Nov-this week, so finances are a HUGE deal.
At this point, I have established that: 1. I am looking to build relationships and gain knowledge while having fun! 2.Yes, I am ready to make this next step! 3. Yes, I think my blog is ready for this and I am hoping to come out inspired to re-stock my shop! 4. I will definitely be more comfortable driving to a house rather than flying.5. Creative Estates is half the price of Snap for us.
I think for my first "conference" this is Perfect.  I would LOVE to attend Snap(hopefully next year!), but for this year, it really boiled down to cost and what I think I will benefit more from...being realistic for once! I am not ready to swim in the ocean, so for this year I will stick with the lake.  Every person is in a different place with their blog and shop, so it is up to you to decide the better fit.
I wrote this to hopefully allow others who are conflicted as well, gain more clarity.  For me I realized that it wasn't about going to the conference that had all the biggest names presenting, it was about being realistic to my goals, my future, and myself.  I want to build friendships and more importantly I want to be able to have one on one conversations with the teachers to gain the most knowledge I can.