Fun Fearless Weekend

First off let me preface with how terribly late this post is.
A few months back, Ellie and I ventured up to NY for the weekend. It was set to be a short trip, so we were already a tad sad about that but it was still a fabulous weekend no less. The entire weekend was centered on Cosmopolitan magazine’s Fun Fearless Life conference that was on Saturday that I was able to attended last year – it was so incredible that I told several friends about the event in hopes that they would also come.

 

Friday we were up way early. Ellie and I were out and about by 3.30am, catching the red eye flight. After we landed, we went straight to the hotel for an early check-in. We were both starving so we ventured to one of my favorite places in the city [the amount of times that I’ve written about it – you would think that I was being endorsed to do so!], Cafeteria in Chelsea. It has been a favorite of mine for several years now, as I visit it every time I’m in the city. We split a delicious chicken and waffle meal, them had a little while to kill before visiting the gals at Lulu Frost, so we went to another one of my favorite places in the city – Citi Pups, the puppy store that has French bulldogs [eek!]. After saying hi to the Lulu Frost gals, I took Ellie to another one of my favorites – ABC Carpet and Home. ABC is essentially an Anthropologie, but with actual artists creating the incredible goods. We browsed the amazing Christmas selection, and then headed back to the hotel. We really needed to recharge, so we took a moment to just chiiiiiill. We then headed to another favorite, Rosemary’s, for dinner with my NY roommate, Frances, from two summer’s ago. I had fabulous ravioli, while the other girls got a salad and yummy tasting pasta. We then met up with a friend from the China trip I took a few years back, then headed to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar. We split some amazing s’mores along with a delectable cake. Of course a chocolate martini was in order as well. After a while we were all worn out, so we headed back to the room to prepare for the intense but also amazing day ahead.

Saturday was another early one, as we wanted to get out the door as quick as we could for Fun Fearless Life! When we strolled in, we were greeted by the incredible Hearst escalators I was able to ride up every day during my Seventeen internship. The first person we talked to was an amazing women I met last year [be on the lookout for her Girl em[Power]ment profile in a few months]. Next we talked to a few fashion editors about our BFF jackets – they were quite the talking point! After some chitchat we headed upstairs to the 42nd floor for the main event!!! [drumroll please]

Our keynote speaker was the equally funny and smart Chelsea Handler. I was honestly so impressed hearing from her – she talked everything from politics to running her own brand/business. What I really loved and also took away from her was a quote in regards to trying to get a job and it being the right fit. Her words of wisdom, “if they want you, they’re going to want you no matter what, and they’ll pay you. Like a hooker!” It’s Chelsea Handler, what do you expect. She also touched on how if you’re ever down in the dumps that it’s important to get moving, which I’ve tried to apply to my life these last few weeks, and so far it has been amazing how much it helps to simply get moving.

The next speaker was one of my favorites, Aliza Litch – former DKNY PR Girl. She spoke about how to establish and keep up with your own brand identity. What I got from her speaking was that it’s important to have your own brand DNA as well as a particular filter for your social media outlets. She touched on how it is important to figure out what you stand for, figure out what describes your brand, and think about what makes sense for you to speak about – and ignore on your blog or branded website. In regards to content, she reminded us to think about if what you’re writing adds value to your brand, and to always voice the best version of yourself. What is your brand message really giving off, she asked. She touched on making a statement – a visual identity about what your brand stands for.

My next favorite speaker was Adam Rosante, who is the resident fitness guru for Cosmopolitan. He got everyone up and out of their seats for a quick one-minute jog in place to get our blood pumping [this was real fun in my 3 inch heels, let me just tell you.] Adam talked about when thinking about goals or things you are doing in your life to remember two things. 1 – be crystal clear on your core values and big picture values. 2 – master the art of saying no. He discussed how these two things are linked in a very important way, and why when you are clear on these, everything else gets filtered out. A favorite quote from Adam was to “cut through the bullsh*t and make room for the good sh*t”

My next favorite speaker was the amazing Ivanka Trunk. Honestly, I wasn’t extremely looking forward to hearing her speak simply because I didn’t know much about her. However my opinion quickly changed! Ivanka not only spoke with such grace and elegance, but she spoke with such honesty and truth about her work which I really respected and appreciated. She also gave such great advice about being a woman in a man’s business world and how she didn’t let that affect her work.

Among the other speakers were Stacy London, Laverne Cox, Christian Siriano, Elizabeth Gore [Dell Entrepreneur], Opal Tometi [Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter], Hannah Bronfman [DJ and Digital Personality], and Fifth Harmony and Rachel Platten were also both in attendance.

Throughout the entire day we got to sneak downstairs and take part in several of the fun activities Cosmo had for us like a GIF photobooth, fashion illustrators who created [way better] illustrated versions of yourself, a red carpet to take photos on, and a photobooth that created a Cosmopolitan cover with your picture on the front.

 

Also after the event Cosmo hosted a cocktail party to mingle with editors and other Fun Fearless attendees. Ellie and I chatted the night away, met some great women and men, and then headed out to enjoy our last night in the city.

The next day was a rather short one, but we were able to grab brunch at Jack’s Wife Freda and then walk around Washington Square Park for a bit. We walked around that area for a while before heading back to the hotel to grab our bags and also go catch our flight home.

 

Overall the weekend was an incredible one. Ellie and I really met some amazing women, along with hearing incredible advice on life, career, and love. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

 

Xo, Flancake