Going to panels and keynotes all day at Alt Summit was cool. I learned a lot and was really inspired. But really, the best part about Alt Summit was all of the awesome people that I got to meet.

I met with old friends, whom I'd never met face to face, and made really great new ones. And I also met famous people, because that's just how Alt Summit rolls.

First of all, I finally got to meet my pal Heather from Viva la Violette. Heather and I have been internet friends for over 3 years. We met on Etsy, have collaborated many times, but had never met face-to-face until last week. It was awesome.

I also got to meet two relatively new bloggy/twitter buddies. The first was Jason Hudson, with whom I had drinks on my first night in town. We chatted and laughed, and wondered whether we were going to make it through the intensity of the next few days.

I got to meet up with Kathleen as well, whose blog I've followed for what seems like forever. We've hung out on Twitter and emailed many times about vegan babies and tattoos. It was so great to finally meet up with her in the flesh, including attending her Round Table discussion, which was maybe my favorite session of the whole conference.

I made lots of new friends too, like...

As for the famous folks, I think everyone at our table almost tinkled a little when Amy Butler joined us for lunch one day. And having the chance for a long chat with Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann at one of the mini parties (seen above) was pretty freaking awesome.

The fact that the people from the conference are my favorite part just reiterates the fact that real inspiration comes from the people that you surround yourself with. And the cool factor is always a plus too.