Enjoying the Expo {BlogHer '11}

A few of the fun moments in my BlogHer conference happened on the expo floor. No, not because we were showered with samples of this and coupons for that, but because we got to act silly and have fun while trying out new things. And not necessarily the new things the vendors were passing out.

Some surprises came when we realized that there would be large cartoon characters on the floor. A few being quite cute, others... just a little weird. Here are some we ran into: 

Smurfette at the Pressman Toy booth

Smurfette wasn't too weird of a character. She was friendly, holding a fun looking game and was more than willing to take a photo with us. M wasn't too sure about her and just kept an eye on her hands the whole time (you know, just in case Smurfette tried to steal her). And Smurfette was the typical size of any other character you might meet at an amusement park or other event. Nothing too intimidating or scary about that.

The Pringles Guy floating around for P&G

The Pringles guy, however, was a bit odd. He was like a mix between a costumed character and a hot air balloon (maybe he's going to be in the Macy's Day parade?). And you could totally see the guy inside the costume. I couldn't quite figure out how the head stayed afloat. Was there some little generator blowing air in the suit the whole time? I'll never know... But it did make for a great photo op so I jumped in camera ready!

The Charmin bear... and a large toilet at P&G

Now this was just awkward... a giant toilet and a bear. And no, I didn't check to see if he had toilet paper stuck on his bum. But I loved that even though I couldn't get up and sit on the giant toilet (since M was sleeping on me) my friends (one being pregnant) jumped on without any cohersion at all.

Buddy the Dinosaur at the Pressman Toy booth

And last but certainly not least, the picture that made me very popular in our home. My son's favorite tv character from his favorite show. I had to giggle when my son said the exact same thing I did when he saw the picture. He looked to me and said, "Buddy's tiny like me, Mommy!" I think it made him love Buddy even more to realize that he wasn't some larger than life character but was close to his size.

We didn't just have fun with the characters walking around, we also had a blast at the various photo booths the vendors set up as well as some of the activities the vendors had us participate in. Some of the most memorable?

The Retail Me Not Money Grab
Basically you signed up for you chance to be a part of their affiliate program in exchange for a chance at jumping into their money booth. They shut the doors and turned on the fans and a bunch of play money shot up in the air. You had to put the money into a VERY small slot in the front of the booth and depending on what stamps you had on the back of your fake cash you got actual money! I went in and got $45! I heard that a few of my friends got lucky as well. I stole borrowed this picture of Melissa from her blog since I was alone with the baby when I went in. Quite an amusing thing to watch as a bystander as well! 

I just loved the fact that everyone had a chance to take home cash. Real cash. After being fed all weekend, given free drinks AND tons of amazing products we also got to bring home some spending money as well. It's like they were paying us to be there instead of the other way around. Sure, I had to pay for my ticket but the fun I had, the memories I made and the people I met more than made up for that cost. 

The T-Mobile photo booth
Not only did we get to take home a memorable picture from the folks over at the T-Mobile booth but we got to choose our costumes of choice. They had hats, boas, large bags, and a wide assortment of mouth pieces to choose from including different styles of lips and mustaches. It was so much fun deciding what each of us would wear (and what lips Miss M would have). It was quite hard trying to stop Miss M from eating the props. It might be one of the main reasons why I don't look as happy in the photo that we took. But believe me, the whole process was quite entertaining.

The photo booth matched with the fact that T-Mobile was giving away cell phone screen cleaners, lip balm, mints and flinging monkeys made them quite good entertainment while walking around the expo.

The P&G Febreeze Experience
The first place we visited at the expo was the P&G station. Not only did they have a BlogHer carving made out of soap but they also were doing a drawing for a Braun Ionic brush that I tried out as soon as we were approached at the booth. Yeah... this brush is totally on my Christmas list! In order to be entered for the brush drawing we had to go through the P&G house (and take pictures on a giant toilet... no, just kidding, that wasn't a pre-requisite) and answer questions about becoming more eco-friendly in our homes.

One of the rooms we had to visit was the Secret Room. Now I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen in this secret room but I had an idea since I've seen the Febreeze Breathe Happy commercials. M was sleeping on me so I needed a little help with my blindfold. I also needed a buddy to go in with me so I nominated Melissa. Might not have been the best choice for a smell "test" since she's pregnant and definitely has the pregnancy nose thing going on. We were lead into a room and... I'll let the video tell you the rest.