Boston Branded Babes take on Boston Connect - Nov 2018

OKAYYY…so Truelife™

I’ve been wanting to attend a Connect Boston event for F O R E V E R.
 
In 2017, I worked a Connect Boston Influencers event and it was wild. Incredible food, fabulous networking, and great photo ops (there was an entire LIVING WALL of plants with a giant glowing Verizon logo in the middle). It was an indescribable.

More recently, I worked a Connect Boston event for Bostonians in the engineering and technology field. It was a light, social mixer with plenty of people from all sorts of backgrounds. I loved orchestrating this event and assuring everyone had a positive experience at the mixer. 
 
But...when would my rainbow come? When would I get the call that I, Samantha Gottlich, could take off my work flats and throw on a pair of Go-Go boots and go? I wanted, no, I craved to tap my shoes together and say “there’s no place like Connect Boston, there’s no place like Connect Boston” and transport to a fabulous, exclusive mixer. 
 
And then, it happened. By the grace of all things good and holy; I got that DM. That gold encrusted, slide-into-my-dm’s invite, leading me to beam ear-to-ear. I was invited to the Boston Magazine Connect Boston event (In collaboration with Google and Verizon).
 
“We’re in. And we’ve got a plus one, to-boot”

Rollin' up to connect

I've seen the commercials, the tweets, the emails. Google was ready to rock my world with a new phone. As I sat, reading tweet after tweet on my busted, shattered, humiliating (insert competitor's name here) cellphone; I was ready for this event. Baby, I was born ready.  Rock my socks off Google, I dare you to. 
​

The event was hosted at The Liberty Hotel in Boston. With NROR ART (my designs) and modeling on-and-off throughout the last 5 years, I was very familiar with the hotel. Fashionably Late fashion shows are held there every Thursday evening. I knew the hotel was fabulous (and popping)! It was the place to be, especially on a Thursday night.

I rolled up to the hotel around 6:45 (I'm fashionably late...how fitting) and dropped my Tiburon off at the valet. I met up with my friend Shruti, who is a queen that works alongside me during some of our most intense promotions. The fifth floor was filled with fabulous individuals and influencers, chatting and exploring the displays.  I felt full of curiosity and in my absolute element. 

The hotel wraps around in a circle, allowing guests to walk in a ring and look down on the floors below. It's a funky and unusual vibe, leading to an upbeat atmosphere. 

Shruti and I walked around the floor and visited the Google stations throughout the floor. Each station demonstrated an aspect of the phone in an interactive way. I loved playing with the Google Lens and extended selfie. I've never seen these featured, and never knew how helpful these features would be for someone who uses their phone religiously for work.  It made me wish my own beat-up, cracked-up cellphone had the same capabilities! 

Light bites to start the night

While walking around and exploring the new features on the Google Pixel 3, we saw plenty of familiar faces. And with that, plenty of chit-chat and catching up. All that talking works up an appetite and I loved the bites made at this event. Pad thai. Dumplings. Mushroom sliders. Tuna tar-tar. Mini grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was fabulous, delicious, and elevated the night! 

Potions in motion

What's a night out in Boston without a drink? Thankfully, Connect Boston had us covered! Complimentary drinks was much appreciated, especially on a Thursday evening. I tried the Connector and a glass of Chardonnay. I'm not sure which drink I liked most! 

sweets for some sweeties

As the night began to come to a close, the sweets appeared. Whoever baked the sweets and made the amazing light bites, hats off to them! Brownie and cake pops, macaroons, mini cup cakes, tarts; how could you not want to try a little bit of everything? I especially loved the mini Google cupcakes (I'm a sucker for Salted Caramel this time of year). 

Groovy in google

Shruti and I noticed the guests flocking to a separate room during the event. Curiosity lead to us following and we came across a fabulous discovery. Two women were live engraving necklaces and money clips for the guests. It was a wonderful keepsake and reminder of the great night full of great company (and great companies). The women were from a local jewelry store named "Filomena Demarco Jewelry" and they were engraving initials into the Google necklaces and money clips. We both had necklaces made and they came in adorable canvas "Google Pixel 3/Verizon" bags. I immediately put mine on once it was finished!

Closing the night

At the close of the night, we chatted with the photographers (who I knew from an event I was apart of at The W Hotel). We snapped some last photos and exchanged information.

t was such a fabulous evening of awesome influencers, great companies, delicious food, and fabulous conversation. We didn't even want the event to end! Shruti and I ended up staying and watching the Fashionably Late show and chatting for hours after!

It was an amazing evening at the Boston Magazine Boston Connect event (in collaboration with Google Pixel 3 and Verizon).

Thank you so much, to Boston Magazine for inviting me.  I look forward to reading your next issue and working (or attending) another Boston Magazine event in the future!

​xoxo