AZ Blogger Garden Party

Tausha and I 

marriage bloggers 

pregnant bloggers {there were a lot of us that night!}

mommy bloggers 

fashion bloggers. and apparently I didn't get the "look cute" memo... 

Deidre, me, Aubrey 

I got hula hooping skillzzzz 

This last Saturday I got a much-needed fun girls night out with some local bloggers. It was a fun garden party and we all got to bust out our best floral head pieces. Something I've been trying to find an excuse to get by the way. {and then it gave me a headache... the irony} 

I was so glad I got to strengthen & enrich my friendships with some really amazing women. This whole blogging community has truly blessed my life in so many ways. And I love being able to celebrate it all with like-minded women who just get me! 

Plus I got to practice some hula-hooping skillz back from good ol' elementary school days [Mr. Scharmazzo, what up!?]. It was a good little belly work out I think ;)

A HUGE thank you to Camille, Kayla, Meghan, and Chrissy for putting together yet another successful blog party!

Fall-i-Day Bash + giveaway

{our lovely hostesses :)}

This weekend I had the fun opportunity to attend the Fall-i-Day blog bash put on by the lovely Aubrey Kinch {of The Kinch Life fame} and Crystal Faye {of Crystal Faye shop fame}. It is always fun to get together with local bloggers and make new [in real life] friendships and share the camaraderie that blogging brings. 

{especially cause I'm sure all of our other friends/spouses get sick of hearing about it ;}

They held the party at this cute little coffee shop in downtown Phoenix who made the best, most perfect temperature hot chocolate I have ever tasted. With extra whip cream of course. I loved getting to meet a bunch of Arizona bloggers who I haven't gotten to know yet. We basically just gabbed all night which is what bloggers do and I asked a bunch of people awkward questions about their hair. 

You know, normal things. 

Aubrey and Crystal also put together these amazing gift bags for everyone to take home. And lucky for you they gave me an extra one to give away!! 

Now, I think it would be way more fun to keep this goodie bag a surprise just like it would be if you received it in person. So... I'm not going to show you what is in it. But just know it's full of great things :) 

You can enter to win this surprise gift bag with the widget below. 

[And for another chance to win check out Alyssa's blog]

a Rafflecopter giveaway

tale of two bloggers + Zupas

On the evening of October 2nd, in the year of two thousand thirteen, Megan T. and Megan R. attended a VIP restaurant opening of Cafe Zupas in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is their story.

Megan T.

I almost didn't RSVP to the event, because Carter's school was having a fundraiser at Culver's that same night. But Daniel and I desperately needed a date night, so Gramma and Grampa took our two oldest to the fundraiser, and we drove to Cafe Zupas with baby Harry!

It felt like forever since we'd been out together, and on the drive over, we talked excitedly about places we might stop to visit on our cross country road trip to Maine next summer.

When we got to Cafe Zupas, I was excited to see a red carpet. Hello, bucket list! I basically almost got run over trying to take a photo of the cafe in the middle of the road.

The friendly employees greeted us and welcomed us inside (after making sure we were on "the list," of course), and immediately upon entering who did we see but the ultra-chic, always-fashionable...

Megan R!

[haaaa! that last part is funny.] 

I had to convince Adam to go with me because "blogger things?" Not his style. But he threw on some corduroys instead of his trusty cargo shorts so I knew he was taking this seriously and was dressed to impress. 

When we walked in, we felt pretty cool to be on the VIP list but also totally out of place. Cause we're awkward. And then we both won $15 gift cards for tweeting about the event (#cafezupasnorterra) and very publicly did little celebratory dances. Which made us look even more out of place and we were pretty sure people were purposefully ignoring us at that point cause we were nerds. 

So we were pretty happy when people who hadn't seen our embarrassing moments earlier walked in and wanted to hang out with us. Thank you Megan and Daniel for making us feel cool! 

Megan T.
Yeah we definitely wouldn't have sat with them if we had seen their dances. Nope...not a chance...

Once we got in line, I was immediately distracted by everything (ooh bright lights!). I was trying to talk to Megan R. and meet her super suave hubby Adam (who was probably a little creeped out that I knew his name and everything about him- hey I read her blog even if she doesn't read mine!), at the same time looking around to see who else I knew. Meanwhile one of the girls working there was giving Daniel some meal suggestions, and I was wondering what they were talking about, and oh yeah we had a baby with us too. While we were waiting in line, Michelle (of Fun on a Dime) showed up with her husband and baby, so we got to say hi to them.

We got to the counter and OH THE FOOD! Everything looked amazing, but I knew exactly what I wanted. The Turkey Cranberry sandwich and the Chicken Enchilada Chili, with two scoops of sour cream, thank you very much. Everything was on the house, thank you Zupas!

At that point I wanted to rush because they were already doing the giveaways, and mama likes to WIN THINGS. I got in exactly one Instagram photo and started to compose a tweet when of course my phone died. I grabbed Daniel's phone, quickly tweeted, and shortly after I won a $15 gift card and a cookbook!

All the while I was trying to eat my super delicious food! It seriously was amazing. Okay, so I love me some Paradise Bakery, but this was like Paradise but double the deliciousness and half the price (well, would have been...for us VIPs it was free). Our meals came with a piece of bread, which was perfect to dip into my chili, and we each got a chocolate-covered strawberry but gave them to the Robinsons, since we are not eating sugar, and they clearly were (I think they went home with 11 or 12 desserts).

Megan R. 
(I read your blog!!) 

But the dessert thing is absolutely true. We left with an absurd amount of delicious desserts. Plus the 7 chocolate cupcakes our babysitter made us, we were a happy little family, sugar comas and all. :) 

The food really was good. We stuffed our faces full of carbs and sugar like we were starving college undergrads again. Adam and I both got salads and sandwiches which were great. We can't wait to try the soups next time though since we had little samples and they tasted sooo good! I also loved the little Italian Soda bar they had. Next to the regular sodas, they had extra syrup add ins plus suggestions of appetizing concoctions to try besides just your regular ol' Diet Coke. I tried the berry one with a lime wedge and it was awesome! No regular restaurant beverage will be enough now. 

All in all, it was a great night with good food and even better company! Even Adam had fun, like genuine fun which can sometimes be hard to get out of him in big social situations. ;) We are already talking about our next trip. And of course I will be taking Megan for a girls' night or lunch soon! I think we mothers deserve a break now and then. 

Megan T.
Um, yes, she will be taking me out! Girlfriend wins all the giveaways when I take her to an event! ;)

Italian soda syrups?! I didn't even look at the soda bar!

We had a fantastic time, even though I was trying to do ten things at once: eat, chat, keep the baby happy, tweet, instagram, try to find the bathroom (we never did), and say hi to the other people I knew. Okay so 7 things.

Before leaving we got to chat with Kate (Songs Kate Sang) and her lovely family, and then it was time to head home.

I give Cafe Zupas 5 stars in every category! Food taste, selection, atmosphere, cleanliness, staff, service, and price! They know how to throw a great blogger party, and we absolutely loved it!

And we all left with gift cards in hand, soon to return!

AZ Blogger Meet-up

for the record, the cute baby i'm holding is Alexis'. i did not have a secret baby. 

Camille and Katie are the awesome brains behind the Arizona Blogger Meetup group and recently hosted the first party at Sweet Cakes in downtown Mesa.  

it was so so fun to go and meet lots of new girls in this awesome Arizona community. 

and the sweet treats from Sweet Cakes definitely were the literal icing on the cake. 

when we first moved to Arizona i had a really hard time thinking about all the friends i left behind. 

i felt very alone most days and didn't really know who to turn to or what to do with myself. 

i missed all my friends so much, including all the wonderful girls i met through blogging. 

i didn't really know anyone in the blogging community in Arizona. 

i had heard of all their blogs but didn't actually know them personally. 

and since i'm entirely too nervous to put myself out there to the veterans Arizonans, i just kind of concluded that i would probably just be the odd-man-out here. 

then i met all these super amazing, super friendly girls and everything changed. 

[some before this meet-up who i am incredibly grateful for!]

all of a sudden i felt like i found a little place for myself, 

like i actually had friends again. 

i didn't feel so alone anymore. 

since meeting these wonderful women, i have felt my whole perspective and attitude change. 

i know even Adam has seen a change when i go meet up with friends and come back rejuvenated and happy. 

that's by far my favorite part about blogging, 

the wonderful community and friendships that are made. 

i honestly don't know where i would be without them! 

Chrissy from Let Me See Your Sparkle

Alexis from Alexis Laughs

of course i ended up snuggling that little baby all night and talking to lots of people that i didn't get a chance to take a lot of pictures. 

but here is the list of everyone who came and you should definitely check out all their blogs!

katilda 
friday we're in love
alexis laughs
let me see you sparkle
the allred front door
freckles in april
behind the seams by trendkin
the way i like it
nothing comes of nothing
and here's to you, mrs. robinson (me)
chicken graffiti
a little bit of hope
my perfect playlist
hearts and chances
not a couple's blog
of pumpkin thieves and buffalo wings
writing our story one day at a time
our happily ever after
the best is yet to come
jacquie here
the pear necessities
birbitt thinks
brittany's notebook
three in three
upstairs stories
lots of awesome
the vintage chateau

thank you Camille and Katie for an awesome night!!
it was so fun and much needed.
now i can't wait for the next one
{maybe a west side meet-up?? :)}

REVIVE

All of the wonderful speakers and people that put the conference together!
via Elan Photography

the other weekend i have the opportunity to attend the REVIVE Blog Conference put on by the awesome girls of Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market. 

it was a lot of fun and a much needed break for me :) 

i went with Janel and Chrissy which i was so grateful that they agreed to go with me cause i always get nervous meeting new people, especially bloggers. 

the conference was awesome! 

it was just for a day but i left feeling very inspired and excited about my goals & ambitions for this little blog. 

what i probably loved most about it was all the amazing people i got to meet.

some of the people that attended didn't have a blog (but were thinking about starting them), only had their blog for a little while, or had their blogs for a long time. 

but they all came with the same goal in mind: how to make their online space the best it can be. 

sometimes with blogging i feel like i'm back in high school, like i have to try really hard to get the "cool people" to like me and if they don't like me then i won't get very far. 

and the only time they will really like me is if i prove i have cute clothes and high numbers. 

does anyone else feel like that ever? 

or is that just me? 

[did i just make this post a little depressing....?]

anyways, my point is that REVIVE felt nothing like that!!

we were just all there trying to learn together, better our crafts, and altogether be better people. 

they set up lots of fun games to network and talk to the people around us and i loved it!

i didn't feel like i was judged by my numbers or traffic statistics. 

but instead we were actually getting to know each other and help one another with our common goals.

annnnnnnnnd we got to dress up in awesomely hilarious vintage outfits and no one judged me for referencing Bye Bye Birdie and almost breaking out in song. 

{remember how i'm awkward?} 

top left: Chrissy and Janel
top right: my sweet Bye Bye Birdie outfit
bottom left: notes
bottom right: me and Chrissy [stolen from her Instagram :)]

along with all that, we got to hear from some amazing speakers. 

i learned a lot from them and loved how honest & real they were about their journeys.

the speakers:

Becki from Whippy Cake

Steph from City Moms Blog

Heather from HELLOmynameisHeather.com

Liz from The Blue Eyed Owl

Jeremy & Adrienne from Dream Book Design

Ashley from The Shine Project

Kimberly from A Night Owl

Karen from Elan Photographie

i'm so grateful for the Junk in the Trunk Market girls for putting together a great conference!

thanks for letting me come! :) 

DownEast SanTan Mixer

Megan modeling this lovely & comfortable furry chair :)

last night i had the opportunity to go the DownEast Home & Clothing Store grand opening in the SanTan Shopping Center in Gilbert. 

a HUGE thank you to Megan of Shaping Up To Be a Mom who invited me to go. 

it was so fun to be able to get out of the house and have a girls night with some local bloggers. 

[which i didn't even realize there were so many close by me so that was really exciting too!] 

the DownEast Home & Clothing Store has lots of amazing designer clothes and home decor items at a fraction of the cost in retail stores, some even up to 80-90% off.

so for a person who gets a huge rush out of discount shopping and finding the best deals, this place is basically my heaven.

some highlights of the night include: 

+ awesome swag bags 

+ teaching a professional photography how to use my camera that i don't even know how to use (as you can tell by the semi-blurry pictures)

+ winning a shirt 

+ asking a worker to undress a mannequin twice (two different outfits) to try on the skirts 

+ accidentally calling Megan's little girl a boy
+ meeting new bloggers in the area 

+ trying to mingle with said bloggers but always saying dumb stuff...

so basically the moral of the story:
i'm a seriously awkward person!! 

but i still had a ton of fun! 

thank you to DownEast for hosting the mixer! 

it was a much needed night out for this mama :)

ALSO! 

the SanTan Shopping Center DownEast is having a huge contest to celebrate their grand opening! 

you can enter to win a $200 shopping spree plus four $50 gift cards for four of your friend. 

(the winner doesn't have to be present at time of drawing)

so if you are local, you should definitely get on down to the SanTan DownEast to enter! 

DownEast website
DownEast blog 
DownEast on Facebook 
DownEast on Twitter