Our Houston blogger meet up finally arrived and was so fun! I think it’s natural to be a little nervous meeting face-to-face with people you haven’t actually “met” before, but these gals were so easy going and friendly and fun to be around. A margarita (or two) didn’t hurt either! Here’s the beautiful bunch of girls that were able to attend.
Once we all started chatting, it was like we’d already been friends for ages. I was happy to learn that a few people live and work near me, so hopefully, we can see each other again soon.
Emily (Name 5 Things); Susannah (Life Behind the Ivy); Emily (Decor Chick)
I had met Emily (N5T) once before so it was great to get together again. Susannah is so sweet and just easy to be around. You may remember that Emily (Decor Chick) and I are buds pre-blog and she has become an even closer friend over this last year.
Tiffanie (Pineapples & Pickles); Breann (Life and Love of a Parrothead); Lauren (Mr. and Mrs. Goontz)
Can you believe that Tiffanie and Breann just had babies?! I thought they looked phenomenal. If you want to see some seriously cute baby boys, you need to visit their blogs. And turns out Lauren is our resident newlywed! Awwww!
Laurel (Go Against the Grain); Nancy (Loves to Create); Amy (blog currently inactive)
Laurel and Nancy were so sweet to bring hand-crafted goodies for all of us. Laurel brought these fun straws and Nancy created hand-made cards. Those girls are both so talented!
Laurel also makes these “bride-to-be” straws and you can order them (and other fun things) here.
They don’t know it yet, but they inspired me to make some hand-crafted mother’s day cards today! Thank you Laurel and Nancy!
And how cute is Amy? Since her blog is currently inactive, I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s up and running.
Me; Amanda (Amanda Carol Interiors), Kristen (Fit 2 Feel Better)
Amanda and I discovered we have a shared love of favorite fabrics and Kristen is just too adorable. I couldn’t believe we were the same age since she looks like she’s 24:)
Emily (Decor Chick); Cyndy (The Exchange); Elsa (Casa Greer)
I have to give a shout out to Cyndy who drove 2 hours to meet up! How awesome is that? Elsa is so genuine and I loved getting to know her more. And I just love her sense of style.
Elz (Elzabelz)
If you follow Elz on twitter, you know how funny she is, and in-person she is just full of energy and a really vibrant person. I appreciated getting to talk to her about schools for James for the future since she has some experience.
After we ate and hung out, we walked across the street and went to Anthro, West Elm, and Z Gallerie. I don’t think anyone made any major purchases, but it was fun to just browse around together.
I know it’s not always easy to get away from your life, errands, or family in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, so I’m really thrilled that this worked out. Some people who wanted to join weren’t able to make it, but don’t worry, we’re hoping we do another meet up in the future:)
So this is what my new office looked like the first time I saw it. I actually came to this building to look at another office upstairs. I fell in love with the building, it is an old school that they are redoing to be historically accurate (talk about speaking my language). However, I wasn't in love with the tiny space (not shown) upstairs. Between being pregnant, having a chronic back injury and knowing how many samples- fabric books, tile, etc. I carry in and out I was not thrilled to be up a flight of stairs.
However, when you have a small budget you can't be picky. But you never know what is just around the corner, or in this case just downstairs. The guy who owns the building gave me a tour and low and behold there on the first floor (unfinished they are completing the upstairs first) was a diamond in the rough. And as Mom always says, it never hurts to ask. So I asked him if I moved in to the unfinished office would he work with me...and he did. And just like that another dream started to come to fruition...
More to come in another post but this what it looked like when he handed over the keys. He did finish the floors and somewhat clean up the wiring but the walls and ceiling are still completely exposed. To be honest, except for the noise I would keep it that way forever.
