GO BLOG SOCIAL CONFERENCE 2015

Hi, there. Been awhile. I can't say that this blog has been very high on my priority list lately, especially since much of my time is spent mom-ing and interneting for other people. But when a last minute opportunity to trek down to Kansas City for the Go Blog Social Conference with a friend, I figured--why not??

This gorgeously curated event was held at the Berg Event Space in downtown KC. There were INCREDIBLE swag bags, succulents, shiny garlands, a photo booth...no detail was left untouched. It truly wouldn't have been a lifestyle blogger conference without so many pretty things to photograph and post to Instagram.

Heads down, devices up. Welcome to the world of lady bloggers. 

My partner-in-con(ference), Kayla of Many Sparrows. We could pass for sisters, don't you think? 

Due to a parking lot fiasco involving faulty pay-by-smartphone apps & jacked voice recognition systems, I missed half of opener Alissa Circle's presentation. The silver lining to that cloud was finding a $100 bill in an alley on the way back in to the event space, which H&M later confirmed was NOT counterfeit. From the little I did catch of the Pollinate Media founder's talk, I was reminded to make time for myself—that I can't fill another person's cup if mine isn't full.

Laurie Davis (pictured above) shared how she launched her business, eFlirt, with $50 and a Twitter account during the recession.

Additional #GBS2015 Gems:

Only good can come from supporting other people. @withgracegold

Your network is your net worth. @AleaLovely

Only 3% of people write down their goals—that 3% accomplish more than than the 97% combined. @sugarbeecrafts

So many of the GBS speakers were just regular people who decided to make their dreams a reality by appointing themselves to the position they wanted to be in. They recognized gaps in the system that could only be filled by their authentic selves. They took huge risks and saw equally huge pay offs. It was inspiring. The opportunity to go to this conference couldn't have popped up a better time. I was fresh off a week of nursing sick kiddos, so I was definitely in need of a little pampering & refreshment. GBS delivered.

I would recommend Go Blog Social to anyone looking for encouragement in their blog journey. The internet is bursting with amazing blogs and there's not enough hours in a day to read even my favorite ones, let alone consistently maintain my own. But you shouldn't feel like there isn't enough room for you on the web if blogging is what you love to do. In the words of speaker Mandy Beyeler, "By being yourself, you put something wonderful into the world that wasn't there before."

Storytime at J.Crew!

Now that summer is in full swing, we are developing a regular rotation of kids activities that we switch up throughout the week (dependent on the weather, of course). It's always fun to try something new though, so we attended a special storytime this week at one of our favorite stores, J.Crew!

Local children's author, Billy Dohrmann, was in attendance to read from his book, Boxes for Billy. There were balloons, juice boxes, and delicious cookies from Brookie's Bakery. How amazing is that frosting job on those treats?!

Clearly, my kids don't want to miss out on anything. They were pretty much the only ones getting all up in Billy's space during the reading!

Ruby, Sterling, & I would like to thank our friends at J.Crew for inviting us to this Crewcuts event. It was a real treat:) Be sure to bug the lovely ladies at Jordan Creek to host another one of these storytimes in the future!

Some 80/35 Highlights...

This is going to be brief. Mainly because I didn't take many photos this year. We didn't even spend much time at the fest, which can be attributed to the fact that I am 9 months pregnant. But still, good times were had. Also, I deserve some kind of "cool mom" award for enduring the heat/ walking around.

For a variety of factors, we decided not to purchase tickets this year. We had every intention of checking out the free stages though. Then, the day before the festival, some friends off-loaded a pair of tickets on us. SCORE.

Ruby stayed with the grandparents on Friday, so Mama & Papa made a date night out of it. We got hot dogs at Hot Shots (2nd time in a week) and enjoyed shows from Yeasayer, Menomena, and David Byrne & St.Vincent.

(Above: Live art by Van Holmgren)

I've been a long time Menomena fan and was surprised to see them playing a free stage. Their "Friend or Foe" album just *might* be in my Top 10 of all time, so I was pumped that they played "Muscle & Flo". 

I was really glad we got to catch the big show on Friday night - David Byrne & St. Vincent. I'm not as familiar with their mutual musical efforts, but I'm a fan of their individual projects. The two of them on stage together felt enigmatic. No need for dazzling visuals here. The minimalist light show with backing brass band set an almost surreal tone and made for one memorable 80/35 performance.

Come Saturday, we only went to ONE SHOW. I know. But it was a good one. Deerhunter on the main stage. Wayde watched up close while I supervised Ruby in the library fountain/ stream. She had so much fun—I wouldn't have had it any other way:)

So, another great festival year & one of my favorite things about living in Des Moines.

P.S. Check out the Here, Pretty Kitty blog—they featured this prego Mama in their 80/35 street style post.

Some Music & Some Art

A couple highlights from the past week...My dear friends, Dena & Maren, had a mini-girls' getaway to Omaha for a She & Him concert!

I saw a couple other pregnant ladies in attendance, but I was definitely the most pregnant of the ones I saw, haha. I think I stood for one song. But still, a good time:)

Future besties, June & Ruby. These girls were such little troopers as we carted them around Des Moines to a rummage sale, thrift store, and a mandatory Tasty Taco stop.

This past weekend was the Des Moines Arts Festival, which is sort of a yearly tradition to visit. Ruby was excited to see all the artist's "colorings".

On a couple occasions, our opinionated little lady would state, "I don't like this picture". Right in front of the artist. So.....sorry about that.

It's been a little quiet here lately due to general life stuff/ pregnancy/ etc, but all is going well. I've got a few more posts coming this week, so watch out for those! xx

Nicole's SPECTACULAR Baby Shower

This past weekend, I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Nicole. Our babies (& future cousins/ buddies) are due a month apart and like us, Nicole and her husband decided to opt for suprise in waiting to find out the gender.

Since I didn't have a pink or blue palatte to work with, I was inspired to keep it natural, neutral, and classy. Much like the Mama-to-be:)

 Our dessert selection included:
- Dark chocolate Neopolitan layer cake w/ Nutella, strawberry, & vanilla buttercream frosting
- Neopolitan spritz cookies with marshmallow buttercream frosting
- Rice Krispy treats made with sea salt and browned butter

All credit for the food & fanciful spread goes to this lady—Leslie Poyzer—one of the most talented homemakers I know. A self-taught baker & crafter, Leslie heads up wedding production & desserts for The Wedding Format in addition to being a regular contributor for Meredith publications like D.I.Y. Magazine.



Crackers served with Englishwhite Stilton cheese w/ peaches, Cotswold Double Gloucester w/ onions & chives, and Honey Gouda from Trader Joe's.

The Mama-to-be, Nicole!

No baby shower is complete without playing some corny shower games. I searched for some good ones and settled on Mad Libs, "What's in Mommy's Purse, Celeb Baby Names, Scattergories, & Wishes for Baby.

I'm pretty sure Nicole left Iowa feeling super blessed by all the goodies, gifts, & girlfriends in attendance. We are super excited to meet your little one!!

Jason & Sara's Wedding Weekend

This past weekend kicked off the first of a handful of weddings we'll be attending this year, half of which Wayde will be attending as a groomsman. Yep, my husband is a pretty likeable guy.

Jason has been a friend of Wayde's since high school and Sara we've got to know & love through Jason and church. The festivities took place around Burlington, IA.

The wedding day got off to a rocky start (for me, at least). I discovered after putting on the dress I had bought weeks before the wedding that there were some unslightly black streaks all over it. My only assumption is that is must have got shut in the car door on our way out. Thankfully, I had a backup ensemble, even though it was a little more casual than I would have preferred for a wedding.

That incident was followed up by Ruby taking a tumble on the sidewalk outside of our hotel room. There was blood. There were tears. There was a monster fat lip. I remembered that lavender oil was good for such abrasions, so I applied it to the site of Ruby's crash. I would say that within an hour, the swelling went down so significantly that the only visible indicator of what side it occured on were the little scrapes from the actual fall. My first real essential oils testimonial?

Jason & Sara couldn't have hoped for a more beautiful day. It was sunny—not too warm or windy. The weather was PERFECT.

“We are all a little weird and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” - Dr. Seuss (a quote read during the ceremony)

Sara has such ecclectic & quirky taste (which I love), so I was really looking forward to how she would put special touches on their big day.

The tables were numbered with the covers of vintage Harlequin romance novels and name cards were old library withdrawal slips.

The cake looked like it was straight out of the pages of a 1960's Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. Selections included chocolate, lemon raspberry, and Nutella. It was DIVINE, as you could imagine.

Our sweet Ruby stealing the show:) She did such a wonderful job of sitting still through the ceremony & making friends with guests at the reception. To know her is to love her, truly.

Thanks, Jason & Sara, for letting us be a part of your special day! xx

Mom's 50th Birthday Party

My mother hit her monumental 50th birthday this past weekend, so we celebrated with a lovely little family gathering at our new house. We also broke in our new dining room table & chairs for the occassion (which is deserving of an entire blog post in itself)!

I really felt like I scored with these tissue banners from the Dollar Tree - party decor can get spendy, y'all!

I'd like to take credit for this incredible cake, but we ended up ordering it from Glorious Desserts. SO worth it too! It tasted just as amazing as it looked.

We sipped on orange sodas & pink lemonade to keep with the color theme. It was a special night, indeed.

It was pretty wonderful getting to entertain my whole family in our new home. Looking forward to many celebrations here in the future! xx