Sugar Weekend

This week has FLOWN by!

I am still recovering from Blog Sugar.
While I was in So Cal for the weekend, I didn't get much sleep.
Too much staying up late & chatting.
It was my first girls weekend in 2 years!
The last one was also in So Cal for the Project 320 Launch.
Here is a snap shot of my Blog Sugar Weekend via Instagram.

It starts off last Friday when I made these cookies to bring down to So Cal.
I also made these delicious chocolate chip caramel bars (aka: Caramel Crack)

Our flight was at 7 am on Saturday morning.
Which meant I had to leave my house at 5:30am.
If you know me, you know I am NOT a morning person.
And, I went to bed at 1:30 that night. Woke up at 4:45. Ouch.
Bags were all packed before midnight...that is a record for me!

(Yes, I used my 3 year old's suitcase. And, that is my vintage Gussy laptop bag, circa 2009)

View of the sky as we were flying (On the way back our flight had wifi. So neat!)

Myself and 10 other girls stayed at Julie's house for the weekend.
She lives out this poster in her guest room:
Our friend Heather wasn't able to make the trip, but she sent these adorable California cookies:

The agenda for Saturday was to go shopping & eat at Cafe Rio.
Cafe Rio did not disappoint. Yum:

Lindsey, Erin, Heather, Kim & Jeannett at Cafe Rio.
I was so excited that DrewB met us at lunch! Love her.
Drew, me & Julie:

After lunch, it was time to go to Coffee Bean!
A trip to So Cal isn't complete without going to Coffee Bean!

Saturday night we all headed to Fashion Island for shopping & dinner.

Excited to meet up with some other Blog Sugar girls:

{thank you Jess for the photo}

Dinner at Cheesecake!
(Denise, get off your phone!)

{thank you Jess for the photo}

Sunday was Blog Sugar Day, so 10 of us headed to The Dry Bar.

The Dry Bar is where you get your hair done & get a drink. So fun!

{thank you Jess for the photo}

Dry Bar Mimosa:
Mel is a happy girl right here:

Me & the girl at Nordie's who did my makeup.
Yes, I am tall. Yes, she is short.

Time for Blog Sugar!
My first session was with Heather who talked about sharing your story.
Then, I went to Lindsey's session about Balancing Life.
Both sessions were awesome.

Then I went to Julie & Jeannett's session about using your blog for good.
They BROUGHT it. Big Time.

Meg & Kimberlee. The Kansas ladies!

Blog Sugar was ending & I had to snap a picture of my friend Denise Vlogging. Hysterical.

Side Note: 2 ladies in that picture (Janae & Laura) are girls who I didn't get a chance to chat with & I am SO bummed.

Heading back to Julie's at almost midnight, Erin, Heather & I stopped at Sonic!
I got Tots. This is our car hop who roller skated our food to us. Wish we had a Sonic nearby!
Back at Julie's all of us sat around the kitchen & reflected on Blog Sugar.
Such a great night!!!

{thank you Jess for the photo}

So, there you have it, the Insta-Recap of my super fun weekend.

Click HERE to read my other Blog Sugar Recap!

I am still recovering from being gone for 2 days & not getting much sleep.
My house is a disaster, my floors are dirty & sticky, my laundry pile is unbelievably big and we have no food in the fridge. But, it was so worth it!
Looks like this upcoming weekend will be spent getting organized!

Blog Sugar 2011

This past weekend my friend Heather & I headed down to So Cal to hear our friend Julie speak at a blogging conference called Blog Sugar that was being held on Sunday afternoon.

I had no idea what to expect, but Julie really wanted our moral support, so we went.
It.was.FUN!

There were about 180 women at the conference (most of them from California) but a lot of people flew in from other states. One of them being Meg (who was the keynote speaker & was awesome).
Blog Sugar is all about using your blog to glorify God.
It was so awesome to be in a room with other women who love God and who blog.
I met some people who's blogs I have been reading (and vice versa, who have been reading mine). It was so nice to put faces to names!
Genn, me, Nancy, Kristy, Janna

On the left, Casey & I. She also worked at Kanakuk!
On the right--- Jess, April & I.

Rachel was the brains behind Blog Sugar.

This is Heather. Love her & love her blog!
She is the cutest! I went to one of her sessions. Amazing girl, amazing story.

On the left is me & Andrea (one of the girls who put on Blog Sugar)
On the right is me & Julie who sat at my table.

On the left, me & Gussy. I have one of her laptop bags. Love it!
On the right, me and Kimberlee. LOVE her.

Me & my Nor Cal friend, Keri!
I was so excited to meet Genn. We both have 2 girls, and she has a Claire also, who is 2 months younger than my Claire. They are both Crazy Claire's!
This is Katy. We have several friends in common & I go to the same church as her Aunt. Small world!
Kristen, Lindsey, Denise & I:
Me & Meagan
Lisa, Julie & I
Danielle, me & Rachel.
The Project 320 girls:
(me, Heather, Julie & Erin)
{The weekend wasn't the same without Marta & Heather. Sad Face.}

Besides meeting all these sweet ladies, there were also lots of sweet treats.
They had Cotton Candy! This is my new profile picture, since my old one was 2.5 years old!
The dessert table was beautiful. Amy Atlas would approve!

A sweet girl named Jacqui of Baby Boy Bakery made most of the desserts.

Love the verse that they chose to represent the event.

It was such a great night of being spiritually feed & encouraged by other women.

Blog Sugar was supporting the charity, Love146. An amazing organization. I encourage you to check it out!

The night ended with Meg speaking to us & encouraging us as women, as Christians & as bloggers.

God wants us to use our blogs to glorify Him.
Whether you have 5 readers or 5,000 readers, you have been given a platform to glorify Him. God has a purpose for your blog.
Use your blog for good.
Always.
It was SUCH a great weekend.
I originally went to be moral support & hear my friend speak.
I got so much more out of the weekend than I ever expected.
A huge thanks to Julie for letting myself & 10 other ladies stay at her house for one big sleepover. More on that later!