Houston, We Have Landed!

Wow! I'm just about ready to hit the hay after a very long day that began at 4:30 this morning. Our flight to Houston was just perfect- sat by one of the nicest women I have ever met, Suzie. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation from start to finish. I loved hearing about her new 6-month old grandbaby she was off to visit, her relationships with her children, some of her hobbies, and life experiences. Visiting with her made a 2 1/2 hour flight seem like no time at all.

Once we arrived to the airport, we were greeted by this lovely space cow holding the Texas flag. Hmmm... interesting to say the least. Have you ever seen a cow in space? Hey, what can you say...it made a good photo op. :)

After renting a car and speaking to another sweet, sweet gal at the Hertz car rental, (Shout-out to Deborah!), we were off to find the 4 Seasons Hotel. Check out this stoplight that popped up everywhere around downtown. No, my picture-taking is not sideways, this is the way the light is facing. Wow...who knew.






Have I told you how NICE the people in Houston are? SO AMAZINGLY NICE. I think I'm going to like this place. AND I enjoyed the BEST baked potato soup I've ever had over at Pot Belly's. The name probably says it all. Very, very yummy. Even the man serving us the soup thanked us for choosing their place as our first stop in Houston. He said we were now part of their family. LOL - AGAIN, NICE.

OK, enough about my journey here.... I'm sure you want to see some of my favorite pics of the day so far! I will have tons to share, but I'll start here with a few...

I know a lot of you out there love the gals behind "5 Minutes for Mom." Well, yep, it's official. We love them, too. Twins interviewing twins. TOO. MUCH. FUN. I think I could sit and talk with them an entire day. We laughed and laughed. The interview will be on 5 Minutes for Mom sometime here soon.

Another class act in the industry and one of our favorite people- Gabrielle Blair, or "Design Mom" as many know her. Her other company, Kirtsy are the ones behind this entire conference, along with OpMom. Just unbelievable. I can't even begin to imagine the undertaking something like this would be. And of course, everything has been done to a T. Look what was awaiting us when we arrived. A bag full of goodies and some homemade cookies that were to die for! You can even find the recipe HERE! (And yes, even Ryan found a fellow brother to share the opportunity of carrying a pink gift bag and getting away with it. :) So glad Heather and her husband, Len, are here!)



We made some new-found friends with these gals! They were so fun to talk to! And get this... Erin, who is 2nd from the right is the daughter of my next-door neighbor at home! Small world!! Erin owns Schlosser Designs. Christy, a total hoot to talk to, shares tutorials, projects and craft challenges on her site here. And the tall one, oh tall one, Deb, is the owner of Mumbo Jumbo, which showcases her days of being a mommy and an incredible artist as well I might add.

Another new favorite of mine and an old favorite of Kim's (does that sound right?)is Allison from Petit Elefant. I think "GENUINE" is her middle name. So sweet, and has been such a long-time supporter of YouCanMakeThis.com. Kim has known her for quite a while, so it was fun for the two of them to get caught up and share ideas.

It was also fun to meet the slightly edgy, but ever-so-funny Trisha of MomDot.com. Speaking to her about CAPSIA laws and other trends and movements that are out there, led to a very intriguing conversation and lots of laughs as well.

And finally, one last picture for today. Here's a picture of us with 2 more of our favorite people- Heather Carson and Holly Buchanan. We met both of them at the Start-Up Princess Retreat that was held in Midway last November. Heather is the owner of Visit Memo and is a very talented graphic designer. Besides being so smart, she is an amazing mother of 6 children, including triplets! She just makes me smile. Holly Buchanan is the fabulous author behind, The Soccer Mom Myth. When Mike and I went on a little vacation last November, this was the book I brought with me and read cover to cover. She has so much insight and I look forward to hearing from her again at this conference.

OK, I hope I haven't bored you with showing picture after picture, but these are just SOME of the many we have met today. I look forward to what our day will bring tomorrow and all of the things I will learn from in each of the workshops!