{inspired} portland bloggers

As promised, I want to introduce you to the lovely ladies that attended the Portland Bloggers Summer Social last week.

1. Makaila from Distinctly M, Sarah from Mysterious Object, Amanda from Re-Do and Dorothy Jeane, and Lyn from Two Lovely Spaces

2. Andrea from Seek the Unique, Lydia, and Tate

3. Mandy from Ciao Darling and Mindy from Rindy Mae

4. Kristen from Inspired Whims, Tate from Tate Creates and Lydia from Lydia Lauer

5. Tate and Sarah

6. Katie, from Newcomb Home and Lydia

7. Kristen and Kirsten, from Restored Style

8. Lia from ellinee and Skye from Rose City Bungalow 1913

9. Lia, Amanda, Mindy, Skye and Mandy

Sadly, not pictured, is Danielle from Storypiece. Hi Danielle! I know you were there! Clearly the photographer was off her game, ahem ... go check out Danielle's site! :)

Friends, you should definitely take a few minutes to check out each of these sites! This is a group of incredibly talented women.

After my original post, I had a few questions about how, exactly, you pull together a blogger meetup. I think Kirsten and I took planning for granted, in a way, because we both plan events for our jobs. But, I put together some tips and suggestions if your area doesn't have a blogger meetup and you'd like to pull one together. 

1. Partner with a friend or fellow blogger. I once read on another blogger's site that if you plan a meetup with another blogger and no one else shows, at least you have each other :). You also have a bigger reach then.

2. Pick a location. Kirsten and I were really lucky that we had access to a location that was happy to host us for no cost and has relationship with a {awesome} caterer. This is event planning gold, friends. 

3. Decide what type of event it will be: coffee? dinner? guest lecturer? We opted for dinner because of the caterer relationship.

4. Let people know! Kirsten and I combined our knowledge of Portland bloggers and about three weeks before the event sent out an invite via email. Then a couple days later we both posted the invite on the blog to capture Portland area readers/bloggers that we didn't know.

5. Decor. The fun part! Decide on a color scheme and how you want to decorate. 

6. Communicate. If you're have people rsvp, which I recommend, send them a reminder email the day before. And, make sure to keep in good communication with your event location so they know how many people to expect, what sort of rearranging you'll be doing on the day-of, etc.

I hope this helps! But, if you have questions about planning an event, let me know in the comments and I'll make sure they get answered.

{create} a blogger summer social

Kirsten and I hosted a Portland blogger summer social on Wednesday and I thought I'd share some photos!

Friends, I wish you all could've been there because the night was so much fun. Sixteen lovely local bloggers gathered at Seek the Unique, a fantastic store that features antiques, diy, reusing and refurbishing old furniture. The owner Andrea was not only gracious enough to let us host our event there, but she let us use anything we needed for the night! It was incredibly fun to "shop" the store for props :).

While Kirsten gathered up beautiful flowers, created menus and place cards (see below), I worked on sewing napkins and table runners.

We ate at a 16-foot farm table that was oozing with charm, and made all of our decor look that much more amazing. I want it for my house. Even though there's no way it would fit in my house - even if we had no walls! :)

The food was a work of art - seriously - created by Jamie of The Lamb's Table. Beautiful and so insanely delicious. I wish I'd taken more photos of the actual dinner -- I was way too busy eating and chatting though!

It's easy to tell by looking at the end-of-the-night table that a good time was had by all! 

Next week I'll be back with a quick profile of all the attendees. There was some serious talent in that room and I'd like to introduce you to them!

Until then, I hope you all have a great weekend! :)

{inspired} spring color palettes

As you all know, every few months I take a look at fashion color trends and translate those colors in home decor. I’m always inspired by the “new” colors that come into stores each season and, of course, I’m always itching to update my home a  little (a pillow here, a ceramic figure there) to keep on-trend. Since we hit 80+ degrees in Portland last weekend, and it FINALLY feels like spring, it's about time to share my favorites of the season.

But, I have a little surprise for you today. I'm actually sharing my color picks over at Restored Style! 

Kirsten is a fellow Portlander and is just all around talented and inspiring. She not only has a gorgeous home and stylish and fun blog, BUT just launched her own design services! Have you visited her before? Make sure you pop over today to say hi and check out my color picks.

** If you’d like to check out previous color palette posts see: winter color palettes, fall color palettes, summer color palettes, and spring color palettes.