Design Camp Overview

I realize I’m a bit late with my overview of Design Camp.  But my old computer was maxed out and didn’t have space to upload pictures.  So now that I have my new Mac, I’m back in business!!

Design Camp was unbelievable.  Full of information and an amazing lineup of speakers!

But let’s start at the beginning…..the hotel.

design camp alexis hotel

We stayed at the Alexis Hotel in downtown Seattle.  For the first few minutes at the hotel, I had a bit of guilt….

hotel 1

…because this was all mine for two days!

hotel 4

And it was a huge hotel room.  Once I took a look around, I got over my guilt and started to enjoy myself!

They even supply you with an animal print bathrobe!

hotel 2

And don’t you love these brick walls!?

hotel 3

Ok, enough of the hotel.  On to the people.

This was the first conference I attended without my trusty sidekicks, Lori and Amanda.  But thankfully, I had a few local blog friends that I hadn’t met in person.

bloggers at home in the northwest

Meeting Stacey Steward from Steward of Design {on the left} and Maggie Morgan of Maggie Rose Interiors {on the right} was so  much fun!

And I had the opportunity to meet other great designer from across the US, like Molly Quinn from Louisiana.

molly and jen

Molly and I met the first evening in the hotel lobby and enjoyed hanging out during the entire conference.

And now onto the speakers…..

Design Camp was put on by Lori Dennis and Kelli Ellis.  Both of these ladies are incredibly talented designers….

design camp... at home in the northwest

…and so down to earth!

kelli ellis design camp...at home in the northwest blog

They brought with them an amazing line up of speakers.

Nathan Turner {from Million Dollar Decorators} spoke on his journey to success.

nathan turner...at home in the northwest blog

Ronda Rice Carman from All the Best spoke about her journey to being published.

ronda rice carman...all the best blog

Cassandra Lavalle {Coco+Kelley} is a successful blogger from Seattle.  She spoke on creating and maintaining a successful blog.

coco+kelley cassandra lavalle

But I think the most information and inspirational speaker {for me} was Kimberley Seldon.

kimberlery seldon

Kimberley spoke on the business of design. She challenged each and every designer to charge what they are worth. And to not apologize for it! Not only was she encouraging and challenging to the novice and experienced designer, but she was funny as can be!

The conference was filled with so much incredible information.  If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Design Camp, DO IT! You won’t regret it for a single minute.

Thank you, thank you to Lori Dennis and Kelli Ellis. You outdid yourselves.

jen

A New Computer

My laptop is old.  I believe it’s 5 years old.  And in computer life, that’s old!  It’s slow and has a hard time keeping up.  So, it was time for an upgrade.

Dan was off one day this week so we headed to the Mac store to do some research.  And while we didn’t come home with a new computer, we placed an order for one!!

This is similar to the one that should be heading my way in the next few days {I hope!}.

$T2eC16ZHJGkE9no8iK0vBP9YTdGeZQ~~_35

We are a Mac family.   We drank the kool-aid and are convinced that Apple has the best products out there.

While I’m looking forward to my newer and faster computer, I hate that I’ll be without it for a day or two while all of my data is transferred over.

While I’m enjoying a computer free day, you should check out my social media pages!

Come follow me on twitter …

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Or on instagram …

instagram

Or how about Pinterest

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If you don’t currently follow me on social media, please click one of the links below!  And hopefully I’ll be back in a few days visiting you from my new laptop!

jen

Design Bloggers Conference Recap

I think I’m finally caught up from returning from the Design Bloggers Conference.


Screen shot 2013-03-07 at 7.52.11 PM

Bags are unpacked and laundry is {almost} done. Now I get to sort through my pictures and reminisce over a great few days away.

I had the chance to attend the conference with two friends, Lori {Lori May Interiors} and Amanda {Amanda Carol Home}.  You should check out their blogs….they are both very talented designers!

Here are a few highlights of the trip….

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE AT HOME IN THE NW

Internet connection and a Starbucks in the hotel made for a great start to the conference!

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE ROSS CASSIDY MILLION DOLLAR DECORATOR

I had the opportunity to meet Ross from Million Dollar Decorators! {Though I confess, for as much reality tv that I watch, this show was not on my list. It is now!!}

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE WINE

They served wine and sake one afternoon, during the conference!

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE BARBARA BARRY

Talented Interior Designer, Barbara Barry

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE PATTI AUSTIN

Grammy Winner, Patti Austin

Some amazing speakers were brought in for the event!  Talented designers Barbara Barry {above} and Charlotte Moss both spoke to the crowd.  As did Grammy winner, Patti Austin {above}.  What a treat to hear what they all had to say!

DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE DINNER

And this may have been my favorite part of the entire conference….the people!

The above picture is from a dinner out one evening with Amanda {Amanda Carol At Home}, Cheryl {Dwell by Cheryl}, Shelly {Lura Studio} and Lori {Lori May Interiors}.  It’s always so fun to meet new friends and re-connect with old friends at events like this!

The trip was very worthwhile.  And I’m so thankful for the opportunity to go. But as always, it’s good to be home.

jen

Design Bloggers Conference 2013

I just got back from four days in California at the Design Bloggers Conference.

photo

I have lots of unpacking to do…clothes to wash, design magazines to look through, photo’s to load on my computer {which, by the way, is giving me some issues}.

I hope to have a few more pictures and a quick recap for you over the next day or two!

So stay tuned….

jen

HGTV.COM Update!

My doormat feature on HGTV.com is coming up!

I just found out that the big day is ……

{drum roll please…..}

Monday, December 3rd!!

Click here to be directed to HGTV.com to see the lineup for December.  And if you’d like to sign up to receive a daily email of each feature on the Christmas countdown, click here.

I was asked to be part of this Christmas countdown back in May. I can’t believe that it’s actually time for my doormat feature!

I’m pretty excited!

Jen

Potential Blog Header

Dan thinks it would be neat if I changed my blog header seasonally.  I started blogging last fall, so naturally our feet picture has leaves in it and we’re all wearing some form of brown leather shoes.  We didn’t get any pictures in the snow {Dan and I were fortunate to have missed this years big snow storm because we were celebrating our anniversary in Hawaii!}.

But we did get a flip flop picture this weekend…

Our flip flops all coordinate so well….except for Miss Yellow, Green and Pink on the end! She certainly has her own flair when it comes to fashion.

And while I don’t have plans to change my blog header right now, this would be a good candidate!

Here’s hoping there are still some flip flop weather days left here in the northwest!

jen

 

Business Cards

On several occasions, I’ve been asked for one of my business cards. I wish I was quick witted enough to lie and say “Oh shoot! I just ran out. I’ll have to get you one when my re-order arrives!” But the truth is, I didn’t have any business cards! {And the second truth is that lying would have been a bad thing. So I guess I should be thankful that my instinct was to tell the truth!}

In a few weeks, I’m heading to the Haven Conference (for those of you wondering “What is Haven?” it’s a blogging conference held in Atlanta).  And while I’m not certain I will NEED business cards while I am there, it was the last straw that pushed me to order some.

After shopping on Etsy, I stumbled across some fun designs created by Flair Designery.  I placed my order a few weeks ago….and today, they arrived in the mail!!

{I did white out a bit of the info for the sake of privacy.}

I went with orange and brown to coordinate with my blog…and to keep the northwest feel.

I absolutely LOVE getting the mail each day. Especially when something fun like this arrives!!

jen

linking up to:

shabby creek cottage, the 36th avenue, somewhat simple, aka design, house of hepworths, shabby nest, at the picket fence, my repurposed life, chic on a shoestring decorating, tatertots and jello, six sisters stuff

Makeover

Who doesn’t love a makeover!?  If you’re a girl, then a makeover would be a dream, especially when someone else is paying for it! A professional hairstylist would give you the latest ‘do’. A makeup artist would make your skin glow.  And you’d get to wear an outfit paid for and picked out by someone else!

My cosmetic bag is full of partially used makeup and application brushes that should be cleaned. My flat iron is the only thing giving my hair any kind of  new look these days. And my clothes….well, they’re the same old clothes that have been in my closet for a long time.  So I didn’t get a makeover…….but guess what!  My blog did!!!

I like to think that she (she being my blog) is happy to have a new look at someone else’s expense (that someone being me!)!  She has a new appearance and new flair.  You can still see a glimmer of her old self.  But I think she’s easier to understand now that she’s cleaned up some.  I like to think that she kind of went from her everyday  jeans and tennis shoes to a fun pair of skinny jeans and boots. She’s got more sass. More personality. I think you are going to like her.  I think you and she will be very good friends.

Some things to know about this makeover….

  • The blog has a new web address!  It is http://athomeinthenorthwestblog.com (don’t worry if you type in the old address….it’ll still bring you directly here)
  • Now you can ‘like’ At Home in the Northwest on Facebook…  or follow me on Pinterest….or follow this blog on FeedBurner simply by clicking one of the orange buttons on the sidebar!

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  • You can subscribe to this blog via email as well!  Just plug in your email on the right hand side and you’ll receive an email when I write a new post!

I’m still getting used to the new look of this blog and how it works.  So your patience is greatly appreciated.  Let me know if you have any questions.    And please come back again soon.

Thanks for checking out the new makeover! I hope you like what you see!
Jen

linking up to:

the brambleberry cottage, domestically speaking, the shabby creek cottage, the 36th avenue, house of hepworths, the shady porch, common ground, 2805, saved by love creations, fingerprints on the fridge, shabby nest, days of chalk and chocolate, chic on a shoestring decorating, finding fabulous, happy hour projects, tatertots and jello

Blog Update

Six weeks ago, I started writing this blog.  I wrote for one week before telling anyone about it (except Dan, of course).  Then one night, Dan ‘outed’ me with some good friends over dinner.  That’s when I decided to go public with my blog. I shared it with it all my friends on facebook. I’m sure most people were just curious, so clicked on the link to see what in the world I was doing.

I must have done something right, because only 14 days later, I had 1000 hits to my blog.

Seven days later, I tripled that number and hit 3000.

Nine days later, I doubled that again….6000 hits!

It has been six weeks since I started writing (five weeks since I’ve been public with it) and I now have over 8000 hits to my blog.

So that brings me to my blog update. I set up my blog (probably not a big surprise given it’s simple look).  Obviously my blog design knowledge is minimal.  I had hopes of seeking some blog design help at a later date.  I was able to figure out enough to get myself going.  But there are some features that I wanted to implement that were out of my area of expertise.

My friend, Lori May (check our Lori’s blog here), recommended Elizabeth at The Mustard Ceiling Designs, to do some blog design work for me.  So Elizabeth and I have been working together to create a blog that is fun, yet easy to navigate.   I had some debate about whether or not to keep the feet picture…..but  don’t worry – it’s staying!  Elizabeth is just helping give it a face lift (or in this case, would you call it a ‘foot’ lift? OK, bad joke).

I’m also switching over to Word Press (from Blogger)…again, with Elizabeth’s help.  So I appreciate your patience during the time of transition.  I can’t wait for you to see the update (and I can’t wait for ME to see the update too!!)  I’m not sure when it will be complete, but I’d imagine sometime around the new year!!

This will be my last blog post until after Christmas.  I’m building a shelf for a friend that I’d like to finish up and give her soon.  And I’m also making a special pillow for my daughter who has her first loose tooth. So make sure you check back next week for some new posts!!

I’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!  Enjoy a special weekend with your family.

Merry Christmas from the Gildays!
Jen
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