Hello Friends and Happy Monday, I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
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Last Saturday I attended my first Blogger’s Meetup which was held in Washington, DC and sponsored by the BLMGirls DMV Chapter. BLMGirls.comaka “Bloggers Like Me is an online community of women bloggers created by Leslie Young dedicated to the positive exchange of ideas, tips and advice about fashion, beauty, relationships, faith and everything in between. Through blogging, meetups and social networking we encourage each other and focus on REALationship building!”
The Experience was also simultaneously being held by the Chapters in Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. When I initially registered for the event I didn’t realize it was during the Labor Day weekend and I almost changed my mind as I did not want to be stuck in Holiday traffic. Thankfully, the trip to DC was delayed only by a few minor back ups about a half an hour from the venue. At 2:30 pm, I arrived at the 201Bar, after finding a free-to-park lot across the street on Massachusetts Ave NE (I love FREE). Upon entering this modernly decorated tavern I was immediately greeted by our hostesses Whitney James and Karen Curtis.
Each table setting held a pink Welcome Folder that contained worksheets including a “Getting to Know You” form and on a separate table there were Swag Bags. I was the first to arrive but shortly afterwards more lovely ladies began to enter, including my Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sister who had traveled up from North Carolina.
As more ladies arrived it quickly became a festive atmosphere enhanced only by the mingling which intensified as we got down to the business of completing the “Getting to Know You” form. As we mixed and mingled the waitstaff began to bring out trays containing the most scrumptious Hors d’eouvres; an assortment of Egg Rolls, Mini Crab Cakes, Jerk Shrimp, Skewered Beef, and Flat Bread Pizza. We were also given 1 drink ticket for which I used mine for a glass of the house Red Wine – you know me!
The theme of the BLMGirls Experience was Building and Growing your Brand by building REALationships. Our guest speaker, Arsha Jones of BrandBuildSell provided a lively and very informational presentation on Branding Your Blog. Throughout the presentation she allowed ample time for sharing as well as questions and answers from the group. We took a short break to dine on Seasoned Chicken Wings, Rolls, Sliced Turkey and Mini Dessert Bars.
At the conclusion of Arsha’s presentation, Whitney’s husband, the designated photographer took a few group photos outside and The Experienceended just as it had started – Perfectly. Our “Swag Bag” contained a #BLMGirls TShirt and a sample of “Capital City Mumbo Sauce“, a product made and marketed by Arsha and her husband.
It definitely was a wonderful Experience and I’m glad to have met some amazing Bloggers Like Me and to finally see the faces behind the blogs. Driving home was smooth sailing and I look forward to the next BLMGirls DMV Experience.
You’ve heard me say this before, “we eat so much chicken that I’m afraid one day we’ll wake up with feathers!” No seriously, I cook chicken or turkey at least 3 times a week and it’s not that we tire of it, it’s just I have to find new ways to make it differently. There are times when I am too tired to cook from scratch so I’m always looking for products that makes meal planning easier.
Betty Crocker, the maker of Hamburger and Tuna Helpers recently introduced Chicken Helpers and we loved it. After dicing up skinless *Chicken Breasts, I followed the directions on the box to make the Sweet and Sour Chicken. While the chicken cooked I boiled a pot of Jasmine Rice, dinner was done in less than an hour, tasted better than Chinese Takeout and there were no leftovers!
TIP: grab a few extra bags from the produce department to use as a shaker bag
Grocery store sales coupled with coupons from the Sunday paper and the Betty Crocker website is incentive enough for me to keep a few boxes of Chicken Helper in the pantry!
Have a fantabulous day!
* According to a recent report (see here), it’s more sanitary NOT to wash raw chicken as it spreads more bacteria, just cook it thoroughly.
Have you purchased your tickets to the Delaware Today Fashion Awards?
Delaware Today magazine is set to host the first Delaware Today Fashion Awards on Wednesday, September 25, at Deerfield, to honor the talented individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Delaware’s fashion industry.
The event, which runs from 6-9:00 p.m., will recognize the Fashion Awards nominees featured in the September issue of Delaware Todaymagazine. The nominees were selected by the public through an online voting process; however an esteemed panel of fashion experts will choose the winners. With categories ranging from makeup artist to photographer, and boutique to best-dressed Delawarean, the Delaware Today Fashion Awards will identify a wide range of fashion professionals, from promising new talents to established forerunners who have influenced fashion in the community.
The winners from each of the 11 categories will be revealed live at the event. As mentioned, Delaware Today has partnered proudly with a variety of fashion experts to serve as judges. They include: Joan Bernard, owner of Barbizon Modeling & Talent Agencies in Wilmington and Philadelphia; Kelly Cobb, designer and assistant professor of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware; Colleen Moretz, fashion designer and owner of Colleen Couture; and Dallas Shaw, fashion illustrator and style expert. Ms. Shaw also graces the cover of the September issue of Delaware Today.
Guests will enjoy cocktails and music, and have the opportunity to view the industry’s hottest products and trends. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
The Delaware Today Fashion Awards are sponsored by Christiana Mall, Wilmington Country Store, Designer Consigner, Hillary J. White Salon, Kate’s Lens Photography, Kristina Ruggerio Cosmetics, Salon by Dominic, Claire’s Fashions, Gloss Salon—and many more. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Stand By Me, a statewide financial empowerment program that gives every Delawarean the opportunity to meet with their own financial coach. The organization is a coalition of community partners, led by the State of Delaware and United Way of Delaware.
As the mother of a teenage driver I am always on pins and needles every time he grabs his keys and leaves the house. There is just so much they can learn in a classroom setting and even with the mandatory driving hours that are required with a Graduated License, once they are on the road alone it can become a life or death situation.
Some teenagers are extremely careful and patient drivers, others not so much and unfortunately I have the latter. I’ve explained to him that driving is a privilege and he should remain ever vigilant when he’s behind the wheel. There are just too many RIP Markers on the sides of the road and a few of you know that I lost my sister in a car accident on September 14th 1992.
I have argued, nagged and yelled at him to drive slowly and also threatened him with the loss of his car, keys and driving privileges if ever stopped for speeding.
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It goes in one ear and out the other and so I think the time has come for more drastic measures. Hubby brought home information from the website Teen Tracking, a plug and play GPS monitoring system and I am seriously considering buying one.
According to the website The Big Brother GPS Locator/Tracker “allows parents to keep a close eye on their new teen drivers. Notifications on speed and boundary violations. Easy 2-wire installation. Installs under dash for covert operation. PoweredbyGPS® technology.” The cost is hefty but the piece of mind is priceless and definitely cheaper than the increase to our monthly car insurance rates!
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Has anyone purchased this Teen Tracking monitor or is there another GPS Tracker that you would suggest?
Growing up I used to hear people say that you should never ever wear white after Labor Day. Growing up we didn’t have many clothes so I probably didn’t have enough white outfits to wear the entire summer let alone carry over past Labor Day.
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Now the older I get the quicker the seasons seem to change and the larger my wardrobe grows. I don’t know about you, but I never get a chance to wear all of my summer outfits in the summer months. Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, but September 21st is the actual date so I will continue to wear white until then and maybe perhaps even into Fall.
Remember when I got these jeans for $1.00 at JCPenney
Hubby took my pics this morning – he makes me smile – I love him so!
This top has been hanging in my closet for as long as I can remember
Hello Friends, I hope you all had a wonderful and restful long holiday weekend!
Today the weather didn’t cooperate so I didn’t get a chance to sit by the pool, so instead I watched “The Haves and Have Nots” marathon on OWNTV Network and worked on my Blog with next week’s posts.
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Last month I received several nominations for Blogger Awards and having finally found the time I want to say, “THANK YOU” and pass them along to others.
1. Display the Award Certificate on your blog
2. Announce your win with a post and thank the blogger who nominated you.
3. Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award.
4. Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.
 "Getting To Know You Forms")
 "Getting to Know You")
 "Beautiful Bloggers at BLMGirls DMV Experience")
 "Listening and Learning")
 "Arsha had a captive audience")
 "Seasoned Wings, Turkey and Rolls")
 "With hostess Whitney and Soror Demetrice")
 "With Hostess Whitney and Soror Demetrice")
 "BLMGirls")
