Hello lovelies! I know the OC Blogger Brunch was almost a MONTH ago already (can you believe that?!), but I’m finally sharing pics and details about the day when 25+ bloggers came together in the name of friendship and charity. Woohoo!!
For starters, the event was held by Bloggers Giving Back, which is a fairly new, blogger-centric group devoted to hosting charity and volunteer events. I started this group in January, on a whim, and found some other local bloggers who were interested in giving back, too. None of us had ever met before, but together we decided to plan this Blogger Brunch, to bring SoCal bloggers together and to collect clothing for charity. The two charities we benefitted were Working Wardrobes and The Princess Project. Both organizations collect clothing that is distributed to people in need. Working Wardrobes provides professional clothing (and workshops!) to at-risk people who are trying to find stable jobs and independence and the Princess Project provides free prom dresses to girls who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford going to prom. Basically, they kick ass. *grin*
The OC Blogger Brunch was held at an art studio in Orange County, California, called Great Over Good. Great Over Good’s founder, Naadine, passed out some swag to our guests, like these cute postcards. Aren’t they awesome?
Our mini Bloggers Giving Back team who put on this event was wonderful and it amazed me how tirelessly some of these women worked to help host this brunch. Seriously, awesome!
Below, Naadine is setting up the tables in the main brunching room. Also, you can see some simple nametags I made for our guests.
In addition to brunch, (which was totally delicious and catered by Jay’s), we also did a girly craft (thought up by the super creative Jess!). Each guest got a mason jar and got to fill it with coconut milk, rose petals, almond oil, and brown sugar. Then, they could decorate their jars. I made a scrub too and it smelled frickin’ amazing. Later, I took a bath using this stuff and my dog, Monja, kept lapping up the water. The entire time. So…I guess it tasted good, too? 😉
I didn’t take nearly enough pictures, especially with all the MANY bloggers I was excited to meet, but I did get to take a photo with the ever-sweet Nicole, from Treasure Tromp! Ain’t she a beaut’? 🙂
And here’s a big group photo of all the wonderful women who came to the event! I feel like we’re in a sorority or something. A blogger sorority. haha. 🙂
And that’s a wrap! If you couldn’t make it to this event or don’t live in Southern California, then we have another event next weekend!! This time, the event is called Well Boxed, and we’re putting together care packages for soldiers living abroad who otherwise don’t receive goods from friends or family. You don’t need to live in SoCal to attend, so check out this post to learn all about how you can get involved! Woop woop! Have a beautiful day! 🙂
Now, I’ve got a couple more awesome-sauce bloggers to introduce to you. It’s blogger day here at The Nectar Collective! HOLLLLA!
Jamie of Ink + Adventure
First things first, Jamie of Ink + Adventure is an American expat living in Taiwan. Because of her expat status, she’s got some mega-gorgeous travel posts, like Bali by Phone and 5 Tips for Better Travel Photography. I also appreciated this real-talk post, Some Days I Hate Taiwan. Oh, and if you like coffee, you might not want to read this post. 😉 But besides being a global girl, she’s also really creative. This wall art she made and this photo backdrop of hers are so neat! She even makes fonts (free for download, too!). Seriously, Jamie is a package deal! Go give her some love on her blog. 🙂
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Esther of Esther & Jacob: Travel, Food, & Marriage
Like Jamie, Esther has got the travel bug! She currently lives in Las Vegas with her husband (and loves it!), but has been to the Galapagos Islands, all over Europe, and to Machu Picchu, just to name a few! She’s also a photographer, so her pictures are always beautiful…I give you: Exhibit A (definitely doing this when I go to Yosemite!). I also just noticed that she donates 10% from her photography business to charity, so she’s kind of hard not to love. 🙂 If you’re a new reader to her blog, you should probably start here or even here. Now, go find out why Esther & Jacob kick butt!
How fun! Looks like a great time!
It really was! 🙂
oh I had so much fun. I hope that I get to see you again soon my love!
YES! I want to see and cuddle you asap prease.
How adorable! I love the bath craft and double love that you and Nicole were able to meet. How awesome!
Thanks Margo! I triple love all of the above. 🙂
Oooh, I had been wanting to hear about this (though I saw @treasuretromp:disqus’s recap and was totally excite about it). What an awesome cause!! This is a great project, Melyssa! :)))
Thanks for your support, friend! 🙂
How awesome! I so want to join next time!! 🙂
Definitely!! Are you in SoCal? We’re having an event next Saturday. Come!!! 🙂
That looks like a good time! I wanted to go to this but have been trying to save money, although I know it was for a good cause. Next time! I live in LA county, so not too far.
I totally understand! Did you see the event we’re having next weekend? It’s a bit cheaper! 🙂
This looks super fun! Also, I LOVE your typography! I live in LA county so I should definitely stop by one of these! It’d be a great opportunity to meet bloggers IRL. 🙂
Oh wwhaaat! You should totally come, you’re so close!! Victoria from Poverty Luxe has come to both events and she’s in LA County, so maybe you can carpool. 🙂
OH wait a sec! I actually might be in town for the well boxed event!
Love this! I wanted to go but I was super busy. (I had to go to a wedding and a birthday) I have class the morning of Well Boxed but I am still trying to go. Is there any opening left?
So glad you could make it Jasam!! 🙂
I am so bummed. I mixed up the weekends and missed it! Looks like you ladies had a lot of fun!
SHOOT!! I noticed your nametag was the only one not picked up! Well hopefully you can come to a future event. 🙂
I’m totally stoked that I just found this post, and I signed up for the meet up group. I love meeting new bloggers in the area and of course giving back!
Woohoo!! I hope you can come to a future event, Yvonne! We’d love to have you.
I definitely look forward to coming to future events!
sounds like it was an amazing event for a great cause! I have to say though, either Nicole is shorter or you are taller than I imagined 🙂 also, I don’t have my travel dates settled just yet but I’m hoping my trip to California in July will coincide with another event… hint, hint
I’m barely pushing 5’4″, Jamie, so it is probably because I’m a short 🙂 Somebody else at the brunch also mentioned that I looked taller in my photos! I can’t remember who it was but I took it as a compliment to my skills of picking photos with killer angles. 🙂
Oh that would be awesome! And I’m 5’9″ so I’m a little on the tall side, too!
I follow a few of those bloggers!! What a nice event. I really hope I hear about the next one in time to go. I’ve never been to a blogger event and I’d love to.
We’ll be announcing April’s event pretty soon — stay tuned! We’d love to have you. 🙂
So neat! I wish I lived closer so I could come, help out, and meet you awesome people!
I wish you did too!! Hopefully we can do more worldwide events to include bloggers in other regions 🙂
So fun! What a great idea to bring everyone together to have fun and support a good cause. 🙂
Thanks Josie! It really was a good time 🙂
What cute name tags! And a make-your-own scrub station? Such a cool idea!! Sounds like a great event!!
Thank you so much!! 🙂