Manager's Summit 2017 in Asheville

I just got back from our 2nd annual Manager's Summit in Asheville.
I am thankful to work for a company that provides the time for the managers of all our stores to meet and plan for the year to come! 

I am also so thankful to work along side some incredible women! I really do have a dream job!

We met in Asheville at one of my favorite places to eat lunch - the Village Wayside. I miss being able to get lunch at work from here. 

Lillie, the Mandeville, LA, manager brought us all a King cake! I love some King cake! 

After lunch we did some work and team planning! Then we headed to Breakout Asheville to have some team building/bonding time. I was excited to see what this trend was all about. 

Trying out our best breakout moves!

All I really knew about this activity was that you were locked in a room and you had an hour to "breakout." It took me a while to figure out what I should be doing and I felt clueless for most of the hour. If I go again I think I might do a better job at the activity. 

We didn't breakout but we were very close. They guy told us that we worked well as a team. He said the room we were in had a 28% success rate of breaking out. I think we had 2 more clues to figure out before getting out! 

Post non breaking out

The next morning Lesa and I got up at 5:30 am and went to barre class! Lesa and I must love Pure Barre to get up so early!

I'm not loving this picture - I look tired! 

As we were walking back in to our condo I saw this beautiful sunrise in Biltmore Village. I love how the tree branches look against the pink sky! 

We quickly got ready to go have breakfast with everyone at the Grand Bohemian. 

Before the trip Lillie and I talked about how we needed to get more pictures on our trip. We always have fun together and we wanted to document it. So we tried very hard to take pictures throughout the trip. 

We worked the rest of the day on manager stuff and then prepared for our "fun" activity for the day...a trolley tour through Asheville!  I did one a few summers ago with Jennifer and the girls and learned a lot about Asheville. I think everyone enjoyed it! 

I like this picture so much better of Lesa and me! I look a little better! 

Group selfie! 

After the tour we warmed up and got ready for dinner. We got to go to the Grove Park Inn. It was a cold and rainy night so I was happy when we found rocking chairs in front of the fireplace. 

So thankful for this team!

Lesa had to leave Tuesday at lunch so we worked really hard all morning. Then that afternoon we headed to new brewery in town...New Belgium.

If you know me you know that beer is not a favorite but I did find this tour so interesting. I enjoyed seeing how beer was made. I did try the samples but didn't find anything I loved! :)

I loved this artwork that we saw on our tour! 

I love my home state of North Carolina! 

New Belgium is located where the livestock yard used to be in Asheville. They used the letters from the livestock yard and recovered them to line a wall in the brewery. 

I like how they used the history of the space to decorate the new space. 

If you are ever in Asheville I recommend going to tour the brewery! I consider myself a non drinker and I enjoyed this tour more than I thought I would. 

I think our 2nd annual manager's summit was a success! I am thankful to learn and be encouraged by all these women. I am already counting down the days until I get to spend time with them again!

xoxo

a sunny state of mind

Last Sunday I flew down to Palm Beach for a trip with my Palm Village co-workers. I was beyond excited to have this opportunity to visit Palm Beach and learn more about the Lilly Pulitzer brand. 

The first night we stayed at The Colony in Palm Beach. The rooms were super girly and just so adorable.

We were close to the beach so we took a walk down to the beach to put our toes in the water. It was so warm. I couldn't get over how warm the water was and that it was November! 

After a stroll on the beach we headed back to the Colony and freshened up for drinks and dinner at the Breakers. It was a long walk but we got to see some beautiful homes and buildings. We all had blisters on our feet when we made it to the Breakers!

We stopped to take some pictures. If you are on snapchat you can get some really cute Lilly Pulitzer filters. I am not on snapchat but Alex is so we got to use them!

 Alex, me, Eleanor, and Lesa

My pretty pink drink and Alex! 

It was dark but I tried to get a picture of the beach. It was a site I hope to remember. 

When we walked back up to our room our beds were turned down with a chocolate at the pillow! 

On Monday morning we woke up bright and early and headed out for a bike ride. This had to be one of my favorite activities. We were able to see the island and got a great workout too! 

 We saw some pretty flowers and trees.

 Flagler Museum

This tree was so neat. It looked like a sea creature. It was very cool.

The bike ride was one of those memories that I will always think back on as a happy time. I really enjoyed this activity. I know when it is cold and dreary I will think back to the bike ride and it will make me smile!

We had to check out of our hotel and head to another hotel for the rest of our trip. But we looked around Worth Ave. first!   

We visited the Lilly store C.Orrico and I picked up some cute souvenirs for Hadley and Harper!

The next morning we woke up early and headed to the Lilly Pulitzer studio in Palm Beach! 

So pretty! 

Alex (the assistant manager at the Asheville store), me, and Luana (the manager at our Mandeville, LA store)

I wish I could share more of the trip but the rest is a surprise! So this is it! I will tell you that I learned so much and I am so excited for what my future holds with this bright and fun company!

It was great to see Palm Beach and experience it. Palm Beach is the birthplace of the Lilly Pulitzer brand. I feel like I understand the brand just a little bit more!

xoxo

#moeeveryday2014 week 36

Day 246

Twinning is so much fun with my friend Jamie! 

Day 247 

Recess 

Day 248

Picture day at school. 

Day 249

Fun day at work with Emily! I have to say my co-workers at Lilly are the best. 

Day 250

We had the cutest visitor at Lilly! Love when Baby Tyler visits with her mommy! 

Day 251 

It was a great mail day! I was able to check off one of my Lilly wish list items thanks to Re-Lilly! 

Day 252

Happy Birthday to My friend Megan and Pure Barre Asheville! 

Sometimes it takes several tries to get a picture of the day...

I very thankful I have friends who will help me out! 

And I have to include this picture because I love it 

Lilly friends. 

(I love this dress so much I wore it twice in one week!)

xoxo

Camp Moe 2014

When Hadley and Harper were born I dreamed of the day that they would visit during the summer and stay with me. At the beginning of the summer Jennifer mentioned that if I wanted to do Camp Moe this summer I could. I was excited! I live four hours away from Jennifer and the girls so I wasn't sure how they would do being that far away from their mom. We decided to try a short period of time. Hadley is a little attached to Jennifer. I didn't want her to feel homesick and miserable. Plus we were not sure if she would actually come! But she did!

My mom, dad, and I met Jennifer halfway last Wednesday and picked up the girls for Camp Moe. The girls did great traveling to the mountains. We sang Frozen songs, took selfies with my phone and snuggled in the back seat of my car! 

Pictures by Hadley and Harper

The first activity was going on a golf cart ride on the farm with Papa Ronald. The girls saw the sunflowers and wanted to pick one for Granny Janet.

On Thursday the girls wanted to go to the mall to jump. They love jumping on the trampolines at the mall. After we jumped we went on a a little shopping trip to Lilly. They loved trying on dresses and decided they loved every dress they tried on! Ha! We ended our shopping trip with a trip to sweet frogs. 

On Friday I had planned to go to the Biltmore House to see the castle but the weather had other plans. We ended up just running a few errands and visiting with my Mamaw Mary.

I loved spending this time with the girls.

Jennifer came up on Friday evening. She brought the girl's cousin McKinley with her.

The weather was okay on Saturday so we headed to the Biltmore House. I had told the girls we were going to a real castle and they thought we were going to see a real princess. Unfortunately the princess was gone for the day and we didn't get to meet her. I think the girls liked seeing the castle but they did not really care for going inside the castle. Of course Jennifer and I took the opportunity to take some pictures.

After we explore the house we took a carriage ride on the Biltmore estate.

I think the girls had a good time at Camp Moe. When I asked them if they would come back they both said yes. They both said their favorite part was jumping at the mall. It is my hope that Camp Moe becomes a yearly tradition. I am blessed that Jennifer would allow them to come up and visit with me. I am thankful that I am a part of their lives. They are my people, my girls, and my loves! 

xoxo