A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the 2013 PNW Blogger Holiday party. A great time was had by all, brunching, crafting and catching up/meeting each other.
The event was held at Union/Pine at 525 SE Pine St in Portland.
Adorable narwhal, corgi and antler name tags were provided by The Paper Mama.
Because this is Portland, and Oregonians seem to serve alcohol with every meal, there was a bartender on hand provided by The 7th Chamber, serving Mimosas and Bloody Marys. (definitely check out The 7th Chamber, they specialize in "charming the pants off of the Internet").
There was also refreshing ice water, and Sparkling Ice Beverages, provided by Sparkling Ice.
A fabulous brunch was provided by a plethora of companies, there were bagels and gluten free breads from Franz Bakery, coffee from Black Rock Coffee, dessert bars from Rawdacious Desserts, and then of course the best part..
Charcuterie plate! A plethora of meats, cheeses, even multiple varieties of lox up on that little stand. You know you're brunching in Portland when there's a pile of pork on the table.
Everyone getting their brunch on.
Pinhole Press provided a dessert bar, with donuts, cookies, lemonades and bottled waters.
There were two different craft projects that could be attempted (I say attempted because I am NOT crafty and rage quit while attempting the first craft).
Fabric Depot presented this deceptively difficult craft of gift tags made out of chalkboard paper, decorated with embroidery thread. I gave up after a couple of minutes when I couldn't get the fat embroidery thread through the tiny head of the needle. I'll stick to store bought tags. I do not have the patience/craft expertise for this.
The incredibly patient Lia Griffith brought us this paper flower craft. It was simple (just cut out the petals, curl them around a pair of scissors, and glue them together.
I brought my paper flower home, and it goes nicely with my paper bird and paper leaves I already have. (these were not DIY - they are from West Elm).
After a few hours of chatting and catching up with the lovely bloggers of the PNW, there was a drawing for some fabulous prizes (a Microsoft tablet, a year of bread from Grand Central Bakery, and many other things).
We departed with a goodie bag full of mostly craft related swag, generously donated by many sponsors.
Contents of the bag
My bag
Hailey checking out my bag. She was pretty certain that I brought it home for her. In fact, she had a couple favorites out of the bag.
Hailey really wanted these earrings from Belleza Mia. But alas, her ears are not pierced (come on, I like my dog, but I'm not a crazy dog lady who pierces her dogs ears and tattoos eyebrows onto the dog). I brought these to my office, figuring that someones daughter would love them.
Hailey posing again with the earrings, as well as a pair of sunglasses from Sunglass Warehouse and some rhinestone embellishment stickers from Graham & Brown.
I had a great time meeting local bloggers, when you're done here, why don't you check some of them out?
Melissa - luluthebaker.blogspot.com
Jana - merlotmommy.com
Kayla - momentsdontcollectdust.com
Spencer - 12ozbeehouse.com
Lindsay - heynormalday.com
Gracey - fashionforgiants.blogspot.com
Sarah - willrunforpasta.com
Aleisha - britchesnboots.blogspot.com
Shawnee - apronista.com
Katie - littlestumptown.com
Michael Ann - michaelannmade.com
Catherine - tenthousandhourmama.com