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posted by Jennifer |
Last week Carie and I headed down to San Francisco to a combined meeting of San Francisco NACE and Silicon Valley NACE. The meeting was on the California Hornblower yacht which we boarded at Pier 3. We were asked to shoot the event and we were so excited. We have been attending San Francisco NACE meetings whenever our schedule allows for a couple of years now. We love the organization and the friends we have made.
It was an absolutely perfect day. Look at how clear the sky was! It was truly remarkable. |
| We were allowed to board the Hornblower early to get some detail shots. The ship had to leave the dock for a few minutes to allow another Hornblower yacht to dock and disembark. We were fascinated by the goings on of such a huge ship. I love these giant ropes! |
San Francisco NACE holds one combined meeting per year. It's really cool to get to know some of your fellow industry folks in other NACE chapters. It was so nice to meet the Silicon Valley players and say hi to our friends in San Francisco.
Mimi Renfro-Rodriguez, Secretary/Treasurer of San Francisco NACE and owner of Creative Designs by Mimi designed the lovely programs and menu cards for the event. |
| The details of this dinner cruise were absolutely gorgeous! Of course I loved all the bright colors. Robin Brockelsby with Creative Coverings did an amazing job with the table settings and linens. The fabulous florals were provided by Jeeryn from Tanjeeryn Designs. The centerpieces were given away in the raffle at the end of the night. Duncan and Beverly, San Francisco Nace co-program chairs, were on hand to make sure the event preparations went smoothly. |
| Beverly Yip, Programs Co-Chair for San Francisco NACE had a great idea for a networking game. The Silicon Valley Chapter members and guests got in a circle facing the outside while the San Francisco Chapter members formed a circle just one foot outside Silicon Valley's circle and faced inside. We shook hands with the person right in front of us and introduced ourselves. When the music started the circle on the inside moved over one person to their left, the music stopped and the two people facing each other introduced themselves. This went on for about 20 minutes or so. It was a great game and totally worked. I met and obtained business cards from many new people. It was fun and effective. |
| The San Francisco NACE Board of Directors let us know they needed new head shots. This was a great opportunity to get everyone's picture in the same spot with the same beautiful backdrop. I love how these turned out. What a great looking Board! We were honored to be asked to take these for San Francisco NACE. From top left we have Duncan Reyes, Programs Co-Chair; Stacie Hallinan, President; and Mimi Renfro-Rodriguez, Secretary/Treasurer. In the second row from left is Jason Diavatis, Membership Chair; Marlen Abolafia, Past President/Gala Co-Chair; and Mariell Rahmani, Fundraising Chair. In the bottom row from left we have Leslie Wong, Communications Chair; Richard Mayer, Photography Chair; and Beverly Yip, Programs Co-Chair. Please click the Board link above to read all about each fabulous San Francisco NACE board member. |
| We got a great shot of the Silicon Valley NACE Board as well. This isn't the entire Board of Directors but some key players. From left is David Ethridge, Membership Chair. Next is the lovely Virginia "Gigi" Santaines, Vice President. As you can see from her gorgeous smile, Gigi lights up any room. Next to Gigi with yet another gorgeous smile is L.T. Beaton the current President of Silicon Valley NACE. And last but not least we have Rich Armooi, Vice President. What a great group. It was so nice to meet you all! |
| Of course I couldn't resist a few shots of the Golden Gate Bridge as we passed right under it! |
| This group shot was so fun! We were determined to get everyone in it and Jason, Duncan, Carie and a few others worked very hard to round everyone up on the back of the ship. Look at all those happy faces. |
| There was a wonderful surprise during the raffle that the Board members were in on. Can you guess what this was all about? |
| This shot of the San Francisco skyline is one of the best I have seen as we passed under the Bay Bridge too. I can't take credit, as this is Carie's photograph! It was the clearest night ever in the city! We couldn't have asked for a better day, evening or a better NACE meeting. Click the below image to start our slideshow (or click here!) Enjoy! |
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posted by Carie |
Every year, right around Fathers' Day, my girlfriends and I take a trip to Tahoe. This was our 5th year taking the trip. We usually leave on Friday and return home on Sunday. The trip includes many traditions.... we stay in our cabin so all we have to pay for is the cleaning, we have a vodka theme and someone always brings Jello Shots. The other traditions are that we do a beach day on Friday and go to Chevy's for dinner Friday night. Friday night is our mellow night. Then on Saturday, we rent Captain Tim's boat and go out on the water for some sunshine and swimming. We've only swam once and to be honest this was the first year we had full sun all day. Our first year we actually got caught in an electrical storm...that was interesting. Also, traditionally, we cook in the cabin Saturday night while the 6 to 8 of us girls take turns with the ONE bathroom. It's part of the adventure, the getting ready to go out and we all love that part of the trip almost as much as dancing at Vex until goodness knows when.
Here are a few photos from my point and click of the trip this year.
This time, Captain Tim met us on the dock. He had Tammy and Lauren with him so this is just the first five of us....and our buddies, the jello shots. |
| This is Captain Tim and Tammy. Tammy is one of my besties and I introduced her to Tim who is a good friend of my husband's and now mine. He has a boat he keeps on Lake Tahoe and has been taking us girls out on it since our first trip 5 years ago. It's our favorite tradition! |
| Here are all the girls posing for various pictures. Love the blue sky and gorgeous water! |
| This is our traditional Dock Photo. We take one every year and it is so fun to look back at all of them! |
| Of course we always take at least one shot of us all dressed up and ready to go out. This year was no exception. Great trip, ladies! Can't wait for next year. |
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posted by Carie |
You all have met Jen Shevock on our blog before. She is our good friend, Jen's personal trainer and Folsom's own Pilates Chik. Jen Shevock actually introduced me to Jen Starr and put in the good word for me to get this fabulous job. Thanks again, Jen!
But I stray from the point of this post. Last Saturday, Jen had a birthday party at her gorgeous home for her 35th Birthday. We had a blast! The food and wine were sensational and the company even better.
Jen actually let Heather and I help out a little when we got there. This is rare for Jen. Her east coast style is very polished and she likes her guests to just come and enjoy themselves. Well, Heather and I consider ourselves family so we insisted on lending a hand. The party went off without a hitch. Here are a few shots of the evening. Forgive the point and shoot. I forgot the real camera.
All the girls....Jasmine was out of town and Jen Starr was in Aruba. You were missed ladies! |
| A close up of Jen's fabulous outfit. She looked amazing as always! |
| Wine anyone? I'm always so happy when I'm opening some good red wine. |
| Heather looked super fashion forward as usual. Love the flower in her hair. Her lipstick matched! |
| It was a little chilly but the firepit was great. We hung close to it all evening. Even Sponge was hanging out. You can see his dog legs in this picture. So cute! |
| Happy Birthday, Jen! It was a great party. We love you! |
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posted by Carie |
A couple of weekends ago, a bunch of friends hopped on a limo bus and headed to Napa for Jamine's birthday. It was a glorious day of the best weather imaginable and some yummy wine tasting.
We started at Chandon.... |
| goofin' on the mushrooms! |
| Next we stopped at V Sattui. The old V Sattui where you can get some of the best deli food on the planet. We drank, we ate, we built a human pyramid! |
| Our last stop was at Rombauer for some of our favorite Zinfandel. Check out those legs! |
| It was truly a perfect day, great wine, great food and great friends. Happy Birthday, Jazzy! |
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posted by Carie |
Last week I attended the monthly American Disc Jockey Association meeting at The Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento. ADJA meetings are usually closed to the public but for this meeting, the board invited other folks in the wedding industry. I was super excited about the invite as the speaker was someone I have wanted to meet for some time.
Andy Ebon, spent more than 25 years in the wedding industry as a disc jockey. He is now a public speaker, writer, and marketing consultant, focused on the wedding industry. He is considered THE wedding industry marketing guru. He speaks internationally on the subject of wedding industry marketing, having presented at local, regional, and national conferences, including: NACE (National Association of Catering Executives), ISES (International Special Event Society), The Special Event Show, AFWPI, Wedding MBA, ACPWC, WPIC, Mobile Beat Magazine, DJ Times, and many more. Andy Ebon publishes one of the most highly read industry blogs, TheWeddingMarketingBlog.com. Be sure to check it out.
I first heard of Andy Ebon from Nicole Jackson or NJ as you all know her. Nicole saw him speak at Wedding NBA and could not say enough about him. I got to meet him before the meeting and he is just as great as I have heard. He's sharp, funny, cool and super fun to talk to. His topic was interesting and informative and I hope I get to see him speak at Wedding MBA this year. (hint, hint Jen, I want to go to Wedding MBA) :o) |
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Learn more about Carie on the team page
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