Peck Life

Ten on Ten: February 2013

Welcome back to the ten on ten project, put together by the lovely Rebekah. We spent our weekend at Suncadia in a house we rented with friends. Even though the snow was almost non-existent {MUCH different from last year}, we still had a great time. We got home early this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day cleaning, organizing, and counting down the minutes until bedtime because of a certain little mister who only napped in the car. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Alt Summit {Everything Else}

Last week, I talked about the deep, overarching thoughts and themes from my experience at Alt that I hope will carry my blog throughout 2013 and beyond. Today, I wanted to share some of the fun stuff!!

Business Cards

I mean…seriously. It’s like candyland for creative people. All of the beautiful things you dream up in your head? It’s here and SOMEONE will put it on a business card. Here’s just a smattering of my collection:

For even more biz card features, check out: Gather and Hunt / Creature Comforts / The Proper Pinwheel / Ciera Design / Donuts, Dresses, and Dirt / A Ruffled Life

JouJou Toy Store

A crazy fantastical magical shop inside the hotel Grand America – it was the ultimate toy shop! For two great posts on this fun space, including some amazing photos, check out Bunny & Dolly and Small for Big.

Parties, Photobooths, and Friends

So much Smilebooth! Also, photos from Blurb, GoMighty, West Elm and of course, the Official Alt Summit flickr stream. The picture above was from the “clue party”….I don’t hold guns on a regular basis. Friends to check out: Poppy Haus / Deluxe / Small for Big / Bunny and Dolly / A Ruffled Life / The Ravenna Girls / Gather and Hunt / Raincoast Cottage.

Food and Accommodations

The Grand America is one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed. From the room, to the service, to the cleanliness, to the staff, to the food….it was all perfect. I wish I could have stayed an extra day just to hang out in the spa. I was lucky enough to get to room with with Brianne, Nikki, and Megan and we had a blast in our giant suite.

It also appears I have a thing for taking photographs of dessert…

Starstruck!

I turned into a complete geek upon getting to meet Emily Henderson and Ez from Creature Comforts. I love them so much! I didn’t get to talk to Jessica Alba in person but it’s probably for the better. I’m too awkward. She is just as beautiful and tiny in person as you would think.

I’d love to keep writing…! The decorations, the sponsors, more new friends, and lots of Etsy handmade goodness but that will have to be for another post. Bedtime beckons!

Together and Away

I am home and slowly digesting the last week as I’m surrounded by a sick toddler, a sick dog, and and piles of the most creative business cards you’ve ever seen. Alt Summit was amazing and reinvigorated the blogging blues I’ve been feeling lately. Tomorrow, I will share the most valuable bits I learned. Today? A few photos from our trip.

Josh and Sky joined me in Salt Lake a few days early so we could visit with family. It was nice to be on vacation together although Sky was challenging {to put it nicely}. Half way through the week, the boys dropped me off downtown for Alt and headed home where they proceeded to have the best time EVER together. When I’m completely out of the picture, Sky is a different boy. Little stinker.

I missed being away from my boys for most of the week but it was a welcome break and one that I knew would be short lived. Sometimes it’s so nice to {insert random activity here} without a toddler interrupting every second. I think I broke my record for number of consecutively eaten hot meals!

Off to a Higher Altitude

Literally. About 4,000 feet higher. Salt Lake City here we come.

I’ve been visiting my entire life because I have a lot of family in the area. This trip will be no different in that regard – we’ll hang with the clan for a few days for sure. But on Wednesday, the magic of Alt Summit begins.

Photo Credits {one, two, three}

Between the Hello Social, dinner with Better Homes and Gardens, staying at the amazing Grand America, wearing fun clothes, attending panel sessions by my favorite bloggers, connecting with amazing sponsors like Land of Nod, The Honest Company, Method, and Joss & Main {just to name a few}, hanging with bloggy friends like Brianne, PJ, and Mari, and hopefully meeting lots of new friends, I don’t know what will be better. Maybe it will all just be great. Maybe I’ll be able to forget the everyday stresses of daily life and just be inspired and reinvigorated.

Lately, I’ve been up into the late hours of the night doing things like this:

Getting ready for this trip has been a lot of work. In a weird way, I’ll be happy when it doesn’t occupy so much of my brain and I can start hunkering down at home and nesting for this new little one who will join us very soon {oh the grass is always greener isn’t it?}. In the meantime, I’m excited for what the week holds. I’m gonna soak it all in, go with the flow, be myself, and just try to enjoy! It’s been a long time coming!

I also wanted to take a second to thank Beso – the site devoted to shopping for supplying me with my Alt Ticket! Even though I purchased a ticket within minutes of them going on sale, I was selected as one of Beso’s Sweepstakes winners so it was a huge, delightful surprise! I was able to sell my ticket to someone very awesome, Nicole….and everybody wins! Yay!

I’ll be taking a break from posting this week but will be active on Twitter and Facebook with events and photos from the week. I hope you’ll join me over there! Have a great week everyone!

It's almost January?!

In a month and a half, I’ll be boarding a plane to Salt Lake City for my first trip to Alt Summit to join 650 of my favorite bloggers {including one of my awesome roommates} at a fabulous hotel, for a 3 ½ day extravaganza of learning, networking, eating, crafting, and exploring.

It feels exciting and fresh, like I’ve found my clan. There are so many bloggers I’ve been reading for so many years and when their names appear as speakers or attendees, my heart skips a beat!

Here are just a few of the reasons I’m getting so excited:

It’s intimate. When I attended BlogHer this past summer, there were 10x more bloggers in attendance than there will be at Alt. To me, it felt too large, too “cattle call”, and too big to really connect with people. I’m VERY giddy to be in a smaller clan with bloggers closer to my niche.

It’s organized. I’m constantly receiving news and info via Twitter, Facebook, and informative newsletters delivered right to my email. There is also the Alt Summit blog, updated daily with great content for your creative business or blog AND tips on the upcoming conference, such as what to wear for the big party and what to pack.

I love the sponsors. Bing, Blurb, Joss & Main, Minted, Better Homes and Gardens, and Land of Nod just to name a few. I mean, REALLY!? Whether it’s little gifts being sent to the house or dinner at the conference on the first night {I’m going to BHG!!}, it’s really fun to get to interact with companies I already know and love.

Clue parties, whimsy, and fun outfits. It’s just a good time.

Will you be there?? If so let me know so we can meet up!! Can’t make it this year? That’s ok, Alt Channel provides year round virtual webcasts on a variety of blog topics. Some are free and some have a cost but they are an excellent way to expand your blog knowledge!

A whirlwind week and looking ahead

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This week, I went to Chicago for the PMA conference – an annual trip I attend for my day job as a paralegal at Microsoft. Highlights involved my luggage getting lost by American Airlines {never again}, good food at trendy restaurants like Girl and the Goat, Untitled, and Bandera, lots and lots of training sessions, a very comfy bed all to myself, snow flurries, scary taxi rides, and a few snippets of the city during the fleeting moments we were able to get outside. The more I go to Chicago, the more I love it. Everyone is friendly, the food and shopping are top notch, and it’s starting to feel comfortable…even a little homey.

I was happy to be home though. I am looking forward to thanksgiving…looking forward to finding out if we are having a boy or girl {11 days!}, looking forward to moving hopefully very soon, reducing the stress and commute time, resetting some habits with Sky, setting up a new little nursery and filling our home with only things that really matter. Clutter out, simplicity in.

How was your week? What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

The Mighty Pacific

We just returned from a quick trip to the coast – one last hurrah before fall officially sets in. What’s amazing about Washington is that it can be just as nice at the beach in September as it is in July. It’s pretty wonderful.

Our days were filled with lots of beach time where Sky discovered a new favorite hobby: feeding goldfish crackers to the seagulls instead of eating them. It was too chilly to swim but the sand alone was entertaining enough. Oh the SAND…it was everywhere….EVERYWHERE.

When we weren’t at the beach, we were eating or playing at the arcade. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend the Cottage Bakery, a throwback to a TRUE bakery where real bakers make real amazing treats in the wee hours of the morning and locals come daily to sit in the colorful booths and drink coffee while doing crossword puzzles and talking about the day ahead. We met a nice old man from Brooklyn, on a long road trip, discovering the US. How awesome is that? He was so friendly and it was comforting to see how beautiful he thought it was here.

Before we left, we stopped for a visit at Cape Disappointment. While the trip overall was a bit disappointing {no pun intended} since it was too foggy to see and the lighthouses were small and un-exciting, we did get immersed in the famous drippy ocean fog that supplies life to some of the most magnificent old growth spruce forests.

Look at that! A spruce so big it’s in the fog….it was just breathtaking. It really makes you feel small. Oh! And, one final tidbit! I got to do something I haven’t done in a LONG time…I got to read a book! It’s silly how this is nearly impossible once you have a child. I’m halfway through Bloom by Kelle Hampton, one of my favorite people. Have you read it? I highly recommend.

The Last of Summer

If there’s one thing that I look forward to each year to close out the summer season, it’s camping with our family friends and all our kiddos in eastern Washington. No agenda or structure – just the open road, water, and good company.

Much of the drive looks like this – gorgeous country! Hwy 2 East.

I was a little worried about Sky after last years complete camping FAIL but he did beautifully. It’s amazing the difference a year makes. He slept perfectly in the tent and had so much fun riding in the boat and playing at the beach.

This is the smile Sky makes when he’s overly happy. It’s too adorable!

Can you believe we live near something so beautiful?! How lucky we are…

The cutest bunch of kiddos you will ever see!

Two daily occurrences – tractor rides at dusk and floating in the lake.

Between the multiple birthdays {including Josh!}, an engagement to celebrate, 50 tons of food, and a huge group of friends to share it with, it just doesn’t get any better! More camping pictures can be seen here. Happy Monday friends!

New York City Part 3: Bits and Pieces

Well, this will be my last New York post. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it now anyway, right?! So far, we’ve covered the major attractions, food, and art. Today, there really isn’t a rhyme or reason to this post other than to share with you some of my favorite snapshots. As much as I love to see the big sights of the city, I equally love being able to practice my photography and take pictures of everything things I find pretty or interesting.

Spiderman jumped out at us in Times Square. So, I took his picture. Reflexes!

The Architecture in New York is magical. Old mixed with new….and rooftop gardens!

If you look hard enough, there is greenery and nature! How perfect are those apartments?! It’s like something out of a movie!

Martha – of course….needs no introduction. LOVE HER.

Me and Melissa!

Me and Diana!

More beautiful….minus the subway which was a balmy 100 degrees {and we saw a rat!}

Do you have a favorite sight in New York City?

Into the wild!