The Domino Awards Party

As promised, I wanted to devote an entire post to the Domino party! There were SO many inspiring details and I wanted to share them all with you. In case you missed the news last month, I won the Domino Blog Award for ‘Best Lifestyle Blog’… read more about that here. If that’s old news, click through for a behind-the-scenes look at the event! It was nothing short of mesmerizing. I mean, just look at me in the above image- smiling and admiring that crazy tablescape… the photographer, Amalia Guégan, must have captured me having a moment or something. Click through! 

I found out in early December that I had won and I couldn’t wait to share the news with you! Part of winning the award meant a fun trip to NYC for the awards party and a private tour of the Domino office (which was every bit as cool as I had imagined).

Emmett initially had planned to come with me, but ended up not being able to take off work. I was pretty bummed because I feel like he also really deserved recognition- after all, he’s the guy who makes all of these reno projects happen. Luckily, I invited my friend Laurie Anne to be my +1 and we turned the little trip into a fun girls getaway! Best choice ever.

The funny thing is, I had never met Laurie Anne in person until landing in New York (she flew in from Arizona). The minute I stepped into JFK airport, she was waiting for me with a hilarious sign and I knew our blind date friendship trip was going to be one for the books! Ha. Of course I made lots of new friends while in NYC too, and even got to see “old” ones!  That’s the funny thing about social media- you develop really great friendships with like-minded people and sometimes never even meet them in person. It’s crazy! I also got to meet Ashley and Natasha (in person) for the first time. Laurie Anne and I went to an epic dinner with them and then I invited them along to the Domino party with us the following day.

I also loved meeting the other winners, pictured from left to right: Chris of Chris Loves Julia // Jared of Sugar & Cloth // Anita Yokota //  Erin of Reading My Tea Leaves // Shavonda of SG Style // Niki of My Scandinavian Home // and I’m on the far right, hi!

I can’t even begin to tell you how honored I was to stand among this amazing and talented group of people. It’s also really encouraging to meet bloggers you’ve followed forever, only to learn they’re even better in person. I’m here to tell you, if you follow anyone in the above photo, every single one of them is just as kind and warm hearted as you’d expect. Everyone was so friendly and supportive- there were definitely some fantastic conversations that night.

The decor was insanely beautiful. The tablescape was certainly the star of the show… everything was ombre- the lighting, the floral arrangements, and even the FOOD!

Seriously- it reminded me of a glam party that reminisced Alice in Wonderland. What’s not to love about that?

The floral arrangements even went up the wall and onto the ceiling. Talk about creative!! It was all put together by the talented folks at The Gathery, and after leaving the party- I was feeling inspired by the decor alone.

The cocktails were equally as amazing! I wanted to chat with everyone, so I can’t vouch for the food because I was too busy gabbing, but it looked pretty great.

My party date (Laurie Anne) made friends with Anita’s party date (aka her sister, Gloria) and the four of us are planning to reconnect this spring for another creative girls trip. We seriously had the best time!

The best part of the entire experience (aside from getting to meet amazing people)? The prize for winning the award is a getaway from Tribute Portfolio Hotels. Emmett and I are so excited to spend a weekend away together. Our last vacation was two(!) years ago, when we stayed in this cool shipping container. We haven’t selected our destination yet, but we’re both pretty ecstatic to take a break from renovating!

I owe all of this to you. I can’t say it enough… thank YOU for following along, leaving comments, and encouraging me along the way. You guys are so special to me and I love getting to know each and every one of you. I also have to give a shout out to Laurie Anne for being my travel date- I’m lucky to have an amazing creative friend like that lady. This was certainly a trip (and party) to remember!

images: Amalia Guégan