Full Review: February 26th Dallas Boggers Meetup

On Saturday, February 26, fourteen Dallas-area bloggers and I gathered for the first DFW bloggers meetup. I was thrilled (and nervous!) to meet so many inspiring, stylish women, learn a bit more about blogging, and make some connections in the Dallas area.

The event was organized by Dallas-blogger Kileen of Cute and Little. According to Kileen, the idea for the meetup originated from one of her Dallas readers, PV of Fab Fashion Finds. PV was new to town and wanted to meet new people with similar interests. At the time, Kileen only knew of two other Dallas bloggers, but took a chance and introduced the idea of a meetup on her blog. The event quickly grew from a small 2-3 person group to a 15 person group, and we made arrangements to gather at a restaurant in Northpark Center Mall for a morning of brunch, shopping, and networking.

Attendees included Charis of Mizz Scoop, Chastity of  The Curvy Girl's Guide to Style, Stephanie of Beauty and Gardens, Ivonne of Ivonne Stacy Style, Jen of Blank White Frames, Jessica of Splendiferous Inclinations, Stephanie of Stephanie Bridget;  Tina of T Minus T Plus, Irene of Pink Hearted Princess, LaMirica of FashionabyL8, Katy of think {pretty} thoughts, Tasha of Imperfect Concepts, Angga of Reserverade Fashion, and Janell of Fashionably You.

 

At eleven-thirty we met in front of La Duni, a Latin restaurant located in the mall.

Tina, Angga, Janell, Ivonne, Kileen, Tasha, and Charis

Unfortunately, due to the large size of our group, La Duni was unable to seat us. Kileen quickly arranged for us to have a private room at Cibus, located just across from La Duni, and we settled in for a delicious brunch of vanilla french toast, eggs, gravlox and brioche with bottomless Bellinis and mimosas. We exchanged business cards and spent time getting to know one another. I especially enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind our blogs, local places to shop, and  new blogs to explore. Kileen mentioned that there are so many great networking opportunities everywhere you look, and the meetup proved that we need to be better prepared to promote our blogs in real life. At the event, many bloggers had business cards with their blog information on it. Kileen stated that she's definitely getting business cards ready before the next meetup!

There was also a suggestion to create a DFW Blogger Network during lunch. This was a wonderful idea and Kileen has already constructed a network to encourage us to stay in touch.

Introductions were made around the table

After a delicious brunch, we headed out into Northpark's courtyard for some photos. It was a beautiful early spring day - only in Texas can temperatures reach into the seventies in February!. Of course, we all brought our cameras, and the courtyard quickly turned into a backdrop for an impromptu photoshoot.

Angga, PV, Kileen, Irene, Stephanie

Chastity, London, Tasha, Janell, Jen, Charis

Angga, Ivonne, me and Tina

Once photos were completed, the group headed over to Dillard's for a special treat - a Dior makeup consultation! Kileen had won this Allure-sponsored event and was so kind to share it with us. In addition to receiving tips regarding priming for makeup, applying foundation, creating the perfect smoky eye, we were each given a $25 gift card for Dior products. While the event was a lot of fun, Kileen thought it might have taken valuable time away from us to get to know one another more in depth. Future events might focus more on networking as a result, but the Dior event was such treat for our first meetup.

Due to the large number of attendees, our consultation was broken up into two groups, making it easier for us to receive a bit more personal attention.

The Dior Beauty Director instructing us on creating a smoky eye.

Angga modeled bright lipstick

Angga and Stephanie post-makeover.

The last make-up session didn't end until after five, and we went home with memories of a wonderful afternoon and plans to get together bi-monthly. Kileen did a fantastic job organizing the event. She sent out a thoughtful poll to attendees after the meetup, asking for input regarding future events, and created a button to make it easier for us to stay in touch. I am so grateful to have been included!

Thank you Kileen!