Speaker Spotlight - Heather

You just can't help but feel a little bit happy when you step into Heather's space on the internet over at Life Made Lovely.  Sure you can easily say it's the cute and funky glasses, the sassy haircut, sweet smile or her crazy good design skills that make you want to pull up a chair and stay a while.  But really what we love and appreciate most about Heather and what truly makes her special is her heart and her dedication to finding the lovely in all things, whether big or small.  We're so excited for her to speak at Blog Sugar and to get you just as excited, here's a fun little Q & A.

What is the one thing that might surprise people?
I'm completely afraid to cook meat.  My family is one step away from being vegetarian only because of my fear of food poisoning from undercooked meat.

When you were little, what did you want to "be" when you grew up?
I wanted to work at an ad agency just like Angela on "Who's the Boss" or run a magazine. My mom still has the ones I made myself when I was 9 years old.

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
Thankful.

Desert island. 3 things Go.
Sweet tea tea with Sonic ice, Pandora radio on my phone (this island has wi-fi, right?), and my man.

Why do you feel God has brought you to the blogging world? 
I think God initially brought me to the blogging world so that He could show me that I wasn't alone.  At the time I was struggling to find someone else that had survived something they thought they couldn't.  Through blogging I quickly found people that were sharing their own stories, each one full of hope and faith.  Being able to connect with people in this way helped my faith to grow and my world to move in a new direction.  That was almost 3 years ago!  I feel like God is using the blogging world to teach me that I have a voice and can share it.  I think that when we share our stories we have the opportunity to impact the world in meaningful ways. Whether they are stories of loss or of love, they connect us to each other, and I find that completely inspiring!

Speaker Spotlight-Jeannett

I've known Jeannett for awhile now and besides having sharp wit, she has a killer blog that focuses on other people, their needs and how she can help. Please take some time to visit her piece of the internet and learn about her and how you can also stand in the gap, for those in need. Currently, she is doing a series that focus' on infant loss/miscarriage. The guest posts have been moving and very enlightening. {They'll leave you in tears, so grab a tissue. They'll also leave you better for it.}

Go and read. And look forward to her words that she will be sharing, come September.

***

*One thing about me that might surprise you:

I originally applied to a film school in Los Angeles right after high school. I was accepted and even had an internship lined up at Warner Brothers Studios! My dreams of being a world famous movie director were underway! But after a series of what I thought were unfortunate events at the time, turned out to be my biggest blessing. I like my simple life of being a mom. There are few accolades and my name is certainly not in lights, but it couldn't have played itself out more beautifully.

*When you were little, what did you want to "be" when you grew up?

I wanted to be a travel agent. Super weird, right? I had "stolen" one of every pamphlet from the local travel agency we visited when my grandma booked her own trip, and I went home and set up all the brightly colored pages with photos of beautiful locales and would spend hours pretending to book amazing trips for people. Interestingly, I never had the desire to do the traveling myself, just to coordinate all of the fun for others. Looking back, I can see how this desire to do the behind the scenes work to help others is still playing a prominent role in my life. So maybe it wasn't so random after all...

*If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

My husband would answer this by saying Stubborn. I like to call it Strong Willed. Although that's two words...so maybe he's right.

*Desert Island. 3 things. Go.

1. Philosophy Hope in a Jar moisturizer

2. Coffee. Black. One scoop of sugar. Repeat.

3. I'm gonna cheat and say my iPad. You know, because this deserted island surely has wifi. What kind of island would it be if it didn't???? Pshaw.

*Why do you feel God has brought you to the blogging world?

I think women need encouragement in knowing that they aren't the only ones out there having a rough go at it somedays. None of us have it all together, and it's so easy in real life to avoid playdates and meetings...and even when we go, it's easy to pull out the flat iron and dab some lipstick to mask the chaos. It's hard for me to be vulnerable and cry in front of others...and I would imagine it's the same for a lot of women. You just aren't sure of the reactions you'll get. And who knows when the Ugly Cry is going to make a surprise appearance, you know? Yet, somehow, pouring out my heart onto a screen feels safe and therapeutic (which is really backwards when you consider the fact that it's the *internet*!). Blogging allows me to string together my thoughts in ways that I can't always do in real life...it allows me to re-read, edit, make more clear, and mull over things in a way that real life doesn't. And by doing so...by being more confident in the end result, I am more confident in sharing God's grace and mercy. Because God is in everything. Everything. And the act of stopping long enough to type out my words, allows me the time to reflect on this truth. Sharing it becomes a natural outcrop of telling the stories of my everyday. My hope is that somehow, someway, even in an itty bitty tiny way, I bring glory and honor. Because isn't that what we were made for?

Speaker Spotlight - Gussy

Happy Friday sweet ladies (and gentlemen)!  It's Andrea here to do a little speaker spotlight on one of our very special ladies, Maggie, aka Gussy.  Rachel, who in my book has super persuasion powers being that she was able to get such a fab panel of women together for Blog Sugar, asked Maggie some fun questions so that we can get to know her a little better.  Some of you may already know Gussy, savvy business girl and ruffle sewer extraordinaire, but check out her answers to Rachel's fun questions to get to know her a little better! 

*What is one thing about you that might surprise people? I have a tattoo on my right wrist that is Japanese for "joy".

*When you were little, what did you want to "be" when you grew up? When I was really young, all I wanted to be was a mommy. Then as I grew up some more, I dreamed of also being a magazine editor. Taking yearbook for 2 years in high school and being one of 3 editors my senior year was one of my favorite memories of high school.

*If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be? Sassy! ;)

*Desert Island.  3 things.  Go. Husband, sunglasses, fresh fruit.

*Why do you feel God has brought you to the blogging world? I would describe the last 3 years of my life as amazing, unexpected, faithful. Shortly after Zack and I were married we were both suddenly unemployed. We quickly learned there is so little we control, but having faith in God means everything is under control. It was because of job loss that we moved away to Minneapolis (from Detroit), and then shortly after moving I was able to pursue Gussy Sews. The entire time I've been blogging God has been working on this part of our story. That simply amazes me. My blog friends are immeasurable blessings to me.

Thanks Maggie!  I personally can't wait to meet you, and you best believe I'm gonna be sneaking a peek of that little wrist tattoo!  I would have never guessed you to be a girl with a tattoo.  See, you learn something new everyday ;)  Make sure to go on over to Maggie's website to check out more Gussy goodness.

We hope you enjoyed this little Speaker Spotlight.  Wishing you all a spectacularly sweet weekend!  I personally will be celebrating my 35th birthday, so I'll be drowning my sorrows in lots of cake.

Andrea

Checking In

Well hello there sweet ladies!  Did you think we deserted you?  I surely hope not, we would never do that!  While we may have been a bit busy with life this past week, we have still been brainstorming, plotting and scheming up ways on how we can make Blog Sugar 2011 the best possible experience for all of you.  Through me quitting my job, Jen gallivanting all over town to super glam events, and Rachel suffering and surviving through Sinus Infection 2011, fear not, some brilliant ideas have still been forged and will soon be announced!

In the meantime, have you checked out our Facebook page?  Click on that little thumbs up guy and "like" us for daily sugary sweet updates straight to your Facebook page.


And by a show of hands, or comments, how many out of towners do we have attending Blog Sugar?  In case you missed it, the local Ayres Hotel in Seal Beach has hooked us up with a pretty sweet deal of $109 a night!  Make your trip even more affordable though by finding a roomie and splitting the costs!  If you're interested in finding a roommate for the weekend, please leave a comment below and we'll try to assist with playing match maker :)

In the next few days, more information about our wonderful panel of Speakers and Sponsors will be forthcoming, and we'll also announce some exciting information about Scholarships to Blog Sugar.  We'll also be introducing you to our official photographer for Blog Sugar, because you know, we're fancy like that.       


In just a few short weeks, Blog Sugar is more than 50% sold out.  We are excited and fired up, but also humbled and grateful to be working together to bring you all what we only hope will be a truly wonderful night of camaraderie, friendship and inspiration.  Thank you for your interest and excitement in this event.  All the fun tweets, emails and comments all over the interweb have been a constant source of motivation and inspiration.


We can't wait till September!
Much Love,

Rachel, Andrea and Jen