Click Retreat 2013

I have this thing that happens every. single. time. I decide to take a solo trip sans the fam. It usually looks something like this: book the trip, progressively feel more and more and MORE guilty for spending any extra pennies on myself, have some kind of family sickness and/or issue occur the week before I’m set to peace out on a jet plane, have a panic attack that I’m making a horrible choice, and then have the time of my life getting to remember that I’m a real person outside my fave roles as a wife and mother.

Click Retreat kicked off no different than any other trek I’ve made and I’ve come back feeling refreshed and uplifted.

Photo courtesy of Cherish Everyday

Here are the words that I journaled on the 4.5 hour flight home (P.S. Please remind me next time that I do NOT do well on flights of that length. Pretty please?):

I’m walking away from this weekend feeling inspired. Inspired to grow and improve my little blog. Inspired to work on my connections with brands that matter to me and my readers. Inspired to continue to foster meaningful relationships with my peers and dear friends. Mostly, I’m inspired to be a better me, to push and learn and grow and love and laugh. I’m inspired to live.

I was blessed to get to see such gorgeous places that are so different from my norm and deep, enlightening conversations with women whom I value and appreciate. Capturing the beauty and history of the Outerbanks was a thrill in itself. I can’t wait to take my family back to experience the slow pace of life in the small beach towns.

 Photo courtesy of Cherish Everyday

See that giant house in the background? Looks freakin’ gorgeous, right?

We actually stayed in two of those beauties, side by side. And when we thought it couldn’t get any better…

…this was the view that was awaiting us from the balconies. Swoon. One could absolutely get accustomed to life living directly on a beach such as this one.

The days we were there were filled with informative chats about photography and memory keeping from the likes of Me Ra Koh, Tracey Clark, and Ali Edwards and pie. Yup, the super awesome Joy the Baker not only showed us how to make a pie from scratch, but she also let us in on some of her food photography secrets. That’s golden, y’all.

Even Joy’s apple scraps are just hands-down gorgeous. And the girl has a serious passion for what she does. I can only hope that I have half as much love that I emulate when I chat about what I do as Miss Joy does for her baking.

One of the high points of Click Retreat: the afternoon excursions on the second day. Getting to walk through The Elizabethan Gardens, touring the history of our country, and taking in the breath-taking scenery was such a treat to me.

With spectacular views like these, how could I not be engrossed in my surroundings?!?

These lovely ladies were also a blast to tour the gardens with. Kami, Jamielyn, Cindy, Joy, and Kim definitely kept us cracking up.

We rounded out our excursion with a quick stop at Full Moon Cafe & Brewery. No joke, it’s run by the sweetest guy who has a serious love for not only what he does, but for the town he’s in as well.

 I can’t say enough thanks to the awesome ladies over at Today’s Mama for organizing this shin dig and to Southwest Airlines, HP, Snapfish, Sony, and The Outerbanks NC for making this much-needed break happen. Seriously. From the bottom of my heart, I’m forever grateful!