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What a whirlwind. Less than 48 hours from New York to Cali. A 6+ hour flight and 3 hour time difference – and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. In the past I might have rationalized myself out of such a quick trip across the country, but now I just LOVE traveling – and really love traveling by myself! Who knew! It’s something I’ve really grown to love – and appreciate.
This was one of our Stella and Dot “conferences” – the smaller of the two we have this year. Also – one of my best friends lives out in San Fran and had a baby not too long ago so I was combining the trip with seeing her and the babe. It was perfect timing to do both!
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I went straight from the airport to her apartment which is in THE cutest area and we walked over to have a quick lunch – which was totally amazing! Such a great greek spot and we sat outside. It was the most beautiful, crisp day, and there’s pretty much nothing better than being reunited with one of your best friends – and meeting her amazing, beautiful baby!
Then I headed over to the hotel to get ready to go to our CEO’s house. I was honored to have earned a special toast with our leadership as a “founding leader” of our new platform – Social Retail – changing the game in the direct selling industry once again. It was really special.
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There were 10 of us there and our CIO, Danielle Redner, went around and spoke about each one of us. It’s pretty spectacular working for a company where your executives know everything about you – down to your hubby and kids’ names – AND she even mentioned what was going on at home with Olivia. I MEAN – it really brought tears to my eyes. Not only just that, but hearing about my peers, who I so admire, is so inspirational. It’s weird how you don’t realize just how special moments like that are until you’re in them! How lucky. How very lucky.
We then got a sneak peek into what’s to come for summer and beyond and got to vote on the pieces we liked and provide specific feedback to help in the decision making process for what’s to come! How cool is that! We have a huge impact on the process and on what ends up in our lines. That’s something I don’t take for granted. Our feedback is valued – and that’s something that’s really hard to find.
After that special time and sneak peek behind the design, all of our friends came. It was the leaders in the company – for a big dinner of the most amazing paella – and visiting with friends that have turned into family – which is always the best part of being together.
We woke up Saturday morning, got ready, and headed over to the event space for a toast for the ladies who earned the trip to Italy. This was another one of my weekend highlights. First of all – we got to see sneaks of the fall S&D line – and O M G. THAT was quite a way to start. Fall is always my personal favorite line so it got me extra excited for what’s to come!
Then, we toasted. It was very intimate. We talked about the trip – and how hard we all worked to earn it – and reminisced about the process – and about each of our journeys to get there – and how we all came together to do it – and how we couldn’t have done it without each other – and it was just the coolest moment. There were tears, and there was laughter, and there was celebration.
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We then headed over to the opening session. We heard inspiration, saw more sneaks {all I have to say is WOAH} – and we learned more about our vision – and about our sister skincare line that we merged with – the one I’ve been using for years – and I mean, I’m not a person that has ever understood all that goes into skincare. I just know I love how my skin has looked since I started using it. And hearing about the cleanical products and what sets them apart – literally CLEAN ingredients that are CLINICALLY proven and abide by EUROPEAN standards (they have the strictest guidelines!) It was really fascinating and made me even more excited to share them confidently and for what’s to come.
Peptide Lip Therapy: plumps lips and reduces lines
After the main session, I headed out to meet Antonia and her baby and hubby for the afternoon! They took me down to another cute area and we had another DELICIOUS and healthy lunch, and then walked around and down to the harbor. San Fransisco is just beautiful. Loved hearing more about their life there and was so hard to leave when it was time because with your best friends who you don’t see often, there’s just never enough time.
I went back to get ready for the night and realized my friends were all out grabbing some food and margaritas – so couldn’t pass that up. Squeezed in some time and margs with them – and then ran back to the hotel to get ready for the white carpet event which was right before our awards ceremony. We had to wear pink shoes and it was so much fun seeing what everyone was wearing. I went with a classic black jumpsuit because I got it on sale for $30 on Cyber Monday and thought it was so fun with a pop of bright pink in the shoe.
The awards ceremony was one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend. We sat on fancy couches with drink service {so fancy!} and Danielle Redner, our CIO, was the “MC” and did it totally awards-show style giving Ricky Gervais a run for his money 😉 She KILLED IT! It was funny and sweet and entertaining – and Mike Loehner, one of our founders, even did a duet with Danielle to the tune of “Shallow” – it was HILARIOUS.
Then, the awards were given out – and I got recognized on stage for being one of the top in our company for helping other women start their S&D gig successfully. It’s a really really cool feeling to be up on stage recognized for your hard work. So stinking cool. I got some extra “swag” which was the cherry on top.
After the awards ceremony, we had some fun at the dance party – and then – in true Julie fashion – I went on the hunt for ice cream lol. And we landed at Girardelli’s with the most delicious ice cream cone filled with cookie dough. My favorite flavor. Then – on to change into our jammies, take the makeup off, and just hang – and talk life with friends that I am so lucky to feel like I’ve known forever. They’ve become sort of like sisters. We talk about anything and everything and they’re just those friendships that are so unexpected and so deeply cherished that I’m not sure what I ever did without.
Sunday morning, unfortunately, I had to miss mostly all of the sessions because I had an early flight home. I spent the morning with my friends, ran over to catch a bit of the closing session, and then headed to the airport.
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All in all, it was the most fabulous 48 hours. So quick, but so worth it to fly across the country to see Antonia and her amazing babe, my S&D fam, and hear about the vision and direction that’s been the brainchild of our incredible CEO, Jessica Herrin as we launch Social Retail – a platform for women to pick their passion, and learn and earn on their own terms. Pretty amazing. Bring it, 2020!
