0 MEMPHIS: st. jude children's research hospital

On our second day in Memphis, Brizo brought the Blogger19 group to St. Jude Children's Reasearch Hospital. This was our chance to tour the amazing facilities set up for families and children being treated at the hospital for childhood cancer.


We had breakfast in this beautiful pavilion and learned about some of the incredible advances in treatment that the hospital is creating for children battling cancer. We also learned about Brizo's partnership with St. Jude in their Dream Home Program. They are a national sponsor for this huge fundraiser for the hospital!




Next we toured the Target House, which is where families of patients live for absolutely during their treatment at St. Jude. Target generously gifted two larger multi-family housing buildings to the hospital, and various celebrities have donated their time and design talent to filling the common spaces!




There is a wall of elephant drawings (the elephant is their "mascot") created by the 100s of celebrities that visit the hospital each year.


My favorite space in the Target House is the Shawn White lounge! He and his team created such a cool space for families to share.




The room was full of cool little details that made you want to stay in it forever.


After the Target House, we toured the actual hospital and the research facility. The team at St Jude has done an outstanding job of taking the stigma out of being in a hospital and really created a space where kids can still be kids.


I wasn't able to take very many photos out of respect to the patients and families that were receiving care, but here are some shots from the fun activities we did with the patients! Their little spirits just lit up the room. It was such a blessing to have a little time with them!





I got to do some coloring with the little lady on the left in this photo, and let me tell you, she is a future boss! haha She gave be very direct instructions on how to create the perfect masterpiece. So much fun.




We learned that it takes 1.8 Million dollars a day to operate this amazing facility. Make a donation to St Jude Children's Research Hospital now! CLICK HERE Thank you so much to Brizo for giving us this unforgettable experience!

1 MEMPHIS: the peabody hotel

Last week I was fortunate to attend a reunion of the Blogger 19 hosted by Brizo Faucet. All the guests were treated to a suite at the historic Peabody Hotel right in the heart of downtown Memphis.


The lobby at the Peabody has historic décor...


...everywhere you look there are beautiful details...


...this was just one of the vent covers!




The hotel is famous for its twice daily duck march and fellow attendee Chris got the best shot of them doing there thing. It was really cute!


Brizo set up workshops for us to learn about their newest product lines in the ballrooms (More on that later!)


And the guest rooms were surprisingly the cutest shade of lavender.


I loved this comfy king sized bed, and the headboard had reading lights that flipped out of it. Another cool feature of the room? Motion triggered LED lights underneath the bedside tables. No need to fumble for the light switch in the dark!


After we all checked in on Tuesday night, a group of us headed out on the town in Memphis. Brizo put together such an amazing group of bloggers and design professionals; it was awesome just to chat in person with the people I follow online everyday! Tomorrow I'll share what we all did at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Delta Faucet manufacturing plant!



*My stay at the Peabody was sponsored by Brizo.

0 hey there

"Where have you been Niki?" Well last week was my birthday. And I actually took some time off!

On Thursday, I had dinner with some of my best friends and family at the Pit. I have been resisting the over abundance of carbs and fried food in NC since I moved back, but on my birthday, I indulged!

Then over the holiday weekend I visited Chicago for the first time...

Amazing city - I think I fell in love the first time I laid eyes on THIS. Frank Gehry is one of my favorite architects, and I'd never seen one of his works in person. Absolutely stunning!

And across the park from that amphitheater is the iconic "bean". Very cool, but it didn't wow me like the amphitheater!

I ate at some amazing restaurants and checked out Randolph Street Market, too. I wanted to live in that market and never leave. So much amazing vintage!

I'm sorry that I didn't take more photos, I was too busy gasping with excitement.

I did buy some "new" vintage navy cowgirl boots tho! ;)

I flew back to NC early Tuesday morning and went right back to work. I have to say that this may have been my best vacation yet. Can't wait to visit Chicago again.

Hope you had an awesome holiday weekend too!

0 dc chillin

Happy Friday y'all! This week has been a whirlwind for me. Lots of exciting things going on! I'm just getting around to uploading my photos from my trip to DC last weekend and I thought I'd share a few. Every time I visit DC, I fall for it a little bit more. The weather was perfect for roaming the city, so my friend Kelli & I got out and explored a bit.


If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen this FAB necklace that Kelli is wearing. After I posted this photo, she told me she bought it in Nepal!



The beautiful buildings in DC grabbed my attention the entire time I was there. It's amazing to see the revitalization they've done over recent years. Feels like a brand new city!



She was so stylish and simply reading a book on her stoop, I had to snap her photo.


And I wish I'd gotten a better shot of her outfit; her liquid leggings, neon coat and Versace scarf were fierce.


Artwork at Busboys & Poets on 14th street. I loved this mural so much!

That's just a peek into what we did. I'll share some more soon! I had such a good time last weekend, I kinda wish I was on my way back right now. I'll be here in NC though, filming another NEW webisode of Design Talk and starting on a new e-design client project.

Have a great weekend!

2 design talk 8: where do you want to go?

We wanted to share our destination wishlist with you in this brand new webisode of Design Talk. Where would you go if you had all the time & money you want to travel? Click play to hear our picks!

3 first and best trip of the year

As you know last week I was in NYC as a guest of Brizo to learn about their amazing brand and experience Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The Brizo team did a fantastic job making all the designers feel so welcomed & special and I had an amazing time. I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I was too busy taking it all in!

Right after I took this photo, I realized that Susan L. Taylor, formerly of Essence Magazine was sitting across the aisle from me. This was such a full circle moment for me because I grew up LOVING her magazine, and I'd had the chance to hear her speak at a conference I attended in high school. We chatted for a bit on the plane and it certainly was an amazing start to my trip! 

We arrived in the big city and were delivered to the fabulous Eventi Hotel just a few blocks from Times Square by a car service. 

The "living room" in the lobby of the Eventi...

....absolutely gorgeous! The entire hotel was designed impeccably. I wonder who designed it?
The first night we had a cocktail party to meet & greet all the other designers. Everyone came from all over the country but some of us "knew" each other via Twitter and had never met in person. Everyone was super sweet!


The next morning I got dressed up in my brightest colors for our day of Brizo brand training. :)



The team educated us on the entire line of products, including Jason Wu's upcoming line. It was so amazing to see how they draw inspiration, come of up ideas, and the process of putting them into production. Brizo truly does approach their product as a fashion line!



We got to see prototypes and give feedback on brand new designs & finishes. It was really cool to see the ideas, as well as here the design process of the industrial designers.

After class we took a short break before we were whisked away to the Hearst building to take a cooking class at the brand new Sur La Table located on the first floor. *Side Note* This was a "Mary Tyler Moore" moment for me! When I hopped out of that limo and saw this beautiful building in front of me, I wanted to do a cartwheel and squeal with joy! Haha





We made handmade pasta & pesto and ate everything we made. SO delicious!! And fun.


The next day (Friday) we had a champagne brunch before heading out to Jason Wu's show! 

On the way in a big Lexus came rushing in and out hopped Anna Wintour. Just like The Devil Wears Prada. I could not make these stories up y'all!! I snapped this photo before I almost lost it; I was too excited!! 

The show was AMAZING! I was in the first section, on the 3rd row. His inspiration story was so clear, the clothes were amazing and the music was phenomenal. I kinda want the soundtrack! You can see the entire collection here.


Lastly, we attended a cocktail reception at this penthouse with gorgeous views of the city. Jason Wu came, watched his show with us (this is the first time he got to see it!) and had a few drinks. It was a great ending to a fabulous trip! The entire trip was a DREAM. Thank you so much to the Brizo team for including me and I'm so proud to be a part of the Blogger 19 group now! 


I hope you enjoyed the photos!