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This past Saturday night, a little over thirty local Austin mom bloggers came together to socialize at IF + D in downtown Austin. We had some good face-to-face time. Many of us finally got to meet the writers of the blogs that we follow daily, while others we met for the first time. There was outstanding food from Cantina Laredo, goodie bags, door prizes and a silent auction to help out Ike! I was a little worried that the box wine wasn’t refined enough, but it was a great success! Ladies, we’ve officially set the standard for future events!

Really, I couldn’t have asked for a nicer time. I thought I’d be more nervous… meeting and being in a room full of bloggers is a bit intimidating, but everyone was so personable and friendly. Austin is really a very lucky city to have such laid back people around!

First of all, I have to thank Kristen, the owner of I F + D, for opening up her space after closing time to us. If I were in her shoes, I would have been walking on pins and needles the entire evening! There’s a lot of really nice stuff in there and lots of red wine and Mexican food to potentially spill all over the really nice stuff. But, she was so laid back and had such a great sense of humor. It really made us all feel very welcome. And what a cool, local store. Somehow, I felt a little more hip spending the evening there. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Secondly, Al, the manager at Cantina Laredo, made the rest so easy. He was a pleasure to work with- never a complication that came up. The food was hot, fresh and delicious! Many thanks to the both of you!

We also couldn’t have pulled the night off without the support and generosity of several local Austin businesses. Sandra and I spent lots of time collecting all kinds of items that they donated for the event. For the most part, all of them were very kind and supportive of this awesome mommy blogging community. Please see the end of this post for a complete listing of the businesses who donated. And speaking of collecting goodies- thank you Sandra for your hard work in helping me to pull this off! Katie, a friend of mine, stepped in at the last minute to help with the silent auction. Couldn’t have done it without the two of you!

We raised a little over $800 for Ike and his family! Yay, Austin Mom Bloggers! You guys are the best for coming together at the last minute to help out this wonderful family. I’m so glad that the silent auction worked out. In fact, for every Austin Bloggin’ Mama Social we have, a silent auction will be held to benefit a local charity or family in need. How’s that for community?

Stephanie Klein, you were wonderful to speak at the event. You are genuine and humorous. I know you inspired many women to follow their true selves that night.

And to all of you bloggin’ mamas, thank you so much for taking time away from your family to spend with us! I know that several of you had to get babysitters for the night…. I appreciate that precious babysitter time that you used to attend the social! It was a delight to meet you. If you happened to miss this one, not to worry. I will be planning the next one for late Summer 2009. Will keep you updated as it nears.

Thanks, Bonnie Berry! Your photos, as always, captured the moment perfectly. And our awesome local businesses who donated  items for the silent auction and goodie bags :

Ruta Maya Coffee, BookPeople, Bettysport, Yoga Yoga, Bonnie Berry, Lafe’s , Merle Norman, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Sara Ballard Massage, Belle and Burger, Mama Sings the Blues, Trashy Roots, Jungle Java, Minx, Cantina Laredo, IF + D, Kathy’s Classic Haircuts, Blase Design, ZPizza Round Rock, Wildflower Organics, Ready Set Play.

Thank you!

Posted by livemom on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 3:23 pm | 12 Comments » You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.