I’m back from another whirlwind trip to Houston and I have to say that this might have been one of my best Willow Crowns trips ever. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that this was an insanely quick trip – I flew out at 4:30am on Saturday morning and was home, in my bed, by 9pm Monday night. Megan and I packed so, so much into two and a half days and I loved every second of it. 
Let’s break it down with photos, shall we?
I made it to the airport by 3:45 am, before security was even open, but at least I managed an outfit. 
affiliate links: top | jeans | shoes, old similar | suitcase details |
Meg and Olivia snagged me at the airport and we hustled ourselves over to the venue for our event, the Mamas and Makers Market, so that we could get a jump on set up. Meg had a really great vision for this particular event and I loved seeing it all in person – plus I got to meet Beth of Manor and see my love, Esther of CuteHeads, before we had to run on to the next errand.
Which was lunch.
I would blame the three year old for the fact that we were waiting outside of a Mexican restaurant for the doors to open at 11am, but honestly, it was all me. Mexican Caesar Salads and queso for the win. 
Next we hit up Meredith of Cake and Confetti to lay eyes on her custom creation for the Willow Crowns display for the first time. I have honestly never seen a floral installation that was so beautiful – Meredith brought Megan’s dream of a 10 foot long, fresh floral garland to life and it looked like something out of The Secret Garden. We got to watch Meredith work for a minute or two and I was in awe of her. If you don’t follow her on Instagram, you should! 
We shuffled the world’s prettiest floral garland into the car and ran home to price pieces, finalize the display, get our site ready, put together florals, and gather supplies – prep for a market honestly requires intense organization and you’re always worried you’re overlooking an important detail. 
 

But mostly, it works up an appetite. Megan’s husband Ryan was sweet enough to hold down the fort so that Meg and I could grab an early girl’s dinner, but not before I managed to grab a really important photo of their (growing!) family

Sunday morning came bright and early and I powered through, mostly because Megan is an early riser and uses her time wisely (meaning, she goes for coffee runs at 6am). There is always Starbucks waiting for me when I wake up at her house and it usually shows up just after I end up on the receiving end of one of Olivia’s signature wake up calls. 
We beautified, loaded the car and prepped ourselves for a day of meeting our customers – old and new!
my dress |
I have to say that one of my favorite things about in person Willow Crowns events is watching Megan. Willow Crowns is her dream and the look on her face when she sees one of our customers come through the door rocking one of her handmade bows is really priceless. I’m just so proud of her. Years ago, she told me that one day she would pay me for my opinions and I won’t lie, I had my doubts. I have been her biggest cheerleader as she has proven me wrong time and time again and now has a team of three. We were so honored by the sheer number of people who stopped by to say hello, show us pics of their babes in WC and take a peek at our newest products. Many, many thanks to Meg, Veronika, Jessica and all of the Houston girls who dropped in so that I could squeeze their faces. 

 The Market was crazy busy for the entire run (5 whole hours!) and Meg + bump held in there like a champ. Without a doubt, by 4pm, our feet were sore, we were running low on product and we were starving. We have a post event ritual that pretty much entails throwing all of our stuff into the car in record time and sprinting to the nearest dining establishment. At the suggestion of our dear friend Jaime, we made a bee line for Helen Greek Food and Wine and couldn’t have been happier. 

 
Houston girls, if you have not been here you must go immediately. It’s suggested that the dishes are best shared and we went to town – dips, grilled Halloumi, brown butter pasta, olive oil chocolate cake and baklava sundaes are just a portion of what we ordered. I might venture to say that Helen’s is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten in Houston – and their wine menu is to die. Go and thank me later.
As soon as we got home, I retreated to the guest room to finish the newest book in the Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo series (it’s so, so good) and to recharge my slightly introverted batteries. 
On Monday we started the day with a real deal breakfast so that Olivia had all of the energy needed to make it through her gymnastics class. And then, the very best thing happened: Meg and I decided to be bad moms and go see Bad Moms in the middle of the morning! An 11 am movie? It was Heaven. Bad Moms is crazy funny and just so very dead on. I loved it and the sound track is killer. 
The movie was over just in time for me to head to the airport – it was the fastest trip but filled to the brim with so much goodness. I made it home by 9pm and my husband, who deserves all of the credit for supporting me and making this trip even a possibility for me, was waiting up after a crazy day of rocking it single dad style. Without a doubt, I am reminded daily how lucky I am to have a husband who supports me unconditionally, a best friend who wants me to be apart of her dream and friends who go out of their way to support us. 
See you next time, Houston!

P.S. You can read Megan’s recap here