Week of September 25 – October 1: This week we shared all kinds of Halloween ideas and inspiration while we were in San Diego for the 2023 Amazon Creator Summit.
This week positively flew by!
After a month of preparing for the 2023 Amazon Creator Summit, we boarded our plane Monday morning and headed out to San Diego.
We’re sharing more about that below!
We got back to Charlotte on Thursday evening and our husbands drove down together to pick us up from the airport.
Even though we were tired, we were also super hungry. We stopped at one of our favorite quick dining restaurants, Viva Chicken, for dinner on the way back home.
Fortunately, our jet lag wasn’t too bad because we did a pretty good job of staying on our normal time zone schedule while we were in California.
We spent Friday doing some laundry and catching up with work. Then it was time to meet friends for dinner before going to the Old Dominion concert in Charlotte!
We got the tickets for this concert months before we knew about the Creator Summit.
We joked with our husbands that they were lucky they bought those tickets when they did. There’s no way we would have said yes to those tickets if we knew we’d be doing back-to-back business travel…
On Saturday it was time to pack again. We’re writing this at 30,000 feet on our way to Waco, Texas!
Technology is pretty amazing, isn’t it?
We’ll be sharing more about the Achieve Conference and Waco in stories on Instagram and Facebook.
Amazon Creator Summit: Day One
We had an amazing time at the Amazon Creator Summit!
The 2023 Summit was at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, CA.
If you’re looking for a gorgeous resort on the West coast, be sure to check it out.
It’s on a beautiful stretch of beach along the Pacific ocean. The lifeguard stands look like something straight out of Baywatch!
There are so many restaurants to choose from, but be prepared: California prices are way different from North Carolina prices…
The first afternoon we were there we connected with our friends Julie and Jodi, The Design Twins.
They’ve been active in the blogging and influencing world a few years longer than us and they introduced us to so many other women!
We had dinner around a firepit and learned so much from the group.
One of the best parts of these conferences is the people you meet, the connections you make, and the things that you learn from sharing.
Kris Jenner was the keynote speaker the first day!
She is so down-to-earth in person. Or at least she seemed to be during her 30-minute talk and interview.
When you think about it, she has propelled her daughters to be exceptionally successful businesswomen. Her family is very close. So the drama they show on the TV show isn’t telling you the full story of their lives.
We got to try out a variety of Korean skincare products at one of the sessions and can’t wait to actually use them at home. They sent us home with full-size bottles of their entire line!
Sol de Janeiro, makers of the famous Bum Bum Cream, set up a booth in the vendor area. There was a girl chopping open actual coconuts and that fresh coconut water was so much better than either of us anticipated!
Amazon Creator Summit: Day Two
They hosted a beach party for dinner one night, complete with firepits and s’mores boxes served out of a converted vintage VW bus!
The hotel set up picnic tables, and rugs, with low tables and poufs, and Adirondack chairs.
Once again, the conversations we had with other attendees gave us so many great ideas and inspiration!
We really enjoyed hanging out with Brendt from She Gave It a Go, Jodi and Julie, and Leslie from My 100 Year Old Home that evening.
They spoiled us with a delicious formal dinner on the final evening of the conference.
Everyone got to walk the red carpet and pose for photos.
Deciding what to wear to this event was the hardest part of the entire experience! LOL
The entire Creator Summit was so inspiring and we feel so honored that we were invited.
This Week on Simply2Moms
Even though we were in San Diego, this was a busy week on our website too!
We have all kinds of Halloween inspiration for you thanks in part to our monthly supper club group.
And since we’re doing lots of business travel we decided to share some of the things we love to pack when we stay in hotels.
We kicked off the week with some simple and cheap ideas for Halloween decor.
There’s no rule that says Halloween decorations need to be bright colors that don’t coordinate with your home’s decorating style!
Anne shared how she uses a variety of natural elements paired with some inexpensive spooky finds to decorate her fireplace mantel.
You can easily use these ideas throughout your home.
Then it was time for our adult Halloween party theme for this month’s supper club.
AnnMarie is sharing some fantastic ideas to create a spooky-looking table.
You’re never going to guess what kind of fabric she used for the runner!
Anne’s new healthy pumpkin chili recipe is a delicious variation to try if you’re in a chili rut!
The pumpkin adds a little bit of sweetness and earthiness to the chili.
Each serving is under 350 calories with just 3.2 grams of fat. This healthy chili is a Trim Healthy Mama E recipe.
Anne shares tips for making it on the stovetop, in a crockpot, and in a pressure cooker.
Over the past few years, we’ve had the opportunity to travel a fair amount as part of our business.
We are both homebodies at heart, so we love bringing things with us that make a hotel room more comfortable.
We’re sharing some of our hotel travel essentials for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Finally, we’ve rounded up 21 delicious fall recipes for you to serve at a Falloween dinner party.
We decided to lean into the fall harvest aspect for our Halloween dinner party menu. Fall plus Halloween equals Falloween!
You’ll find ideas for fall cocktails, appetizers, entrees, side dishes, salads, and desserts.
More Ideas and Inspiration From Our Friends
We love spending time each week visiting our favorite websites. And of course, we share the best things we find with you.
This week we’re sharing some of the finds from a few of the amazing people we met at the Amazon Creators Summit.
Like this super fun DIY Halloween porch decor.
These kitchen organization ideas you don’t want to miss out on.
These tips to care for aging skin.
Creating a fall wardrobe capsule.
How to pack smart for a 7-day cruise.
Ideas to decorate with blue and white chinoiserie.
If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us or leave a comment!
Don’t miss any of our tips, tricks, or stories!
We’d love for you to follow us on social media! You can find us on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
