Rustoleum Blogger Event in Charlotte

It really is amazing all the doors that have opened up to bloggers in the last couple of years. I still have to pinch myself that I get to do these things and they are part of my business as a blogger.  Totally unreal at times, to be able to take part in these brand events.   A group of bloggers were brought together last week in Charlotte, NC for a Rustoleum event to showcase some of their new products.

I love brands that get it.  They realize that working with the end users who actually use their products is the best way to get the word out. And getting product to bloggers who are end users really gets the word out. We use their products, we blog about their products and it’s a win-win for all.  You all get to read about the products and decide which ones you want to try in your own homes and we are the ones who document the process of using them in our own homes.

I love that brands and companies are realizing that we do have a large voice as bloggers and that when we love a product and a brand, we will share it with the world.  Rustoleum is one of those companies who get it and I’m very happy to be associated with them, getting to try out products.  This blog journey is multi-faceted all along the way and I’ve been so blessed to be able to partner up with some incredible brands, Rustoleum being one of them.

There were 12 bloggers brought in for this event and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner the first night and then the second day got to hear several presentations from the folks at Rustoleum about some of their stain products and some new products that haven’t been out that long.  I hope to use one of those soon. I’m excited that I might have found a product to use on my concrete block wall at the end of my driveway, so that will be something that I will get to try out this year.

They booked us all at the historic Duke Mansion in Charlotte, NC.  I didn’t know what to expect, but boy oh boy, was it beautiful.  This gorgeous mansion has a lot of history in the area and began as a family residence back in the day.  It’s now a bed and breakfast and wow, is it grand.

This is the front of Duke Mansion and when I heard the word, mansion, it totally conjured up this view.

This is the back yard of Duke Mansion.  Can you imagine?  Totally beautiful place.

Me and Roeshel enjoying the sunshine that first afternoon.

I was really bummed that somewhere between Charlotte and Atlanta on the last day, I lost my point and shoot camera that I’ve had a few years and so lost all the photos that I took at the event as well.  So, these pics are from my iphone, blog friends and some that the Rustoleum team took the two days we were there.  I’ll just have to find another point and shoot, the smaller ones come in handy many times.

The foyer area of the mansion has these gorgeous black and white tiled floors and Rustoleum used all of this area to showcase their products.

Chevron board and spray painted bottles and jars.  Their products really can be used for so many applications and DIYers love it.

These are all stain colors on the boards.

That first night we all gathered in the big lobby area for a cocktail party and it was fun to catch up with everyone.  I had met all the bloggers who were there, except one, Kristi and it was so wonderful to get to see many of my friends again.

More spray painted bottles.

These 4 colors are possible contenders for new spray paints, so check them out and place your vote. Would love to hear which one you’d love to see out!  They will be paying attention to popular vote.

The room I stayed in was large and spacious, very comfortable.

After the cocktail party, we headed to  Bonterra, a really nice restaurant for a fabulous meal.  I love great meals like this, totally a treat.

John and Sherry from Young House Love were there with us, talking about their new book and how blogging is so much easier than writing a book.  We loved seeing them again and getting to hang out and chat during our time together.  They are a great example of how starting a blog has changed their lives as well.  They started the same year I did, documenting their fixer upper house and now they are mega-blog stars (although they are so down to earth, you’d never know it!), with a new book and lots of great opportunities  have come about for them.

I can’t complain, so many great things have happened to me too because of blogging.  I’m thankful every single day for those blessings.

I chose tenderloin for dinner and this was one scrumptious meal, let me tell you.  We had appetizers, a delicious salad, and I had creme brulee for dessert.  A girl could get spoiled being treated like that.

The next day we heard from lots of the Rustoleum folks about new products, color trends, and more.

We then had a hands on workshop with Mark, where we got chunks of sanded oak boards to stain and take home with us. They are shipping our boards to us as well as the hooks that will go on them. I’m putting mine in my laundry room.  We got to try out all the new stain colors and that was fun.

Something was funny, can’t remember what.  We all got personalized aprons to wear, how cute is that?

My buddy, Cassity and I shared the same table.  She is from Utah and we’ve been on other events together.  She’s a sweetheart.

I was enraptured with my block of wood apparently.

Traci was having fun with hers too.

I took a pic for Instagram at one point, but had to bite the foam brush in order to press the button on my phone, so this is what came out.  We bloggers love to put out pics on Instagram. Are you on there, find me?

We all worked on staining our boards. I chose Weathered Gray for mine and then went back and added a darker stain to darken it up a bit and I think it’s going to be pretty hanging on the wall.

Group shot with many of my closest blog friends.

A group shot of all of us who were there:

From left to right, back row:  Kate, me, Roeshel, Sarah, Beth, Ashley (who blogs with her sister, Whitney), Traci, Ethan, Kristi

Kneeling:  Cassity, Whitney, Jocie (married to Ethan)

I loved getting to meet Kristi and hanging out with Ethan and Jocie and Ashley and Whitney again (they were at Haven last year).  Such great people!

It was such a fun time.  These events are all fun and we do learn a lot too.  Again, I love brands that get it and want to work with the folks who are using and promoting their products.  Being a blogger has been such a fulfilling journey for me and I’m grateful every day that I get to do something that I love to do so much.

Thanks for coming along the trip with us! I hope this gave you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes at these events. 

Here’s one more bit of exciting news to share.  It seems that I’m going to be featured in Atlanta magazine in May. Yippee, can’t believe that either. I’ll keep you posted when I know more details!  I heard a one page feature, so that is wonderful news to me.

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