It was a success! We hosted Gardner's birthday party last Saturday and had such a fantastic turn out of family and friends. Everyone around me was incredibly helpful, from Jerry vacuuming and power washing, to my mom making her delicious spinach salad, to my mother-in-law running to the store for some last minute food. Take a look at some of the photos!
You know you work with great people when...
Fantasy Football Parties
Sitting on suitcases - Another Study Tours story
It was just over 6 years ago that I packed up after my first summer running my own site in Los Angeles. It has been a fun and exhausting summer. I was responsible to get half of my staff to the airport that morning, we had a very early flight to catch! I made the arrangements, but nothing prepared me for what would happen that morning.
How to Avoid Hostess Neurosis
Today marks a special day for me. Just one year ago I gave birth to Gardner Merritt. This year has been the fastest year of my life and I can't wait to celebrate his birthday with him later today. Although his party with his family and friends is not for another week and a half I have been busy planning this momentous occasion.
What's In Your Event Box?
Baby Shower Event Success!
4 Tips for Surviving a Transition at Work
People come and go in organizations and that can make things tough. Losing a quality employee can make you feel like you have a hole in your staff that needs to be filled. On the other hand, it can be a fantastic opportunity to recruit someone with a fresh perspective, that can help the organization grow, and can improve processes that you didn't even know were broken.
3 Tips for When Technology Fails
Looking for Bloggers!
Do you have a funny story to share about an event that you organized? What about something you learned during an event? How about something that you saw at an event that was new and different? I want to hear from you. Write it up and send it to eventssimplifieddr@gmail.com you might become the next featured post on Events Simplified!
The Cost of Doing Business - 4 Tips About Budgeting
Managing a budget is not easy for anyone. Organizations, event planners, and households are all trying to maintain a balanced budget. The cost of doing business is rising and we are having to make tough decisions about what projects to fund, where our money should be spent, and what to do when the income stream slows. It's not easy, but we often have to say "no" to requests.
So You're Going to Host the Pope (or some other important person)
Last week I wrote about how Philadelphia has stumbled in their plans to host the Pope in September. You can read about the story here. While the comedy isn't over, it's a great opportunity to talk about some of the nuances of hosting a large scale city-wide event for a VIP.
Changing Up the Blog Schedule
Just an update today! For those of you that are used to reading my blog Monday through Friday, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be posting just two times a week on the blog going forward. You can look for new posts on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you want more you can look to my podcast, Life As We Know It, every Wednesday for new content. The podcast will air every other week, with a question to answer on the alternate weeks.
If you are interested in publishing on my blog there is great news! Mondays and Thursdays are now available! Feel free to send me an email at eventssimplifieddr@gmail.com.
Philadelphia's Pope Woes
For anyone that doesn't know, Pope Francis is planning to visit Philadelphia at the end of September. The city is busy preparing for his arrival and stumbling at every turn. I keep sitting back thinking, why can't Philadelphia get it together? New York City doesn't seem to have a problem hosting millions of people on New Year's Eve, why is this so difficult?
TBT: From "New York, New York", to "California Girls"
How about a little Throwback Thursday #tbt? I worked for Study Tours at Rider University from 2007 to 2011. It was an amazing 5 years. One of the best opportunities to interact with the students was to put on a Talent Show. We recruited students to show off their talents through song and dance. We had some pretty impressive talents, but nothing topped our staff talents!