As a mom, it's HARD to leave town by yourself. As a business owner, it's even harder. Nobody can do either job the way you do! Ever since a friend told me about Blair + Thurston retreats, I've been dying to go on one. For a couple years, I came up with excuse after excuse why I couldn't go. Well, when they announced that they were having a retreat in California in the WINE COUNTRY I said to hell with all those excuses and I booked it immediately! Wine, photography, other moms...it was like the entire thing was made just for me. I was sold on the whole experience before I even arrived, which usually means there's no way it could live up to my expectations.

Well, it blew my expectations out of the water. From the moment we arrived, we were beyond spoiled. Wine in our glasses, boxes of gifts, private chefs cooking from us directly from the FARM WE WERE STAYING AT, are you kidding me? 

Y'all this retreat was SO much fun. It was the perfect balance of structure and free time. Elena and Bre gave us all straightforward advice on our portfolios and business direction. They were kind, honest and helpful.  Even during downtime, we were constantly learning from each other. Every woman there had unique talents and perspectives and everyone was beyond supportive and without judgement. 

The most valuable part is that we all now have a new tribe. I have a few tribes- mom friends tribe, old besties tribe, divorced friends tribe- but I was doing this photography thing in a vacuum all alone! To have these women in my corner now, and with the wealth of knowledge they all have- it's just a game changer. I came home with so many new ideas and a new energy to really take my business to the next level, and now I have talented people all over the country to go to for feedback, encouragement, and friendship. 

Anyway, one of the fun things we did was take photos of each other after we'd had a few glasses of wine (at our private wine tasting!). Here are a few photos I took of my new friends: