Moments and Milestones: Hallmark Tour Visits Austin, and Invites Me!

Not to brag, but last week I received an email, inviting me to participate in a breakfast event that Hallmark was putting on in Austin this morning. Being a big fan of greeting cards, snail mail and all things expressing one's feelings, I jumped at the chance, taking the morning off for a "doctor appointment" (blog event doesn't suggest quite the same urgency...) and heading over to the gorgeous Mansion at Judge's Hill.

I was one of the first people there, despite punctuality usually being my weak point, and as such had the wonderful opportunity to meet and talk to the lovely ladies behind the event: Danielle Mousley, graphic designer and photo stylist; Monica Delaorra, editorial director; and Linda Morris, innovation leader.

After the initial introductions, we sat down to a lovely breakfast and got right down to business. The first thing that we were shown was a lovely compilation that Hallmark had put together from little snippets and photos we had submitted prior to the event on what motherhood meant to us. It was a beautiful, heartwarming presentation, and also helped us all to get a better feel for one another as bloggers: some were humorous and some were heartfelt, but they all captured the essence of motherhood in a way that no parenting book could. After the video, we also checked out the upcoming Hallmark commercial for Mother's Day, which was a great segue to the topic of the event: moments and milestones. The premise, one that Hallmark is an absolute professional in, was how important it is to our loved ones to tell them how we feel and how much they mean to us not only on special occasions, but every day as well. This really hit home for me for so many reasons, not least of which is that this is a sentiment I really want to pass on to Ava. I try to not take things for granted, and I want to teach her to do the same. I saw a quote the other day that really stuck for me: "What if you woke up tomorrow only with what you thanked God for today?" The premise that we should be thankful for what we have most importantly applies to people, and what better way to show our gratitude to have them in our lives than to tell them how we feel. And, to that end, what better way than with a greeting card?

Each of the three speakers then had a chance to talk about how they came to work at Hallmark, and what their job was. All three women's jobs really interested me, but the presenter I found most interesting was Danielle, the photo stylist, because I had zero idea about all that went into her job. Did you know that they iron tissue paper for photo shoots? It'll be a cold day before I break out the iron for clothes, let alone tissue paper, but it was one of many interesting tips Danielle gave on the creative process behind photo shoots! Another fun thing we did - and one that made it easier to get to know other ladies who were at one of the other two tables - was fill in the prompt "tell me..." on the pink shirts we were given at entry. What are things you'd want to tell someone, or would want to be told by someone you love? So many people had great responses - almost all centering around their children - and it was a great activity. Unfortunately I had to leave before the event ended - "doctor's appointments" seldom top two hours - and so I only just got to participate in the writing activity we did where we captioned photos that they showed us, but it seemed like a ton of fun! And, last but not least, we got to take home some major swag. Ava may have missed me all morning, but it took seconds for her to forgive my absence with the goodies I brought back:

Despite having to cut my time at the Hallmark tour short, I had an amazing time. In fact, I left there with the feel that I would adore working for Hallmark - all three ladies seemed to adore their jobs! And, on a side note that I'll talk more about in another post, I'm available ;) Thank you so much to the wonderful team at Hallmark for this amazing, interactive event this morning!