The Summit Has Begun

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

My heart is fluttering a million beats a minute. The Healthy Living Summit is finally here and I couldn’t be more ecstatic on how great it’s gone so far. Woo hoo!!!!

Seriously, tonight was amazing and I couldn’t have done it without all of the help of my countless volunteers. You guys rocks. Big time.

Two of my biggest volunteers (my brother and sister) were crying uncle from moving and stuffing more swag bags this morning. I played nice and agreed to an extra long lunch for a little sight seeing while we were in town.

This is Ben and Kelly’s first time in Philly and they’ve never seen the liberty bell. It was just a short walk from the hotel and a great chance to stretch out legs.

One photo and we were in and out.

From the liberty bell we headed to the highly recommended Barbuzzo for lunch.

The restaurant had a lot of hype, but lived up to every bit of it. I would return tomorrow in a heart beat.

I ordered the mojio mocktail, which was club soda, fresh mint, and some juice. It was delicious.

Annelies (who ha walked to the liberty bell with us) ordered an antipasti platter to share with the group. I had a bit of this and that and loved how flavorful all of the cold veggies were.

Hands down , my favorite thing was the Asparago Pizza. Wow.

It had shave asparagus, a secret white sauce, cheese, truffle, and a farm egg. The egg was what made the pizza. It was cooked to perfection and had just enough runniness for the crust to soak it all up.

I also tried the fig pizza. It was good, but very sweet. I had originally wanted to order the fig pizza, but was happy I had switched it to the Asparago at the last minute.

After lunch we got back to work!

Early registration opened at 3 and there were tables that needed to be set up and badges to organize.

Yay – real badges!

A thousand thanks to Five Bamboo for working with us on the shirts this year. They’re so soft and colorful. Love!

We had a pretty steady flow of girls from 3-5. Everyone was sooo excited to be picking up their stuff, it had me grinning from ear to ear all afternoon.

And…. in case you were wondering… here’s a sneak peek of the swag bag. It. Was. Epic. It was also all Julie – she rocks!

Three years ago Kath, Catilin, Heather, Tina, and I started planning the first Healthy Living Summit over an email (with Jenna who moved on after the first year). Tonight, before the cocktail party, we reconvened for the first time since last year’s summit. Three years later and I’m still in amaze and awe with each of them. It’s crazy how far we’ve come.

It was also nice to have a minute to breathe before the kick off of the Summit at the Reading Terminal Market.

Can you think of a better Philly inspired location? I think not!

At 7:00 on the dot we opened the doors and welcomed the masses.

It’s party time people!

I was a little nervous when we walked in to set everything up and the lights were all on and trash was everywhere, but they did a fabulous job. The atmosphere of having a cocktail party in the middle of the market was great. We dimmed the lights, put on some music, and invited 225 bloggers inside to mingle.

It was a rush of catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and everywhere in between.

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Each attendee was granted two drink tickets that could be used for a Drink Chia Signature Cocktail, local beer, or wine.

I went with beer.

I was even more impressed with the amazing Philly inspired food spread. Everything was picture perfect.

It took me a while to build a plate, but where I finally made my way to the food table I found everything incredible.

Dress twins!

My favorite part was the photo booth. You can never go wrong with a photo booth at a party!

Especially photo booths with props.

Derek said he felt like a celebrity and everyone wanted to take his photo. I told him not to get a big head and just smile.

This night would NOT have been possible without Allison! She did it ALL!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I dedicate this party to YOU!

And because I know you’re going to ask…

The dress is from Dillard’s! It was the one I only felt so-so about when I picked it up last week, but now I’m in love. It was comfortable, bright, and perfect. Sometimes you just need to let a dress grow on you before you fall head over heels in love with it.

I have an EARLY morning. Better get some rest.

Good Night!!

Tagged as: Cocktail Party, Healthy Living Summit, Philadelphia, Reading Terminal Market