A Blogger Conference & Thoughts on Connection (BConnected 2017)

My history with blogging goes way back:

I started a semi-private online journal in 2003 (which I still contribute to, for my own records). My first public blog was created in 2007 (not long after helping another photographer to shoot my 1st wedding), to share my photography journey with friends and eventually clients. When Talia was a toddler and Katrina just 9 months old, I started Raising Memories in 2009 with the goal of motivating myself to do fun things with my kids.

7 years ago, it hadn't even occurred to me that I could monetize or grow this blog to what it is today! I can remember the first email I received from a company that wanted to partner with me. I thought it was some kind of scam at first! This blog has come a long way since then and I truly love what I do.

Some things I see as milestones in this blogging journey of mine were a couple of campaigns I worked on that involved getting together with other bloggers. In 2014 I worked on a campaign with Nikon and met several bloggers who I still keep in touch with now. Several months later I was a part of a campaign with KFC where I met more bloggers and heard them talking about blog conferences they had attended. At the time, I just wasn't willing to put money into my blog beyond what I absolutely had to (like paying yearly fees to own "raisingmemories.com"), but that little conversation was like a seed planted for something that finally bloomed this weekend. ;)

My First Blogger Conference

A year ago, a bunch of my "blog friends" attended a conference in Ottawa. I couldn't make it work, but I made myself a promise that when that conference came to Toronto, I was going to make it happen. This past weekend, the BConnected Conference came to Toronto and I was there with ticket in hand. :)

All photos shared in this post were taken by Mostafa Photography (unless otherwise noted)

Hanging Tooth Brush & Paste Holder

We have a small bathroom with limited counter space and somehow, all four of us ended up using different types of tooth paste. Talia, Ken, & I all have sensitive teeth, but mine are more sensitive, so I use a stronger sensitivity tooth paste. Katrina can't stand the taste of mint. Talia and Ken don't like the same flavour of paste. So, we ended up with a counter that was taken over by tooth pastes!

If you've got this problem, I think you're gonna like this D.I.Y. solution that I came up with!

A Gift Idea for Men - & a JORD Wood Watch Giveaway!

I know I'm not the only wife out there who has struggled to think of a gift idea for her husband. Men are difficult to buy for! Ken had his birthday a couple of weeks ago and I surprised him with a very unique watch as his birthday gift! He has always talked about how he'd love to get a really nice pocket watch that could be passed down in our family. He loves the idea of a watch that's all mechanical. This watch isn't for a pocket, but it's definitely unique because it's made of wood, for one thing, but it also has an amazing colourful face and a bunch of really special features.

I want to show you some pictures of it because it's such a cool watch and also because at the end of this post, you're going to have the chance to win $100 USD to put toward your own wooden watch from JORD!  This watch is from the Sawyer series and it's named "Ebony & Ultramarine" because it's made from ebony wood and of course, it has that beautiful blue face! (I mean... handsome.. it's a men's watch ;)

You can see in the photo above, that these watches come in a beautiful wooden box. It even has a little drawer in it where you can keep your wood polish. The boxes can even be personalized with an engraving.

Gold, White, Coral & Mint Shared Girls Bedroom Makeover

Our girls share a bedroom with a bunk-bed. When we first put them in the same room, we didn't take time to decorate and we found that the arrangement wasn't as functional as we would like. I recently took on the project to give their room a makeover and I'm very excited to give you the reveal today!

We started a few months ago with giving their bunk-bed a makeover. We bought the bed  second hand and it was a honey wood colour before. My mom and dad helped me paint it white one day and that made a huge difference! It looks so nice with the other furniture in the room, and with their bedding!

Tons of Free Easter Printables!

Over the years, I have shared a ton of free Easter printables on this blog!  They are for Easter decor, Easter activities, Easter gifts, and Easter recipes.  I thought it would be nice to keep them in one place so you can browse through and find what you want easily!

So here's a roundup of Easter Printables for you!

April 2017 Sharing Time

Welcome to the April Link Party!