Wow. I just recently got back from an awesome trip visiting the headquarters of Cousin Corporation in Largo, Florida. Cousin was nice enough to fly all of their brand ambassadors down for the second annual ambassador retreat! I had an absolute blast on the trip so I wanted to share a recap with you all!
It was a whirl-wind of a trip. I got up on Wednesday morning at 4AM to be able to high-tail it to the Philly airport. It was an early morning but completely worth it for the fun ahead
Killing time at the airport taking selfies after getting up at 4AM. Oy vay.
I landed in Florida and was greeted by Jessica from Cousin who works with all of us ambassadors online as well as some of the other ambassadors who had already gotten in. It's so fun to be able to see and talk to people in person that you have only ever met online! I knew so much about everyone's life before I had even said one word to them. I sound like such a creepy stalker but that's just how blogging works I suppose :) We had lunch together at the airport and had a bunch of fun getting to know each other "in real life."
From left to right: Lisa Stukel, Suzette Bently, Dawn Doucette, Vicki O'Dell, Shelly Owen, Lisa Crone, Myself, and Allison Cooling
After lunch we loaded up in the "Cuz Bus" and were whisked off to our hotel by Chris, our amazing chauffeur for the trip. We were all SO HAPPY in this bus. Most of us come from places that are cold and snowy this time of year, so just riding in the bus with the windows down feeling fresh air and sunshine and great company around was amazing.
We stayed at the Double Tree Hilton right on the beach. The view from my room was AMAZING. Palm trees and the ocean right outside the door. At night you could hear the sound of the ocean from bed. SO relaxing. I felt very spoiled.
We had about an hour and a half from checking into the hotel until we needed to be fancied up and ready for the next event, so being a beach lover I threw down my suitcase, called my hubby super quick so let him know I was settled, then threw on my swimsuit, some sunnies and flip flops and went out to the beach!!!
I got a Malibu Bay Breeze from the hotel bar and went out the beach and stuck my toes in the water. SUCH a welcome feeling after all the cold and snow I've been dealing with in PA. I soaked in some sun and it was such a nice way to recharge super quick. At this point I was highly considering convincing hubby that we NEEDED to move to Florida STAT.
My time on the beach was short-lived so I could have a chance to get all girlied up for a welcome reception with a bunch of the Cousin team. We were supposed to wear one of our handmade jewelry creations so I wore my DIY Beaded Dangle Necklace and a cute floral dress.
We took a nice group photo by the beach and then had a lovely reception with a bunch of the Cousin team! Wine, appetizers a beautiful sunset, tons of handmade jewelry and beaders all around me. I was a happy girl.
I was a happy girl....who may have gotten a littttle too happy with all the wine flowing around haha. I had a blast though staying out late and talking and drinking and even swimming with the Cousin jewelry designers, ambassadors, and other members of the team. It was great to talk with the other ambassadors: we all come from different stages of life and work with different mediums and have unique styles, but at the end of the day we are just a bunch of girls who like to make jewelry and love to talk about it and learn from each other. It was also fun to meet and talk with the Cousin team in a social setting. When I picture a regular day for an in-house jewelry designer for Cousin I see them getting to sit and make jewelry all day long (HEAVEN!) but really they have so much more to do like stay on top of trends and design new products that they really don't get to just make jewelry all day long (how sad!)
Myself with designer Theresa, in the middle Chris from sales (and our chauffeur!), and assistant Bryan.
So that was our first day in a nutshell: it was a low-key and exciting way to get acquainted and meet everyone before we got down to business more on the second day of our trip. Whew. And what a long day it was! This post is already long so I will cut it off here and be back to talk about the rest of the trip soon!
What fun!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of that weather.
bisous
Suzanne
i live right next to Largo!! glad you enjoyed it :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great recap, it was so awesome to get to know you, the other ambassadors and Cousin team. A very special group and experience...I'm ready to go back, I miss everyone! :)
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