I Steppped Out of My Comfort Zone....

 For any of y'all who have been reading me for a while, you know I have sort-of a problem with stepping out of my comfort zone.  For me, the perfect day is hanging out at my house with my family and friends. Going to new places or doing new things has a tendency to send me into a full-fledged panic attack.  Remember how stressed out I was before I drove into the pits of hades the middle of Atlanta to meet Pioneer Woman?  I was so freaked out thinking about it,  but I did it and had the time of my life!  More recently, hubby and I spent a glorious weekend together, which included seeing Legally Blonde.  That trip was a dream come true for me!  You would think since most of this trips have turned out to be such incredible experiences, I would learn to do them more often, but it's still very hard for me to step out of my little bubble.

A couple of weeks ago, I caught a random retweet on Twitter, announcing that THE Lisa Leonard was coming to Birmingham for a meet-and-greet.  The members of Alabama Bloggers were putting this together and wanted any-and-all bloggers in Alabama to come and join in the fun.  I {{LOVE}} Lisa Leonard's designs and instantly wanted to join in on the fun!  I then found out that Rhoda from Southern Hospitality was going to be there, too. The same Rhoda's blog that I've drooled over forevah!  I just had to go!

I was really hoping my buddy Kim, from Live fron the 205, would be able to join me, but she ended up having to work.

Bummer.

Since Kim wasn't able to make it, I had all but decided not to go.  When I woke up yesterday morning, I still didn't think I was going.  I just sent out a random tweet:

Robin Hill (@robinandmarty)
10/15/10 7:14 AM
Should I go see @lisaleonard today? Doing something like this is WAAAAY out of my comfort zone. I'm scared I will be out of my league, too.

To that tweet, I got this reply:

ObjectivityRach (@ObjectivityRach)
10/15/10 8:28 AM
@robinandmarty definitely come!! Meet-ups were something I thought I'd never do either, but now I even organize them monthly! They're fun!

That tweet made my decision for me....

I'm going!

I made arrangements to have Jameson picked up from school (Thanks Mom!), and got ready.  I made it to the meeting place a little early....or so I thought.  I walked into the first gallery I saw...it had the Lisa Leonard sign in front of the store and you could see they had refreshments (even though not the advertised cupcakes), so this just had to be the place....

Right?

Well, after sitting through a spiel trying to sell me overpriced sheets, blankets and bathrobes, I just knew something had to be wrong.  Lisa Leonard sells gorgeous handcrafted jewelry, not Egyptian cotton sheets!  Thank goodness, Tammy from The Inkling Network, walked in and asked if this where the Lisa Leonard meet-up was being held.  They said "Nooooo, that must be at the other gallery."  Well, honey, I couldn't get out of that place fast enough!  I ran out of that place as fast as I could and thanked Tammy for saving me from high-pressure-sales hades.  We found the other gallery and immediately knew we were in the right place!

 

There was gorgeous, incredible jewelry....

A table decorated with a Lisa Leonard banner, topped with cupcakes...

Yummy and delicious cupcakes....

 Bloggers taking pictures of said yummy cupcakes....

AND, Mrs. Lisa Leonard in person!

I was just blown away at how beautiful Lisa was ....not just on the outside, but on the inside as well.  She was SO SWEET to everyone who attended.  If I wasn't already a huge fan of her jewelry, I definitely am now!

This is my motivation for coming:

(She's going to KILL me for posting this picture! I think she is gorgeous!)

This is Rachel from Grasping for Objectivity...in my Subjective Life.  She is the same ObjectivityRach that send me the tweet encouraging me to go.  I am so thankful she gave me that extra push I needed!  I hope to get to know her better in the future!

While I was meeting and talking with Stephanie from Plain Chicken, Jamie from Jamie's Rabbits, Tammy, with her adorable son Isaiah, from The Inkling Network, (I cannot believe I didn't get pictures here...it was early in the meet, and I was too shy about hauling out my camera)  I also met Jessica, who once had a blog, but had stopped due to some reservations about people knowing all her business. 

For some reason, I just felt like I already knew Jessica....and she said the same about me.  We talked for a few minutes, and we just couldn't quite put our fingers on how we knew each other.  Finally, it hit us!  Marty and I had been close with her in-laws, The Crowes.  Marty would help preach at Jessica's and Matthew's (her husband) home Church before Matthew's father died.  It was one of those instances where neither one of us would expect to meet each other at a blogging get together!  

Such a SMALL WORLD!

Jessica had on the CUTEST outfit ever!  Seriously, she is going to have to take me shopping and give me some pointers! 

DID YOU READ THAT JESSICA?

You----Me------SHOPPING!

The first things I need to get on my shopping trip are boots:

It seems that all the well-dressed bloggers are wearing them these days.

There were also many other well-known blogger there:

From left-to-right: Lisa (Lisa Leonard Online), Rachel (Grasping for Objectivity), Amanda (Kevin & Amanda), and Rhoda (Southern Hospitality).

Yeah, that's me with Rhoda.  I was as excited (and intimidated) to meet her as I was Lisa.

From left-to-right: Jessica, Jamie (Jamie's Rabbits), Amanda (Kevin & Amanda), and Kelley (The Eclectic Owl)

I seriously need dressing lessons from these ladies!

I had such a fantastic time yesterday and I am so glad that Rachel gave me that nudge I needed to go!  I met so many fabulous women and now have tons of new blogs to drool over!
(I hate I didn't get to spend time with Alison Lewis from Ingredients, Inc...but I hope to meet her again soon!)

When will I learn that stepping out of my comfort zone can, and usually does, lead to great things?