LBDC East Bay Soars Into The Bay Area Social Scene With Pretty Wings of Pink & Black!

Saturday July 13, was a breezy evening in the Bay Area, California.  It was just an ordinary evening...until it wasn't!  At 9pm, LBDC, East Bay kicked off a launch party for the history books!  With more than 80 excited members and guest, it was truly a night to be remembered; held at the cozy H-Lounge in Vallejo, California very quickly, this party was in full swing. Ladies from throughout the Bay Area looked stunning in little black dresses & hot pink heels!
 

Guest enjoyed a beautifully decorated venue with a color scheme of hot pink, black & white.  There were sparkly lights, dazzling crystal, tons of balloons and satin table linen adorning the tables.  The event was all jazzed up by local party planner Mary Ruiz from Balloon Works.  Guest entered the party on a hot pink (instead of red) carpet, where professional photographers from Chic Photo captured the glitz & glamor of the evening! 
 

There were personalized bottles of water, hot pink silicone monogrammed wristbands & designer shot glasses as well as LBDC t-shirts (styled on a pretty cute mannequin) as giveaways and door prizes!  Oh! And the raffle prizes...each guest received a free raffle ticket upon entry.  The more than 30 raffle prizes included bottles of wine, decorative picture frames, gift certificates, jewelry, accessories, gift baskets, gift boxes and more!
 

The H-Lounge offered 100 hot pink Jell-O shots to keep guest hydrated!! We also had a very special visit from Devotion Vodka who sent their beautiful promotion girls to help us celebrate our launch.  The H-Lounge even gave us a special drink "LBDC raspberry-politan".  Music, dancing, lots of food, and joyous mingling brought on-lookers from other areas of the venue streaming in to ask "Who are you guys & how can I get in?" 

Finally, we enjoyed a beautiful, delicious, strawberry cake with cream cheese filling from Cakes by Kim!  The two tiered white cake, with fun splashes of hot pink & black featured the LBDC logo and sealed the deal for the night.  It was quite the hit! 
 

What a night!  We enrolled six new LBDC members from the party and received a stream of compliments from members & guest.  The club owners, photographers and the party planner told us they were SO impressed, they've each added photos from our party to their websites.  At the end of the night, wonderful comments and happy guests assured us without a doubt that LBDC East Bay has arrived!

~Gwen Brady
Director, LBDC East Bay

 

 

The Windy City

You think you know someone pretty well, but then you spend two 9-hour bus rides, two nights in a hostel and walk 20 miles with them, and you see a whole other side of that person…the good, the bad, the ugly and the fabulous. For three days in June, the Nashville, Columbus and Detroit Chapters traveled to Chicago for a multi chapter event with the Little Black Dress Club ladies of the Chicago Southland Chapter to explore The Windy City.

For the Nashville sisters, the trip started late Thursday night when they boarded the Megabus for an overnight excursion through Louisville and Indianapolis before the final destination of Chicago. I’m pretty sure that time paused on that trip, and the trip was much longer than 9 hours. If customer service is a high priority for your experience, then Megabus is not for you!

 

Since the trip seemed to be all about new experiences, the Nashville ladies didn’t go for just any regular hotel experience, they took a chance on a hostel experience (not to be confused with a hostile experience) and stayed at Hostelling International Chicago. It was like summer camp all over again with 8 girls stacked in bunk beds in one room. There may or may not have been some falling out of bunk beds, some indiscriminate videos and snoring. We all took the Full Moon Vow again, so we’ll never tell!

Just about every mode of transportation was used when traveling the city, including bus, cab, train and trolley. The ladies quickly discovered that there are many interesting characters that can be encountered when using public transportation, which usually lead to humor more so than fear. Of course, there is usually safety in numbers.

Friday and Saturday included lots of shopping on Michigan Avenue and State Street, including visits to Water Tower Place and Marshall Field & Company, the second largest department store in the world with 12 stories, including the 5 story Tiffany & Co. mosaic-capped ceiling.

 

Our sightseeing adventures included visiting The Cloud Gate (better known as The Bean) and Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, a walk along Lake Michigan to Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo, a Chicago Architecture Cruise on the Chicago River, a trip to see Wrigley Field and an evening of ferris wheels (not carousels) and fireworks at Navy Pier. There was also much walking done on the weekend, and by the time the Nashville ladies arrived home Sunday night, they had taken over 47,000 steps, which is about 20 miles. Several of the ladies had well-deserved pedicures and massages the following day.

 

The weekend was not without lots of great food. We dined at Ed Debevics, where the servers are over the top and rude…on purpose. We also shared delicious Chicago-style pizza with the other chapters at Lou Malnati’s in the historic Gold Coast district. Saturday evening we got our Cajun fix at Heaven on Seven where several sampled some of the most delicious grits on earth. Our last meal together in Chicago was at the Grand Lux Cafe and included sharing Mimosas, Bellinis and some very large portions of French Toast.

 

Shortly after brunch on Sunday, the chapters bid farewell to each other and went back to their respective cities. It was a fabulous weekend spent making new friends, experiencing new adventures and capturing great memories. Plans were already discussed for future gatherings of the chapters, and I know I am looking forward to more trips together!

~ Tonya Overstreet
Nashville Chapter Member, LBDC



Here’s what a few others had to say about the Chicago trip with The Little Black Dress Club:

"After the Columbus chapter did Pilates in Millennium Park they went to the bean. Who did they run into but Nashville ladies! Columbus was very into shopping and collectively got 6 pairs of shoes, 5 purses, and too many dresses to count!"
~ Suzy Hicks, Columbus Chapter Co-Director

“I loved seeing Chicago for the first time and what a wonderful group of ladies to do it with. I'm ready for our next LBDC adventure!”
~ Beth Holt, Nashville Chapter Member

"I loved having LBDC members from Nashville, Ohio and Detroit join us in the Windy City for an amazing weekend! LBDC provides us with these unique opportunities to meet fabulous ladies, who we may otherwise never cross paths with. I'm already looking forward to our next road trip."
~ Richelle Schneider, Chicago Southland Chapter Director

"Meeting lots of great new people, sightseeing, EATING and shopping shopping shopping!! What a blast!"
~ Jenny Smith, Columbus Chapter Member

“Spending 4 days with these women really gave me a chance to get to know them all a little bit better. I can't imagine my first trip to Chicago being with anyone else. Laughing, trying new things and making memories; that's what LBDC is all about."
~ Shay Ashcraft, Nashville Chapter Co-Director and National Director

“Seeing my city, the city I was born & raised in, through the eyes of tourists was an incredible event for me. I was amazed at how well all of these ladies were able to navigate our great city of Chicago. This is a testament to what kind of women LBDC women are; independent & fun loving adventurers!! I would love to visit their cities next!!
~ Peg Donnellan, Chicago Southland Chapter Member

"This was a wonderful way to be introduced to the LBDC! It was a great trip!"
~ Renee Jackson, Detroit Metro Chapter Member

LBDC Directors - Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and Columbus

 

In The Spotlight - Movetia Salter

LBDC would not be what it is today without the support of our fantastic members. In the spotlight today is Movetia Salter.  She is one of the initial East Bay, CA members.  We affectionately refer to her as “Mo”.  Mo’ is truly one of a kind. We met her on one of our first events, a steep hike up Pena Adobe hill early one bright Sunday morning. In the beginning, she was somewhat on the quiet side...later I would learn that was just her observation mode!   

The East Bay Chapter has grown SO fast that it is sometimes a challenge keeping up with all of the members, the social media and event planning.  When Mo’ realized all the work that went into making our chapter a success, she rolled up her sleeves and volunteered to take over the social media portion of the club.  Because of her non-stop efforts, our members and prospective members don’t miss a beat, no matter which socialmedia outlet they follow…when it comes to disseminating LBDC information…she not only makes sure it’s there, she makes sure it’s EVERYWHERE! 

Mo’ is an extraordinary woman.  She is a single mother of four…a college aged daughter, two high school daughters and an energetic 5-year old son!  She is also preparing to host an exchange student (another teenage girl) not for a couple of months…but for an entire school year.  And…can I tell you; she does all of this in the cutest of high heels! She is one of the most classy, professional, fashion savvy women I know.

As if her everyday life isn’t hectic enough…Mo’ still makes time to celebrate her own strength as a woman and makes certain to take quality time for herself.  Mo’ has been to nearly every LBDC event and has helped to coordinate many of them.  I can always count on her for trusted insight and empowering support.  I’d like to take this time to let her know that she is well respected and absolutely adored!  Mo’ you are a consummate professional, a role model and a dear friend. Thanks Movetia!!!

~Gwen Brady
East Bay, California Director

Accessorize With Friends!

This party idea was contributed by Tracy, California Director, Melanie Dunniway. “It was such a blast and the ladies thought it was such a great idea that we are going to do a purse party exchange sometime this year!!”

 

Setup:

Invite each guest to bring ten pieces of jewelry that are new or gently used and a dish for the potluck. Assigning courses will eliminate too many desserts! Or, you may want to make it a dessert-theme potluck! Each guest will leave with ten pieces. Decorate the jewelry table in boutique shopping-style fashion while the ladies are enjoying the potluck.

After the table is set up, invite the ladies to walk around the table and preview the items. Give each lady a small bag in which to place her jewelry. “I found cute little boxes with handles for a $1 each at Target” ~Melanie

Shopping:

Put numbers in a hat – one for each guest (Ten guests – ten tickets). Each guest picks a number, which determines the order they select items from the table. Depending on the number of ladies, two or three may go at a time.

Optionally, allow them to pick two to three items each round in order to expedite the process. Once one round is complete, re-pick numbers so everyone has a random chance to go around the table first.

Additional Ideas for Party Hosts:

· Guests were given three tickets and were able to pick three inexpensive, new jewelry items at the end of the event. Look for jewelry trinkets at a craft store and make your own handmade earrings. Place them in a glass bowl, each in its own sheer jewelry bag.

· Purchase a few inexpensive items for guests who did not have ten pieces. Optionally, guests will

leave with the number of pieces with which they arrived.

To see more photos from this Tracy, California LBDC event, click here or visit them on Facebook. Have an event idea or theme that you would like to see planned in your area? Just want to offer event ideas and suggestions to our club? Send an email to info@lbdclub.com. We always love hearing from you!