Hi guys! I am so excited to be back home and tell you all about my trip to Nest Fest 2016, put on by the lovely Nester herself, Myquillyn. A couple of weeks ago, I decided sort of on the spur of the moment to book a hotel and plan a weekend getaway with Emmy to check out Nest Fest and spend some time with our family in Charlotte. Chris helped us find a decent hotel for a good price, and we checked out the vendor list so we could see what was in store. There were so many beautiful hand made goods being offered, and Emmy and I were pumped to jump in the car on Friday and head off for our girls weekend!
We’re going to jump right into photos of Nest Fest because I don’t want to bore you with stories of terrible traffic or our hotel neighbors having their TV on all night long or the hotel hair dryer not working and they weren’t “sure we can find another”…. so how about pretty pictures!
Because I wasn’t sure what traffic would be like, I allowed myself extra time Saturday morning and ended up at Nest Fest prior to opening. Emmy and I were right at the front of the line and Myquillyn came to greet people as we waited. She was gracious and funny as she tied up her “do not cross this line yet” barrier with puffy pink yarn… very intimidating! 😉 Once the yarn was down and the festival was open, this beautifully decorated table was ready as a greeting and ticketing station.
There were so many talented vendors around the property… we weren’t sure where to start because we just wanted to see it all! I decided to pick out one thing in our line of view that caught our eye and start there.
That strategy lead us to Moss Hound Designs…. all of these beautiful macrame wall hangings were calling to me! In this image, you are looking at something that came home with us and I’ll share that later this week.
We then headed over to Some Things Wong, where Emmy and I fell in love with the vibrant felt florals of Laci Wong. Can you believe these sunflowers are felt?
Laci had all sorts of colors and styles.
Emmy and I gathered a few to make a wreath, but we saw others making bouquets, and noticed that Laci even does weddings as well.
The creativity was just teeming at this event. Emmy’s favorite space was Emergolde, a shop featuring handmade organic dolls and stuffed animals. When we arrived at the space, the owner Elizabeth wasn’t there, but her husband was running it and rocking their new baby and speaking about how his wife created these pieces… he was very sweet and proud!
Even their displays were stunning… check out those backdrops!
Emmy really wanted to take home one of these dolls, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us as we had a budget and Christmas presents to purchase as well. We did, however, buy an adorable narwhal that Emmy selected for her cousin for Christmas.
Daisies and co. had an abundance of happy banners… I loved all of their fun sayings and hand embroidery.
I have a friend with an upcoming birthday and purchased one of these for her. The one I bought isn’t pictured just in case… Although her birthday is today so she will know soon enough anyhow!
Emmy fell in love with their adorable owl, and it came home with her. Saturday night, she fell asleep cuddling with it in our hotel room. And as you can see from her bag, Emmy did a little birthday shopping for a friend of hers as well.
These hand stamped and hand made pillows from Homegrown Studio caught my eye… I couldn’t think of anywhere I needed one, but I have her etsy shop saved for future reference. Emmy loved the chicken you see below.
Meanwhile, I thought the armadillo was pretty cool. I did take home a fun print from her space because I had to have something. Nissa’s style just spoke to me.
Tiny Hands pottery had a new blue feather design that caught my eye. I didn’t bring it home, but I loved this look. And the bicycle! I am always a sucker for a bicycle!
Heart and Hand offered several stunning wood cutting boards, serving utensils and more. I always think pieces like this are fantastic as hostess gifts. They’re beautiful, natural, and the type of thing you don’t normally splurge on for yourself. So if I have an event and invite you, bring me one, K?
Hand painted signs were a-plenty at the market, and I loved the style of these in particular. I thought the cactus was pretty fun and would make a great earring display with hardware attached.
There were also several artists selling original works as well as prints of their work.
LCW paints creates huge and stunning canvases… I was drawn into her space with her mix of eclectic furnishings and colors. 
I can’t recall who this vendor is, but I loved her fun botanicals and birds. I’ve always loved hummingbirds… they’re tiny yet so dynamic.
Tati Soares scored points for having one of the prettiest displays. Her prints just popped off of this chalkboard wall.
The Nester herself also had some items for sale, and this little banner and the huge hanging behind it were calling to me, but I couldn’t think of where I would put them, so I let them go. (Now that I don’t have a shop to sell at, I am certainly more considerate in my purchases).
Vintage items were also being sold throughout the event. This bottle was so unique… the color and the design! I wanted it, but held back.
Marci aka The Collaborateur offered a great mix of industrial vintage. I may have purchased something in this image.
My Guilty Treasures displayed their goods in a vintage camper. I loved their unique natural wreaths.
And Emmy loved shopping in a camper… she was in heaven! 
This vendor housed the largest collection of vintage pennants I have ever seen! Emmy had a blast looking through them in search of Maryland pennants.
If you want to see all of the vendors you can click here for a list. I’ll be sharing a couple more when I show you what we’ve found.
And of course this post wouldn’t be complete without a photo of me and the Nester, Myquillyn. Pardon my wind blown hair and tired face… after that drive and the hotel neighbors, I wasn’t looking my best. 😉 At least Miquillyn looks beautiful.
I was so happy to see that my friend Diane from In My Own Style was also going to Nest Fest, so we met up and grabbed lunch afterwards. We talked blogs, design, DIY, life and more over greek food. She headed on her way after that and I treated Emmy to Sweet Frog… I wasn’t going to have any; I was going to be good…. but when I saw they had Pumpkin & Apple Pie as season flavors, I couldn’t say no. And for me and Emmy, no girls day out is complete without some sort of frozen treat. That’s just how we roll.
After licking every last taste of our yogurts, we headed to my sister-in-law’s house to hang out with her and my adorable 1 year old niece. We took the girls to a church pumpkin sale, and took a few photos so I thought I’d share.
After realizing she could barely pick this pumpkin up, Emmy gave up on asking for it!
I was grateful to my sister-in-law for capturing a photo of me and Emmy to commemorate our trip.
After playing with her cousin all evening, helping bathe her and put her to bed, we had a quick dinner and headed back to the hotel. Back in our room, we snuggled together (with her owl), and watched a Disney channel original movie, The Swap, and soon after fell asleep.
Yesterday morning, we hopped in the car headed to The Famous Toastery to grab breakfast and catch up with my good friend Kirby before hitting the road. On our way home, we ran into several traffic incidents and were delayed a bit, and arrived home exhausted. But last night as we neared home, I asked Emmy, “So, do you think you want to go back to Nest Fest next year?” She replied with an enthusiastic, “YES! But maybe stay in a different hotel.” Ha! Despite the traffic and long drives, that one fun filled day was worth it to both of us. I am looking forward to starting this new tradition with Emmy, creating memories that I hope will last her a lifetime.
