Ok, show of hands, who here is a fan of HGTV? More specifically, who here is a fan of those witty and wonderful guys, The Property Brothers?
I’m over here reminiscing on when I got to take a gorgeous cruise with them . . .
Yeah, that happened.
I received an email with a blogger invite to partake in this amazing design cruise, and the answer was a no-brainer.
My original intention was obviously to post about it right after, but being that it was so close to the holidays, that didn’t happen. So now I’m finally getting around to telling you all about the FAB-U-LOUS time I had, sailing the Caribbean with my best friend and some of my favorite HGTV stars!
Upon embarking the Carnival Ecstasy, we were handed plenty of packets of information, as well as these fun Jonathan and Drew fans. The Besty and I traded off, though I ended up Team Drew by the end of the trip. 😉
First of all, allow me to apologize for the lack of quality in my photos. I packed everything I assumed I would need for this trip. . . and left my DSLR sitting on my dresser! Ugh. At least the iPhone works in a pinch!
As soon as we boarded, things got rolling. The cruise was packed with seminars and panels and TONS of helpful activities, as well as lots of fun and partying. First up was the Sail Away party, where the Brothers introduced us to the awesomely creative group they’d assembled for us:
Obviously, there were the Brothers, including their adorable older brother J.D. But they also packed in an immense amount of talent on top of that.
Jason Cameron of “Desperate Landscapes” & “Man Caves”
Jillian Harris of Love It or List It Too (Love It or List It Vancouver)
Kim Myles, winner of HGTV’s Design Star 2007 and OWN Network’s Home Made Simple
The BFF and I had been up since 4:30 that morning to fly to Miami from Chicago for the noon boarding time. It isn’t how I’d have chosen to meet any of my HGTV idols, but when you get the chance, take it, right? So I may look a bit tired and worn out, but I was thrilled to meet and chat with Jillian Harris of Love It or List It Too/Vancouver shortly after we set sail!
She is seriously one of the cutest and funniest ladies I’ve met in a while. Totally adorable.
I will admit, after a long day of travel {not to mention the fact that we were two mommies on our first ever getaway together}, the Besty and I CRASHED. HARD. We missed the first night’s dance party and passed out in our stateroom by 9pm, shortly after dinner.
IT. WAS. AWESOME.
The next morning we docked in Key West. We both opted to enjoy this rare moment of kid-free bliss, and slept in. . . till about 8am. {Anyone with kids knows this is a late hour.} We didn’t have much time on the Key West excursion due to our laziness, but it was still fun to hop off and take a quick tour.
Try on a few hats. . . .
Back on the boat, we made our way to a fabulous design blogger panel (technically two, over two days). So many great bloggers were invited to participate, and it was AWESOME getting to hear their advice!
I have no photos of these panels for two reasons: one, I was busy absorbing their advice, and two, I only had the iPhone, so the few I snapped were not really great. :/
The guest blogger panel consisted of:
Cassie Freeman ~ Hi Sugarplum!
Jennifer Griffin ~ Dimples and Tangles
Jennifer Jones ~ I Heart Organizing
Mallory Fitzsimmons ~ Style Your Senses
Sarah Dorsey ~ Sarah M. Dorsey Designs
All of these ladies had great tips and tricks for any design blogger, and I was thrilled to soak it all in.
There was honestly so much to do and be entertained by on board, it would have been impossible to see and do it all!
The third day aboard, we headed to Cozumel. This was a fun day, with designer panels starting in the morning, and beach fun in the afternoon. We started our day with Jillian Harris!
She is so amazingly vivacious and fresh! She comes across as someone who would be so much fun to grab a drink with, or a latte, or just chill. She’s open, friendly, and just all around adorable. I loved getting to meet her, and I know we’d be besties, given a bigger time allowance. (Right, Jilly?) Find her STUNNING Instagram account here, and then do like I did – shop! She is pretty much the most fashionable woman I’ve met, and she knows the best stuff!!
Jillian answered questions not only from Love It or List It Too (they really make them decide then and there!), but also from her stints on The Bachelorette. (This made my Besty happy, since I never followed it. )
Now it was time to dock in Cozumel, Mexico.
Funny thing was, we ended up basically traveling with the Scott brothers! Don’t ask me how we timed this (since it was entirely accidental – I swear!), but we both ended up cooling our heels next to Jonathan, Drew, JD, and their respective friends. Actually, I ended up borrowing sunscreen from JD, having forgotton my own! (He made fun of me for that, as anyone should – it’s MEXICO, for crying out loud.)
I have no pictures of this interlude, since that seemed a creepy idea. Honestly, these guys are so sweet and chill, I didn’t want to spoil the relaxed atmosphere with fan photos or autographs. No, seriously.
Once we hit the beach for our “private” beach party, life was sweet. We lunched at the buffet, and made friends with some of the other cruisers. I DO have photos from this beach party, but both my besty and I plead modesty, since we were enjoying ourselves and not looking our best! 🙂
There were plenty of beach games and fun going on, all of which you can see here:
The beach party is where a few things happened. One, as BFF and I were chilling in the ocean, J.D. Scott and his girlfriend struggled to film a Vine, so I opted in as cameraman. I don’t think I did well, since they had me take it three times. Oops!
Two, we met a very sweet and fun couple, a contractor from one of the Brothers’ shows and his wife. We were watching the hilarious beach Sibling Rivalry face-off and started downing margaritas and swapping stories. . . and then they adopted us, ha! (Probably didn’t hurt that I used to live in Las Vegas, as they do, and could share stories of that as well.)
We headed back to the boat, full of stories and with new friends.
AND THEN THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR.
To be continued…
Would you take a cruise with the Property Brothers?
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