Have you ever seen those guest correspondents on the red carpet and wished it were you talking up celebrities and getting behind-the-scenes interviews? And I know I’m not the only one who got a kick out of watching Ross the Intern on Jay Leno; he had a heck of a lot more than fifteen minutes of fame. Well, now it’s your turn to be a guest correspondent, but instead of doing something lame like talking with Spielberg about his latest movie, you get to talk with the fabulous women behind the Moms Who Make It conference!

I am working with Quinn Curtis, the woman behind CreatedByMom.com, helping throw the biggest party plan this most awesome conference! The conference will take place on Thursday, July 16th near Salt Lake City, Utah. Quinn is all about empowering and inspiring women and Moms Who Make It is the ONLY conference dedicated to strengthening moms in all facets of life and/or business. This isn’t an event just for women entrepreneurs nor is it just for moms. It’s for any woman who is looking for powerful tools and insight to start or grow her business and creatively balance her personal life.

Special guests include Kim Christopherson (YouCanMakeThis.com), Rachael Herrscher (TodaysMama), Melissa Chapell (Raw Melissa), Kelly Anderson (Startup Princess) and Pamela Baumeister (Wasatch Woman magazine). Here is just a sampling of topics featured at the conference:

• Know the power in living your purpose; harness your creativity to build the life you want
• Balance your daily demands allowing sufficient time and energy for your family
• Cut your grocery bill in half while making mealtime more meaningful to your family
• Enhance your natural beauty holistically
• Know how to take your business idea and make it a reality
• Utilize social media to broaden your support base; gain hundreds of new potential clients

Now here’s the super cool, nifty, better-read-this-whole-post part:

We are looking for one Boutique Café reader to be our

Moms Who Make It correspondent at the conference!

Daria can’t make it and wants to send YOU in her place to provide behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and coverage of the conference!

If selected as the winner here’s what you’ll win:

1. All-access ticket to the MWMI conference (or if you have already paid for your conference ticket, we will reimburse your purchase price)
2. Invitation to the after-hours VIP Mocktail Party
3. Flip Video camera (to be picked up when you arrive at our on-site registration)
4. Boutique Cafe t-shirt
5. CreatedByMom.com super chic camera wrist strap

… read more.

When my two older daughters were young I bought each of them a small, lightweight Laura Ashley suitcase from TJ Maxx. They were the cutest things and the perfect size for an overnighter or two at Grandma’s. Even now they use them if it’s a single-night’s stay and no serious travel is required. I would be afraid to send those little suitcases on a cross-country trip or through baggage check at the airport. There is no way they’d survive the abuse!

And yet those ever-popular, far-too-many, carry-on rolling suitcases aren’t very child friendly (nor are they cute like our Laura Ashley ones). My point? I think every child needs his or her own solid, baggage-claim-friendly, child-friendly suitcase. Why? Because they’re more apt to tote it, which means one less suitcase for you to worry about, and less likely to lose it because it’s so dang cool. That’s why I love the children’s line from Heys USA. It’s fun meets function meets “take me cross country–I can totally handle it” luggage!

Heys sent us the Tinkerbell suitcase from their Disney line. What first took me by surprise when I pulled it out of the box is how extremely light it was–checking the stats it weighs in at just over 3 pounds! It was like I was holding a sippy cup full of milk rather than a hard-shell suitcase. Heys is awesome because they’ve put a lot of thought into their children’s luggage, and not just putting Disney characters on the front (Cars, Nemo, Minnie Mouse to name a few). They also have a “reverse-curve” handle at a lower height that curves in and up making it much more comfortable to hold and navigate. (Navigation is very important when making your way through an airport!)

Our Tinkerbell suitcase also has wheels that protrude out so it keeps the elevated even when rolled by a height-challenged toddler. And the inline skate wheels make rolling that much easier! I also love the printed patterns inside the suitcase and the nifty zippered divider. It might just keep all the clothes, toys and “treasures” organized–time will only tell!

Heys also has children’s backpacks that look as sturdy yet comfy (i.e. lightweight) as their suitcases. And the company has really awesome luggage for adults including messenger bags, suitcases, laptop bags and even handbags. It’s kind of like being a kid in a candy store but with really cool, really shiny, super functional and fun candy! –Emily

The Adult sized SisBoom Patricia Tunic ePattern can be found here and here.

Congrats ladies on a gorgeous collaboration from fabrics, to pattern, to pictures! I think we all need at least one of of these!

This week, Boutique Cafe is honored to feature a designer who I admire greatly for her natural sense of style. Each outfit Christie Archer releases, starts my head a’buzzing. I just love how she designs to let each child shine!

Designers Quote:

“My princess Ferry is my inspiration for every design that I do. Her current favorite designs are the peasant dresses with pockets for her to keep her treasures in and skirt sets so she can twirl like a pretty princess, lol. Though I try to design around her personal style preferences I personally tend to lean more toward non-traditional colors when choosing fabrics.” - Christie

**GIVEAWAY!
Leave a comment for Christie below and you’ll be entered to win your choice of either a free peasant dress with banded bottom OR 30% off of a skirt and shirred back top set. Design to be discussed and fabric choices to be from what she has in her studio already. GOOD LUCK!! Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: March 6, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Shop Kustom Kids Boutique at her Etsy store**Please allow time for the show to load.

Charlene May, the vivacious and dynamic founder of Greggy Girl has a brand new blog! In celebration of their first 10 years bringing gorgeous girls fashion to the world, Greggy Girl is now blogging to share their story with you (http://greggygirltalk.blogspot.com).

In her recent article, Charlene shares her personal experience of being our Keynote Speaker at the first Boutique Cafe Girls Getaway Conference we held in 2007 at Salt Lake City. The conference was attended by a wide range of incredibly talented women, and since the event we have seen so many of their businesses and passions take off in a huge way. From clothing designers, to fabric designers, to graphic artists, and so on - many of these ladies are making great strides in their industries. In the article for Greggy Girl Talk, Charlene raves about Boutique Cafe’s ability to bring these ladies together and talks about our Producer and Podcast Guru Daria as well!

Thank you so much Charlene for sharing your experience at our conference with the Greggy Girl family and fans. Having you as our Keynote Speaker was a dream come true! Read the Full Article Here >>

Daria included in Top 111 Biz Women to Follow List in new ‘Twitter Inspiration’ eBook! Find out more here

To Follow Daria on Twitter click here

Happy Birthday this weekend to inspiring mommy blogger Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie)! We love you so much and wish you the happiest Birthday ever! To celebrate @sweettoothfairy is baking up yummy yummy’s!!

If you haven’t read Nie’s blog before, we can promise you’ll walk away feeling more love for your family, for life’s gifts, and for your faith than you ever thought possible. Now scoot over to the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop in Utah this Saturday, from 11am to 7pm. All proceeds from the sales of the VaNIElla Squared cupcakes will benefit the Nie Recovery.