Showing posts with label Waldorf Astoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waldorf Astoria. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Visit to @AudubonZoo during #NicheMommy12 Part 1 of 2! #NOLA

Entrance to Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, 2012 Credit @Ascending Butterfly


I am back to our Wordless Wednesdays from New Orleans series! During the NicheMommy 2012 Blogging Conference in New Orleans I got to sneak in a little time to visit the Audubon Zoo. They brought some of the animals to us, and gave us the opportunity to also visit them! A group of intrepid bloggers headed out for a fun adventure to the Audubon Zoo! We tweeted them from the bus on the way over and they tweeted us back!

Dave from The Audubon Zoo shows bloggers in attendance at Niche Mommy a Spider! Photo Credit: @Ascending Butterfly, 2012. Niche Mommy 2012 was held at The Roosevelt, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New Orleans.

Dave from the Audubon Zoo was showing Spiders and other assorted creepy crawlies, he was very close to where I was eating my Seafood Gumbo and I was afraid one of them would jump into my bowl! You can tell how close he was to where I was sitting by the shot, I was seated, and did NOT use zoom to take this picture!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Alligator from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Rose offered to let me touch it, but despite that sweet looking smile, I declined! It was lunch time and I figured the smell of food all around might make it hungry and it would confuse my hand for chicken fingers!

Rose from The Audobun Zoo shows off an Alligator from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Thankfully Founder of Niche Mommy Nadia Jones husband wasn't as squeamish and he touched it instead! And to think I once had a Reticulated Python as a pet!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

Now this guy I wanted to pet, but they wouldn't let us! This Eagle had so much personality!

Rose from The Audobun Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

The Eagle was totally taking everything and everyone in!

Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans! Left: Ascending Butterfly, Right: Rose from Audobon Zoo holding an Eagle

Right before this picture was taken, The Eagle looked at me and I moved my head back and then he moved his head back and we were all laughing!
Rose from The Audubon Zoo shows off an Eagle from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans! Left: Maria from http://bloggingbabiesandthebayou.com, Right: Rose from Audubon Zoo holding an Eagle


Maria got to snap my moment with The Eagle and I got to capture hers too! The poor Eagle was probably getting Flash Blinded from all the bloggers getting pictures! He must have felt like a celebrity and thought we were all paparazzi! The zoo offered bloggers at the conference a chance to visit the zoo, aquarium and insectarium too! So Ascending Butterfly and some intrepid fellow bloggers decided to take the city bus to the zoo and check it out! 

Left: Ascending Butterfly making Peace signs! Right: Christina from http://bluekittycool.org/

Here we are hamming it up on the bus and we also tweeted the Zoo to let them know we enjoyed seeing the Animals at Niche Mommy, and that we were on our way!

Left: Maria from http://bloggingbabiesandthebayou.com, and right: Laura from My Three Ring Circus: http://kileigh7.com/

We were super stoked when the zoo tweeted us right back! New Orleans companies have great Social Media community Managers, because when Maria and I visited the Harrahs Casino in New Orleans, they tweeted us right back too! Pretty Impressive!

A beautiful sunny August Day at the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

First up: Flamingo Cafe, we arrived thirsty!

The first animals we see near the Flamingo Cafe? The Flamingos of course! 

I love watching them balance so gracefully on one leg!

Cute Duck Statues!

Disccovery Walk at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!

It's like 3D Elephant Art at the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

We tried to wait for the Elephant to come out from there, but instead I had to zoom in to capture him.  Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

This guy wouldn't quite turn around either! Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

Everyone stayed here the longest, this Orangutan truly loves people and hammed it up the most for Christina, I wish I would have filmed him! This pic was shot with my iPod, so no zoom! Audobon Zoo, New Orleans.

Finally got a perfect shot of an animal facing the camera! Isn't this Siberian Tiger just gorgeous? Audubon Zoo, New Orleans!

My mom saw this picture and said it reminds her of ME! LOL Siberian Tiger,  August 2012 Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, USA.

We all needed a break and stopped off for some snacks! This sign was in view from the bench where we sitting! Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, August 2012. It's like they knew Ascending Butterfly was coming, LOL :)

The sign reads:  English: The Monkey is Weaving - a thread of insatiable lusts - on the margins of morning -  he topples a pollen-fall - startles the violet flight - of the butterfly.

I love that it was also translated and posted in Spanish: Los Monos trenzaban un hilo - Interminablemente erotico - En las riberas de la aurora - Derribando muros de polen - Y espantando el vuelo violeta - De las mariposas de Muzo. 


You know if there a butterfly sighting, even if it's just the word butterfly I had to have a picture of it!

We had to hit the gift shop, and this cute elephant was right outside! Audubon Zoo, August 2012, New Orleans.

Saw this sign at the Zoo and had to snap a picture of it! This intrepid group also visit The Insectarium, but that's a whole another post!

There was so much to see and do at the Zoo, that I had to break this into two posts, because I didn't have time to optimize and watermark all the photos in one sitting, so next week will be a whole section of the zoo I visited unto itself, but this last picture was a sign at the zoo, that speaks to another Wordless Wednesday from New Orleans series post, you guessed it, The Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. But that one will post after the part two for the Zoo pictures!

Don't forget to post a link to your Wordless Wednesday Links here, Happy Wordless Wednesday Butterflies!


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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received to post my recap of my day at the Audubon Zoo. However ALL bloggers in attendance at the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference were offered tickets. I attended the conference as a guest of Britax. I am a Britax Hispanic Digital Marketing and Outreach Blogger/Ambassador.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Weekly Moment of Gratitude: New Orleans Niche Mommy 12 Conference Edition!





What I am grateful for:



Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Britax! -  I had no idea when I embarked on an Ambassadorship with @SafeConBritax that it would lead to many so new adventures! It started with a trip to Britax Headquarters, and now the opportunity to attend the Niche Mommy Blogging Conference during it's inaugural year! I loved the idea of becoming a Britax Ambassador from the very begining, because they put child safety first. I know the majority of my readers are moms. Moms from many different walks of life, but the common denominator for all moms is wanting your child to be safe. And that is Britax's goal, it's their mission. And the small way I get to be a part of that journey has been more rewarding than I ever could have anticipated. I'm grateful to be part of the program! I'm also grateful that this program has given me the opportunity to host giveaways for you so you can experience first hand just how wonderful Britax products really are! This has been my favorite Brand Ambassadorship by far, and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The Team! - Britax sent 4 of their ambassadors to New Orleans to experience the Niche Mommy 2012 conference, they also hosted a Coffee and Chat afternoon break session where great prizes were given away and we got to assist and answer questions fellow attendees had about Britax products and what it's like being a Brand Ambassador and a part of their Latina Advisory Board and Hispanic Social Media Outreach Program. Britax was an official Conference Sponsor and attendees got the opportunity to see products up close and personal and win fantastic prizes! Congrats to all the winners! By the way 2 winners were MEN! Go Britax!

Here are some photos of the team in action:

I dubbed us 'The Britax Angels' You know, like 'Charlies Angels' except in this case our 'Charlie' is Britax! - from Left to Right: Vanessa from @DeSuMama - http://www.desumama.com/, ME! Tracy from @Ascending1 - http://www.ascendingbutterfly.com, Yadira from @ClubdeDiosas - http://clubdelasdiosas.com, Joscelyn from @InnovativeTalk  - http://www.mamiinnovativemedia.com/, and Divina from @DancingHotdogs http://www.dancinghotdogs.com/
These ladies certainly made 'work' FUN! :)
Oops! This angel had her eyes closed! Why is it that Camera Flash always makes me blink? Don't you just love our matching Britax T-shirts?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The Roosevelt New Orleans - The Roosevelt New Orleans is a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and I can't begin to thank them enough, the service was impeccable, the food was totally amazing, and there is no detail left to the imagination! The staff was super friendly and welcoming and I can't wait to go back! Their turn down service with super comfy robe and chocolates on the pillow was a fantastic touch. The folks at Niche Mommy did a wonderful job and selected just the right hotel and venue for this conference!

Here are some pics:
The Roosevelt New Orleans - A Waldorf Astoria Hotel


Picture of my room! This was room 1003 in Tower 1 of The Roosevelt!

Lobby of The Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans


Did you know that the majority of conference attendees are bloggers who have been blogging well over 2 years? This conference certainly gave 'Veteran Bloggers' as well as 'newbies' a great way to come together to learn not just from the panelists, but each other!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - BlogHer! - If it hadn't been for BlogHer which is where I met Nadia, the Founder of the @NicheMommy #nichmommy12 conference, I wouldn't have even heard about the conference until much later on, I am so glad I had the chance to meet her during BlogHer. Nadia is truly down to the earth, and she definitely made it look easy but I know first hand just how difficult the details are when putting a together conference, and she covered every detail amazingly well!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Travel! - I love to travel and hadn't visited New Orleans before, this was amazing opportunity to attend a great conference during it's kickoff year, and explore an amazing city! I can't wait to share more of where I visited and what I saw, I will do so across a series of Wordless Wednesday posts! And I am so excited that the Niche Mommy Conference will be held in New Orleans again next year! There are so many amazing sites I didn't get to see this time around!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - New Friends! - I met some amazing people during this conference that truly made my experience so much richer!

**Sending a special prayer to all the local NOLA bloggers I met this weekend and for the entire city of New Orleans as Isaac is about to hit during the 7th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, please join me in sending prayers and positive thoughts to the people of New Orleans, Florida and all in the eye of the storm!**

This past week has given me so much to be grateful for, so much new knowledge, new ideas and new inspiration, I feel I've come home *renewed* and with a renewed sense of passion for what it is I do best!

I actually took over 250 pictures, and it will take awhile to sort and watermark them, but I've already started my pinterest board for the conference and included the pictures used in this post, you will see more photos on that board in the coming weeks!  (Bloggers that attended Niche Mommy and want to use any of the photos should feel free, please be sure to credit Ascending Butterfly and link to us! And if you are also open to sharing your Niche Mommy photos, please post the link to them  here!)

What are YOU most grateful for this week Butterfly?

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What are you grateful for today? I'd love for you to write in and share what you are grateful for this week. The more you say it, the more you speak it, and the more you live in gratitude, the more you will find reasons to be grateful for, and the more reasons that the universe will send you to be grateful for. So join me on this journey of gratitude and inspiration. And you can post here daily (even though my list will be posted weekly).

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me on Twitter here (@Tracy_Iglesias) Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field at Twitter:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and Active Giveaways!  - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

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Giveaways!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Giveaways will be back very soon, including our two favorite regular features that took a mini-hiatus this summer, The Featured Handbag in the Spotlight, and our Monthly Book Club! And look for a fun Britax Giveaway which I will post very SOON!

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Gratitude Journal Reco:
For those of you who are interested in keeping a gratitude journal this year, here is my recommendation and where to purchase it:
















Make this Your Best Day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

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FTC Disclosure: Journal Recommendation uses an Amazon Affiliate Link. Questions about our Disclosure?  I am a member of the Britax Latina Advisory Board and Hispanic Social Outreach Blogger Campaign via Mami Innovative Media, being part of this ambassadorship does come with copensation and incentives, however my opinions are 100% my own. I am not required to share my experiences about the Niche Mommy Conference or New Orleans, nor am I being compensated to do so. I did enjoy the conference and the City and am happy to share my experiences!