My Day in Des Moines! {BHG Style Showcase}

Good morning, friends! I am SO excited to share with you my very exciting trip to Des Moines, Iowa. It’s been a long time since I traveled through Des Moines to visit some of my mom’s side of the family who live in Iowa and South Dakota. This trip was SO fun because I got to attend the Better Homes and Gardens Style Showcase with a bunch of blogger friends! Seriously, it was a blast. We arrived bright and early in the morning for registration and breakfast. The Meredith entrance was decorated so cleverly with balloons tied to jar candles. Seriously. So smart. Anyone can do that for a fun and simple party favor. 🙂

Then we got to enjoy the product showcase where we saw many current products available at Walmart and Walmart.com and NEW products that will be coming Spring 2015! I can’t wait! I thought many times, “Wow.  This is available at Walmart?” Amazing! Although I shouldn’t be too shocked because I used many fabulous BHG products that I purchased at Walmart for my Industrial Glam Master Bedroom Makeover. If you haven’t taken a peek at that project, you totally should. I’ll wait! 🙂

I loved MANY of the new products including the beaded china,  weathered wood console, knobby lamp and the little trinket boxes. 

The bedding and linens lines are so pretty and on-trend. And did you know that you can buy the headboards pictured above from Walmart.com? I had no clue!

I am a sucker for storage. The metal olive bucket is fabulous as are the wire baskets on the right. I love the the mini chalkboards, but I am especially smitten with the snap on-snap off basket liners. Win!! After the product showcase, we got to tour the photo studio which is jaw dropping. It is incredible what BHG does behind the scenes…and behind the camera. Shoots in their magazines are often done in the basement. Crazy, huh?

The prop rooms. There are no words except that I was in prop heaven. The plates and books organized by color might just do me in. I loved every minute in this space. I could have stayed there the rest of the day. 😉

More props. I think I need a warehouse like this to store my own props. #kidding

The rooms that are built for photo shoots are built in-house in a huge carpentry shop. When an editor is preparing a room to shoot, they select the kind of walls {length, window or no window, door or no door, interior or exterior} they want. Most of the walls are ready and waiting to be used.

 

One of the highlights of the day was the easy entertaining workshop with Nancy Hopkins, Senior Deputy Food and Entertaining Editor for Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  Nancy has such grace and amazing creativity. She talked all about hospitality and friendship and how to create a lovely food presentation and centerpiece ideas for the upcoming holidays! I was kind of mesmerized. And aren’t those cookie jars adorable?! I think I need the fox!

Here are all the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks all in one place. Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks have been a familiar part of my life since childhood. It made me really happy to see all the different editions.

After the workshops, we had the privilege of visiting the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden. This garden is smack in the heart of Des Moines, but few people even know it is there. The test garden is absolutely beautiful and serene. I love that they have to go through similar struggles and experiences as any other home gardener. This makes it a very authentic experience…the real deal.

See those nested iron tables above? I think they would be so fabulous painted a bright and happy color…or maybe each one a different color? Or you could just leave them black. It depends on your style!

This outdoor collection will be available Spring 2015! I have my eye on that rug!!

As if the entire day wasn’t amazing enough, we got to run back to the hotel and change clothes because we were invited to the Iowa State Fair!! We had a nice dinner with the BHG Style Showcase team then we found some adventurous rides. I felt like a kid again because these days I just ride the kiddie rides with Ridley. Ha! It was so much fun to squeal.

Oh, and did you know that Iowa has a butter cow and other butter figures at the state fair? I had no idea, but it is apparently a big deal!

It was a beautiful evening for the fair. It was so good to meet all the editors and staff at Better Homes and Gardens and it was amazing to meet up with so many friends again. This trip to Des Moines is a trip to be remembered.

Over the next year, every other month or so, I will be sharing a creative idea using BHG products at Walmart. I am super excited about this partnership. I think it will be inspiring and fun for all my amazing readers! 🙂 Be sure to follow Better Homes and Garden Live Better on Facebook , Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

xoxo

Myra

I received compensation from BHG at Walmart for my participation in the BHG Live Better Network. But you know that all opinion, thoughts and ideas are, as always, mine! 🙂