beyond la

Hi friends! On May 5th, 2017 I attended a fundraising event for Beyond Type 1. It was a cocktail party in LA... well not just any old cocktail party, it was such a chic, classy, well put together event, all to support those affected by Type 1 Diabetes. I want to share every little detail of the night with you! It'll be like you were a guest that night too!

First I want to start by telling you about my day leading up to the event. I flew in from Arizona THAT morning, and I ran around LA all day until the event. I got my makeup done at Sephora on Hollywood & Highland and I was beyond pleased! I never let anyone do my makeup! I even did my own makeup on my wedding day, but I figured since I was flying in, it would be one less thing to pack. After getting my makeup done I checked into my Airbnb. (Click here to save $20 on your first Airbnb stay!) I quickly curled my hair, got dressed, called an Uber and headed to the Hollywood Roosevelt!

Before heading to the event, I met a few friends that were also attending Beyond LA for drinks. You might know them. Lauren works for Myabetic and I had met her once before at the JDRF Kiss To Cure Event in LA in February. She was the first to get there and we spent an hour laughing and catching up. Kyrra, who is the founder of Myabetic came later. It was my first time meeting her. It meant so much to me to meet the founder of a product I use EVERYDAY and love so much. When does something like that happen?! Its not like I'll be sitting across the table having a drink with Louis Vuitton himself or get a chance to tell Steve Jobs how much I love using my iPhone, Macbook and Apple Watch. Gretchen, who you may know as TypeOneTypeHappy and also works or Myabetic also joined us later. Both of us are part of the Global Ambassador Council for Beyond Type 1. We were both very excited to attend the event and meet some of our fellow ambassadors!

I rode with Gretchen to the event and we had butterflies in our stomach wondering if we would get to meet Nick Jonas or not. When we pulled up to valet and got out of the car, Sarah Lucas (Beyond Type 1's CEO) was standing right outside with the other BT1 founders Juliet De Baubigny and chef Sam Talbot. I've communicated with Sarah many times through social media and video calls but we had never met in person. As soon as I saw her I ran up to her and gave her a hug because its like I already knew her. The next car to arrive behind Gretchen and I was.... NICK JONAS! He got out of the car and stepped out of the carpet to pose for pictures with his fellow founders. I snapped this photo as the photographer took pictures of the foursome. ​

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Here is the actual image from the professional photographer :)

Since Gretchen and I had got to the event seconds before Nick, Sarah introduced him to us right away.  After that we all stepped into Avenue and joined in on the festivities! I wish I had a photo of me with Nick but theres actually a funny story to tell. Gretchen and I were determined to get a photo with him but Nick's manager said Nick wouldn't be taking pictures with anyone. I was walking with Gretchen, and ​Nick was walking next to us.

I didn't even try to take a picture with him since his manager had already said no. I saw my friend Lauren at the top of the stairs and I walked towards her. I looked back and suddenly Gretchen wasn't next to me anymore. I went back down to look for her and she's like "I was yelling your name!!! We just got a picture with Nick!!! You started walking away right as we started posing for the picture!" I couldn't believe it! I literally walked away from a photo with Nick Jonas without even knowing it! How silly of me!!!!! Here is the photo below:

Besides Nick, I saw so many familiar faces that I've seen ​all over Instagram! Mary Lucas (@MaryAlessandraa) greeted us right away! I've been following her in Instagram and emailed back and forth many times but this was my first time meeting her in person. She was everything I expected her to be. Sweet, fun and beautiful! Also Ashley Tidsdale was there supporting her hubby who happens to have Type 1! Gretchen and I got so excited to see her and all we could think about was High School Musical! ​

There were so many big names and important people at the event. It was so great to see such an amazing crowd of people all in one place, supporting Beyond Type 1. One of my favorite people to meet that night was Sara Jensen, the Creative Director for BT1. She had so many funny stories to tell! If you follow her on social media, you know how silly she can be. Out of all the people there, I was most excited to meet fellow members of the Global Ambassador Council. We are a group of young individuals working together to raise awareness by supporting Beyond Type 1. We have 20 members and 5 happened to be at the event!

Left to Right: CEO of Beyond Type 1 Sarah Lucas, Global Ambassador Members- Jen Hanson, Matt Tarro, Marci Tatham, Gretchen Otte, Bike Beyond Rider Jesse, GAC Member Paloma Kemak & Mary Lucas

I want to thank Beyond Type 1 for letting me be a part of such an amazing organization. The amount of work they have done in such a small amount of time is tremendous. To learn more and donate to Beyond Type 1 CLICK HERE!