Click on the image to RSVP to this event! It’s going to be a bloody great time! Arrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!

Bloody Brunch is goin’ for a road trip! April 23rd thru the 25th is an amazing weekend in Sturgeon Bay, Door County….it’s designed for women to have one heckova great time. There’s tons of amazingly fun classes to experience like floral arranging & cookie decorating, wine tours to be indulged in, spas, bed & breakfasts to explore, cruises to sail away on……or……you can just spend some quality time with your gals….enjoying a weekend away from it all.

Bloody Brunch is partnering with Groovin’ Sisterhood weekend to bring a little bit of spice to the end of a very sweet weekend.

Please check out Groovin’ Sisterhood’s website for more information….there’s lodging specials (which is supah dupah rockin’ as the rates are already sooo low!)…as well as all the details to drool over.

We hope you’ll gather your gals & join us for some bloody fun by the bay!

(media inquiries can now be sent to sara@bloodybrunch.com…she’ll hook ya up!)

But have no fear! Bloody Brunch is still alive & kickin’ & better than ever! We have a ton of amazing brunches planned for 2010 at crazy awesome venues! You’ll blow your bloody top after getting a load of all the great spots!

ALSO….stay tuned for a supah dupah fun event currently being planned for February 21st! Mark your calendars…your bloody mary lovin’ butt won’t want to miss it!

And as always…thanks so much for all your support….we couldn’t do this without YOU!

Bloody Mary Mwahs,

Sara & Chris

All attempting donors will receive free parking and free admission to the zoo on the day of the drive, in addition to a complimentary ticket to the zoo for a future visit and a limited edition t-shirt!

Tuesday, December 29
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, December 30
Noon – 5 p.m.

Milwaukee County Zoo

Peck Welcome Center

10001 W. Bluemound Rd.

Milwaukee, WI

Free childcare will be provided!

Reserve your appointment today.
1-877-BE-A-HERO
www.bcw.edu/makeappt

So….there was a lull on this here blog in the past month or so where I wasn’t blogging….like at all. I know you’ve prayed & begged & asked Santa for blogging to return here in Sarandipityland. And I’m here to tell you….your prayers/begs/christmas lists have been answered (you’re lucky too…as I have on good authority you’re on Santa’s naughty list).

I’M BACK!

And what was with that lull, Miss Dipity?….you ask, sweetly.

Well, kidlets….I was just busting my gourd on a lil’ project called Bloody Brunch. What is Bloody Brunch, Princess Sara?, you ponder, inquisitively. Well…click the link & read up, son. Or…here’s the cliff notes version……It’s a Twitter based event that raises moola for blood related charities (namely The Blood Center of Wisconsin & The Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation) and…while we’re being all good & charitable, we get piss drunk on bloody mary’s. (kay….not exactly piss drunk….but we do have one hell of a good time)

While the first 3 Bloody Brunches were lil’ sorirees into the land o’ fun….we decided the holiday one had to be effing awesome. Which it was, if I do say so myself. We had over 150 attendees. We raised over 1,000 bucks for our blood charities. And as a little toast to good ol’ St. Nick, we filled 5 garment sized boxes (that’s as tall as me) with toys to benefit Toys for Tots. I’d say we done good.

We had a silent auction, we had a raffle, we had free bloody marys, we had free burgers, we had a kick reindeer arse Santa & free photos with the bearded one, we had a cute Marine….and we did it all at Stack’d Bar…who were ridiculously amazing from the beginning planning stages to the day of…we couldn’t have asked for a better venue or a better staff. (PS…shout out to Maurice…he is one rockin’ dude….and a pretty darned awesome manager too!)

So….I have some folks I need to thank…because believe you me….pulling off an event like this doesn’t happen overnight with one hand tied behind a gal’s back. Oh no….I needed lots of hands….so a big THANK YOU to…

CHRIS — the newest member to the Bloody Brunch team & one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. Chris is a legal eagle & turned our lil’ Bloody Brunch into an LLC, registered our marks & all that jazz….but she’s so much more than just the law mouse. She secured some wowza auction items & swag, she got us custom freaking Bloody Brunch M&M’s (I know…how effing cool is that?!?) on her own dime, she hit the pavement & ran around Milwaukee in an effort to gain donations & then pick up said donations (it should be noted that Chris lives 30 minutes from MKE), she kept my head on straight & she did all this nay a complaint in sight. I’m sure I’m forgetting something….as she was all over this shiz….in short….she is just freaking amazing & I’m lucky to know her.

AMY — my co-founder of the whole shebang, Amy is one of the most creative chicks I’ve ever known. All the awesomeness that is our website? Yeah…Amy’s the gal behind the curtain. She secured us some super amazing auction items & swag, made us our fantastic banners, tweeted up a freaking storm, sent out news releases, made cute-as-hecks magnets for the swag bags, designed her lil’ butt off & was on top of everything despite getting a crappy medical diagnosis in the middle of all the chaos. When Amy & I met over a bloody mary last spring, I had no idea our friendship would not only be so much fun….but bring so much good to our community. It’s rare to meet people so in-tune to yourself….& I’m so fortunate to know Amy…..as she is just that….me…..with red hair & a killer “rarrrrrhhhrrrr” pose.

STACY, SARAH, LYNN, CHRIS, EMILY, MARE, TOM, ED, JIM, CARRIE,  ….. these folks were our fabulous, amazing, wonderful, heartwarming, lovely volunteers. Honestly…I can’t find enough adjectives to describe my gratitude for helping us make Bloody Brunch such a success. We couldn’t have done it without them.

Stacy, Sarah, Lynn, Emily & Chris were at my house til the latest, most ridiculous (with Amy & Chris, too) hours of the night before the big day stuffing swag, making booklets & keeping me (partly) sane. Of course the Chinese takeout (read: WINE….LOTS OF WINE) helped too…but those gals gave up their Saturday night to throw all the last minute shazam together…and that’s fanfreakingfabulous. They all also volunteered the day of…running around, making sure all was right in the bloody world. You can’t dream of friends like these…yet…here they are. Truly, truly blessed.

Tom was our “twitter expert”. He owns Trivera Interactive with his lovely wife, MARJIE & gave twitter tutorials all morning, spreading the good twitter word. If you have any questions about twitter (or need any website or design assistance) they’re your peeps. And they’re good peeps. Really good peeps!

Ed spun his way into Bloody Brunch history by professionally dj-ing our big day. He did one hellova a job & stayed well past the closing….spinning away. He truly brought the holiday spirit to all of us….thanks so much Ed!

Jim saved the day…literally. After our original Santa Claus flew the Christmas coup, Jim stepped up to fill those famous coal stained shoes. And fill them he did. He was the perfect ol’ jolly St. Nick. The children loved him & (from all the pics pouring in) so did the….ahem….older children. He was such a good sport & we can’t thank him & his wife, Kris, enough for helping us. We owe you some milk & cookies (& carrots for Rudolph).

Carrie was our official photographer. She took the free photos with Santa with all the kidlings….and adultlings. She was so prepared bringing every sort of fun prop imaginable….makes me wonder if she came in on a magical sleigh with Santa. She really made all the difference & her bubbly personality put an insta-smile on all our faces.

And last….but soooo not least….I have to thank our SUPER DUPER GENEROUS local businesses for donating to the swag bags & the silent auction & raffle. Ohmigoodness…the donations kept pouring in….our socks were rocked. There’s too many wonderful establishments to list here…but check them all out HERE & HERE.

We had 50 swag bags total….with 25 being the “premium” swag….the best coupons/gift certificate/goodies. To get a premium bag you needed to donate a killer toy…we’re talking $25 or more in value.  I was absolutely blown away when I found out those were gone in the first 20 minutes of the doors being open. The other 25? Within the first 30 minutes. Wowzapants! The silent auction raised $1300 for the blood related charities. That’s pretty impressive seeing our first 3 events raised a little over $100 at each. Moving up in the charitable world!

The most important aspect of Bloody Brunch was the outpouring support of our community. The amount of folks who attended made my heart soar. Everyone showing up, toy(s) in hand & ready to get their donation on….just because we asked for toys & donations was…..well…..it was tear ducts flowing with happy tears excited & amazed. I’m not sure what I was expecting whilst planning our pants off for this…I guess I was expecting toys & donations & people & all….but to actually see it….was really something. I honestly can not express to you my gratitude. From the tips of my toes to the top of my head….with a big ol’ detour through my heart….THANK YOU. If I could become Stretch Armstrong for a moment & pull you all in for a giant group hug, I would.

Here’s a lil’ snicky snack of how amazing the Twitter community is…..get the tissues ready & click HERE.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…..from the bottom of my heart…..THANK YOU!!! You all are truly the meaning of Christmas. We couldn’t have done it without you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MILWAUKEE!!!

(be on the look out….next Bloody Brunch will be heading your way in February!)

Please also take a peek at Chris’ wrap up of the Bloody Brunch event on her blog: Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Check out our list of Swag Bag donors! And the list keeps growing. Stay tuned as we put together an AWESOME swag bag for y’all!!! It’s not to late to include something, but you’ll have to let us know TODAY! We need all the swag bag items by Friday at 5pm. Just e-mail swag@bloodybrunch.com.

A big ol’ thank you to Red Wall Prints who donated their services to print our logo on the premium swag bags. If you need any screen printing or embroidery work, give them a call!

414.763.9138
info@redwallprints.com

http://www.redwallprints.com

“There are many ways to help in the community, but donating blood is one of the most effective ways to make a difference. If you are healthy, I hope you will find some time this holiday to donate a pint of blood. You never know – you might actually save someone’s life.”

Wayne Larrivee

Neither will the need for blood.

As the radio voice of Green Bay football, Wayne Larrivee gives his all on every call. As a longtime blood donor, he’s also a big fan of giving back to the community.

Blood is especially needed during the holidays for patients in our local hospitals. This season, the need for blood donors is even greater with many donor appointments cancelled due to flu or other illness. Just one unit of blood could save up to three lives, but it’s an ongoing challenge to keep up with demand.

You can help. During “Wayne’s Challenge” our goal is to get at least 100 “challenge appointments” each week during football season. Giving blood is a fast, easy way to save lives and give hope to families during the holidays. As Wayne puts it, “Few donations reap as huge a reward as donating blood.” Won’t you step up to the challenge?

Make your Challenge Appointment today, or contact BloodCenter to find out if you can donate at a local blood drive in your area.

1-877-BE-A-HERO
www.bcw.edu

Wayne knows blood saves lives.
He calls it as he sees it.
Watch Wayne’s story:

Check out Wayne’s blog!