This past Saturday, I met up with a group of women for a fun, social distancing picnic at Shelby Farms Park. If you guys remember, a few months ago I was an influencer for Owning The Block, Karleen Roy‘s (The Vanity Group) inaugural conversation series and experiential mixer event for women in Memphis, and she wanted to get all of the influencers together and catch up since she was in town for a bit due to COVID. I’m not one for outdoor activities (I stopped looking forward to Summer once I became an adult and no longer enjoyed Summer breaks, lol), but a picnic in the park? Sign me up.

One of things I enjoy so much about this particular group of women is that we all have different backgrounds and career interests, but there is some crossover since we are all bloggers/influencers, which makes it easy for us to come together and hangout and it be pure fun.

Quaneshia

Caitlin

Carmeon

Karleen

There’s no competition since we all are in our own lane, and that is one of the most refreshing things about having a diverse group of women that you can meet up with. You don’t have to pretend to be bff, but there’s mutual respect between everyone, so it makes for fun conversation and an overwhelming feeling of sisterhood. We felt comfortable enough to talk about work, but we could also have “girl talk” as well without feeling self conscious or weird.

Desiree

Crystal

Andrea

Andrea

Ali

Belinda

If you’ve never been out to Shelby Farms Park, it’s the perfect park to go to for a picnic. They’ve totally revamped the grounds over the years, so you can just pull up with a blanket and chill anywhere, go biking or hiking, or even go kayaking. So if you have a small group of friends that you want to safely catch up with while still being able to get some fresh air, this is the place.

There’s a restaurant on the grounds, but the easiest way to enjoy an afternoon at the park is to call up your friends, set a time to meet, and pack a bag with the following:

• face mask
• hand sanitizer
• blanket and/or collapsible chair
• water
• snacks (a charcuterie board with meat, cheese and fruit is perfect for this; you can also pre-order food from your fave restaurant)
• sparkling libations (nothing wrong with a little prosecco; I brought a cranberry flavored one from Trader Joe’s and it was so refreshing!)
• a bomb playlist (let the friend with the best taste in music curate this)
• a board game or 2 (we played the dopest card game ever and it is hilarious if you like trivia games)
• a fun theme or a few cute props for photos (fresh flowers, a hat, sunnies, or a decorative fan are fun extras to have around because you KNOW when you get together with friends, photos will be taken, lol)

With everything going on in the world right now, being able to take a few hours out of your day to meet up with friends or even get out with family is so needed, and this is a safe way to do it. As someone that’s an introvert and very comfortable being alone, I sometimes forget how much I need and appreciate those human interactions, especially special moments with friends, but this quarantine and change in what is considered “normal life” has really taught me the importance of maintaining and having those connections from time to time. If you find yourself craving some time with your friends and family, a trip to the park can help with that.

 

Thank you again to Karleen for coordinating this picnic for us. We had a blast!

Want to see what Shelby Farms Park has to offer? Click here. 

When’s the last time you’ve been to the park?

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