This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Groupon for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Over the past few years this site has grown and I’ve been able to hire on several people, some seasonal and some permanent to help produce content and keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. They are such an fun, inspiring, and talented group. Also they crack me up! We don’t take ourselves too seriously and are always joking around. We’ve all become good friends which makes work every day so much fun.  I’ve realized though I’ve never given a formal introduction, ahh!! We have something much more in-depth planned, but I thought I’d give a very short intro here when we went out for a team lunch earlier this week c/o of Groupon to a new spot I’d never been, Sliderbar in the castro district.

I use Groupon personally all the time to find deals around San Francisco. We love eating out but it can get expensive so using Groupon is a great way to eat out on a budget and discover a new favorite spot too. I’d never been to Sliderbar before. It’s at a great location right at the heart of the Castro on Market Street. Such a fun place to sit outside and people watch on a sunny day (which is very often in that neighborhood!). I love places with generous outdoor seating too, don’t you? Keep reading to hear more about our yummy meal, a fun Groupon deal going on, and little intro into the Say Yes team…

Photography by Liz Stanley

Here’s Ashley! She’s been working with me for more than 2 years so I’m feeling super embarrassed I’ve never given her a real intro!  She started out doing fashion posts weekly, which she still does on Wednesdays and also has taken over the fab finds posts on Fridays. She always does an amazing job, has an incredible sense of style, trends, and finds the most amazing deals online. Her role has evolved since then and she also does a lot of stuff behind the scenes like put together collages, research for posts, social media, contributor posts, organizes fashion shoots and the fun series like Secrets of Stylish Moms and My Sister My Sidekick. So yeah, she is essential to this site running smoothly! Oh, and most importantly she has the cutest little girl named Hazel that’s Edie’s same age.

Here’s Sara! She’s been working with me for almost a year as my project assistant. She is a brilliant crafter, seamstress, and super organized which is a huge help to me. I don’t know what I’d do without her! She runs a really lovely site called alice and lois with her twin sister, Melissa.  Sara also has the sweetest daughter Harper who is the same age as Henry and you might remember from this GAP campaign.

Here’s…another Sarah! We joke that if your name is Sara or Ashley you have a pretty good chance of getting a job with Say Yes. I think I’ve worked with 5 or 6 Saras and Ashleys over the past few years! I’ve actually known Sarah for a while. Our kids went to preschool together and now they’re at the same elementary school so we’ve become good friends. Sarah is a project intern this holiday season but I might try to convince her to stay on because we love her! She has this incredible sense of style too (like this vintage levis jacket she’s wearing), and the most amazing hair. She swears it just dries naturally like that but I’m determined to get to the bottom of her secret.

For lunch at Sliderbar we ordered a few different sliders to share. It’s great because they’re are so many delicious looking ones and you can order a bunch of single varieties for the group to try. We went with a pulled pork (a favorite!), beef and a spicy chicken one. They were all delicious. We also ordered a couple nice looking salads and some parmesan truffle fries which came with a delicious dipping sauce. I get weak in the knees around a good fry dipping sauce. Now’s a great time to try it because there’s a great Taste of Groupon deal and contest going on right now with an extra 12% off already discounted Groupon restaurant deals.

Do you try new restaurants often with Groupon? We’re trying to make team lunches more of a tradition and I love the idea of trying someplace new every time, although we’ll definitely be back to Sliderbar sometime soon.

Thanks to Groupon for sponsoring this post. Buy a meal and submit a photo for the Taste of Groupon contest going on.