Love Story: TXSC

Showing posts with label TXSC. Show all posts

Monday, 12 August 2013

Definitely my best prom ever + TXSC takeaways

Here we are, a week later, and I am STILL recapping Texas Style Council from the weekend before last. It was THAT good! I'm dumping some pics from prom today, and I also wanted to note some of the great inspiration I took away from the conference. This will be the last post of its kind, I promise! ;)

Can I just say, though, that TXSC was done so wonderfully this year - I was blown away left and right, especially by the incredible prom party, all the amazing brands represented there, and the super cool ladies I got to spend time with. It was a BLAST, it just was! Here's a little peek at the evening...

Also, I was nominated for a superlative award! And ended up winning! CRAZY! "Best Local Blog." WOOHOO! A couple of my good friends also won awards, like Shalyn for "Best Newcomer" and Amanda Marie for "Best Accessory." Definitely the first time I've ever won something... pretty darn cool! ;)

I also wanted to take just a moment to share some of the wisdom I gathered over the weekend. There were lots of incredible bloggers and business owners at the conference this year, like Elsie & Emma from A Beautiful Mess, Kendi, Katie from Skunkboy, and lots of other fabulous ladies, with blogs and businesses big and small.

+ I went to Katie from Skunkboy's talk about children on the blog and social media, even though I don't have kids yet. We definitely plan to have babies soon, so I was curious to hear how other bloggers handle privacy/safety issues, what with having their kids all over the WWW. I learned some really interesting things, some of which were kind of horrifying. For example, Katie brought up something that recently happened to her family - people were taking her Instagram photos of her kids, making fake accounts with the photos, and performing sexual role-play with them. Katie said they got the FBI involved, but the feds said nothing could be done since no crimes were actually committed. The children were clothed in the photos, and weren't actually being harmed. Crazy, right? You fear things like that could happen, but rarely actually hear of it. Makes me think of several people I know who have large followings online and often post nude photos of their young kids, because it's cute and funny to them. This type of thing should absolutely make bloggers think twice before posting photos of their children, especially nude. You never know who's out there lurking.

+ On another note, I felt super inspired by Elsie and Emma's keynote speech on what they've learned from blogging. Here's a few notes I jotted down that you might find inspirational too:

write a blog you want to read.

look beyond the blog world for inspiration

ten ways to stay inspired to blog: 10-Have a magazine day (old magazines too!), 9-Window shopping, 8-The great outdoors (go somewhere beautiful and inspiring!), 7-Flea markets, 6-Classic movies, 5-Travel, 4-Read more books, 3-UNPLUG and brainstorm, 2-Step inside someone else's world, 1-Make an obstacle and overcome it.

be as serious as your dreams are

allow your dreams to evolve over time - changing your mind isn't quitting!

learning new things keeps you humble

be like the best

be the voice you want to hear

create blog features and habits that make life better for your family (for example, if you post recipes on your blog, have a family dinner every sunday night, where you get to try all your new recipes you need for blog posts, and your family can benefit from your good cooking! ;)

make goals you might not reach - why not?! You'll still get farther than if you keep all your goals perfectly attainable

sponsors can add accountability to your blog (amen!)

insist on maintaining your own voice

don't be afraid to pitch your own opportunities

don't drink and blog ;)

strong brands are polarizing (people either love them or hate them). This is not a bad thing

don't take yourself too seriously

blogging is what you make it

I hope some of that inspires you like it inspired me. Have a wonderful new week!

Thursday, 8 August 2013

I wore this to PROM

I miiiight be recapping Texas Style Council for the rest of the summer. OK, that's definitely an exaggeration, but bear with me here, cause there's a couple posts-worth of good stuff still left! I thought about squishing all the photos from the Prom Party on Saturday evening into one post, but then I looked at all the party pics and basically just didn't want to edit them this morning. So, more coming soon!

A little about this dress I wore to Prom (haha... that sounds so funny!): basically, it was meant to be mine. Only one left on the website, and it happened to be my size. WHEN DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN. To me, never!

So yeah, I don't mean to be obnoxious, but I have to thank my friends at Ruche once again for dressing me this weekend. This dress was my favorite of the three I wore, and a perfect example of how a really great outfit can make you feel pretty and confident and overall awesome. I will definitely find another reason to wear this baby!

Dress and bag: c/o Ruche | Shoes: Aldo | Necklace: Thrifted

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Saturday's TXSC daytime attire

I have a confession to make. This was my Ruche sponsored Texas Style Council outfit during the day's events on Saturday, but I totally forgot to get someone to photograph it, so these pictures were actually taken on Monday night at dinner with a friend! And in the interest of full disclosure, that blow-out was four days old, and ~~probably~~ ok, definitely hadn't been brushed in four days, either. I promise I at least bathed during that time, however.

More fun photos coming tomorrow! Have a nice evening, my friends... :)

Sweet bracelet stack by Threads and the Shine Project :)

Dress, bag, and necklace: c/o Ruche

Texas Style Council '13: Friday PM, Saturday AM

how cute are Shay and Amanda?

I don't even know where to begin on this Texas Style Council recap. I feel like I haven't had time to thoroughly process everything yet, and my photos from the conference are about as all over the place as my brain is! But one thing I can say for sure is that I had an amazing time with amazing ladies all. weekend. long, and like I said yesterday, I'm more inspired and motivated than ever to produce good quality stuff on my blog and also to stop undervaluing my work.

Tomorrow I'll get into a little more about what I, personally, took away from the conference, but for now I'll share a little about Friday night and Saturday morning!

The weekend kicked off for me with an amazing dinner with Minnetonka and some other incredible ladies that are either currently working with the brand or that probably will be now after the weekend. ;) They had a lovely set up for us in the underground portion of Max's Wine Dive downtown, and we had wine and apps and a truly yummy dinner. I went as Maria's plus one, and absolutely loved mingling with some other fab ladies I'd either met last year or hadn't yet met at all! Here's just a tiny peek at the setup from our dinner...

Highlight of the weekend: Meeting Jenny and Savannah of Maiedae, MY BLOG DESIGNERS! They are the sweetest things ever. And I mean, look at my blog! They are fabulous! You should probably hire them.

(Savanah's blog here, Jenny's here, design website here)

Friday night the main TXSC event was the Swap, which was a little too packed and crazy for my taste (apparently I'm a bit claustrophobic?), so I stayed for about 30 seconds before hightailing it out of there and hanging out with some friends along 2nd street, instead. That's when we shot this outfit from the day before yesterday. :)

Sooo, let's talk about Saturday morning. First of all, my beloved Ruche put on a breakfast for all the speakers, which was absolutely lovely, like all other things Ruche. No big surprise there. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the ladies behind the brand, including Mai, the owner! (see below - the one with the adorable little baby!) :) I also met Mara from M Loves M, though I didn't get any photos with her on my big girl camera, just on Instagram, so check over there for photos to fill in some of the holes in what I included here. Anyway, I was a bit starstruck between Mai and Mara. SWEET! :)

The ever-pretty-and-sweet Tieka with Mai

Now can we talk about my workshop for a minute? It was the first one of the morning - the 9:00 AM slot - and I was a ball of nerves, you guys! However, I found consolation in the fact that I WAS the first session of the morning, and therefore no one would probably come. They'd all be too tired from a night out partying Austin-style on Friday. I was too nervous to even eat at the Ruche breakfast, so after a bit, I headed up to my classroom only to find that it was already packed. AHH! I was totally wrong about my fellow TXSC attendees' level of dedication. There was really great attendance to every single session. Impressive!

So, I've never spoken in front of people before in this capacity (just school presentations), but even though I was nervous, I think it went really well and I was proud of myself for doing something way way way out of my comfort zone. I mean, c'mon, I'm totally NOT a blogger because I love public speaking. But more importantly than anything, I got a lot of excellent feedback from the girls in attendance, letting me know they really enjoyed it and learned a lot, so that was affirming! Thank you so much to every single sweet lady in attendance... wish we all had longer to chit chat about blogging! :)

At some point video of all the sessions will be up on the Texas Style Council website, so if you're interested in watching my Life Blogging 101 workshop or any of the others, stay tuned for those (I recommend watching Facebook here to see when they are up). I'll try and remind you guys when they're up, too!

Also a big thank you to Julie Edmonson for snapping some photos around the workshop... I really appreciated that!!

More TXSC recaps coming soon... there is just way too much to squeeze into one post. :) Happy Hump Day!

Monday, 5 August 2013

#TXSC13

Dress and Bag: c/o Ruche, Necklace: Francesca's, Bracelets: c/o Threads

You know how sometimes you stay out way too late and drink way too much, and when you wake up the next morning, the effects of the night before still haven't quite worn off yet? (i.e. you're still blitzed?!) Well that's how I feel this morning, except no alcohol is involved. I am just reeling from an incredibly fun weekend at Texas Style Council... from meeting some bloggers and business owners I've admired for years, from soaking up so much of their wisdom, and from feeling so inspired to better my blog and business more than ever. I think, like anything else you're interested in and want to be great at, it's so important to get together with like-minded people and really feed off their energy from time to time, and just like last year, Texas Style Council has been that incredible fellowship I needed to feel re-fueled and re-inspired about blogging. I can't wait to share the weekend with you, and all the fun stuff I learned and experienced. Get ready for lots of style posts this week, lots of fun photos, and all the nuggets of wisdom I picked up along the way!

And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a huge, huge THANK YOU to my new friends at Ruche, who provided this pretty dress and most of the other outfits I wore over the weekend. I can honestly say I made some new friends in the Ruche team these past few days - these ladies were the sweetest things ever, and I had an amazing time with them. Thank you for the generosity, encouragement, and overall awesomeness, Ruche!! :)

Happy Monday, everyone....

Thursday, 1 August 2013

How to survive a blogger conference.... or, Oh God, high school all over again!

I am ashamed. I'm a photographer and this is the third time in a week I used a cell phone picture on a post? But I always loved this picture I took at Texas Style Council last year, and it applies well today. :)

Texas Style Council kicks off tomorrow evening, so in the next couple of days, ladies from all over both Texas and the United States are traveling to Austin, suitcases stuffed with their most fashionable and best (after all, this conference does have �style� in its title). In many cases, nerves are running high. Will the weekend be fun? Will I meet any cool ladies? Will I ever find myself awkward and alone� like the unpopular kid at a party? Will everyone be cliquey? Will the speakers be unapproachable and think they�re cooler than everyone else? Will this be worth my time and investment?

All rightful questions, of course. I ask some of them myself, even though this year I know lots more people than I did last year, and expect to have a fabulous time. I still have to laugh a little, though, because it does feel a bit like high school all over again, this type of thing. Ironically, the theme of the conference this year is �Back to Class,� and we even have a prom party to attend Saturday evening, complete with class superlatives. Coming from the persective of someone who was never anybody special in high school or college, and didn�t even go to my own prom, it all does feel a little anxiety-inducing. Not so much because I think the conference will be anything but wonderful, but because it all recalls some memories and a period of my life I was more than happy to leave behind.

As a former homeschooled kid and then the one who always felt out of place once I did get to �real� school, my blessing and my curse is an extreme hyper-awareness of other people�s comfort and inclusion. If I see someone standing alone at a party, or if I sense someone feels uncomfortable or awkward, I experience that with them, even from across a room. Sometimes I may feel it more than they do - who knows, maybe that person is perfectly content to sip their cocktail alone and people watch, or what have you. The other day, at a different Texas Style Council event, I found myself in a situation where I knew no one in the room, so I just walked up to a circle of girls and introduced myself, only to be met with blank stares. Awwwwkward.

I guess my point is just to say that, at this type of event, we ALL have a responsibility. For those of us like myself, who are Austin residents or otherwise know a good amount of other attendees already, it�s our responsibility to NOT hang out in our own little group the entire time - to be open and aware of those around us, to meet new people ourselves, and to include people who might be feeling out of place. If someone walks up to introduce themself to a group you�re chatting with, well, that took some balls, and you should reward that with warmth and a smile. And if you�re someone coming alone, don�t be afraid to slip right into new circles, meet tons of new ladies, and hand out your business cards if you have them. People love to talk about themselves, so a great ice breaker is to ask others where they're from, whether they�re a blogger or business owner, etc.

The whole point of this conference and others like it is to network, network, network and LEARN! How fabulous would it be if we could take the social anxiety out of the picture all together, and treat everyone there like an old friend? Even someone you�ve never seen before in your life! Then we can all just focus on having a grand time amongst like-minded ladies. Just remember, no matter how big or small your business or blog, the responsibility starts with you.

If you�re coming to TxSC, see you this weekend!!! :)

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Ruche & SOML (a match made in heaven)

This is my happy face. Do you know why my face is happy today? Because it just so happens that I somehow managed to find myself in cohoots with Ruche, one of my all time favorite brands, and it sort of feels like a really good dream I don't want to wake up from. The fine folks at Ruche are sponsoring Story of My Life for Texas Style Council this weekend, which means I get to work more closely with them and wear their gorgeous clothes (like this dress, which you'll see more of next week!). Yes, I am freaking out inside a little. It also means that if you attend my workshop on Life Blogging Saturday morning, you may or may not get a little gift from Ruche! ;) Sweet, right?!

If you haven't visited the Ruche website yet, get on over there and swoon away. Classy, flattering, vintage-inspired clothing that is super affordable and diverse and lovely. I can't say enough good things about this brand! I am PUMPED to finally be working with them. (Also check their blog for a post about our partnership later today!)

If you're attending Texas Style Council this weekend, look for Ruche at the Prom party (I'll be hanging out with them a while too!) and they'll have a floral backdrop and props for photos, free jewelry in exchange for a survey, and a touch-up station with hairspray, perfume, bandaids, bobby pins, etc. Oh, and Mara from M Loves M will be there! Cannot wait to meet her!

SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND at #TXSC13! :)

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Texas Style Council 2013: be there.

Hey, are you going to Texas Style Council? It's here in Austin, August 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. You probably should. It's not just for style bloggers, either! This year's theme is "back to class" and the conference is all about learning. Workshops range in topic from lifestyle blogging 101 (which I am teaching!), to social media for brands and bloggers, to freelance writing to jewelry design to finance bootcamp. The tentative full schedule is right over here (seriously incredibly workshops and so many fun activities and events planned!), and lots and lots more super helpful info on how to make it to Texas Style Council right over here.

Take a peek at the incredible lineup of speakers and workshop leaders, too. Exciting, huh? This could be such a fun opportunity to take your blog, brand, or business to the next level, explore Austin, and meet some other fabulous ladies. It's going to be so much fun. :)

Hope to see you there!!

*PS - Take 50% your tickets to the Saturday night PROM party with the code storyofmylifePROM.

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Playing dress-up with Lilly Pulitzer

"Nina Dress" here

Happy Hump Day everyone! I'd like to dedicate one more post to this weekend's Texas Style Council events, then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming. :)

This weekend during the shop-hop, I had the absolute pleasure of working as in-store blog hostess for Lilly Pulitzer, which is basically the girly-girl's dream shop for beautiful, bright dresses that just scream femininity and fun. I can't admit to being too terribly familiar with Lilly Pulitzer before the weekend, but the girls in the store made me feel right at home and I even got to try on a few dresses that had just arrived and weren't even on the floor yet! It was really just so much fun, and I have to thank manager Erin and all the girls at the store for being so sweet. I so thoroughly enjoyed playing dress up, eating cupcakes, and drinking bellinis with you! Let's do it again some day! :)