Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Texas Style Council & my trip to Austin


WARNING: Today may be the longest post I have ever written! I could have made it longer but I had to cut it off at some point.  I am excited to review my weekend and experience in Austin, & share it all with you, here goes ya'll...


Arriving in Austin at 12:30am after a long 19 hour travel day (if you watched my insta you noticed I had many delayed flights!) I was greeted at the baggage claim with this beauty and an amazing sign! Jumping up & down on the escalator to running and hugging each other it was blog sisters meeting for the first time!

After making our way out of the airport, Shanna took me the scenic way home through downtown Austin.  I knew on that drive it was going to be an amazing weekend!

Friday morning we woke up bright & early because I was not wasting a moment of my time in Texas. We got dressed and headed out to do a little shopping at The Domain (of course) then headed over to  Hula Hut for lunch. The Hula Hut is a fun, Hawaiian/Mexican/BBq type restaurant looking over Lake Austin.  We sat outside on the deck enjoying a refreshing drink while sweating, sweating, sweating!

Friday evening was our check in, happy hour mingle, and lulus clothing swap! 
Starting from top left and working down: After checking in & receiving out name badges with who we are, we headed off to Happy Hour at La Condesa (one of the coolest restaurants I have been to). The drinks were unique & delicious, the lighting fixtures were modern, and all in all an amazing place. If you are in Austin put it on your must see list! At Happy Hour I had the chance to meet the beautiful, sweet, and inspirational Kendi Everyday! I think I stood a little star stuck for a min or two before I got the courage to chat with her. After hh we headed down to the lulus clothing swap. Talk about absolute craziness!! Each attendee had to bring two items of clothing to swap, then lulus had 250 new pieces to chose from. I scored big time on some new clothes! 
My fav. part of Friday was getting to meet and become friends with some fab ladies! Sarah, Kristen,  and Britney are all Texas based bloggers who have hearts of gold. *One thing I learned about Texas girls, they're all connected! Whether they are living in Dallas, Austin, Huston, or any small town the question is always, I have a cousin there do you know.....? Oh yeah of course, they are so sweet! etc, etc.  I finally asked, How do ya'll know everyone, Texas is not a small state?! They responded, it's just how it is in Texas!**

Day Two started early early! 

Class started at 9am & went for 4 hours straight. Learning some great information, meeting more amazing bloggers, and enjoying the view in the picture above! After class, we walked down to the SoCo district (south congress) & enjoyed a delicious lunch at a retro inspired restaurant called Snack Bar. 


As I am sitting at lunch I ask the girls, hey that "I love you so much" sign, where can I see it? Shanna points directly ahead and the wall is right next to the restaurant. Obviously we had a photo shoot!
We spent some time walking around SoCo, shopping, eating ice cream, and trying on boots!

Saturday night was PROM night at TXSC! Getting dressed up in pretty dresses, having a corsage, and dance party was just perfect. I also got the chance to meet some more beautiful ladies! Take a look...

At prom I was able to meet some more amazing ladies! Jenni from Story of my life & Mara with M loves M, and another AZ girl now turned NY fashionista Jessi from Stye & Pepper! All of them sweeter than can be, we chatted fashion, buying, and photography all of my fav! 

Sunday was the last day of classes & probably the most informational day of my life. Learning & speaking with such inspirational not only bloggers but people & business owners was just what I needed to make my dreams a little bigger! After class Shan & Sarah took me down to the oh so famous 6th street. We had some lunch at a trendy restaurant where everyone was participating in Sunday Funday while us three ladies were trying to keep our eyes open from being so tired. After lunch we headed out to the Oasis on Lake Travis. I was overwhelmed by the humidity, *my feet were swollen the entire trip! I have never experienced this type of heat, and although Phoenix is 119+ some days, having humidity was a whole new ball game!* so we sat inside but as soon as the sun started to set, I jumped up and grabbed my camera and captured some of the best shots. 


 It was the perfect end to an amazing weekend! 

I learned so much this weekend not only information on blogging, networking, & doing business but I learned a lot about friendship. These girls who I have met through blog land have changed my life & I am more than blessed to now call them "real life" friends. I hope if any of you have the chance to go to a blog conference or even a blogger meet up you take advantage of it & go. It will seriously chance your life!

All the girls mentioned in this post, go find their blogs, you'll want to I promise!






12 comments:

bashashhazbaz said...

very cool post!

Lauren said...

what a fun trip! and girl the humidity in the midwest is NO JOKE! Even in Missouri...the temp can be 90 but with heat indices, the temp can feel more like 105+!

Unknown said...

great photos! looks like so much fun!!

www.modernsuburbanites.blogspot.com

The Mrs. and The Momma said...

You are SO super duper sweet...I was smiling while reading this whole post! Seriously, think about relocating here...like seriously. :)

I cannot wait for next year's conference!!! Take care friend!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you had so much fun! Loved reading your recaps :)

Why Girls Are Weird said...

Oh my gosh I'm jealous over how much fun it looks like you had!

Carly said...

Aw, it looks like you had a BLAST!

Carly
www.lipglossandcrayons.com

Laura said...

It sounds amazing Stesha! I would love the opportunity to go to something like this :)

Laura xo

Sarah Tucker said...

I got chills reading this!!! "Come back to Texas, it's just not the same since you went away..." I miss you (tear!).

Erica Jacquline said...

Looks like you had such a great time! Austin is on my list of places to visit!

Unknown said...

Wow it sounds like you had a really lovely weekend.

Love Sparkle Pretty said...

This conference looked like SO much fun!! This may be one I have to attend next year. :)
I seriously can't stand humidity either! It may be hot where I live but dry heat is totally different that hot, sticky and moist heat. Bleh! At least Texas is beautiful though.
Have a beautiful rest of the week Stesha!
Kayla
Love Sparkle Pretty