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Mar 27

TXSC CAMP 2015

This past weekend I headed down to Austin to attend and speak at the last Texas Style Council Conference. This conference has been a staple in my blogging scene for quite sometime. It’s always felt like a big high school reunion of sorts. Not the kind you dread and drag your feet going, but the kind where you can’t wait to see all your dearest friends that you grew up with yet haven’t seen in a while. Most of the girls that come speak/attend are the girls I’ve grown up with. They’re (most of them) my Delightful Dozen, my friends that were there in the beginning of my blogging days (way, way, way back in the day). We were by no means the first to blog at all, but in some ways it feels like we were right on the cusp of this giant bubble. We have all shared together a lot of the good and unfortunely the bad that has come along with this blogging world. They’re girls I have emailed hundreds of times with questions, to bounce ideas off, to collaborate and to congratulate. These women are fiercely talented and it’s been my honor to blog along side them all these years.

It was so fitting for the last TXSC to be held at a Girl Scout camp. The weekend was meant to celebrate community and the stories we have to share. And celebrate we did! Indiana is one of the funniest, most genuine and lovely people I have met through blogging. She’s my spirit animal (I have the picture to prove it- it involves a gorilla and a lobster). I love her in so many ways. I would’ve dropped everything for her to make sure I was here. I am so, so thankful for her making this conference happen every year. Her heart has always been in the right place- always looking for the best way to support women in this community. It was sad to say goodbye to something that has been such a big part of my life each year. The blogging world has changed in soooo many ways over the past few years though. There are resources online that can pretty much teach you anything you want to know about it. There isn’t much new information that can be shared. I think she knew it was time to pass the torch. There is a new group of emerging bloggers out there. Ready to make something like this their own.

Blogging has changed for me personally in so many ways. It’s kinda been striped back to what it started as. No set schedules, no editorial calendars, no striving for more followers, no loop giveaways (ugh), only choosing partnerships that work and feel real, etc… With age has come a shift in priorities. I am far from a instagram star or a blogger making the big bucks. I am just a busy stay at home Mom who wants to create a meaningful and loving life for her family. When I started blogging, I didn’t even know making money was a thing. Over the years I’ve been so thankful for the opportunities this blog has brought but it comes with a price. There’s A LOT of hard work and late nights involved with keeping up, creating beautiful and unique content, being engaged, responding to emails and running the business it becomes. I just can’t do it all and honestly, I’m not willing to give it the time it needs. I’d rather spend the time with my kids and Kev. So my blog is what it is now a days. A place to share words and pictures when there is time and an acceptance of all that it’s not at this season of life. I still LOVE blogging and I LOVE all of you. I am so, so humbled and grateful for all of you. Life is good!

My highlights from TXSC include:
1. Siting down next to my dear sweet Erin and talking heart to heart. She’s my favorite.
2. Meeting new faces- what an honor to meet so many new women! You guys are killing it! Keep working hard.
3. Roommate hang out sessions. Lasting well into the wee hours of the morning.
4. Taco truck!
5. Getting to know Bethany from TOMS. Goodness I love that company!

Thank you Chelsea for these photos!

We talked a lot about your “tribe” this past weekend. Couldn’t be luckier to have these ladies in my tribe.

Mar 24

Hand Painted Photos

Mar 24 | DIY Tutorials

I love creating gallery walls and collections of family photographs around the house. There is something so special about filling your home with beloved photos. We’ve had this blank space behind our dining room table for 2 years now just begging for some photos. I decided to hang some simple white shelves and then teamed up with Canon USA to create a photo wall. To punch it up a bit, I printed all the pictures and then got a little crazy and painted on top of all of them. It was totally easy with a super big impact! Love the way the wall has so much character now. The hand painted details really give it a personal feel compared to if you just added text or a color overlay on the computer.

Let’s get to it shall we?

Materials:

Canon PIXMA iP8720 printer
poster board
craft paint
paint brushes
frames
washi tape

Directions:

1. Having a large format printer really comes in handy for projects like these. I was able to print some large photos on my PIXMA iP8720. Love the added dimension and height these large photos gave to the wall. Glad everything didn’t have to be 8.5″x11″. I printed all of the pictures out on poster board so they would hold up with the added paint.

2. Once you’ve picked your pictures and printed them out (I chose to do a handful of color and b&w photos), you can start planning out what colors you want to use and what you will actually paint on the pictures. I decided to use a limited palette to create a cohesive collection for the wall.

3. I always like to practice writing out the saying first, trying a few variations before I commit to the final design. You kinda go with the flow though too- don’t get stuck on it being perfect! I love the dry brush strokes a paintbrush can leave. Some pictures I painted a saying and on others I just painted a solid stripe of color. Have fun! Get creative! There are no rules, they’re your pictures!

5. When you’re all done. Trim up the edges and get them ready to put in frames. I chose to do a combinations of in the frame and then also just taped up with wash tape inside an empty frame. I like the combo of the 2 styles.

6. Add a few details (like succulents or figurines) for styling purposes and Voila! You’re done. Sit back and enjoy your new awesome picture wall!

Tagged

Canon

Mar 15

Cruisin’ Around

Mar 15 | Family Adventures + Travel

When you travel with small children the number one thing I’ve learned is that you just gotta roll with the punches. It will always be fun and totally worth it, but there will most definitely be bumps along the way. When we were in Florida we decided last minute we would book a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. We thought, why not right? Port Canaveral was so close to where we were staying, it seemed only right to book a small adventure. Little did we know that is was college spring break. How that slipped our minds I don’t know? but let’s just say we saw more than our fare share of drunk obnoxious dudes and pretty much naked (also extremely drunk) girls. It 1. made me feel super old and 2. made me so embarrassed for all of them. I wanted to be their mother’s and tell them they could make better choices and be more respectable than this. Seriously? When did I become so Mom like? Luckily the girls were pretty oblivious to what was going on. I think they just thought everyone was really happy. Everyone who worked on board was very nice and the cruise overall was super fun. We went on the Carnival Sensation, which had a great water park at the back of the boat and a miniature golf course the kids loved. Rowan also loved their kid’s camp. It was an adventure for sure… no naps, late nights, busy days, tight sleeping arrangements and an extreme amount of excitement for 2 little girls. It was exhausting to say the least. At the end of the day we were all glad we went (despite our unruly shipmates). Even through the difficulties of traveling with small kids I wouldn’t trade any of it.

Here are a few pictures we took and a little video we made. My favorite part of the video is when Rowan holds the GoPro down the water slide. Ooooh it’s so cute seeing her little feet going down that big slide!

P.S. The sweet people over at Itzy Ritzy made Rowan’s life long dream of having her own suitcase (I’m serious! This girl has asked me about 1,000 times for her own suitcase) come true. She could’t wait to pack it all up and wheel it onto the cruise and through the airport on the way home. It was the perfect little travel accessory for her. Plus I loved that I didn’t have to carry all her stuff! Bonus! Make sure to check them out!

Tagged

Mar 02

Weekly Moments

Mar 02 | Uncategorized

I will admit it was waaaaaay harder than I expected being away from Kev this past month. He flew in this past Friday and we all sighed a big sigh of relief. He’s here with us now until we all fly back to NY together. It’s funny how you just feel like something is missing when you’re not all together. It’s nice to feel whole again. There is nothing I love more than just being with my family. It’s been awesome to have been snowbirds these past few weeks but I am looking forward to getting home soon. We’ve had such a blast though- I really think we did a good job at trying to make the most of each day. Here are some pictures of favorite moments from the week before Kev came to join us.