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.
Julie | Amy | Megan | Liz | Tieka | Chelsea | Indiana | Savannah and Jenny | Jessie
camp + hedge hogs + tom’s coffee — yes, please!
Its really cool to hear about these meet ups and conferences, I would love to be a part of something like this one day. There isn’t too much around where I live in terms of a blogging community but there is a few of us and I am feeling inspired after reading your post, maybe I will need to start my own group. Keep on writing, I love reading.
I love your blog because you’re real – keep it up. xoxo
I really love this! I took a break from blogging for the past few months to just reevaluate and make sure that blogging was adding to my life and not taking away. All the “trying to keep up” the scheduling, the giveaway posts, etc were really wearing me down and it was just tiring.
I love blogging because I love the story that God is working in my life with my husband, and that’s why I want to blog.
Thanks for sharing this Jen! I love reading along with you and your family!
I’m with you on the loop giveaways – ugh. I think it’s impossible to grow a following quickly these days without instagram, which is really a shame for those who don’t have or can’t afford a smart phone or tablet.
Great pictures. You guys are the ones who inspired me early on in my blogging days. It’s been an interesting ride.
I have always loved how genuine of the person you seem on your blog. Thanks for continuing to be real, honest and vulnerable. Oh, and I hate loop giveaways too!
You were my art teacher at Lee High School. You popped into my head today and I was hoping to look at some of your art online and found your blog. I’m glad you are far from that miserable place and I’m glad that your life is so beautiful.