Last Minute Bliss Tips & a Little Fun

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Hey y’all!
Today I wanted to share a few last-minute tips for packing for Blissdom.
It seems like every time I take a trip, there is always something I leave at home or forget to buy. Like this week, for example, I’m babysitting, and I left my brush, comb, socks, and pajama pants at home.
Ashley’s Top 5 Things to Remember to Pack!

1. Camera batteries
Extra camera batteries are a must if you don’t plan on using your phone exclusively. My point-and-shoot takes fabulous pictures, so it travels with me everywhere. But, the batteries run down really quickly! Trust me, folks, you do not want to be standing in line to meet Alli, waiting for someone to finish telling their life story to her, only to finally get to have a moment with her and have your camera die before you get a photo with one of your heroes. Sads :(

2. SD camera card
I LOVE taking pictures! I’ve learned that for every 20 pictures I take, I may only get 4 or 5 great ones. At a conference like Blissdom, you’ll want to document so many wonderful moments, and you don’t want to have to pick and choose what gets captured on film!

3. Bandaids
I never leave home without a box of bandaids! Hey, you never know when you might need them! If your brand new heels rub a blister on your ankle, you’ll be wishing for a bandaid! Plus, I’m allergic to latex, so I make sure to always have latex-free ones in my purse for emergencies.

4. Earplugs
You never know when you’re going to end up with a snorer for a roommate :) Earplugs are your friend!

5. Large tote bag
At Blissdom, you’re going to get a lot of swag. It’s fun! But, you’re going to have to carry it around with you, so you want to have a nice size bag to keep everything in. I’m bringing a pretty big tote, and I will throw in my iPad, notebook, pens, wallet, snacks, and a Dr. Pepper or two. Plus, I’ll have room for any goodies I find that need to go home with me :)
Blissdom is going to be great, y’all! One of the things I love is that the Bliss Chicks go out of their way to make sure everyone feels important and included. Kristi put together a little video of a few of us community leaders to let y’all know that seriously, no one is going to think they are cooler than you.
Enjoy!
Can’t wait to see y’all SO SOON!

Blissdom Blogger Bash

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Hey y’all!

Today I’m teaming up with several of my favorite Blissdom friends to bring y’all a fabulous giveaway!

Everyone knows one of the perks of attending a blog conference is all of the swag you collect.

–it’s also about networking, making new friends and spending time with old ones, but the stuff is pretty great too.
While we’re all in Dallas having an awesome time with the Bliss Chicks, we didn’t want you- our lovely readers- to feel left out so we’ve pooled our resources to offer one AMAZING goody bag.
Who’s the we, you ask?  Let us introduce ourselves.
Heather & Jessica of Saving Money, Living Life
Ashley of Ashley,Lately
And the super, awesome prizes that one lucky ready will win are
  1. Bracelet from E McGarrah Designs
  2. $25 gift card for Erika Holmes Designs
  3. Premier bracelets sponsored by Ramblings of a Little Wife
  4. 4 ELF Make Up brushes sponsored by The Vintage Modern Wife
  5. Molly Suzanne gift card for $30
  6. Free 6 months subscription to EMeals
  7. The “I Love You More” Necklace from The Vintage Pearl
  8. Custom Embroidery Hoop from Ten Feet Off Beale
  9. Green Chevron Scarf from SweetTee Designs

    It’s super easy for you to win too. Just enter with one of the MANY easy options below.   The giveaway runs from today through Sunday at midnight.  One winner will be announced on Monday.

**The optional tweet can be done at least once a day for extra entries.  Don’t forget to come back and keep tweeting for your chance to win.

Weekend Update

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Hey y’all!
Hope y’all had a great weekend! Mine was awesome!!
Friday night, some of our cousins from Texas were in town, so Colby and I met them for dinner! We hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving a year ago, so we were waaaaaay overdue for a visit. We had a great evening with them!
Ohhhh, how I’ve missed this girl!
Saturday night was our Bon Jovi concert! Momma and Daddy came up Saturday afternoon, and we went to dinner with our grandparents!
Momma and me

The boys

The grandparents
After dinner, the boys and I headed down to OKC for the show!

Bon Jovi! They opened the show with “You Give Love a Bad Name”!

Their song “Amen” from their new album was fantastic!

They sang a wonderful mix of classics and new favorites, like “Livin’ On a Prayer”, “Have a Nice Day”, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”, “You Want To Make a Memory”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, and many more!

Jon is still super hot :)

It was a fantastic show! I loved getting to experience this with my daddy and brother. We all three have very different tastes in music, so it was fun to get to see a concert that we could all enjoy. I think it says a lot about Bon Jovi’s music and their relevance in the music industry. Their were people of all ages there, and everyone (except the girl sitting next to me!) was having so much fun!
Can’t wait to see them again!

The Sunday Social, Week 41

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Sunday Social
Hey y’all!

Sorry this is up a little late! Just got home from the Bon Jovi concert with my dad and brother! :) Can’t wait to share all the fun we had!

On to this week’s questions!
1. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
SLEEP! I love to just lay in bed with the curtains closed and nap or watch tv. I definitely don’t like to have to leave my bed!
2. What is your favorite thing to do on a summer weekend?
I like going to concerts! It seems like there are always fun outdoor concerts happening in the summer!
Blake Shelton-he held my hand and sang to me and we had a moment :)
Clay Walker
Lady Antebellum
3. What is your favorite spring activity?
Sorry y’all! I’m having trouble coming up with something! It’s late :)
4. What is your favorite way to spend a winter day?
Winter days are very much like rainy days for me! If the weather is yucky, I like to stay in my bed where it’s warm!
5. What is your favorite season and why?
Summer! I love the warmer weather, and it seems like all of the fun stuff happens during summer!
6. What is the best birthday you ever had?
Oh, I don’t know if I can pick one! My family always made sure we had great birthdays!
Your turn! Answer the questions, grab our button, and link up with Neely and me!
Next week’s questions

These are all about spring!
1. What is your favorite thing about spring?
2. What is your favorite kind of flower to grow or receive?
3. What is your favorite nail polish color?
4. What is your favorite outdoor activity?
5. Do you have any fun spring plans? Details! :)
Have a fabulous Sunday!

Happies & Crappies

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The Vintage Modern Wife: Happies and Crappies Link Up
Hey y’all!

It’s been a few weeks since I linked up with Stephanie and Sarah for Happies and Crappies, where we share the good things and not so good things about our week! You should link up too :)

Happies

I finally got to see Baby D’s newborn pictures!
My goodness, I adore this little man! I can’t wait to finally get to meet him! Aunt Ashley needs some Baby D time soooooo bad! Isn’t this the sweetest picture? Teddie took the pictures herself!


My Easter basket from Hershey’s came yesterday! It was so fun to come home and find the box sitting outside my door :)
Lots of fun yummies in there!
Blissdom is NEXT WEEK!
I'm Going, Y'all!
I can’t believe it’s finally here! We’ve been planning for this since last year, and I just can’t wait to spend time with this girl…
and to get to room with these girls…
 
and to get to hang out with Amber, Meg, Rachel, Natalie, Molly, Carrie, and sooooo many other fun friends!
Colby and I are keeping the Littles at the beginning of the week! I can’t wait to get to spend a few days with them, but please pray that everything goes smoothly :)
Oh, and Saturday night, we are finally getting to use Daddy’s Christmas present!
That’s right, me and my favorite guys are going to see this guy and his band!
Ohhhh, I can’t wait!

Crappies

The sickies have hit! They are seriously knocking me down this week. Between a sinus infection and a stomach ulcer flare-up, it’s been a rough week. I went to the doctor yesterday, so hopefully the meds will kick in and get me better before Blissdom!
How has your week been? Link up your happies and crappies with Stephanie and Sarah!

A Little Easter Fun

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Hey y’all!
Last year at Blissdom, we were given the opportunity to make and fill our own custom Easter basket, sponsored by Hershey’s. Last week, Hershey’s contacted me and asked if I wanted to make another one this year! Of course I said yes. Who am I to turn down chocolate? :)
My Easter basket was delivered yesterday. It was so hard to wait until pictures were taken to get into it!
So cute, isn’t it?!
It has a chocolate bunny, a reese’s egg, cookies & cream eggs, milk chocolate eggs, and reese’s bunnies. I was a good big sister and got the reese’s bunnies for the bro!
Thanks so much, Hershey’s! I will enjoy this basket FOR SURE!

Midweek Randoms

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Well, hello friends!
It’s amazing how the closer I get to a conference on blogging, the less I actually…blog.
It seems like most of my free time is consumed by Blissdom, deciding outfits, making plans with the roommates, deciding what sessions to attend, figuring out community leader stuff, and working on other fun plans that y’all will find out about later :)
I haven’t been too terribly stressed until the last few days. I think I’m more stressed about keeping things going at home while I’m gone than I am about the conference itself. I know things will be fine, so I’m trying to focus on the fun instead of the stress! Easier said than done though!
Friday evening we went to Little Bit’s birthday party!
I can’t believe this precious little thing it two already! She was a little seven month old baby when she came into our lives, and it’s amazing seeing her turn into a big girl!
The whole time we were singing to her, she covered her face with her arm! Too cute!
I think her favorite part of the whole party was playing with Colby and a balloon. They have so much fun together!
Saturday, Little Girl had her first soccer game! I’ve never watched three year old soccer before, but it was pretty stinkin’ cute!
She hung out pretty close to Joyce the whole game, but we’re hoping she’ll get more comfortable and start trying to play.
Seriously cute :)
Have a great Wednesday, y’all!

The Sunday Social, Week 40

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Sunday Social
Hey y’all!

Today is WEEK 40 of Sunday Social! HUGE thanks to everyone who participates! Y’all are awesome!

1. What is one movie you are terrified to watch?
I don’t do scary movies at all!
2. What is one TV show you have always wanted to get into but haven’t yet?
I have Make It or Break It in my Netflix queue. It looks good, but I haven’t had time to watch it yet!
3. What is one daring activity on your bucket list?
Um…I would say traveling to Europe, because we all know how I feel about the whole airplane thing :) Flying over an ocean reeeeeeeeally freaks me out!
4. Would you ever travel alone?
I go to Dallas a lot by myself, but before February I would’ve never considered flying alone. I’m desperate to see Baby D, so I’m trying to make plans to get out to SC sometime this year. We’ll see if I get the nerve up to do it!
5. What activities do you like to do alone?
I actually really like shopping alone. I like laying in my bed watching tv/movies, reading, blogging, listening to music…
Your turn! Answer the questions, grab our button, and link up with Neely and me!
Next week’s questions

1. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
2. What is your favorite thing to do on a summer weekend?
3. What is your favorite spring activity?
4. What is your favorite way to spend a winter day?
5. What is your favorite season and why?
6. What is the best birthday you ever had?
Have a great Sunday!

Gettin’ Ready for Bliss!

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Hey y’all!
As a Community Leader and second-time Blissdom attendee, I wanted to share a few of my tips for prepping for the conference! Last year, I had Neely to pass along all of her Blissdom knowledge, so this year I want to help out the folks who may not have a “Blissdom mentor” like I had. 
Today, let’s walk through the events of the conference.
Thursday Evening – Kick Off Reception

Thursday night is the first big Blissdom event! It’s a great night to hang out, see your old friends, and start making new friends.
Oh, and I hear there are cupcakes this year :)
Friday Morning – Welcome and Opening Keynote Session

Last year’s opening keynote sessions was a fabulous way to start a full day of conference fun! A welcome from the Bliss Chicks, a presentation from Jon Acuff, and a video message from Oprah was a beautiful welcome into the wonderful world of Blissdom. Prepare for a morning of fun, excitement, great info, and maybe a few tears!
Friday Night – Girls Night Out

Girls Night Out is the night to put on your dancin’ shoes and have a great time! This year’s Girls Night Out features performances by Blissdom favorite Chris Mann and ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here Spokesperson Amber Riley of the TV show Glee. Grab your girls and get ready to party!

Saturday Afternoon – Closing Keynote

This year’s closing keynote speaker is last year’s opening keynote speaker Jon Acuff!
I honestly think I took more away from my time at Blissdom from Jon Acuff than any other speaker that week! He’s amazing, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to share with us this year. Trust me, y’all. You DON’T want to miss this!
Saturday Night – Girls Night In

Girls Night In is the last official Blissdom event. It is a night for chillin’ with your favorites. Pull out your comfies – yoga pants, tshirts, pajamas, whatever makes you feel comfortable! Special guests include Jeremy Sisto (Elton!!!), Ana Gastyer, and Suburgatory creator Emily Kapnek. We will be ending the night with karaoke and dancing, led by the fabulous Jenny Ingram and Lucrecer Braxton.
Next week, I’ll be sharing my list of things you don’t want to forget to pack.
Get ready, y’all! It’s gonna be a great week!

It’s Ok…

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Its Ok Thursdays

Hey y’all!

Linking up with Neely and Amber today!

It’s Ok…

…to kinda sorta forget to blog for a few days. Oops!

…to be a little bit Gussy Sews obsessed.
…to want to fast-forward the next couple of weeks so Blissdom will be here!


…and, to eat Girl Scout cookies at midnight.
They were there watching me, so I had to have one or three :)
What’s Ok with you this week? Link up with Neely and Amber!