{TBScon day 3 | gingham set at navy pier}

Photography by Lindsay
Gingham Two-Piece Set - Top & Shorts // Sandals // Yellow Tassel Earrings // Straw Purse //

J Necklace // Mirrored Ray-Ban Sunglasses // Bite Lipstick

Day 3... It's a good thing I had had a lot of pasta the night before because after all of the wine that Laura, Lindsay and I drank at Eataly that night... well, you can guess. However, I was ready for the speakers on Saturday morning - the view of the conference room alone was enough to get me excited for the day! I have been following blogs since wayyyy before I started my own. I love learning advice from other bloggers first hand. 

We kicked it off with Cathy and Jessica giving us some stats about The Blog Societies and then moved on to Dandy and Grace talking about traveling. This topic was what I was hoping for the most. I've attempted to kick off the travel section of my blog this year - it's something that was missing from my life and really brings me great joy. Dandy and Grace are a travel duo that I've been following for awhile - they are true #girlbosses. They gave us the run down on how they pick a location, to how they pitch a brand, and then their game plan when they arrive... scouting out locations, outfits they bring, tripod use, hiring a photographer, etc. Y'all I've never been so inspired to email a PR company! Every bit of info was fascinating.

Then the always gorgeous Rachel Martino took the stage. Can we talk about a more perfect human? She made every girl in the room feel like we were best friends and that her chat was just a catch up session between two best friends. Adorable. She gave us some great life advice along with the story of how she went full-time. I'll let you in on a little secret... almost every blogger wishes they could go full time but can't let go of the ties to their job or are simply too damn scared (seriously. If you're reading this as a blogger and thinking 'nah' then you know you've had the thought at least once). We all love our jobs if we aren't full time but seeing people like Rachel turn her hobby into a career is awe inspiring. She got down to the nitty gritty about money and expenses. So real and still inspiring. Did I mention she's bilingual? She has TWO YouTube channels - one English and one French. And then she followed me... AH! #fangirl

Last but not least was Brittany from Lawyer Lookbook. Can we talk about girl power for a second? Because I was feeling all of the "yas honey" comments when she schooled us about FTC guidelines and how to write your own contracts. Moral of her speech: stop letting brands own you and STOP doing work for free. Now you can understand my "yas honey" comments ;) I love women who empower other women!

We wrapped up the speeches (before an adorable outdoor picnic lunch with Charming Charlie) with a brand panel. Questions such as "how do you stand out in a brand pitch" to "what is the outcome you want from a collaboration" to "how do you find us" were asked. It was insightful to hear the other side of the collaboration give their input. 

After lunch, my roomies and I went to the 3 Arts Cafe (inside the Restoration Hardware store) and sipped on rose while eating grilled cheese and burrata - my favorite stop in all of Chicago. We sat on the roof and reflected on the wild weekend that we'd had and everything that we learned. I love those two girls with all my heart - it was amazing just being able to see them and feel like old times!

That wraps up my TBScon days! I'll be doing a Chicago Travel Guide soon and will share everywhere I ate and my favorite things to see and do! As usual, if you have any question feel free to leave a comment below or email me.

Love Always,

{TBScon day 2 | olive maxi skirt + hot pink earrings}

Photography by Lindsay

White Tank // Olive Maxi Skirt (similar) // Pink Earrings ($32) // Pearl Sandals (cheaper version) // Straw Purse // Kendra Scott Bracelet // Coordinates Bracelet // Kendra Scott Ring //

Bite Lipstick // It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara

Day 2 in Chicago was a chilly one! It was so strange to have had a hot, sunny day the day before and then we woke up and the wind was strong and in the 60's. As I mentioned yesterday... I already had my outfit picked out ;) so while I did bring a sweater with me I was grateful to at least have had a maxi skirt on. I've had this skirt for years because I love the olive green so much. I thought it would pair perfectly with these hot pink earrings. I stalked these earrings for months before a) I decided to pull the trigger and b) they became available haha. They are super lightweight and everyone complimented them all day!

We started the day off early with our speakers, each person got to go to 3 information sessions. I started in Lightroom with Stephanie Drenka, she is the sweetest person, where she gave us the low down on the program. Let's just say I have a lot to learn (ha, that's an understatement) and her skills are incredible. I need to step my game up in the photo editing skills! Then I headed to the SEO session with Lindsay Humes.  She gave us some good advice: context is the framework, quality over quantity, use the Pinterest button, and to always use original content. I could go on and on but that would require an entirely different type of post. My last session was for Tailwind - this is a website that helps you post to Pinterest and keep up your presence. Everyone that has used it consistently raves about it and how it increases their page views. I'm looking forward to using it more... Pinterest is just so much fun as well! [If you have any questions in particular leave me a comment below or shoot me an email!]

After our sessions we quickly ran upstairs to drop off our laptops (I'm so glad we were staying in the hotel - it made everything easier) and hopped on a bus to head to lunch with Marc Fisher. The bus got a little lost... it pretty much circled around the city for an hour... but then we arrived at The Boarding House and the whole set up was incredible. The ceiling is covered with wine glasses on the first floor and green wine bottles on the second. It was magical! We got to look at the new Fall collection - velvet and studs, oh my! - and chat with all of the bloggers at TBScon. That's the best part about conferences :) there are so many people you stalk online and get to then chat with in person.

The final part of day 2 was the gifting suite! This is always the best time to meet new brands and get to actually put a face with a name. Hearing what their company stands for and what they're excited about is an added bonus for coming to this conference. I get to learn and help my brand grow so that I can bring YOU new content and companies. I love being able to get to know new brands and then choosing who to work with based on what my followers will want to see. Plus, it's a great time to try new products to review before I give y'all my opinion on it.

Phew... tired yet? The conference day is over but my day wasn't! Laura, Lindsay, and myself went and changed (into jeans and long sleeves) and then headed to Pops for Champagne before spending the entire evening at Eataly. It may have been the best pasta/wine/cheese/charcuterie I've ever ever everrrr had. If there was an Eataly in DC I'd probably go on a million dates there ;) dramatic, I know but it was so good. It was also a wonderful night just hanging out with my Chi-town roomies laughing and telling stories!

Day 3 will come at ya on Friday... there's a special post going up tomorrow that I can't wait to share!

Love Always,

{TBScon day 1 | high low ruffle shift dress}

Photography by Lindsay

Ruffle Shift Dress (40% off) // Steve Madden Heels // Woven Clutch // Kendra Scott Earrings c/o // Kendra Scott Ring c/o // Bite Lipstick // Lune+Aster Eyeshadow Palette // It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara

How is it already September?! I feel like I was just leaving for Chicago yesterday... but that was over a month ago! I'll have a full recap of TBScon later this week (I know, please cut me some slack I have a lot of content that I shot in a month and didn't blog any of it until this month ha) but for now - this was my outfit from day 1!

I tried to plan out all of my outfits for The Blog Societies Conference way in advance but I still got stuck with items not arriving in time. Don't get me started on how frustrating that was haha. I had purchased this dress from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale because it's the perfect work dress. I love the ruffle and the high low hem (can't quit it) in this coral color; it comes in teal and black too. Since my original dress for day 1 didn't come in on time I was able to pull this little number for the trip and still feel like I had something new :) I was thrilled that it pretty much didn't wrinkle at all... which means I will be able to sit in it all day at work and be wrinkle free for a meeting or presentation at the end of the day and then go out for drinks later!

Day 1 at TBScon was a Happy Hour hosted by Vera Bradley on Thursday night. Lindsay and I shot our looks outside of the W Hotel Lakeshore and then walked to the Sugar Factory. I always get a little nervous on day 1 because I haven't seen so many of my blog friends in over a year! Plus, you meet new friends and faces on the first night. It's a great way to feel out the vibe for the rest of the conference - the whole place was buzzing! No really, it was actually buzzing because it was so loud in there haha I lost my voice the first day... flashback to sorority recruitment! Lindsay and I went back to the hotel to change (we almost didn't make it back out of bed) and then headed out to meet Laura at  Girl and The Goat for a late dinner. Delicious all around - highly recommend the fried squash flowers that were stuffed with crab rangoon. Nooooow I'm craving them.

And ta-da! That was day 1! Short and sweet ;) just like the Sugar Factory drinks!

Love Always,

{my favorite yellow dress in chicago}

 Oh look... it's my favorite yellow dress (again)!

Yellow Dress (currently 40% off) // Kendra Scott Necklace // Leather Sandals // Straw Tote // Ray-Ban Sunglasses // Kendra Scott Ring // DY Bracelet // NARS Lipstick in "Heat Wave"

I think I've dubbed this dress "my dress of the summer." I know I've instagrammed it a million times! I love the fit and the color and the fabric and everrrryyyything. It's such a unique cut with the ruffle dipping down in the back and the straight front. It doesn't hurt my ego that I'm a size XS in the dress either haha ;) The dress is sold out in yellow but it's still available in black and navy. I'm seriously considering getting the black. It will be so perfect in the winter with tights for a party or even at work with a sweater.

My sister and I ventured to this infamous flamingo wall in Chicago last month - I was instantly smitten when I saw this wall and had to seek it out! She was such a champ taking photos for me while I was there! Fun fact - this wall is actually really small, there were cars parked on the street that she was standing in between to get the shot. It was also insanely hot... the things bloggers do for photographs ;)

Love Always,