texas style council: a campy farewell

t's been over a month since Texas Style Council's final conference, CAMP, but I'm still feeling inspired by my weekend surrounded by amazing women.  With founder Indiana now living in Atlanta, GA, Texas Style Council pulled out all the stops for this final event.  I've always appreciated Indiana's focus on community and connections rather than stats and sponsors when it comes to the content of the conferences.  TxSC has been the one conference I choose to attend simply because of the more down-to-earth vibe.  Big conferences with the focus on networking and business connections and becoming the biggest, richest blogger on the block, they're just not for me.   A weekend in the woods with my favorite ladies, casual style, sessions on journaling and confidence, and s'mores?  That's what I'm talking about.   And you know what?  Even though I didn't attend any sessions on making connections with big brands, crafting super pinnable content, and growing your audience, I left feeling so much more motivated to make this space meaningful, healthy, and inspiring.  I suppose, since CAMP stood for "Create A Meaningful Presence," that means the weekend truly lived up to it's intention, eh?  One of the big reasons I'm going on a new Brave trip and starting my podcast is because of TxSC and the encouragement from blog friends to just go for it.



 
 
I co-lead a session with Megan from Greetings From Texas about what to do when your blog becomes a slog.  The word for the session was "SHIFT," but Megan aptly noted that perhaps it should be "SHIT."  Like, oh shit... this used to all come easy and I had tons of ideas and sponsors were interested in working with me and I was excited and now I feel all blah and don't know what to say anymore and sponsors don't seem to give a shit about my blog, and being a full time blogger just isn't what it used to be.  We talked about shifting focus to keep the passion alive, or even shifting to different goals other than blogging, even quitting blogging.  We talked about how in the past year or two there's emerged a huge gap in terms of income between the top 200 bloggers (in terms of income) and the rest of us and how that's affected monetized bloggers.  We talked about finding new passions through blogging, and focusing more on quality than quantity when it comes to blog posts.   Megan was way more on top of her stuff and actually had someone tape a little snippit of our discussion, which you can find on her blog here.     I had learned about Megan last TxSC when I attended her + Becky Murphy's session on book writing.  Megan wrote a book about her experience with Ovarian cancer and adoption, which is hilarious (despite those topics not seeming immediately hilarious), but I hadn't really read her blog until learning that we'd be co-leading our discussion session.  Julie, Jen, and I were supposed to be rooming with Moorea, but after Moorea had to cancel her trip to TxSC, Megan took her spot in our room and I was so glad she did.  It was a blast getting to know her and I feel like I gained a brand new amazing friend.

Hanging out with blog friends I've known since 2009, I realized that they aren't just blog friends.  They're truly some of my best friends.  I've known these women since before they were married, or had kids.  I've watched them change careers, get new jobs, start their own businesses, write books.  They saw me graduate college, drive around the country, get married, and buy a house.  All of a sudden I realized that these aren't just "blog friends," they're full blown real friends I just happened to meet through blogging.  We pick up right where we left off (when we hung out at TxSC in 2013!), and stay up till 3 in the morning chatting in our bunks, cracking up, sharing secrets and dreams.  The sessions and workshops at these kinds of blogging events are nice, but those are the things that stick with me, not the notes I jot down listening to keynote speakers.  
 



I'm sad to see TxSC go, mostly because this last iteration of the conference was my absolute favorite.  I mean, you know me, I love camping, so a weekend full of inspiration with rad chicks in the woods?  Such a perfect event.  Honestly, I wish I could put something together like TxSC Camp here in the PNW on a yearly basis.  I feel like we don't need more blogging conferences, there are plenty of those.  But a weekend getaway where you get to meet up with old blog friends, meet new blog friends, and feel encouraged and inspired to go after the dreams you feel you were meant to live out?  Heck. Yes.  More of those, please.  Less feeling not good enough.  Less stressing about looking fancy and impressive.  Less strategies.  Less networking.  More connection.  More friendship.  More empowerment.  More soul-feeding conversation. 


 

Over the last five TxSC conferences, Indiana and her team put in countless hours of work, dozens of sleepless nights, and some serious blood sweat and tears to bring a truly inspiring event to life each time.  I'm so thankful for Indiana, both as a friend, and a "friendtor" (a term we learned from TOMS' Bethany Joy Clark at CAMP).  She poured her heart into each TxSC, from the very first meeting of a few bloggers over Costco quiche during SXSW, to a full on sold-out ALT style conference, to a weekend glamping retreat in the woods.  This lady is a powerhouse and I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeves next.



photobooth photos by Logan Pearce Photography, other photos by Liz Morrow Studios, Chelsea Laine Francis Photography, and via instagram.

adventures in burlesque

oly cow.  It's kind of hard to believe that Adventures in Oz is over again!  This was our second year doing the show and we were able to do two performances this year, one in Tacoma, one in Olympia, which was really fun!  After working for months on costuming and choreography, it was a little sad to only get to perform the show once last year, so it was awesome to be able to have two performances this time.  Last year I performed as one of the Poppy Girls, lulling Dorothy and her Oz friends into a sultry slumber through the power of seductive dance.  This year I decided to take the leap and do a full strip burlesque act, all the way down to pasties (ah!).  In last year's show we were supposed to have an Emerald City act, but the performer who was the Emerald City ended up dropping out a couple weeks before the show.  As we were gearing up for this year's show last fall I got super inspired by my green hair and thought I'd throw my hat in the ring to be the Emerald City this year.  I found two of my good friends to replace the Poppy roles that were vacated by myself and another gal who wasn't able to come back as a Poppy, and the show producers approved my act pitch!  Commence months of choreography, hours of costuming, and thousands of green rhinestones.
Since I would be playing the role of an entire city, I wanted my act to be huge and over the top, and when I thought of those things, my mind immediately went to Rococo/Marie Antoinette style.  Giant dresses, huge hair, over the top gestures, and royalty.  What better song to do the act to than "Royals" by Lorde?  My friend Ricky, a costume genius, helped by making my hip panniers which would go under my huge skirt to hold it up.  And I found an amazing wig maker on Etsy who crafted the most perfect Emerald City Rococo wig.  The rest of the costume was made by myself, and I felt a little bit like I was on a crazy episode of Project Runway, especially hand sewing that giant skirt out of an old 80's wedding dress I thrifted and dyed green, green satin sheets I thrifted, and green organza I bought on a 30 minute trip to Mood fabrics (okay, it wasn't Mood, it was Fabrics For Less in Renton... go with me here).

 

 


Rosie Cheex as Glenda The Good Witch
 

Last year's introduction to the burlesque scene as a Poppy in a non-stripping act was the perfect way to get into it without jumping straight into the deep end, though when I auditioned I was open to it.  This year, I felt like Adventures in Oz was the perfect place to do my debut burlesque act.  I knew everyone in the cast, and I felt the support of a show that I knew was amazing (though I also felt a ton of pressure to create an incredible act to live up to the show's standards!).  Truth be told, I had way more anxiety about remembering my choreography and having all my big costume pieces strip without snagging or getting stuck than the idea of being nearly naked on stage (isn't that supposed to be a nightmare?).  The funny part of it all is that I actually never felt naked or vulnerable on that stage, on the contrary, I felt powerful and clothed in strength.  I felt super proud of doing something that I'd dreamed of doing for years.  And even funnier: my mom and husband were in the audience sitting next to eachother!  They both loved the show and it was so amazing to have them both watch it again!


Ava D'Jor as the Cowardly Lion
 
 
Kitty Kisses as the Scare Crow, and our crew of Flying Monkeys

Beyond putting on a kickass show, I'm so happy to have gained a whole new group of friends who are badass and talented.  The past two year of doing Adventures in Oz has been so much fun and I can't wait to do more with this crazy group of performers.  Tacoma's burlesque scene is growing little by little and I'm so proud of the Gritty City Sirens for putting in crazy amounts of work to bring a show of this caliber to our city.
I'm not sure what Bettie Klondike's next act will be, but I can't wait to dive headfirst into more glitter and rhinestones with this crazy crew of performers!

Mae Zing in her Tornado Act



top 11 photos by me, other photos by Eric Vaughn, Cheri Rae, and Brenda Barnum

how i blow dry my curly hair

his one's for all you gals out there with hair similar to mine!  Today's video is all about how I blow dry my curly hair!  I almost always blow dry my hair,

mostly

because I'm too impatient for it to air dry.  If you couldn't tell, I embrace the poof and I love volume.  The bigger the hair, the closer to God, right?  

I've been trying out Living Proof's curl line lately and have been enjoying their products, so I'm sharing my thoughts on some of those, as well as a few products from Original Moxie and Miss Jessie's as well.  I chat for a bit about those products, and than at 6:30 you can watch as I blow dry my hair and see my process (thrilling, I'm sure, but for the sake of thoroughness).

I'm still getting used to this whole video thing, but it's been fun to make "moving pictures" and I'm enjoying the learning curve.  I'm counting on getting less awkward as I get used to it, that's how it works right?  Practice makes perfect, eh?

Anyway, I digress.  Do you curly ladies out there have any favorite products?  Do you use any of the products I mentioned?  Like them/dislike them/meh?  It's a never ending hunt for the perfect product, amirite gals?  #curlyhairproblems

just my type

arch was cray, and I feel like I'm just now getting back to being on top of things.  It only took the entire month of April.  Well, I suppose with my burlesque show taking over my life for most of April didn't help either, but here we are, May, and I'm feelin' ya.  May has always been one of my most favorite months.  I always think about the final days of school when it was finally getting slightly warm outside and we'd eat our lunches in the parking lot and watch cute boys skateboard.  I was always into those skinny-ass skateboarder dudes, I'll tell ya.  Give me a pale, skinny dude with tattoos and a skateboard, I'm putty in your hands.  Fact: Dan (and 90% of the guys I dated) skateboarded, it's a legit type, okay?  Anyone else out there?  Of course, I'm pretty sure that if I got on a skateboard I'd crack open my skull.  I tried it for a bit when I dated a guy who was a legit skateboarder featured on skate vids and such, and the most I could do was a sad sad barely ollie... on carpet.  I'm all set with all my bones intact and minimal skin contact with concrete.  I'll walk down that 10-stair, thanks.
Oh right, May.  Anyway, May is inextricably linked to that end of school excitement and summer's inevitable arrival, which makes it an exciting month even though I am not in school and summer actually means I'll be way busier than I am during the "school year" months.  But the sun is out later, and barbecues and biking and bonfires abound!  Dan has been working on our yard which was left half-finished from last summer and I'm really excited to finally have it finished and looking nice, rather than overgrown and strewn with debris.  Hopefully I'll have time to plant some veggies in the next couple weeks before it gets too late!  I'm behind on my gardening game!  Let's do this, May.

dress/cariloha :: boots/courtesy of seychelles :: hat(similar)/thrifted jacket(similar)/modcloth :: necklaces/handmade + courtesy of tribe jewelry photos by liz morrow studios

 

ENGAGED // abby + ricky's seattle ferry boat engagement shoot

 couple weekends ago I met up with these two lovebirds up in Seattle for a fun evening ferry ride for their engagement shoot!  We ended up with an absolutely gorgeous day, which made the ride so much fun.  We hopped on the Bainbridge ferry for a round trip ride and on our way over we lucked out and the entire upper car deck was totally empty!  We took full advantage and frolicked around the empty space until the ferry workers kicked us out when we arrived at Bainbridge.  It turned out to be the perfect spot for photos because the top deck was packed with people (because of the beautiful weather) and it was crazy windy up there!  Looking windswept is romantic, but not so much looking like you're in wind tunnel.  Abby and Ricky are getting married this August and I can't wait to shoot their wedding!  




 


 



I've got a few wedding dates still available this summer for any of you last minute brides, and I'm already booking dates next year, so 2016 brides I'm ready for ya!  Check out my portfolio and get more info on my wedding, engagement, and boudoir packages here!