We Went To Austin: Pt 2

The boy I went to 3 proms with accompanied me to the TxSC prom.  It was pretty special that he could/would be there.  I'm getting ahead of myself here, though.  Before the event, we had the pleasure of meeting some extremely sweet internet pals for dinner.  It was so great meeting Savannah, Elizabeth, the Brickyard Buffalo gals, and Jenny.  Tieka was there, too, and I was thrilled to get to spend some more time with her!  (and Elsie and Emma and our friend Candice, of course!)

(group photo nabbed from Savannah, but I think my husband may have taken it-- good job, Johnny!)

(I seriously love Jen.)

It was so fun to watch the girls really get down and dance.  The photobooths were hopping, girls were mingling, but as the night went on, I was anxious to get back to the house where we were staying so I could go over my notes.  I was speaking in the morning!

(And Amy.  So many great people at this conference.)
Of course I was scared to death when my turn came for speaking, but I got through it and felt pretty good about it after all was said and done.  I opened the floor for a little Q&A after I spoke for a while and the ladies in the crowd had so many good, smart questions.  I was so impressed.  I got to meet many women from the audience afterward and it was such a neat feeling to speak with other mothers or mothers-to-be-sometime-in-the-future that I would have never met if it weren't for the Internet.  It still blows my mind a little.
(As I may have mentioned here before, this has been my year of really trying to push myself.  Normally I would say a fast "no" to public speaking, but I'm taking advantage of opportunity to grow.  It's so good to stretch yourself and do things you think you "can't".)

I finished up the day attending sessions and (finally) grabbing some food.  After that we spent the evening having dinner and hanging out with our awesome friends from BonLook.  Seriously, they are some of the most fun people!

Johnny and I had to pack up and leave in the morning, but not before grabbing some last minute breakfast tacos from El Chilito.  AND RIDING IN SWAN BOATS.  Because that's the most magical thing of all time.

And then a REAL swan came over to us and proposed.  "Marry me, swan... marry me, swan... I'll be so good to you..." Any St. Vincent fans out there?  No?  Oh, never mind...

We were eager to get home and back with the girls, but we still hadn't chosen the perfect souvenir for them.  Then it dawned on us.  We found a nearby grocery store and bought dry ice and a cooler and packed up a bunch of Rita's to take home.  I can't even tell you how excited Hope and Poesy were when we FINALLY got home.  We missed those kids so much, and they missed us equally.  The hugs and squeals may have been the very best part of the weekend.

**Special thanks to Lulu's for sponsoring my trip to Austin!  My blue dress in the top photo and black shorts are both from Lulu's!

We Went To Austin: Pt 1

Austin was a beautiful, magical whirlwind.  We made the 11 hour drive to Texas with Elsie, Emma, and the gang on Friday and pretty much had every second from the time we arrived until the time we left booked.  We had the opportunity to meet so many online friends, meet new ones, and eat until our bellies couldn't handle anymore. Seriously, tacos in TX are like some sort of sparkly rainbow of wonder in your mouth.  I miss them already.

We made it (very late) to the Ruche breakfast on Saturday morning.  Lucky for me, there were still some ladies hanging out.  The Ruche gals were so, so sweet and this is where I first got to meet Tieka, Amy, Jen, Julie, Moorea, and Chelsea.  Sorry for the name dropping, but if I'm being totally honest, it's going to happen a lot.  ;)

I left the blogger breakfast and Johnny and I decided we needed to experience a little bit of Austin before we were booked solid with events for the next few days.  We went for breakfast tacos at a place some friends recommended and then trekked down to South Congress to do a little exploring.

We went to Jo's for coffee, shopped a little, hit up Home Slice because it smelled too good not to, and then found out Austin has Rita's.  RITA'S!  We only get Rita's once a year if we're lucky, so we were elated.

I was guest-Instagramming for Lulu's all weekend, so I grabbed some fun photos for that while we were out.  It was hot that day (surprise, surprise, right?) and I ended up getting overheated, so we went back to the house to lay down and cool off. That night was the TxSC prom, and it was almost time to get cleaned up and ready...

**Special thanks to Lulu's for helping send me on this trip!!