southern blog society's 3rd annual conference [part 2]

for part 1 of my sbs con experience, click here!

after the wonderful sessions at the conference that morning, it was time for the brand networking sessions! the curtains in the riviera theater were pulled back to reveal a ballroom full of brands, rangning from moon & lola, lilly pulitzer, vera bradley, physician's formula and so many more!

we grabbed a vera bradley tote bag and got to work on networking while we enjoyed snacks and mimosas. i made my way to every table, swapped business cards and handed out my media kit - which i'm so, so glad i got printed.

after the brand networking sessions, we were free to explore for the night. first, we ventured up king street and ended up at the moon & lola store (because clearly, we didn't get enough moon and lola at the brand networking session!). next, we ended up at cumberland's smokehouse for some good old fashioned carolina bbq. i actually really, really enjoyed the carolina sauce, which is vinegar/mustard based.

after that, we ventured to the gin joint for cocktails and s'mores, and man, were they amazing! the place reminded me a lot of collins bar here in birmingham. the menu was, of course, mostly gin drinks, but you could tell the bartender two adjectives - i went with "tart" and "refreshing" - for a custom drink. bloggers love cocktails!

Bloggers love cocktails. This is a fact. 💁🏼 #SBScon #charleston #ginjoint #sbsatbelmond @thesbsociety

A photo posted by Meredith Davis (@meredithnd) on Jun 27, 2015 at 8:18pm PDT

on sunday, we woke up and had a farewell breakfast at the charleston grill, and then promptly got to exploring downtown because we hadn't really had a chance to take in the scenery. we walked from the belmond all the way to the battery on the water, taking in charleston charm along the way.

all in all, my first experience in charleston was one for the books. i cannot wait to go back. the conference took up a huge chunk of our time, of course, so i would love another opportunity to go back and explore the city. the culture, the people, everything is incredible.

thank you so much to jessica, cathy and the southern blog society for putting on this amazing event. i can't wait to return next year!

until next time, sbs con!

some photos by kim graham photography :)

surviving a new orleans mardi gras ball

have you ever witnessed something so absurd you felt compelled to write on it?

i did last weekend.

as i've written on previously, i am no stranger to the mardi gras world. i was born & raised in fairhope, alabama. i was riding in parades before i graduated kindergarten. beads, moonpies and fighting soccer moms over teddy bears in the middle of the street was all a normal part of my childhood. mardi gras? yeah bro, i got it. no need to try and fill me in.

last weekend, i went to new orleans for the endymion krewe's annual parade and ball. luke bryan performed, everyone was so friendly and wonderful, and it was an amazing time. however, a new orleans mardi gras is another animal entirely than the customs in alabama. mobile may have invented the celebration, but new orleans took it and ran a freaking marathon with it. the sad truth is, i didn't believe this until i witnessed it for myself.

it wasn't the parade madness that surprised me. or bourbon street, really. all were just as i expected: smelly, silly and kind of unreal. what truly threw me for a loop was the endymion ball. not all balls are quite to this scale (was held in the mercedes benz superdome, by the way, no big deal) but i've got some tips for you if you ever find yourself at a ball held by one of the super krewes in new orleans. these are 110% serious.

1. bring a helmet. i sincerely wish i were kidding. here's the thing, the parade comes into the superdome. i thought i was prepared, but i was oh so wrong. my friend mike and i were squashed up front by the barricades awaiting the parade to come into the dome, and we took a look around: people were wearing freakin' helmets. how absurd, i thought. and then the parade came in, and flamethrowers went off, and fireworks were everywhere, and they started throwing. this was throwing beyond what you experience on the street. my face is bruised.
2. bring a tarp to put on your table. yeah. seriously. this was a thing, too. everyone's tables with their food, liquor and belongings were covered in tarps to protect from the immiment hellshower of teddy bears, frisbees and beads. a table up front was left uncovered by some newbies, and everyone around them collectively freaked out and found them a tarp. serious business, y'all.
3. wear tennis shoes, baby. call me tacky, i do not care. this was the best choice i made all night. everyone is in floor length dresses, and you can get away with it. the nikes were my best friend. the floor was unwalkable by the end of the two hour meteor shower from the floats - kind of like what you'd imagine swimming in one of those toy claw machines would be like. you turn around and oh, a giant stuffed banana and plastic jewelry, and oh look, there's a medallion in your hair.

did i have fun? oh yeah. will i ever go to another new orleans ball? i'll let my bruised face speak for itself.

what are your mardi gras experiences?

exploring athens

last weekend, beth and i ventured to athens, georgia to visit molly! since molly got married & moved last october, we hadn't had a chance to check out her new place. beth and i both had never been to athens and were so excited to make the trip.

we got in friday night, talked for hours and promptly got to exploring on saturday. we stopped by cali and tito's for lunch & then walker's pub for coffee as we explored downtown athens. it's such a cute town - really reminds me of fairhope! since athens has a trader joe's, we got the bright idea to go finally try this "cookie butter" everyone talks about. and during that conversation we decided... let's make cookie butter cupcakes! that's for a later post.

that night, we made our cupcakes, photographed them for probably hours (typical bloggers, duh), then made a wine & cheese plate to pre-game before we head out for the night. we ended up eating dinner at south kitchen + bar & omg, was it amazing. duck fat tater tots, truffled mac and cheese, killer cocktails... need i say more?

on sunday, we met up with jennifer of jenny sue makeup and elizabeth of mz savvy style for brunch at the pine. we talked all things blog and southern blog society. oh, and the brunch at the pine is fantastic.

i'm not sure why it took me so long to make my way to athens. it's a fun place and i can't wait to go back! what did you get into this weekend?

elsewhere

it's kind of a weird recurring theme on my blog that i want to be somewhere else pretty much at all times. i'm not sure what that says about me, or if it even means anything aside from the fact that i get restless.

i've lived in alabama my entire life (see my post on wanderlust, here). it's always been on the "to do" list to get the hell outta dodge. but oh, how simple it is to put it off, and be comfortable, and accept what is easy. i'm trying not to let myself fall into this trap.

on november 7th, i'm flying to austin, texas to visit my dear cousin. i've never been to austin before, but i have a sneaking suspicion i'll like it. the crazier part of this journey is that i'm not only having a blast, but evaluating if this is, i dunno, somewhere i'd like to move next year when my lease ends. yeah, so it's that, too.

i can't tell you how many times i've driven up to the gates or on red mountain and looked down on birmingham and smiled (cheese alert). i've truly fallen in love with this place and tried to contribute in every way i know how to making it better. am i ready to move on from that journey? i've only been here since july 2013.

so, a year from now, i don't know if i'll be looking back on this post and smiling because i'm sitting in an apartment in texas somewhere, or if i'll still be in birmingham, wondering if i jumped the gun on trying to do that whole moving on thing.

have you ever been to austin? or, maybe a better question would be: have you ever left what was always home? what happened?

where i've been... and where i was supposed to be

july is almost over, and i am so relieved. while i've enjoyed myself this month, i've also been working like crazy and i haven't had a second to breathe. i've read every magazine in the airport. i've seen a lotta airports this month.

on july 16th i flew out to denver, colorado to spend time with my friend mike & his family in littleton. i was prepared for a totally different landscape, and colorado delivered.

over the course of 4 days i explored downtown denver, visited boulder, golden and red rocks amphitheater, perused downtown littleton (which is adorable) and had some delicious food! we went to this adorable coffee shop downtown called spur - y'all, this place had the most incredible gluten free desserts (pictured below) and coffee. YUM. around day 3 the altitude started to wear on me and i was exhausted. but i powered through!

so, on july 24th i was supposed to fly out to san diego to go on a cross-country roadtrip with my friend priscilla. i chose to fly standby. so, yeah. that didn't work out. i waited all day friday at the airport. no dice. on saturday, i got to the airport around 6am and waited for more flights -- and i got a seat! i was so excited. it was happening.

but no. nah. no plane for you. you will never get this, you will never get this. (i'm combining soup nazi and borat.....?)

delays at the charlotte airport caused them to make efforts to combine the 7:30 & 8:30 flights. i lost my seat. and that was my last chance to get out to san diego that day. so, i had some chick fil a breakfast (why not at this point) and went home, took a nap, went out and bought cosmetics and things to make myself presentable (because even though i didn't go to san diego, my luggage sure did) and went to get cocktails at collins bar. typical.

all in all, standby flying = 1/10, would not recommend. colorado, on the other hand? i need to go back. i didn't spend nearly enough time there! it's way too gorgeous and diverse not to go back. hello, skiing? anyway, i'm going to lay low in birmingham for a while and recuperate. it's much needed.

in-flight essentials

july is insane for me - work is nuts, and i picked the most inopportune month to travel my heart out. it just sorta happened that way. it's been a minute since i've been on a plane - 2010, exactly. i had to ask my friend mike to remind me how the whole process works. "where do i get my tickets again? how many bags can i take?"

as you're reading this, i'm on my way to atlanta to hop on a flight to denver for a little mini vacation. i know, i know, i was JUST in atlanta for the southern blog society's 2nd annual conference -- but flights out of birmingham are crazy pricy. i've never been to colorado before, and i'm super excited to see real mountains (not to knock you, birmingham, but i dunno if red mountain counts).

i'm using my kate spade andee bag as my carry on. it's the biggest bag i've got, and it easily fits everything i need. i actually bought one of those silly airplane pillows for my neck. will it help out? i mean, maybe. i've loaded up my ipad mini with movies, books and other things to keep me entertained. and i can't forget my quest bar - i'm going to attempt to stick to my diet while i'm traveling this month. keyword: attempt.

don't forget -- birmingham bloggers, if you're in town this weekend, don't forget to head to see jane write's bloganista mini con! also, stay tuned for my #SBSCon part 2 recap!

a journey westward: my spring roadtrip

long post ahead! ever since i was a teenager, i have wanted so desperately to take a roadtrip out west. i've finally done it. words cannot express how overjoyed i am that i made this journey. this is one of the best things i have ever done, and i would roadtrip again in a heartbeat. i learned so much about my two best friends, our amazing ability to never get irritated with one another, and most of all, i checked a huge item off my bucket list.

originally, we wanted to go to los angeles, but changed our mind for some reason. i honestly couldn't tell you why, but likely because we thought there would be more to do in las vegas.

after this post, i plan on making a road trip tip guide, giving some insight into how to roadtrip efficiently and some things to take into consideration. but for now, here's what charla, sofia and i did for the entire week!

♥ day 1: we awoke bright and early to finish packing our rented car, a ford escape (never again). we were off into the distance by 8:30am, making our way north to travel through mississippi, tennessee, arkansas and oklahoma. we made incredible time, and stopped in amarillo, texas around midnight. we were incredibly tired after driving 15 hours, so we slept wonderfully. no photos - trust me, we looked rough.

♥ day 2: time for roswell, new mexico! we left for roswell and made it there after lunch. but first, we stopped by cadillac ranch in amarillo. roswell was, by far, one of the weirdest places i've ever been. the entire town was adorned with alien stuff - hotels and restaurants had alien statues out front. even the lightposts downtown were in the shape of alien heads. we checked out the UFO museum and it was just about what i expected - totally weird. afterward, we left for albuquerque, new mexico and got caught in a sandstorm along the way. that night, we tried to go out for mexican... and between two restaurants, we couldn't find any margaritas or queso. major fail.

♥ day 3: this day was so much fun!! we left new mexico for arizona, and along the way, took a detour to the wild spirit wolf sanctuary. we spotted a billboard for it on I-40 and immediately took the trip. SO WORTH IT!! this is nerdy, but i love wolves, and the sanctuary gave us a very informative tour about wolves, wolf dogs, why they aren't suitable as pets and the work they're doing to help these animals. I LOVED IT. and why yes, we ARE wearing wolf shirts at the wolf sanctuary.

afterward, we visited a classic route 66 landmark, the jackrabbit trading post. finally, that evening, we made it to flagstaff, arizona. i had no idea that place was so beautiful! the mountains capped with snow were breathtaking, the surrounding scenery was beautiful, and the downtown area was quaint and inviting. we ate at a restaurant called mama burger for dinner.

♥ day 4: we made the drive from flagstaff to the grand canyon, which only took about two hours. and afterwards, it was time for las vegas, only another 3 hours away! we rolled into vegas right at sunset and immediately went out exploring to the bellagio fountains. 

the rest of our time in vegas was spent shopping, exploring the strip and eating delicious food i had been waiting for for what seemed like forever. the day after arriving, we ventured to the bellagio's warhol art exhibit and the canals of the venetian.

the next day, i finally got to try in-n-out burger!! i consider myself a cheeseburger connoisseur. no really, i do. i've had burgers in every state i've visited, and i have always wanted to try in-n-out to see how it stacked up. for the price, it's incredible. best burger i've had in a long, long time. 10/10 burger awesomeness.

our final night in vegas, we had dinner at a restaurant in luxor called tender. i had saved my money and taste buds for this night, and it was well worth it! we got a cheese plate (we're all cheese obsessed) and steaks. not to mention, luxor is a beautiful and unique hotel.

after our last night, we woke up at 5:30am to make the drive back. originally we planned to split it up and spend the night somewhere in texas along the way. nope, didn't happen. i don't know what possessed us, but some insane force drove us to keep going and we made the drive back without stopping. we paused in witchita falls, texas for a nap around 3am, but trudged onward until arriving back in alabama around 1pm. um, can i just say that i'll never do that again? we were all pretty desperate to get home, but man... i felt like a total zombie. 

i took SO many photos but i don't want to totally flood my blog. these are the highlights! i'm so happy i chose to go on this trip. for all of college, i've resigned myself to going to the beach for spring break. i wanted to do something different. i got to see many states i'd never seen, explore the country and bond with my two best friends. i still can't believe we did it! but then again, i totally can. we're all fearless and excellent at going with the flow. hands down, one of the greatest experiences of my life.