Whew! We made it! I am going to try something new today, and hopefully every Friday moving forward. I am going to post a snapshot of my week here. This would include links I loved, links I posted, and weekly updates that I feel shaped me and this blog. So what do you say? Give this a shot with me? Also the winner is announced for my first giveaway! She has been emailed but I will announce it at the bottom of this post!

In case you missed it

Currently: Struggle Bus Edition
Wedding Wedneday: Inspiration
Blogging: How I'm Making Small Changes for Big Results

Updates this week

I made a few updates on the blog appearance. In case you haven't noticed, my sidebar photo is new and I also updated my 'About Me' page. Run on over and check that out!

I have really upped my game when it comes to photos. I really enjoy photography but have really slacked when it came to taking quality photos. Between using my DSLR and stock photos, I have cleaned up my images. This makes me smile. 

I am toying around with posting 4-5 days a week. I am ending this week with 4 posts. I am feeling confident that I can do this now and put out quality content. Please forgive me if I miss a day.

Coming up next week

This weekend R and I will be having our engagement photos. I expect I will have some commentary on that come my Wedding Wednesday post.

I am working on a few new ideas to work into my blogging rotation. One being this particular series. I want to be able to share favorites links from other bloggers along with products and such I am into. I may even start a 'Favorites' post incorporating all the things that make up this blog: Fitness, Thrity, and all round life things.

I vowed to work on posting more photos of myself. I have taken a few photos for a post that I am planning to share this week on simple wedding makeup, even when your face is breaking out.  I am excited for this. I hope you all enjoy it.

My first newsletter goes live! Have you subscribed yet?

WINNER

The winner of my first giveaway is:

Katherine C from Katherine's Corner! Congrats!

Thank you to everyone who participated! Thank you all for the support! This place means so much to me and having you all here makes it that much better! Happy weekend!

I've officially been blogging for 20 months. Yes I'm going the month route. Kinda like a baby. In reality this space is like my baby. It demands attention. It needs to be fed, changed, and encouraged. It's not going to walk on its own. It a not going to talk on its own.

The reality of it is each and every blog needs a village (or community) to grow. Bloggers need to take the steps to interact with other bloggers and their readers. Research them. Find out what they want to see. Sounds a little daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's smooth sailing.

To bad there isn't a 'What to Expect when you're Growing a Blog' book out there. Because there is no official book that tells you exactly what to do, I am going to share the little changes I have been making lately to see big results.

Follow other bloggers

You may be thinking 'I already do that'. That's great but, what I've been focusing on is 3 specific bloggers. I've picked 3 bloggers who have different blogging styles and are still attracting readers who comment. This is great research. You can see what they are doing to keep readers coming back.

Update your photos

Over the weekend I crashed my friends wedding... sorta. I made the 6 hour trip with a mutual friend to help celebrate her wedding day. Even though I went to celebrate her and her husband I couldn't help but take notice to all of the little details. Details I am looking at now to plan my own wedding.


She got married in a church. A beautiful Greek Orthodox church. I have never been in such a beautiful place. The detail in the murals and the sparkle in the chandelier was like nothing I have experienced before. I started to compare it to my ceremony. I am getting married at a winery. I will be surrounded by beautiful scenery brought to me by nature. The detail I will see will come from the flowers and the trees. The sparkle will come from the sun shining down on me.

The ceremony was beautiful. I learned so much, as I have never attended a Greek ceremony before. I really loved the traditions and how it all flowed in a way that I never felt bored, or ready for it to be over. 45 minutes sounded like a long time, but it flew by so quickly. I now think about the ceremony I will have. I haven't even thought about who would officiate my special day. Me and R are both baptized Catholic but neither of us are apart of a church. Things to think about as we move forward.

After the bride and groom excused us from the church, we headed to the reception space. A party in a banquet room of a casino. An idea I would have never come up with as my own. It made perfect sense to me. The casino had a hotel, restaurant, and spa. Everything you could need was found in this space. My reception will be hosted at a winery. Dinner will be served in the in house restaurant and the party will take place surrounded by beautifully decorated wine barrels. I can offer my guests a night of dancing, socializing, and good local wine.

During dinner guests were encouraged to get up and make toasts to the bride and groom. I really loved this idea. It takes the pressure off of the maid of honor and best man. Anyone could make a speech and that to me makes more sense. Everyone has well wishes for you and your new life. Why not let them spoil you with them in front of your guests?

The whole day was perfect. I was really excited to be apart of their special day, and left with all sorts of new ideas for my own wedding. It reminds me how all weddings are beautiful not matter how they go down. We all have our own traditions and visions, to make our day, us. We want to show our friends and family a good time, but we also want it to symbolize us as a couple. I can't wait to continue to share this journey with all of you.

Where do/did you get inspiration for your wedding?

As you can see it is now the afternoon on the east coast and I am just not around to getting this blog posted. I am on the struggle bus today hardcore. Let's see how this currently list is gonna work.

Currently:

We have made it to Friday and I couldn't be more thrilled! This is kind of a Friday five post to a point. I am going to tell you about 5 things I am excited about currently. Make sense?

1. I FINALLY broke down and ordered a camera tripod. I have had my DSLR since Christmas and haven't fully utilized it. I am hoping by having the tripod will motivate me to pick it up more often. I am all for taking photos with my smartphone but sometimes I need the fancy pants camera to get the perfect shot. I just ordered it yesterday so it make take a few weeks before I get to use and it showcase my work here.

2. I haven't had a chance to talk about my mini vacation! Me and R went away for the weekend and visited a town in Pennsylvania called Easton. Doesn't sound that exciting right? Wrong. We went with little expectation other than to relax and get away. (I had a free hotel room at an Easton hotel that I won last year somehow..) Anywho... We had a BLAST. They had so much going on down in the area, which is right outside of Allentown and Bethlehem. We visited 2 festivals. An Octoberfest sponsored by Yunegling Brewery (One of my fave beers!) on Saturday where it rained a lot but I got to meet up with an old coworker and eat steudel. Score!

On Sunday we headed to the Garlic Fest in center square Easton. It was AH-MAZ-ING! The weather cleared up and it was a beautiful fall day. Right off of the square is the Crayola Experience. We didn't go in but we had a blast photographing the outside! Giant crayons and markers everywhere! We also sampled a ton of great garlic dishes. We attended a dessert competition where everything had to incorporate garlic. We had cheesecake, rice crispy treats, ice cream, and brownies. The cheesecake was TO DIE FOR!

Such an amazing day! I would recommend Easton, PA for a quick getaway. So much to do. I hear there is a bacon fest in November...
3. We got the venue for the wedding booked this week. I had my first dress fitting, which was super exciting. Things are moving along nicely in that department. I feel like 2 large items have been checked off my list, which takes the stress down a few notches.

4. I am attending a Cider festival this weekend. Can't wait to see what that brings. I love the fall for this reason alone. So many great festivals! Lots of eating and drinking. What's not to love?

5. I am officially launching a new series next week! I talked about this months ago and it never got off the ground. The series is called "Short Stories" and it is all related to all us short girls out there. I am going to encourage you to send in stories of your own if you are 5'3 and under. I am so exited for this.

6. Last but not least.. my first ever giveaway on the blog ended yesterday. Thank you to everyone who entered and supported it. Look for the winner next week! Could it be you?

Have a great weekend folks!