Hi guys!
How was your day?
I know I’m back a week already, but this is literally the first chance I have had to give you the full round up of my trip to the blogger conference in Dallas. It’s been all go since we arrived home last week.
I have been working on some exciting new SOSU projects, (would you believe I’ve been to London TWICE in the last two weeks?!) and as my brother was home, I also wanted to spend time with him.
Last weekend I was also very busy with my workshop in Donegal and at the moment, I am up to my eyes with the wedding blog as well which I plan to have live on Monday! 🙂
At the Benefit Cosmetics event in London
Jumpsuit: here // Jacket: here
Last night I was on the Benefit Cosmetics boat in London and I’m not that long home so I’m pretty wrecked but there was no way today was going to pass without me finishing the Dallas blog post!!
Lots of you have been asking about the vlog. I’m currently editing it and it’s taking a little bit longer than I had hoped, but I will get it finished by this weekend.
In the meantime, I have put together a blog about the trip as I know that lots of you wanted to know what the conference was like.
Throughout this post, I have included links to certain outfits I wore as well, but if you want to see the ‘What I Wore’ post from my blogger trip, you can get it here!
As always, Dallas was absolutely incredible. For those of you who have been following me for a while now, you will know that I attended the RewardStyle conference last year (which you can read about here) and had an absolutely ball over there! I loved it so much so I was only too delighted to be invited again this year.
For those who might not know what RewardStyle is, it’s a fashion affiliate program used by that bloggers in Ireland and around the world as a way of engaging with the readers and giving you guys fast shoppable links to the exact items we wear.
Every year RS hold a conference at their Dallas base where they invite the top bloggers from around the world. The event is a wonderful for networking but while it’s very fashion orientated, it’s also extremely educational.
There are seminars and talks on all things blogging related, like how to utilise social media, blog design, and just how to stay on top of things in general.
I had such a great time meeting with the other bloggers and spending time with like-minded people. I feel so inspired.
Wednesday:
We arrived at Dallas on Wednesday night and as you can imagine we were exhausted after 12 hours of travelling. I have to say though, the flights were very comfortable. We flew with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Chicago and then with American Airlines from Chicago to Dallas.
If you were following me on Snapchat, you will have seen the snaps I posted of the films we were watching and the fab food we enjoyed on the Aer Lingus flight.
Hats off to them, they had a great selection of movies which is always a bonus on a long flight like ours.
Once we arrived at our hotel – the Joule – in downtown Dallas, we grabbed some food and I then took some time to empty my case and hang all my outfits for the days ahead.
I’m not one for packing lightly at the best of times but on a blogger trip, you can only imagine the number of items I brought! 🙂
Once the suitcase was empty, I jumped straight into the shower and then into bed! I was Wrecked!
Thursday:
Next morning we got up bright and early for breakfast so we would have time to go explore downtown Dallas. It is such a great place and one would strongly recommend you visit if you can.
When we returned to our hotel – which is also where the conference was being held – we checked in at the event, picked up our itineraries for the weekend and found out which brands I would be having meetings with.
I also caught up with some wonderful blogger gals of mine from Chicago who were also there last year.
Afterwards Dylan and I headed out to shoot my outfit. While the conference was taking place, Dallas was filled with bloggers day and night out snapping shots of their outfits!
I decided on a very summery orange sleeveless duster jacket and white jeans.
Orange sleeveless duster jacket – here // White ripped jeans – here
Celine Tilda Sunglasses – here
As soon as we were finished it was back to the hotel and time to get ready for the Missguided pool party which was taking place on the hotel rooftop that evening.
Thursday night:
So the Missguided pool party kicked off at around 6pm and I have to say it was SUCH a fab night. What better way to kick start a weekend in Dallas than with canapé’s and champagne cocktails?
As the weather was so warm that evening, I decided to wear a nice Summery dress from ASOS. We had an amazing time catching up with all the bloggers too.
Dress – here
The party ended at around 10pm so Dylan and I decided to go to the hotel restaurant Americano and enjoy some THE MOST AMAZING homemade pizza. It had been a long and busy day so a meal together was such a lovely way to end it.
Friday:
Up bright and early again!
Trust me, when you’re in Dallas, you’re not even tempted to lie in. There’s just so much to do there!
As you might remember from my Snapchat, Friday was spent attending very educational classes and sitting in on talks that involved a panel of bloggers such as Victoria Magrath from In The Frow and Mary Seng from Happily Grey.
They spoke about things like how they got started, how they interact with followers, and so on and it was so interesting to listen to their stories and hear their views on different things.
For lunch we were invited to dine with the team from Rodial – a premium skincare range – and afterwards we returned to the conference, this time for classes.
I attended a class on SEO and YouTube and once those were finished, we had some free time so Dylan and I headed out to shoot my outfit.
Because we were heading to another cocktail party that night, I also sneaked in a blow-dry in a salon across from our hotel called Blonde & Blowouts.
The party that night was held at The Eye which you will more than likely have seen in my snaps and social media posts!
Here’s a shot Dylan snapped when we visited Dallas last year:
Dallas 2015!
Yes, it’s the venue with the huge creepy-but-cool eye sculpture in the middle of the garden.
A great landmark for those Instagram shots!
Cut out blouse – here // Navy cropped trousers – here
Valentino Rock Studs – here // Prada sunglasses – here
YSL bag – here
For the party that night, I wore the nude bodysuit and grey suede skirt that you guys all loved.
The party itself was so much fun as I got to let my hair down and just hang out with some amazing bloggers.
I also got to meet Louise Roe, who is one of my favourite bloggers, as well Mary from Happily Grey.
They all have my SOSU Contour Palettes too! It’s a real buzz knowing that people I really admire have my product!
Bodysuit – here // Skirt – here //
Shoes – here
Saturday:
Saturday morning was spent in one-to-one brand meetings with different labels.
I also got to meet with the Missguided team which was an amazing opportunity because I have long been a big fan of their clothes.
If you have been following me from the start, you’ll know that my wardrobe has A LOT of Missguided pieces, so it was just really nice to meet with them and for them to acknowledge me as an Irish blogger.
Following the brand meetings, it was back to hotel for some spare time so we shot some more outfit pictures and then set off exploring some cool shops.
Top – similar here // Trousers – similar here
Heels – here // Prada sunglasses – here
We were no sooner back at our hotel when it was time to get ready for the big finale party which was being held at the Opera House.
The party had a white theme so everyone there was dressed head-to-toe in white. It was so glamorous!
Outside the opera house there was a square where shoots of water darted up into the air, and during the party, around 16 dancers suddenly started dancing in amongst the water!
It was such an amazing sight!
As we were due to fly home quite early the following morning, we didn’t stay out too late.
Home time…
I have to say the conference was just an amazing experience.
It was great to feel so inspired and acrially get invited as a top blogger. I felt really proud to be carrying the Irish flag. Reward Style only invite the top 100-150 bloggers in the world so I was honoured to be asked. I’m hoping that next year there will be a few more Irish gals joining me at the conference. I know they would have a ball in Dallas.
Anyway I am working on my Dallas vlog at the moment and I am so close to finishing it so it should be up by the weekend! As soon as it’s ready, I’ll let you guys know over on my Facebook page.
Shop The Post:
Have a great evening
