Influence Conference 2014

Just like that, Influence Conference 2014 has come & gone already...The road leading up to it was long and uncertain at times, but I am so grateful to God for making a way for me to attend.

I missed the conference last year and experienced record levels of FOMO while scrolling through all the social media channels under the Influence hashtag. I had to go back. Sadly, it seemed like every time I would get a conference "kitty" going, we'd have a financial setback.

It's challenging enough to manage a one income household, but throw in a couple kiddo emergency room visits, a minor surgery, an over-payment from my previous employer, and well, you get the idea. There was something holding me back from asking God for permission to go this year. I didn't want to get a 'no' answer from Him, so I avoided the question. But it got to the point that I couldn't do it without His help, so I humbly asked. I felt a peace that despite my circumstances, my God was capable of covering every aspect of this trip if it was His will. And you know what? Something pretty special happened...

This year, I had the great privilege of going to Influence as a Brand Ambassador for ViBella Jewelry! I didn't know something like this was even a possibility until reading a great post on conference sponsorship from Hayley of The Tiny Twig.

I already had a relationship with ViBella after hosting a giveaway on my blog for them this past summer. I prayed about it, proposed my idea to their marketing team, and was pleasantly surprised when they agreed to partner with me. In exchange, I shared the story of ViBella with other conference attendees and wore their jewelry at every gathering. ViBella also included a pair of earrings in all of the swag bags.

Left: Taking a "groupie" with my conference roommates, Kayla of Many Sparrows & Madison of Espresso & Cream. Right: ViBella Star Necklace, conference pass, & my name tag from a group exercise in Whitney English's session. 

As with any great conference, I came home with a ton of swag! Some of my favorite goodies happened to be from the SheReadsTruth gal (Rebecca) after hunting her down when a clue was posted on their twitter account.

The weekend was packed with amazing speakers...Jen Lula, Sammy Rhodes, Whitney English, Jess Connolly, Hayley Morgan, Ellen Parker. And those were just the ones I got to witness.

But can we talk about Lara Casey for a minute? Lara Casey is the editor for Southern Weddings and hosts an exclusive (& intense) workshop called Making Things Happen
. You guys. Tickets for this intensive sell for $1800. And Lara, so graciously, presented a mini-Making Things Happen in a Influence Network members only session.

I didn't know what to expect going in, but what I experienced was a soul exfoliation to the core. I was challenged to get out of my comfort zone, to ask myself some hard questions (like, REALLY hard), and to do some serious vision casting for my life over the next 10 years. It sounds pretty cut & dried, but the way it was presented was entirely unlike anything I've participated in. Just, wow.

Jessica Honegger, the Queen of Noonday Collection, was also a speaker at Influence. I am so inspired by her life and the work that her organization is doing. ViBella is quite similar to Noonday in their mission and operation, so it was awesome to talk to her for a little while about both businesses. Plus, she loved the way I styled the Star Necklace:)

The Strategy Panel consisted of seriously rockin' business ladies - photographer Shanna Noel, Rebecca of Better Life Bags, Lindsay of Lindsay Letters (YES, LINDSEY LETTERS!! And yes, I totally went nuts buying her prints in the Sashes Market), and Natalie & Mandy of Happy Mommy Box.

My "Mom Confession" in the Thrive Moms area. This entry won me an additional swag bag full of fun & pretty mama necessities. In case you were wondering, I am wearing the Priscilla necklace from ViBella in this pic:)

How do I even end this post? I feel like it is just the beginning. The conference theme was "It's Time to Build". And now, I'm back at home with this perspective and a desperate desire to be a responsible steward of this experience. There are days where the only thing I'm building are Lego towers. But it is my belief that it is all part of something greater. So. Much. Greater.

Thanks again to ViBella Jewelry, to my super supportive husband for playing Mr. Mom while I was away, to the conference organizers for bringing us all together, and to all the special ladies I made memories with. God is real, y'all. He can change ANYTHING.

Hope to see you all next year! xx

Hello, Hello! | #InfluenceConf Linkup

Hi, ladies!! Finally linking up to this online party wagon...Seriously, I am SO excited for this year's Influence Conference. I was fortunate enough to attend the first one (completely last minute) and voraciously followed last year's (via hashtag) as I was home with our newborn son. So, yeah...

A bit about me:

I'm Erin. I stay at home with my two sweet babes, Ruby (3) & Sterling (1). I wrote a pretty desperate 31 Days series on my experience as a Beginner Stay-At-Home-Mom last year. Don't worry, things have improved since then. Lately, I've been transitioning into a Work-At-Home-Mom since picking up some writing & social media freelance work.

My husband & I have been together for almost 7 years (which seems so unbelievable to type out). We share a mutual love for thrifting and spend our date nights grabbing tacos & going on Goodwill runs. He also plays drums in a pretty swell band (in my humble opinion) called Parlours. Here's a link to their music video (that I also helped style). 

1 part of the conference you’re most excited about:
I'm actually looking forward to all the things I'm probably going to miss while I'm at the conference...getting a full night of sleep, going to the restroom without an audience, not having somebody hanging on me all the time...Amen, anyone? But really, I am going to miss my kiddos SO much.

1 thing you wouldn’t leave home without: 
For this conference in particular, I COULD NOT leave home without my ViBella Jewelry. I am so honored to be attending this year's Influence as a brand ambassador for their terrific organization. ViBella impacts the lives of at-risk women in Haiti & Mexico by providing sustainable jobs in a safe work environment. Be sure to look out for a little something special from them in the swag bags;) And be sure to find me if you have any questions about ViBella. Or just come say 'hi' anyway!

SEE YOU ALL SO SOON!!!!

The Influence Conference

This past weekend (plus a couple days), I attended the much anticipated Influence Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it was the inaugural conference for lady bloggers/ online business owners of the Christian persuasion.

I’ll do my best to share some of what I learned and experienced, but I’m still processing much of it (as most of us are and probably will be for a long time).

Kicking things off with our hosts - Jessi Connelly, Hayley Morgan, Moriah Sunde, & Casey Wiegand. So grateful for each of their open hearts & hard work in making this event happen.

Day 1 outfit - Chambray top (thrifted) $4; pencil skirt (Target) $6; necklace (antique mall) $6.

I sure like dressing up, but what a lot of people didn't know was that the majority of my outfits from the weekend cost under $25. Total. As in for the whole outfit + accessories (ok, minus the shoes - but those weren't very expensive either).

On the topic of fashion, I was heavily encouraged to start incorporating my finds & strategies into future posts, which just might happen. Because I am still trying to figure out which direction to take this blog in...

The conference was divided into a couple different tracks—life sessions & strategy sessions. I tried to keep a healthy balance between two and am so glad that I did. SO MUCH WISDOM ON DISPLAY.

I had the privilege of attending talks from John Saddington, Hayley Morgan, Nish Weiseth, Jessi Connelly, Sarah Matheny, and Jessica Turner.

Of all the sessions I attended, I think Sarah Matheny's (aka Mama Pea) was like a shot to the heart. No PowerPoint. No bullet points. Simply a beautiful woman sharing her even more beautiful heart. Her words have been resonating with me ever since and I would encourage you to stream the audio when it becomes available online.

The She Reads Truth dinner. I wouldn’t have even known about the Influence Conference if it weren’t for learning about it through an Instagram hashtag.

Dinner attire – vintage Oscar de la Renta dress (Dorothea’s Closet) $25.

One thing I was DEFINITELY looking forward to was the Madewell styling session with The No Brainer Wardrobe author, Hayley Morgan. We don’t have Madewell stores in Iowa, so I splurged a little for the occasion. Without spending a whole lot of money, I will add;)

Day 2 outfit – Granny-chic polyester cardigan (thrifted) $4; purple skinny pants (thrifted) $4; necklace (thrifted) $5; tank (F21) $5.

So many lovely things for sale in the Sashes Market. And sooooo easy to justify a purchase when knowing the hearts behind the business owners. Yeah, I left with a couple things: )

Friends & roommates, Nicole & Adri. I also want to point out the lovely scarf I’m wearing in this photo that I purchased from the Sashes Market. It was handmade in Ethiopia through a business called FashionABLE.

Their mission is to provide sustainable jobs to African women who may have otherwise had to make a living through prostitution. I really believe in what they are doing and am crafting up some ideas to stay involved in their endeavors. Stay tuned.

This pile of business cards represents an extraordinary community of women whose common thread is the good & true message of Jesus Christ. If you are able to extract any of their URLs from this photo, I would encourage you to visit their sites—their stories.

I kept hearing the phrase “come tender” throughout the conference, and that I did. I arrived at Influence as a “small potatoes” blogger who doesn’t have sponsors or even an “about me” page. I am working on both. Needless to say, there were times where I felt a little out of place and humbled by my lack of knowledge, experience, and connections.

There were also times where I wrestled with the disillusionment of my expectations vs. reality. My soul got a much needed exfoliating. And that part hurt. I left feeling a little raw. Grace was a huge theme on so many levels throughout the weekend. And once I got over the junk of some of those insecurities, I had a pretty great time.

I want to thank my roommates - Jill, Adri, Amanda, & Nicole for their encouragement and accessibility.

I want to thank the women who engaged in REAL conversations with me. Women who made me feel that their circles weren’t small enough to let one more person in.

I thank God for bringing me to this conference at a time where I needed this kind of experience the most. I am just so immeasurably humbled by His great love for me. Not only that, but for sending along a companion in my journey to help process everything I learned. It's hard to say what my experience at Influence would have been like without my friend, Nicole.

From the bottom of my heart…thank you.

xx

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3 Things

In preparation for the Influence Conference, some of the attendees are doing a blog link up to get to know each other a bit before meeting in real life. This post is for that purpose.

Some of my friends & followers will already know these things. And if you didn't before, now you do:)

1. I'm a Full-Time Working Mama - This is important to know because my free time for extracurriculars is pretty limited (i.e. blogging, crafting, going to events, etc). It's not exactly what I envisioned for my life, but it's what we have to do for now. And I have been blessed with a good job working with non-profits. Half of the time, I feel like I am operating in survival mode. But I am always trying to find a balance.

2. I'm a Band Wife - If you weren't already aware via my blog or Twitter stream, my husband is in a band. And when your husband is in a band, it's kind of like you are an honorary member. I get to do stuff like curating/ running the merch table to tearing down after shows to providing background handclaps on their Daytrotter session. The band is called PARLOURS and you should check them out! I may be slightly biased, but I actually think they're super good.

3. I'm a Traveler at Heart - Though my journeys have slowed down significantly since getting married/ becoming a Mama, there is something about being in an unfamiliar place that makes me feel SO alive. I've been to 14 different countries as well as lived in London & New Zealand (each for an entire year). If you would like tips for traveling or transcontinental relocation, I may be able to assist:)

Well, there it is. Three random things. And this is just tapping the surface...xx

If you are visiting this blog for the first time and/or will be attending the Influence Conference next week, please say 'Hello'!!

Dearest October

Even if it wasn't my birthday month, I'm pretty sure October would still be my favorite. This normally would be the post where I list off all the material things I would like for my birthday (it's on the 21st, so there's still plenty of time for shipping). But I already know what I'm getting...

For the big thirtieth (I know, YIKES), I wanted to do something special. Something memorable. Something that would properly kick off this next decade. 

A little over a week ago, I hadn't heard about the Influence Conference yet, but when I stumbled across it (via the #SheReadsTruth community), I just knew that I HAD to be there. Unfortunately, spontaneity was something that got packed away in a drawer along with my pre-pregnancy black skinny jeans. I'm a Mama now, so I don't just up and leave for a long weekend by myself. Especially because I'm a Mama now!!

I casually mentioned it at dinner.

"You should definitely go!" said Wayde. There were a lot of reasons not to, so I dismissed it as quickly as I brought it up.

Fast forward to a late night conversation with my husband. This time he brought up the conference and insisted that I make it happen. It took a lot of guts to type in my credit card information (thus sealing the deal and my fate), but I clicked confirm and now it's all happening. I even found some roomies at the hotel where it'll be hosted.

There's even a possibility that a friend from church is going to put her spontaneity pants on and go with me! Which should make the 8 hour drive a lot more enjoyable. So there it is! The BIG birthday present:)

Phewsh, that was a lot of words. Props to you if you made it through the whole thing. I'll post some pictures to make up for it...xx