Category Archives: Blog Series

BlogHer ’13 Blog Hop #4: Fashion

As previously mentioned, this July I will be heading to the BlogHer conference in Chicago and I couldn’t be more excited! BlogHer is a chance to meet with other bloggers, learn more about blogging and for everyone to expand their horizons! The Kavanaugh Report and The Naptown Organizer have put together a monthly link up for everyone attending so we can get to know each other a little better!

This edition is a little different, they wanted to challenge us a bit. If it isn’t obvious, appearance is a big part of this blog event. You really want to sell yourself and your blog, so we all need to fit the part. Which means, I must go shopping pronto. Instead of telling you about our plans, we’re going to show you! This month’s link up is the BlogHer Freaking Out About Fashion edition!

Because I can almost guarantee pretty much every female blogger who goes to BlogHer for the first time is doing exactly that – thinking about what to wear, how much shopping should be done, how much repurposing of current fashions can be done, and just how awesome we all want to look!

– Show us one pair of comfortable shoes you’ll be sure to bring.
Yes, I live in Texas and I LOVE my boots!

– Show us one current item in your wardrobe you’ll be packing.
This dress is much cuter on but since I don’t have a great picture you’ll just have to wait for one!

– Show us one accessory you already own that you’ll be bringing to the conference.

Well, here is more than one…

– Show us your shapewear. {Let’s get real. We’re all going to be wearing it.}
In all seriousness, I’m completely bypassing this. I hate them, they are uncomfortable and I end up tugging at them all day. You’re getting all me!

– And finally, show us a dream outfit that you don’t own but would love to, and would wear to BlogHer if you could!
Just one? Have you seen my Pinterest?

How I Got To Texas: Nicole / Coastie Wife

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It’s pretty amazing the people that we meet in life and how we get to the place we’re at. I’m pretty intrigued with hearing people’s stories and thought about how we all got to where we’re at. I’ve decided to start a series called “How I Got To Texas” which will introduce you to some of my fellow blogging friends and learn a bit about their background and how they got to the great state of Texas.

Today, meet Nicole from Coastie Wife, where she blogs about her military family, crafting with her kids and photography (among many other topics). Be sure to check out her blog!

How this Wyoming Girl Got to Texas

Somehow, somewhere, some part of me–deep down inside–knew that I would end up in Texas someday. Now, I should clarify. This deep-down-inside-feeling wasn’t a part of me until I met the boy who would become my hubby. Although he had grown up in Wyoming, like me, he was born in Texas and had been in and out of it ever since. Just like my fierce native love of Wyoming, he had a deep native love of his own home state that I felt would draw us there someday.

For awhile it looked as if my deep feeling might have been wrong as we hopped up and down the Eastern Seaboard making home “wherever the Coast Guard sent us” to the tune of Washington DC, the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, and Boston.

After a deployment to Cuba and a few other bumps along the way it became apparent that our adventure as a Coast Guard family was coming to a close and that our adventure as a back to college family was about to begin. And where better, hubby thought, to pursue this dream than the state of his birth? Texas is notorious for affordable living, good colleges, helping veterans, and southern hospitality, so it sounded like it would be perfect for our little family of four while he went to the University of Texas branch at Tyler for his bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering.

This is the short version of how this Wyoming turned East Coast turned College wife Girl found herself plopped down into the heart of East Texas just a few short months ago. At first I felt a bit bewildered, I must admit. Jerking from the high fashion New England culture into the heartlands of tractors driving down the road, cows next door, and chicks in the department stores was a bit of a shock.

Over time, however, I’ve begun to love our new home state. From the gorgeous flowers in the spring to the temperate weather that allows my kids to play outside year round, the “just right” size of our new home town that provides lots of fun without all the crazy, and let’s not forget all the delicious barbeque–Texas has so much to offer that I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of. I’m putting roots down, little by little, and find myself become quite comfortable in the state of friendly people and huge variety. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to settle for good in this state I always felt I was destined for, and in the mean time I’m enjoying this adventure!

How I Got To Texas: Emily / Insanity Rules

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Today, meet Emily from Insanity Rules where she blogs about her family, crafting and food. Be sure to check out her blog!

Morning y’all! I’m so excited to be guest posting here at Down Home Traveler. So I guess I better let y’all in on a little secret of mine… I’m not a native Texan. I know gasp, crys of outrage, and the lot… 🙂 I hope y’all will still put up with me because I’ve come to enjoy living in the great big state of Texas. So, where do my roots lie well in a place completely opposite of Texas. You see I’m a Pacific Northwest girl. To be more exact a little town called Sequim, Washington. Now this is important it’s pronounced Squim not Seequim. It’s spelled weird a people are always wanting to say seequim but that’s not how it’s done. Trust me when I went to college I’m pretty sure I had to pronounce it a hundered times. Yikes! Where I grew up it’ rains, it’s green, the trees touch the sky, and it’s gorgeous. I love it! So, talk about a shock when I fell in love with a Texas boy and he thought it would be great to move to wide open spaces, dust, yellow, and no Moutains!!!! Really you have got to be kidding me. I thought he was completely crazy and I may have even thought I might be crazy marrying this guy.

You see I’m a sweater loving, hoodie wearing, jeans and a t shirt kind of girl and all of those things aren’t really happening in Texas. It’s hot, humid, muggy, and well even when it’s over cast it can be 90 + degrees outside. Yeah for a girl who loves mud puddles, dancing in the rain, and cold weather this was a complete one eighty. So, to say moving me to Texas was a shock might be putting it mildly. There were so many strange things about moving to Dallas TX. SO, this is just a little bit of our adventure.

I met the hubs at college and well that’s a completely different story and rather funny. Let’s just say he says I was rude to him and rejected him the first time we met. I say he’s delusional and I had homework to do. Anyway we married and moved to Texas. For a girl who has spent a lot of her life trying to tame her curls:

This proved a bit of a challenge. I wear my hair up a lot in the summer because it’s so heavy and with the hot weather it just curls all over the place. I also wasn’t use to how light it is here all the time. You see the trees in Washington block out the light after a certain time of day. I’m convinced people don’t know what pitch black is here in Texas but you sure can see the stars! I’ve learned to love cowboy boots, thunder storms, even the hot weather some times, and of course long evenings looking at the stars and watching my kids run around. We have been here for 8 years or so maybe 9 now and we have four boys. None of which I would change. I never grew up where we had really close neighbors. We didn’t live in a neighborhood where the kids can run around outside with their friends all day. My kids are thrilled.

You could say Texas has changed my life. All my boys were born here, we bought our first home, car, and got our dogs here. I started my blog here and it’s become something I really enjoy doing. I’ve met many fabulous ladies who hail from the great state of Texas and others. I may miss the rain but I love the sunshine and this is my home. You should come visit sometime there are great places to eat, museums, splash parks, and so much more. I discover new things all the time that we love to do. So I know Texas is always going to have a little piece of my heart. Have a wonderful day y’all!