As most of you probably know by now, this past weekend was the annual rewardStye Conference. #rStheCon is basically a weekend event where the top 200 rewardStyle publishers get to come together, meet with brands, learn, and party. I worked my butt off in 2015 to get into this conference, and it definitely did not disappoint. Here is my Day 1 recap from #rStheCon:

First of all. Packing for the rewardStyle Conference was extremely stressful. What in the world do you wear to something like this? Think of the top 200 bloggers all in one place and given specific dress themes! I wanted to make sure that I stood out, but I also had to make sure I wasn’t going to be wearing the same thing someone else was wearing (worst nightmare). Keep that in mind when you read my re-cap over the next few days.

Check In.

Check In was at 3 o’clock. I actually live in Dallas, but could not pass up the opportunity to be where the action was, so my friends and I got a hotel room at The Joule Hotel (the location of the conference). By the time we got the room they only had king beds available, so the three of us were squeezed together every night (and I do NOT like to cuddle when I sleep). The amount of fun we had together definitely made up for the the lack of sleep I got throughout the weekend. It also explains why I took a five hour nap right when I got home on Sunday and why I STILL do not have a voice at work today…

Check in was fun because we just sat in the lobby and got to say hey to a lot of our friends who came in and out. It was just some down time before all the craziness got started! My check in outfit is below. I love love this gingham dress (and believe it or not it was only $20), but unfortunately it is only available now in an XS and L. I am wearing a S. I scoured the web to find some of my other favorite gingham dresses, so that you wouldn’t leave this page disappointed. I was originally going to buy one of these super cute ones from Urban Outfitters, but they were both on pre-order and wouldn’t have come in before the conference. I am also wearing my new pink mirrored sunnies, which you will be seeing me in all summer long!

Photos by Ashley Kay Photography

Pool Party.

To kick of the rewardStyle Conference, Missguided hosted a pool party at The Joule Hotel. I hope you were following along on Snapchat (themilleraffect)! The pool is so amazing and the party was so much fun. It was so nice finally being able to run around and say hey to everyone I know and to introduce myself to bloggers that I have always followed but had never met!

They were serving some kind of crazy tequila drink, so everyone was quite a mess after only 30 minutes. I saw a few ‘almosts’, but no one managed to fall into the pool this year!

The attire for the party was ‘Resort Style’, so I wore this amazing Yumi Kim Kimono Dress. A few of the girls were also in Yumi Kim, but luckily no one was wearing the same dress (whew). I used body tape to secure the plunging neckline, which I have also linked for you below!

I had to leave the party a little early to set up for the dinner I was hosting that night. Of course I had forgotten about a million things I needed for the dinner at my apartment, so thank goodness I live just down the road! I can’t even tell you how much I spent in Uber driving around town that night!

Hair:

I received sooo many compliments on my hair!! I cannot take the credit for it at all. I had just gone to an Aveda Salon (Tangerine Salon in Preston Hollow) a few days before the rewardStyle Conference, and my stylist Marshall Hatley gave me a fresh cut and color. I have been going to him forever, because he is basically the only person I trust to do my hair. He has great insight and I let him kind of do what he wants with it. He saw I needed to cut a little from the front to give my waves a little more volume. I would have never noticed! He also gave me a few caramel highlights near my chin, and I will go back in for some more once Summer comes around!

The products he suggested (and what I now use every time I blow dry my hair) make my hair so full like you see in these photos. I have also linked them for you below, and I suggest you use both!! I put some of the Aveda Smooth Infusion in my hand and then a couple of pumps of the Aveda Styling Foam and I mix them together and distribute evenly throughout my hair. It keeps the frizz away, gives my hair tons of volume, and it helps hold the curl for days (yes, days)! I’ve had my bottles since June 2105… A little goes a long way. Plus, Aveda products come from naturally derived ingredients=win win.

After I am finished blow drying, I split my hair into two sections (top and bottom) and curl each half with a 1 1/4 in wand (also linked below). I start around my forehead so that I will have the big curls around my ears!

Highlight of the party: Meeting Leonie Hanne from Ohh Couture (swoon). She is a sweet as she looks guys!

Dinner:

I hosted my very first blogging dinner on Thursday night! It was so stressful but ended up being so beautiful. I have always loved Saint Ann in Harwood District, and was so happy that they agreed to host all 18 of us! Pretty Please Calligraphy made us some beautiful candle votives with our names on them. I had never thought to do place cards that way before! It was so unique and fun! Also, Stems of Dallas (a local vendor), supplied the most beautiful centerpieces for all five of our tables! We got to take the flowers back to the hotel and appreciate them all weekend! I was so happy and thankful that these vendors came together and helped make this event so amazing. If you have never been to Saint Ann before, you have got to try it out! They also have an amazing brunch, and live musicians frequent the restaurant on the weekends.

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of the rewardStyle Conference.

xoxo A