Fashion & Style: Tacos. Tequila, & Taupe Boots!

It’s that time of year where we are transitioning seasons and spring cleaning simultaneously. What
colors to rock? What should we toss? What shoes should I wear? I’m just a foodie who wants to be
cute and comfy. I’m simple when it comes to fashion . . . a cute statement piece or a bold lip is the
perfect accessory for me. I find myself struggling in the shoe department when I’m out on the town, yet I have a favorite boot that I pair with every outfit when I’m in a casual mood. On this taco Tuesday, the weather was clear, cloudy and about 45 degrees in our nation’s capital.

I wanted to keep it cute and comfy so I picked out my favorite pair of jeans, an olive ¾ sleeve shirt and my taupe knee boots. The boots are G by Guess and are great for date night, girl chat, work or Taco Tuesday! As the snow melts don’t toss your winter shoes just yet. Mother Nature shows up and shows out sometimes – it’s cold, it’s warm. However, these boots are great to wear just like your favorite classic flats, sneakers or booties. I was in the mood for jeans and boots on this day, but you can wear your spring shirt dress – looking chic, all while keeping your bare legs warm. Yes, it’s still cold outside, but don’t get discourage to still rock your knee high boots in the spring.

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Jaunts & Junkets: The Jaye Spot Goes to TravelCon!

It has taken me over four years to get my life together and my mind back in focus, but I have done it. I am finally settled on what I want to do in my life and I am laying the groundwork to achieve that very attainable goal. Everybody has a dream, but not many have a plan. In the words of former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, “a goal without a plan is a wish”, which basically means that having a goal is useless if you don’t make a plan to achieve it. Step one in my plan to achieve my goal is knowledge. I am putting a large effort into educating myself in the areas where I want to be successful. This is the first conference that I will be attending for my own personal and professional growth. I have attended conferences and workshops in the past, but they were all for jobs and companies that didn’t appreciate me or my talents. Even though I learned something in those events, most of it was only applicable to the job and not to who I was as a professional woman. This conference is different. For starters, TravelCon is the first very travel conference created by true travel bloggers. Bloggers who started their platforms because of the love of travel and not because of the financial opportunities it may have created. Money is important, but if what you do only makes you money and doesn’t make you happy, then I don’t think it should be done. The conference takes place in September, so I have a few months to really immerse myself in all things travel and solidifying my brand. There is many moving parts involved with preparing for a large, out of town event. Here’s a list of everything I’ve experienced thus far:

1.      Transportation: One of the reasons I love living near St. Louis is being close to such an amazing airport. Lambert International Airport is the largest airport in Missouri and in my opinion, one of the easiest airports to maneuver in the U.S. Another benefit of flying through Lambert, is having Southwest Airlines at your disposal. Southwest has incredible deals every day of the week, and I constantly receive email alerts when they have dirt cheap flights. Even though there were inexpensive flights available, I decided to use my miles and fly for free. I bank with U.S. Bank and I have their Flexperks Travel Rewards credit card. I earn 1 point for every dollar I spend, 2 points for every dollar spent on airfare, gas and grocery purchases, and 2 points for dollar spent on cellphone purchases. I had enough points with my credit card to pay for a one way ticket to the conference. How did I pay for my return trip? Miles of course! For four years I traveled internationally with my job. A co-worker told me about airline loyalty programs and I signed up for as many of them as I could including American Airlines. The AA loyalty program is good, but the downside is that your miles can expire. You can extend the life of your miles by signing up for the American Airlines Advantage Dining program. This program allows you to earn AA miles when you dine at certain restaurants. I had enough miles to cover the return flight to St. Louis. My total cost for transportation was taxes, fees and the cost of insurance. When done with the booking, I ended up paying $24 for a round trip ticket.

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2.      Accommodation: The conference is taking place in Austin, TX. Since I’m from a big family, I’m used to straying with relatives every time I travel. Unfortunately, the only relatives I have in Texas are 195 miles away from the conference. Luckily, the attendees are all members of the conference's Facebook page, and these guys had some great suggestions. One of the recommendations was that a few people get together to share an AirBnb. I was interested in the idea, but the houses were far away from where the conference is being held and I didn’t want to spend the money on a rental car or an expensive Uber ride. Another suggestion was a nearby hostel, and that’s where I decided to book. I will be staying in a four bed suite with three other women in a modern hostile that comes equipped with lockers, a fully functioning kitchen, free Wi-Fi and an outdoor entertainment area. Since I have a southern momma, I will be bringing my own sheets and towels of course. The HK Austin will be filled with conference attendees who all share the same interests in travel. This is the perfect place for me to lean from like-minded people in the travel industry, and at $36/per night it’s the perfect place for my wallet.

3.      Meals: Food is life. I live to eat and eat to live, but eating out for every meal can get really expensive while on the road. Fortunately, I have found ways around breaking the bank on dining. As I mentioned in the “accommodation” section above, I’m staying at a hostel. The hostel has a kitchen and I have every intention of using it as often as possible. There is a CVS near the hostel and the conference. Local drug stores such as CVS, Walgreen’s and Rite Aid have small grocery sections that provide the essential ingredients for everyday meals. I will use my CVS card to get milk, eggs and bread at a discounted price. I will pack my Quaker Quick Grits and favorite granola cereal in my carry-on luggage, which is totally allowed by the way, and cook them in the kitchen. For lunch, I will probably eat my weight in mints from the reception desk at the hotel. Dinner will be more exciting. I have enough points left over on my credit card to get a Visa gift card. I can use that at any major restaurant chain. Let everyone spend $20 on a salad at Au Bon Pain. I will be somewhere in a corner eating a peanut butter sandwich that I snuck in under my bra.

Now that the essentials are taken care of, it’s time to start working on the other aspects of traveling such as packing. I am in no way ready for this next step, and I will wait until the day before I leave to have it done. Don’t judge me, just love me.

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Blogger Insight: Don't Rush! What to Consider Before Starting Your Blog!

Over the past 5 years of our blog journey, we get asked the infamous question "How do you start a blog?".  In the past we always told people that is was easy to start a blog, and we kind of regret doing that.  Why?  Because in order to start a blog to effectively serve it's purpose it takes planning, and planning takes time.

Within the planning of a concrete blog brand, there are certain questions you need to ask yourself: Why do you want to blog?,  What do you want to blog about?, How will you blog?, & What will be the take away from your blog?

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BLOG?

This might sound like an odd question but it's an important question to ask yourself.  Asking yourself "why you want to blog" will determine your entire blog identity.  Do you want to make money?  Expand on your current/existing business?  Connect with a community of like-minded individuals or create a community?  When you can answer that question, then you have completed the first step in establishing who you will be as a blogger and influencer.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BLOG ABOUT?

Now look, we're not going to be the ones to tell you what you should blog about or that you can only blog about one or two things.  We're nicheless...so we talk about what we want.  If you want to be nicheless, hey go for it (we even have a course to help you)!  If you want to be a fashion blogger, travel blogger, entertainment blogger, or beauty blogger that's great as well!  What we will say is make sure with whatever niche you decide to choose, take the time out to brand yourself effectively, add as much of yourself in your brand as possible, and be as authentic as possible.  This way, in a sea of bloggers, people will be able to gravitate towards your brand without hesitation and confusion.

HOW WILL YOU BLOG?

Written blog or Youtube?  Blogger or Wordpress?  Pre-recorded videos or live stream segments?  These are all questions you'll ask yourself when you get to the point of establishing your platform.  We started out solely on Blogger and now we're growing our video platform, very rapidly I should mention.  You don't have to be limited to one platform but know you don't have to be on every platform, sometimes less is more and less makes a bigger statement if done correctly.

WHAT IS THE TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR BLOG?

This goes back to knowing what your brand identity is.  For us, we want our takeaway to be that you are entering our nicheless domain.  We talk about an array of topics openly, authentically, and unapologetically.  You'll laugh, and you may even say "did they really just say that" but you know it's us.  DO NOT be generic with your brand identity and it may take a while to concretely figure this out.  Don't rush the process, it'll come to you when it's time.

We know now that it's not going to be easy to answer some of these questions, and there may be more questions you find yourself asking along the way.  But know this, once you have answered any and all questions in a way that makes you feel confident about launching your blog, the rest IS easy!

Want more blog tips and tricks from your favorite nicheless duo?  Well sign up for our newsletter so we can become blogging besties!