February 10, 2014

A HUGE step in the direction of who I want to be.

Okay, so I know it has been a couple weeks since ALT, but I wanted to share with you the amazing outfits I wore thanks to LuLu*s! ALT was a surreal experience full of exactly what this tank top says, Lipstick, High Heels, and Late Nights with the most amazing people. So many things were learned at ALT, from how to build this blog of mine (more to come about that during the week), to learning who I am.

[This is something that I don’t like to share with other people, and I try really hard to hide and fake it.]
I am a very self conscious, nervous person. I don’t like to be alone ever. I don’t like to get gas in my car alone, go grocery shopping alone, or even go to the neighbors house alone. I went through a rough relationship through high school that was verbally and emotionally abusive. It took away my independence and happiness.  It made me worried all the time of what people think of me, what they are saying about me, or what I think they are saying/thinking of me. Trust me, I don’t want to be this way and I have come really far since this relationship, but I still have a lot of these awful “traits” for lack of better words. I strive daily to break away from them, and become the person I use to be. I started this blog of mine to help me push away from that and to make myself step out of my comfort zone in putting myself out there and meeting new people. It has helped more than I could have ever imagined, but I still have a long way to go.

I went to ALT with my 3 best friends so I figured I wouldn’t be too afraid and someone would be with me all the time. Boy was I wrong. Before I even left we had to sign  up for dinners and me and my friends were all going different directions. I was going alone. Insert anxiety attack. This was so nerve-wracking. I had to go to a dinner by myself, with a sponsor I had never met, and a group of blogging/business girls that were going to judge me the entire time. Great.  Let me just tell you right now that everything in that last sentence was completely wrong. The girls were amazing and the sponsor was full of so much goodness! Every blog/business has a person behind it. When you meet them you are meeting the person, not the analytics, the readers, or the blog itself. You are meeting an actual person. Those people are so kind and genuine! I loved chatting with each of them and getting to know the real person behind the blog/business!  And guess what, I did it on my own with no one holding my hand. I know that seems like it is something so stupid to get worked up about, but when you have dated someone for about 5 years who would look at you and tell you that no one likes you, that you should go change before you can go anywhere with him, to stop talking no one likes what you are saying, or so many other things it is a huge accomplishment! I was and still am so proud of myself for going alone! 

I learned at ALT not only at the dinner night, but meeting in sponsors and other people by myself that if I am just me people will like me for me! I don’t need someone right there with me all the time. I don’t need to hide behind the conversation because I am too scared to speak up. I took a huge leap in going and that is what I needed. I needed to learn that I can be me as scary as it can be and I can do it by myself. I can stand on my own two feet and say hi to someone who I look up to. I can be strong when I need to be and I am going to make myself be strong all the time. I am going to be happy and radiate that happiness to others rather than turning it all off when I am in a group because I am scared. When I got home Zach asked me how it was and told me he was so proud of me for branching out and going. I told him that I learned more about myself in those 3 days than I have in the past 3 years, and to me that is success! 
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Photography | RS Photography and Design | You can follow Rea on Facebook and Instagram!
Blazer | LuLu*s c/o
Tank | Style Lately c/o
Sequin Pants | Nordstrom | similar
Necklace | Style Lately c/o
Heels | Target
Linked with | Plane Pretty | Watch Out for the Woestmans | Peacoats and Plaid | Not Dead Yet Style | Funday Monday | Sami’s Shenanigans | Join the Gossip | Monday Must Haves | Monday Bloom | Fashionably Modest | Mix it Monday

I die over these amazing sequin pants. When I found them on sale at Nordstrom I knew that they are what I wanted to wear to ALT to help push me out of my comfort zone. I searched high and low for the perfect black blazer to go with them and LuLu*s came to the rescue! I love the added detail of the leather accents. What took this outfit from being overly dressy to perfect for the conference was the amazing Style Lately tank top. It made this look sheer perfection. This outfit made me stand out and made it easy for others to say “she is the girl in the sequin pants”. One funny moment of this outfit is, first off who really finds a pair of amazing sequin pants, buys them and wears them to a blogging conference?! Well I do and I didn’t think I would see anyone else in them until I met my twin in the hall way! She had on the exact pants as me, a graphic tee, a black blazer, and heels! It was too funny! You can head over to my Instagram [@lovemedanimarie] and see our picture full of sequin pant goodness!

I hope you all have an amazing Monday full of smiles, lots of diet coke, and a clean house with a happy husband! Thank you all for your support and helping me to become the person that I want to be! I truly love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

XO