Event Recap: Cocktails and Couture

BB Dakota Calvin Dress

Happy Halloween! This is not my favorite holiday of the year (I'm always afraid if I dress up in costume I'll have an Elle Woods at the Wine Party moment)- but I do love seeing pictures of my friend's little ones all dressed up on my Facebook! 

Today I thought it would be super fun to do a mini event recap of a fun event I was lucky to be a part of: the Junior League of St Petersburg Cocktails & Couture Fashion Show! My blonde blogger better half, So Sarah Hunt was my co-host for the evening- and of course we had a ball! Talking about fashion, over cocktails? You know we were "in" from the word go!

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Your Vote Counts: What Should I Wear?

Happy Monday my sweet fashionistas! I'm excited to share today's post because I need YOUR help to dress me!

On October 28th my blogging gal pal So Sarah Hunt and I are teaming up to co-MC the Junior League of St Petersburg "Couture & Cocktails" fashion show! We are so excited to work together and share our love of fashion and local boutiques- there are so many great ones popping up every day in St Pete! Since I know not all of y'all can attend in person, I still wanted to find a way to get you involved... so I figured what better way then picking my outfit for MC-ing?! 

It's pretty simple... I'm sharing my favorite look from each of the three boutiques in the fashion show, and all you have to do is comment and tell me which one is your favorite for me! (Leave a comment and let me know what I should wear) The "voting" will be open until Friday & then I'll announce the winning look. Oh, and there may or may not be a fun surprise giveaway that one person will win for commenting... ;) Fun all around!

Now let's get that voting started...

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One Black Dress, Five Short Days...

If you feel led to support the JLSP, you can donate to our campaign here

Hello hello friends! I could be more excited to share today's post with you because it's deeply personal AND y'all are going to get to meet some amazing ladies!

From September 25-29 I joined 76 inspiring women in the Junior League of St Petersburg to answer a seemingly simple question, "Can wearing one black dress, for five short days, help make a difference in the lives of other?" While you may be wondering how in the world it can- I can attest to the life-changing effects of the week (and the Little Black Dress Initiative)!

The premise of the week was fairly simple: each participant wears the same black dress for 5 days with a button that reads, "Ask me about my dress." Through wearing the same dress the participants begin to understand what it is like to live in poverty & the toll that it takes on your self-esteem as well as the frustrations from having no options due to lack of resources. In turn, the button encourages friends, family, co-workers, and even strangers to ask about what you are doing and gives you a platform to not only talk about the issues happening in Pinellas County/St Petersburg, but also allows us to share how the Junior League is helping to combat each of the issues and is working for the good of our community. It was a powerful week y'all!

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The Weekend I Actually Took Pictures

Normally I'm not so great about taking weekend pictures, but this weekend was such a fab one that I'm glad I have some photo "proof" to share all the fun with y'all!

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Weekending: City of Angels

I got back last night from Los Angeles and I am so excited to share some snaps with y'all! This was my very first time in the city and I now know what the appeal is- it's the best!! I was there Wednesday-Sunday, and there was so much to see and do, and I can't wait to get back asap so I can see & do more! Since I was there for the Junior League Annual Conference, I was in sessions all day but had the nights to sightsee. Get ready for some serious picture overload (because this girl is crazy for LA)! :) 

When I got in, I grabbed some of my girlfriends and we headed to Hollywood to see the stars/Chinese Theater and we trekked all over the city blocks to find the NKOTB star for my gal Terri (ha!) Luckily when we found it, it was right next to the BSB star ;) Although I'm still hunting for N'SYNC's... 

Night One, I was wearing: Loft Black Romper (shop black rompers here) // Sam & Libby Sandals // Stella and Dot Necklace ℅ (PS- I'll be hosting a Trunk Show soon!) // Bourbon & Bowties Bangles // Judith Jack Ring // Sophie & Trey Clutch (shop gold clutches here)

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Weekending: Baby Shower!

This weekend was a wonderful one! Several of my sweet girlfriends are expecting, and this weekend we got the pleasure of celebrating Emily and her baby girl Adalyn! Although the day was dreary and rainy, the sun was shining inside the Lemon Lilly Tea Room and we had the most wonderful time! I adore any chance I get to spend time with these ladies (we've now been friends for almost 10 years- we met my freshman year of college!) and this weekend was no exception :) We laughed, we cried (happy tears) and most importantly we celebrated and prayed over the wonderful new life Emily is about to bring into this world! So blessed to be able to do life with these amazing women! (Sorry for the picture overload, but the shower was too cute not to share all the details!)

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Currently Obsessing Over... {v.8}

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Junior League Annual Conference Recap #jlac14

I apologize in advance- there are a LOT of pictures in this post! But I can't resist sharing all the fun that was had in St. Louis at the Junior League Annual Conference!

If you aren't familiar with Junior League, it is one of the largest women's non-profits in the world- there are literally leagues is just about every city in the US and we are in 4 international countries. Each League has their own focus area/specific issues that they tackle (in St Petersburg we tackle School Readiness) through community service projects and fundraising. It also is phenomenal for learning leadership skills that you might never have gained otherwise. I absolutely encourage all ladies out there to look into the League in your area- you won't regret it! :)

Alright... off my soapbox! ha! Now onto the pictures from the weekend...

This is Tuesdi (our president) and I on the very first morning. We were so excited to be at the conference and learning so many new ideas!

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Event Recap: JLSP Once Upon a Tea

Sunday was our Junior League's spring tea party and fashion show "Once Upon a Tea"- it was a sold out event and oh-so-much fun! My family came over to join me for the day and it was great to spend time showing them what I love and am so involved in. They even got to see me strut my stuff on the runway! I am so thankful for their love and support!

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Event Recap: Junior League Winter Conference

First of all, I am so sorry for the delay in posting this! Life has been a little bit of a whirlwind lately, and I really wanted to be able to gather my thoughts before I shared this incredible trip with you.

At the end of January I was so very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend The Association of Junior League's International Winter Leadership Conference (say that three times fast) in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was the most amazing weekend of leadership training and learning and left me more excited than ever for the next two years of serving my league! I got so many valuable ideas that I can't wait to share with my league ladies and really saw the incredible impact that a dedicated group of women can make in their community, state, nation, and world!

I think the most incredible part of the trip was realizing that this was exactly where I was supposed to be. This journey of mine has been so covered in prayer, not only by me but by some phenomenal women in my life. And when you pray about something so much, and then you see it all come together and see the Lord's purpose at work... well it's a pretty special feeling and it has left me completely humbled more than once (and probably will many more times).

I hope these personal pictures give you a sneak peek into my fun trip! I can't wait to share more with you (and my league) as the year unfolds!

I was so excited to use my Florida tote at conference!

All my supplies ready to go- I was set for note taking and thought-gathering all weekend!

Fun Junior League goodies for sale

I LOVED this session on servant leadership- I will never look at my leadership role the same way again!

Life is so funny (in the best way)- Me and Kelly-Ann met years ago at a summer camp... fast forward almost 10 years later and now we are both President-Elect's of our Junior League! What a wonderful surprise!

A fun reception at the Children's Museum that the JL of Phoenix founded

Such a fun time catching up!

A bunch of the Florida league ladies at dinner- so fun to make new friends!

Excuse the terrible selfie... but I was SO excited about my Lilly Pulitzer Junior League scarf- I had to wear it home on the plane :) 

Well there you have it! My wonderful whirlwind weekend!

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Leaving on a Jet Plane

Things may be quiet around Girl Meets Bow for a few days because I am on my way to Scottsdale, Arizona for Junior League's Winter Leadership Conference! 

I was recently (Tuesday in fact) officially announced as my League's President-Elect-Elect (I will become President-Elect in May)- and I couldn't be more thrilled!!! Winter Leadership Conference is my first chance to start learning all the skills I need to help our league grow into it's exciting next chapter! 

What a huge blessing this weekend, and the next two years, are going to be. This journey has been covered in prayer and I know every step is going to be walked in faith- what sweet assurance this is!

I can't wait to share everything I learn with you when I return (and the outfits I wear)!! 

For now I am off to AZ! Have a great weekend friends! #jlwl14

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Event Recap: Inaugural Mayoral Ball

Last Friday our Junior League threw the Inaugural Mayoral Ball, "Home -- There's No Place Like St Petersburg" for our city's new mayor, Rick Kriseman.  This was such a fun-filled evening spent celebrating the beautiful city in which we call 'home'! We went with a Wizard of Oz theme for the evening, and all our favorite characters made appearances- no one wanted to miss this party!

As always, I am proud and honored to be a part of such an amazing organization and to have blossoming friendships with such wonderful women. In the two years since I have moved here the Junior League has definitely made me feel that I have found my home.

I hope you enjoy some of my personal pictures from the evening- it was fun to capture these moments!

The Cowardly Lion and Tin Man loved having a photo opp!

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Ties and Tennis Shoes Gala

On Friday night I had the pleasure of attending the "Ties and Tennis Shoes" Gala in support of the Pinellas Education foundation (you can check out all the awesome work they do for education here).

When I first heard about the dress code for this event I was somewhat puzzled... a cocktail dress and tennis shoes?! I'm sure there was a look of horror on my face friends! However, it was so much fun to wear our comfortable sneaks, hang out on the field at Tropicana Stadium, and play fun games all without our feet hurting at the end of the night!

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