Fashion

How I Prepare For the Rodeo

Step One: Get a kick butt workout in that morning so I don’t feel so bad about all of the fried oreos, fried cheesecake and brisket stuffed baked potatoes I am going to consume. Yes, these are all real things!

Step Two: Find out who we are going to see in concert and listen to their music all day! LOL. I listen to country music every once in a while, mostly when my husband is driving so though I’m familiar with some of the music I am not an expert so once my husband decides who we are going to see at the rodeo I prepare by listening to that artist all day. If you were sitting next to me you’d think I was their biggest fan! Haha!

**please excuse the picture quality 🙂 We quickly snapped these before we left the house!

I have been in Houston for about 8 years now and I have not gotten tired of the rodeo! Yes, if my husband is reading this, I do complain about the traffic getting to and from NRG (formally known as Reliant) stadium, but seriously that is my only complaint! Also, the trick to avoiding that traffic as much as possible is to park a little further from the stadium and walk or hop on one of those pedi cabs. Some years we get a parking pass which is great being able to walk right up to the stadium, but getting out is always chaos so I much rather park a little ways further and walking or you can always Uber. I mean it is 2016. 🙂

So if you haven’t experienced the Houston Rodeo you TOTALLY have to!! And that is coming from this California girl! I mean it is the largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. Competitors from all over the world are there. If you don’t think watching bull riding is your jam (though I think you need to experience it at least once) just show up right before your concert and catch my favorite contest of the evening, Mutton Busting. Omg, those kids are the cutest things ever! After the concert be sure to stop by the Hideout for some drinks and dancing then on your way to your car grab those fried oreos. I mean that’s what I call a successful rodeo night! The carnival part is also fun because it makes you feel like a kid again!

Also, side note about the concerts- the performers aren’t all country artists. To name a few; Bruno Mars, the Biebs, Robin Thicke and Maroon 5 have all been performers at the Houston Rodeo. Texans don’t discriminate!

We saw Darius Rucker (Hootie) this year and I must admit when he surprisingly busted out Blackstreet’s No Diggity I was “aaahhhh yea! skating rink days!” Haha, love that song!

So if you are new to Houston or going to be in the area during rodeo be sure you check it out!

Thanks for stopping by loves!! Have a blessed week!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Thrive Blog Conference 2016

So excited to be sharing the inside scoop of my first Blog Conference, Thrive! I have to be honest and tell you that I had to go back and edit this post many times. I learned so much and trying to share it all led me to writing a novel so I have decided to take a different approach. Today I am sharing with you all of my biggest takeaways from this conference and linking up all of the must know additional details from the ones who said it best, the Thrive conference speakers.

**all of the beautiful photos above were taken by the talented Meg Cady

After you read this (and have enjoyed all of the oh so pretty pictures!) I hope you will be more motivated than ever and be ready to Thrive! Whether that motivation means taking your blog to the next level or just starting one up! With that being said….JUST START. When keynote speaker, Alissa Circle, said this during her presentation it really made me smile. I had held back on launching my blog and when I say “held back” I mean I actually thought about it for years. I kept asking myself “what if I run out of things to say?”, “what if no brands want to work with me?”, “what if no one wants to read my blog?” then one day I finally came to my senses and remembered who I was doing this for. I wanted to do it for myself and I wanted to do it for that girl I run into in the restroom that stops to ask me where I got my dress from! That excitement that I have when I answer “it was only $20!” is exactly what I want to share with my readers.

So take Alissa’s word for it and don’t wait years like I did. JUST START you guys! It is not going to be 100% at first, but you’ll get there. We learn from our mistakes, we are creatives so content is inspired from everywhere and if in a few months down the road you find that the color scheme, blog content or name needs to be change, that is totally okay. We are human beings, we change, we grow, we rebrand.

Speaking of changing and growing, Kristina Braly, who is not only a seasoned blogger and founder of the Bloggers Do It Better movement happens to be killing it on YouTube. And.. oh wait, did I mention she is a doctor too?! Gaaaah…girl crush!

“YouTube is where it’s at” Kristina stated. Her authenticity, passion and enthusiasm had me pumped to get home and start my vlog! But then I heard my voice play back on an 8 second snapchat clip and completely reconsidered! LOL. I really do agree with her on the YouTube era and I love watching my other vlogger babes, but give me some time maybe I’ll get there. For now, please enjoy Kristina’s fabulous self here.

Kristina also spoke very strongly about authenticity which was the perfect segway into what the next speakers, Jessica and Sarah from Pretty Providence, discussed. Their presentation addressed working with sponsors and ensuring you were staying authentic while you do it. I mentioned this in a post earlier this week. You want your readers to hear your voice through your written posts, you want them to really trust that even when you have sponsored posts it’s because you really believe in the brand you are writing about not because they are paying you to write about it. J & S reminded us to ask ourselves, “Does this product fit into my brand effortlessly?”

**the 3 oh so pretty photos shown above are from the Sugar and Cloth Instagram page. Be sure to check out S&C for additional details and many more photos like these!

“If you aren’t following Ashley on social media, what are you doing with your life?!” said emcee Nicole. I couldn’t agree with her more! Sugar and Cloth’s Instagram has me dreaming of a world full of laughter, love, endless vacations with yummy treats that won’t make you gain a pound and unicorns. Check her out and you’ll totally understand what I am talking about! She spoke to us about killing it on social media because DUH she’s nailed it! She shares some really great tips on her blog which also includes different ways to monetize so be sure to check her out here.

Next up was Mallory Whitfield who discussed optimizing your blog by understanding Google Analytics and SEO. I’m linking her information here because she tells you everything you need to know and as a new blogger I’ll be honest and say I cannot explain it as intelligently as she does!

And that my friends, is why I cannot stress this enough… FIND YOUR TRIBE! Whether you have been blogging for months or years there is always something new to learn. You need your tribe to speak to, to learn from and to consult with.

With that being said, I would like to take a quick commercial break to share with you my Thrive Tribe.

They are gorgeous, I know!

From left to right (because you’ll definitely want to check out their blogs for outfit details as well as their thoughts on their first experience at Thrive)

Me 🙂

Brittany – Hello Honey

Hope – Tassels and Tabbies

Erin – Style Spies

Margret – Style the Girl

Sara – Haute and Humid

Dede – Dress Up Buttercup

Shelbi – It’s All Chic to Me

Dawn – Dawn P. Darnell

**All photos of my Thrive Tribe above were taken by Diamond Oak Photography

Okay, so if schedules or funds keep you from hiring a fabulous photographer like Diamond Oak Photography then you’ll want to click here to subscribe to the ever so talented Megan Weaver’s newsletter. She shares tips on getting those perfect photos. Actually, now that I think of it I should share this link with my Instagram husband so he can learn some tips. 🙂

Kristyn Merkley talked to us about killing it on Pinterest. Check out her blog here for more details because I am so not killing it on pinterest, YET. But with her tips I have faith I will get there and you will too! Three things I did have on my “to-do immediately” list were 1) switch over to a business account 2) sign up for rich pins and 3) join pinning group.

So now that you have a to-do list of all the things that are going to make you a better content creator, photographer and social media expert you may be asking yourself “how and when can I start charging?” Skye gives us some great media kit tips here. As far as rates, this can vary by company and by individual. If you are contemplating what your rates should be, decide on your projected overall earnings goal. If you want to make $30,000 in 12 months break it down from there. For example, you would need to make at least $2,500 a month to achieve that goal. You can break that down to 3-10 sponsored posts. That will help you determine how many sponsored posts you need to do/are willing to do each month. Remember this is different for everyone there is no solid black and white formula. Know your end goal, know your worth and you shall achieve!

So…are you ready to Thrive yet?! I sure hope so because I am looking forward to meeting you at the conference next year!

A special THANK YOU to Whitney and Bree for putting together such an amazing event! You guys nailed it!

Thank you so much for reading through my short story! You are still there right? 🙂 If you have ever attended a blog conference I would love to hear your feedback and if you have any questions, please JUST ASK!

And don’t think I forgot 🙂 My outfit details are below!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

xo, Roselyn

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Lifestyle

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

I was sitting here reading over my notes from the amazing Thrive conference last weekend so that I can share all of the tips and tricks that I learned with you (coming to a blog near you Thursday!) and I realized a lot of my takeaways from the conference totally apply to not only my blogging journey, but also to basically every aspect of my corporate life.

The past couple weeks have been crazy busy. Not only did I come back from Thrive with a total blogger conference high and begin to implement all of the things that I learned, but in the past months at work I have taken on a promotion which of course comes more responsibility.

I put my whole heart into blogging, but I also put the same amount of hard work into my other career. I’ve worked in the corporate world for almost 9 years, but I continue to learn something new everyday. Going through my notes from the Thrive conference had me really starting to reflect my learnings as a blogger and as a Buyer so I thought it was so important to share these with everyone wanting to grow professionally in any field.

1.Just Ask– This sounds simple, but sometimes I think we get too caught up in assuming we know what the answer will be that we hold ourselves back from what could be. I was sitting in a meeting with a Director and we were discussing supplier contract renewals/negotiations. We were discussing things we were wanting from our supplier and though on paper it may have seemed like we were asking a lot, in the bigger picture we really weren’t. And what’s the worse that could happen? The supplier comes back with another offer and then you all eventually come to an agreement. If we wouldn’t have asked, we wouldn’t have gotten anything.

This same rule applies to blogging. Just ask. You want to collaborate with a company? Reach out, just ask. A company reaches out to you and you feel like the compensation they are offering isn’t enough? Ask for more. Remember how much time and heart you put into your work. What is that worth? Only you know the answer.

Also, this is a great thing to remember when interviewing or negotiating with a company who is looking to hire you. Repeat after me EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. EVERYTHING. Your happiness and quality of life is what is affected in the end so make sure you are making the right decision now of what even your future self will thank you for.

2. Kindness Over Competition– Goodness I cannot say this enough in regards to the blogging world. One may think that the perfect 10 blogger that you admire on social media is a competitive one, but that is so not the case. Like I mentioned earlier, I have had my feet planted in the corporate world for 9 years and I learn something new every day. That’s exactly how these seasoned bloggers feel. Become a part of the community to continue to learn from each other and to network.

In the corporate world, you will run into many people that are competition over kindness. I work my butt off and I’ll go above and beyond to ensure my entire team succeeds. That’s what is going to get you were you need to be. You’ll continue to grow professionally because you work your a$* off not because you’re willing to throw people under the bus. When you see that competitive, “I’ll throw anyone under the bus” type of person getting a promotion (because it will happen) don’t sweat it. That position wasn’t for you anyway. Everything happens for a reason I promise. God said so and I can honestly say he placed me exactly where I need to be.

3. Collaborate– This goes hand in hand with “Kindness over competition”. Collaborate. Collaborate. Collaborate. If I tried to figure everything out on my own at work there would not be enough hours in the day. Collaborate with individuals throughout your entire organization to get things done. You can’t be an expert in everything, but you can master that org chart. Know who you can reach 0ut to and how you can get your job done more effectively.

Collaboration is so key in the blog world too. Collaborating and having discussions with other passionate bloggers really get my creative juices flowing! Good energy is contagious! If you want to pitch a big brand as a “smaller” blogger then consider partnering up with other bloggers to pitch as a team or community. I love my tribe of blogger friends. I know that if I ever have a question I can ask them and if they don’t know the answer they’ll give me the name of the person who will. As a new blogger, I do not have the funds to outsource really anything. From photo editing, pitching to brands, responding to emails, writing content, editing my site, building relationships on social media, etc. so you’ll need your tribe to turn to for tips or a good cry when you are remembering all the things you need to do in a 24 hour day. So remember …COLLABORATE.

4. Be Authentic-Every speaker at the Thrive Blogger conference stated this. We all giggled when Ashley from Sugar and Cloth said “I know this is the most cliché thing you will hear at a blogger conference, but Be Authentic”. I couldn’t agree with her more. You want your readers to hear your voice through your written posts, you want them to see your personality through your pictures and really trust that even when you have a sponsored post it’s because you really believe in the brand you are writing about not because they are paying you to write about it.

Being authentic in the work place is also very important. Authenticity really shines through and so does fakeness. Remember that “throw everyone under the bus” person I mentioned earlier? I mean we all see it coming right? It doesn’t catch us by surprise because again…it shines through. We are all grown enough to see right through it so just be real guys and you don’t have anything to worry about.

5. Big Things Often Have Small Beginnings– Kristyn Merkley from Lil’ Luna made me smile when she said this at Thrive. Remember this guys, that CEO you admire and Sincerely Jules who we all adore didn’t just “wake up like that”. They worked to get where they are. I’m sure it started with a dream and a to do list. Don’t get overwhelmed with all the things you need to do. Get excited about where you know you’ll end up and remember to enjoy every second of your way to the top. Always take those moments to reflect where you started and remember to meet as many people as you can along the way! Some may just be a small chapter in your life and others will become your best friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope this leaves you with positive vibes ready to conquer the week! Also, remember putting your best foot forward is always much easier with pretty shoes!

Let me know if you have any questions. I’m always ready to chat, learn and collaborate!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Slip Into Sexy

I have been waiting all week to say this….HAPPY FRIDAY!!

I am seriously loving the lingerie inspired trend. It’s so sexy, classy and even can be dressed down a bit like I did here with denim. This look is great for a date night or a girls night! Zara makes it super easy to try the trend with this perfect 2 piece top. Not only do I adore this delicate lace, but the black camisole and nude lace combo is perfection. Another way to easily rock this trend is a slip dress. Hello! Who doesn’t love a slip dress? Throw this one on for instant glam.

Shop the look:

Speaking of a date night, the past couple weeks have been so crazy I feel like Brandon and I haven’t gotten any quality time since our anniversary trip! I am excited that this weekend will be a little more of a relaxing one. We are driving up to Dallas tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with our church family. Brandon is on the church basketball team so we will be driving up tomorrow to attend service in the afternoon and then will watch them play Sunday! I am looking forward to a nice little road trip with my bae (LOL, I never really say that) and meeting some new faces from our congregation.

What do you all have planned this weekend? Wishing everyone an amazing one!!

Thanks so much for stopping by loves!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Buttoned Up Casual

Happy Wednesday loves!

Well, it’s 12:12 am so technically it’s Wednesday 🙂 I’ve been having these crazy bad migraines lately and it’s throwing my sleep all off! For those of you who know me, know I already don’t sleep much, but these are causing me to sleep less. Yes, that is possible LOL. Anyone have any suggestions on fighting these babies?! I started getting them almost a year ago. They hit me really bad all of a sudden. I’ve been to the doctor for blood work, kept a food journal to see if anything in my diet was triggering them but we have found nothing so far. I haven’t gotten one in about 2 months and then they came back. I am thankful I do not get them everyday, but when I do get them they are not fun!

Annnywaaay, I’ll take any suggestions! Now let’s move onto something more fun, this outfit!

Okay, so who else loves Alex and Ani? I’m sure I’ll have 15 more stacked by the end of the month 🙂 but I especially loved this compass one that I picked up in Rhode Island a few weeks ago because it was the weekend Brandon and I were celebrating our anniversary weekend and really symbolizes something that we are both passion about, traveling. The Alex and Ani gal that was helping me was laughing because I told Brandon we should get matching ones because we are best friends LOL. Needless to say, Brandon did not purchase one for himself!

Shop the look:

Thanks for stopping by loves! We are halfway through the week!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Recreating Red Carpet Looks

The world is your…red carpet!

Who watched the Oscars last night? Per usual, I watched the red carpet events and then caught up on the highlights of the show, winners etc. this AM.

Tonight I am sharing some of my favorite gowns and linking up ways you can incorporate these styles into your real life outfits! Unless you soon will be attending a red carpet event (get it girl!) here are some cute outfits you can snag to recreate these looks into your everyday!

Rooney Mara in Givenchy | Recreate Rooney’s look in this Nasty Gal dress. Dress it up with heels for a perfect night out look or pair with sandals for a romantic daytime look.

Saoirse Ronan in Calvin Klein | “You can never go wrong with sequins!” That’s my motto 🙂 Bring this glamorous look into your daytime wardrobe with this perfect top, denim and gold heels!

Charlize Theron in Dior Haute Couture | Charlize looked hot, hot HOT in this red dress and you will look equally as HOT in this must have jumpsuit. Accessorize perfectly with this Ralph Lauren knotted necklace.

Which were your favorite red carpet looks? I would love to hear!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Airport Wear

“Eat well. Work Hard. Love Truly. Travel Often.”

I was hoping to share our fun Boston adventures with you today, but I have been fighting this crazy migraine all day (ugh!) so instead I’ll just share my airport look for now!

If we have a midday flight I like to look a little more dressed up anticipating we will be doing something fun immediately after we land, but we had a late night flight to Boston this last trip so this was my “I’d rather be in pajamas but I don’t want to look like a slob in public look”! 🙂

Rule number one, always bring a layering piece. It is always so stuffy and hot before take off then during the flight it’s somewhere between 15 degrees and “excuse me can get a blanket?” A jacket is always needed!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend! I was lucky enough to attend my first blogger conference, Thrive! I had the chance to listen, learn, and be surrounded by hard working women and entrepreneurs all part of the blogging community! I left so inspired! I even got to participate in a mini photo session with my Thrive Tribe. 🙂 More details coming real soon I promise! Until then, praying for these migraines to disappear!

Again, thank you so much for stopping by the blog guys! I appreciate each and every one of you!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Spring Infusion with Lee & Lane

So excited to share my first of many upcoming looks with Lee and Lane Boutique!

Not only does Lee and Lane have the cutest items, but owner Amanda, is the sweetest! I am sharing some questions from our mini interview so that you can get to know her and a little more about her boutique!

The Style_Lynn Kind: When did you start your boutique?

Amanda: We are coming up on our 1 year anniversary on March 17th!

The Style_Lynn Kind: What’s the story behind the boutique name, Lee & Lane?

Amanda: It is a combination of my younger brother’s middle names. I wanted something that was not gender specific nor did it nail me down to one product line. I started throwing names around and then it just stuck!

The Style_Lynn Kind: What would you say is going to be your favorite spring trend?

Amanda: Florals. I’m obsessed. I have always loved florals, pastels and the traditional Spring patterns but florals are my jam.

The Style_Lynn Kind: What do you like to do in your spare time?

Amanda: My second passion next to my boutique and family is event planner. I have worked on weddings but birthday parties are my favorite. We have a lot of family so we are ALWAYS celebrating something. So much that I have passed the love onto my 10 year old. He gets really jazzed about parties. Aside from that I am a boy scout mom, autism mom, wannabe personal shopper for all my friends and I am obsessed with my hubby of 6 years.

The Style_Lynn Kind: If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Amanda: The ability to do it all and not have to sleep! I would have so much more time!

🙂

You guys. L&L has such cute items, but after getting to know Amanda a little bit more it made me love her boutique even more!

Fringe Cardigan | Top | Clutch (similar) | Heels (similar) | Hat

This cardigan is the perfect edition to your spring wardrobe! Super easy to style like I did here with denim shorts and a basic tank. It is also very versatile that you can wear it over a dress or even with your favorite skinny jeans! I’m sure you will see me in this again! 🙂

Be sure to check out Lee and Lane. They are consistently getting adorable new product!

Happy Wednesday loves! I hope you all are having an amazing week so far!

Thank you for stopping by!

xo, Roselyn

Sponsored Post: This post is partially sponsored, as always my thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

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Fashion

Sweater Vest Layering & Denim

Sweater vest layering!! I was waiting for the day I could finally dress like they did in the movie Clueless again! 🙂

Okay, maybe I’m not wearing a school girl skirt and knee high socks, but this is my own personal take on the trending sweater vest layering look.:) I paired it with distressed denim (of course!) and fun fringe heels! Fringe, that’s all the movie was missing!

Did anyone else watch Clueless on repeat? I know I am not the only one! Right? LOL!

Unfortunately, my Forever 21 sweater and windowpane top seen here are sold out, but linking up 2 equally cute combos you can snag to rock this trend!

Option 1 | This sweater with this top

Option 2 | This black sweater with this top

Denim | Shoes | Handbag (similar) | Earrings

Thanks for stopping by loves!

xo, Roselyn

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Fashion

Work Wear- Zara Tweed Top

I know this feeling all too well! Waahhh!

At least I feel much better about Mondays when I have a cute outfit planned! I saw this cute tweed top when I was shopping in Boston with some of my Style Collective blogger babes (squeal!!) and I immediately grabbed it. It took me about 3.5 seconds to find 2 things I just “had to have“!

Side note before I share this super cute work outfit, be sure to check out my blogger friends; Annie, Jenna and Caitlyn. I promise you will not be disappointed! Annie is the babe behind The Lovely Girl. She just re-launched and I am loving the content she is putting out there! Jenna is the gal behind Boston Chic Party, so clever I know!! Not only is she so chic, her cocktail recipe shares will have you drooling! You can find Caitlin at Tailored and True. Oh my gosh she is the cutest! In pics and in real life! She has some big, exciting things coming up so you’ll definitely want to follow along!

Okay, now back to this outfit 🙂

I hope everyone had an AMAZING weekend! I got some catching up time with house chores which included about 12 loads of laundry. We had an amazing church service on Saturday which left me feeling so fulfilled and I got to catch up with one of my bestest girlfriends and her sweet 6 month old cutie. Ahhh, it was just so nice to relax a bit and catch up with her. Much needed after a hectic few weeks! Also, Brandon is now a part of our church basketball team so somehow I got tricked into going to practice with him which didn’t end until 10:30pm! They don’t mess around! LOL

Although I wish the weekend would never end, we can make it better with a cure all outfit! 🙂 Wishing you a blessed Monday and fresh start to the week loves!

Thanks for stopping by!

xo, Roselyn

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Fall/Winter

Casual Plaid Vibes

Omg, it is a beautiful 75 degrees in Houston! The Mr. and I flew back from Boston today after being on the east coast for 5 days. Though we had the best time, the weather did not get above 30 degrees while we were there and it dropped to -15 at some point during our trip! Yikes, I know! Despite the recording breaking lows this time of year we really enjoyed everything we did there. Seeing the snow fall from the sky makes me forget how cold it is! It is so magical! Anyway, I will definitely be sharing our amazing trip soon, but I had to mention the weather so you could relate to how happy I was to land in Houston’s weather today so I am sharing a super cute casual look perfect for the warmer weather!

Thanks for stopping by loves!

xo, Roselyn

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Lifestyle

How We Marriage

“Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite”

Happy Monday loves!

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend celebrating love whether it was with your main squeeze or your favorite friends!

Brandon and I are currently in Boston celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary! It’s actually today, February 15th! I, very often, reflect on our lives. Every marriage is different and though ours isn’t perfect I feel pretty dang blessed for having him. I’ll assume he will say the same about me! LOL. I thought it would be the perfect time to share something a little more personal (and sappy) about how B and I make our marriage work. I promise it won’t be long and I will thank you in the end for reading with fun facts and photos from our wedding day!

Compromise & Share The Work Load-In the household and in life. Even though he mostly does the vacuuming and folding of clothes doesn’t mean I should always expect him to do it. And just because I mostly do the dishes and dust the furniture he should not always expect that of me. If he knows I have a lot going on one week he will always pick up more of the household “chores” or run out and do the grocery run. Or if I know he is having a crazy week and on one night just wants to throw his work bag, clothes, shoes and lunch kit where it doesn’t belong I have remembered to just let it be! I can handle it for one night.
We Have Learned How To Fight- Yup, let’s just put this out there! We get into little arguments like most couples, but we have learned how to fight. There are never mean things said that we can’t take back. Don’t ever use the word “NEVER” or “ALWAYS” when fighting. Let’s not be dramatic ladies, does he really “NEVER” put the clothes away or did he just not help one day when you were in a bad mood? LOL. Our little arguments usually start with a few exchanged words, a moment of silence then we talk about why each person got upset. Usually from there we come to an agreement that we were both seeing it 2 different ways and then somehow the argument turns into a big joke and then laughter.
Make sure God is at the Center of your Marriage-B and I were both religious people before we met, but it wasn’t until after we were married we started attending the same church and praying together. Words cannot explain how much closer it has brought us and how much closer we are to God as husband and wife. It is the best feeling.
We Have Created a World for Both of Us-We both work very hard at our corporate jobs, but we are also very passionate about other things. With him it’s politics & community related events, for me it’s fashion/blogging and for the both of us it’s traveling. We try to travel as much as possible together which is definitely “our” thing, but we find time to help eachother out as much as we can to pursue our other passions. Believe it or not he is the man behind many of my photos and I will volunteer at any of his functions when he needs me.
Often Discuss Goals-We talk about this often. Work goals, travel goals, family goals…etc. This is so important to ensure you are always on the same page because let’s be honest these things can change from month to month. It is important to discuss and he is so much better at planning than I am so I always love sharing my stuff with him so he can help me figure out how to best execute! Haha.

I believe these 5 things are very important in making our marriage work. Okay, so now that you know how to make our marriage work LOL, let’s talk some fun facts about our past 3 years from proposal to honeymoon!

Brandon purposed on February 15, 2013. It was the day we closed on our house. I left to get us food so that we could have a bite to eat before unloading the Uhaul. When I got home I found Brandon kneeling down in the middle of rose petals in the shape of a heart. Before I started balling I heard “I don’t have much but what I do have I want to share it with you” then tears of joy came rolling down and that day had become the best day of my life. Oh and I must mention he was in a suit. Sneaky thing threw one on when I was at Whataburger, haha!
Exactly one year later we got married in California! My new “best day of my life”!

3. I’m forever in debt to our loving family and friends for spending their Valentine’s week/weekend traveling, attending rehearsal dinners and our wedding.

4. We had a beautiful wedding party of 9 Groomsmen, 9 Bridesmaids, 2 Junior Groomsmen, 2 Junior Bridesmaids, 2 Flower Girls, 2 Flower Girl Escorts and 3 Ring Bearers. We also had 18 sponsors, a Filipino tradition. These aunts, uncles, close family friends can also be referred to as Godparents. They are ones who are giving their blessing and witnessing your wedding. You can read more about the tradition here.

5. Our cake was red velvet with cream cheese filling and icing. The grooms cake had a Bald Eagle and American flag on it, double chocolate filled just like B likes it! Side note, we were planning on saving the top layer for the 1 year tradition, but maybe I woke up the next morning and ate it!

6. Some people might think we were crazy to have this many people in our wedding party, but seriously all of these people mean everything to us. We set up a table with each persons picture framed with a little story of how we met them. Also, I need to say that I was so crazy busy that week I completely forgot I didn’t finish printing and framing all of them. Two of B’s best friends (also groomsmen) totally stepped up and finished them for me the morning for the wedding! I’m telling you guys these people are angels!

7. We did first look pictures. Most all pictures were done before our ceremony which made the rest of the day so much less stressful.

8. First Dance Song? God Bless The Broken Road.

9. Best part of the day? I literally could feel the love in the air. Seeing how happy our families were, goodness especially our parents. I loved seeing my Dad for the first time that day at the church. Going through the pictures and seeing these huge smiles on my brothers’ faces and my nieces and nephews dancing the night away. Also, all of our friends who had dedicated so much time in making not only this day, but our bachelor/bachelorette parties and bridal shower perfect. They were just so amazing, having a great time not even worried that they had to travel all that way to spend their Valentine’s Day weekend celebrating us! Brandon and I are so blessed guys.

10. Okay, okay I have to mention my second best part…our Mom’s speech! I think my Mom had a 6 page speech written (LOL seriously) but every word was perfect and it was so her. My Dad got to say about 10 words and then my Mom took over the mic. So accurate. Then Brandon’s Mom said a speech that would have even made a stranger cry! Definitely memorable moments.

11. We had some dancers that performed traditional Filipino Folk Dances and even a special number by my Mom.

12. We honeymooned traveling the Mediterranean Sea. Italy, France, and Spain.

Well, thanks for hanging in there and reading my short novel! Some people will tell you that marriage is hard which I hate hearing. I’m telling you now, it’s not hard but at times it definitely is work. Just remember all of the small moments of frustration and “work” will eventually be drowned out by all the love and happiness in the end! Love conquers all!

xo, Roselyn

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