A Day with Reese and Draper James

Over the past 4 years, I have had some amazing opportunities and events. I never thought this blogging journey would lead me to meet so many amazing people and attend so many special events.

At the top of that list is now the amazing day the Draper James team planned for us to celebrate the new book from Reese Witherspoon, Whiskey In A Teacup! Holy cow!! The team did an amazing job at running everything smoothly and treating us so special.

The Dallas Store

All the bloggers were instructed to meet at the Draper James store in Dallas to take some pictures, pick out something to wear and enjoy some treats. I am no stranger to this store since I try to pop in every time I go home. It’s quite possibly the most well merchandised stores I’ve ever been into and the staff truly repersents the South by offering every shopper a glass of sweet tea when they walk in.

To be honest, I was REALLY nervous! My entire drive home to Texas I prayed that God would show me why I was invited and help me not to compare myself to the other girls. I am so blessed with each and every one of you, but it’s easy to get wrapped in the numbers of “Oh I only have 30k and she has 100K followers.” I was SO nervous up until I walked into the store, a peace came over me that was like “you are supposed to be here.”

I was greeted by one of the lovely PR team members, who knew exactly who I was and was introducing for taking over the Draper James IG while I was at the Masters and it hit me, I wasn’t there for my followers, I was there because the team genuinely enjoyed my content.

This made me feel so comfortable to introduce myself and feel confident to get to know the other girls regardless of mine or their follower count.

I had been eyeing a few dresses and got to try them all on, in addition to getting a sneak peek of the new fall collection. I won’t spoil it too much, but it’s to die for!

We all spent a few hours trying things on, chatting, enjoying some snacks from the Biscuit Bar and drinks.

What I Wore

After trying a few dresses on, I decided to go with this gorgeous Honeycomb Floral Ponte Dress. I love the classic shape and colors and I loved that it could easily be transitioned to fall while still being cool enough to spend several hours outside in the Texas heat.

I paired it with simple nude sandals and, of course, a statement earring, that was totally Reese approved…we’ll get to that later! I also needed a lot of stuff for the day like my camera, makeup, etc. so I had to grab my go to St. Anne tote from Barrington.

Magnolia Table

The Draper James team bussed all the girls down to Waco from the Dallas store, but since my mom and I were going on to Austin we drove separately. I was sad at first that I didn’t get to spend as much time with everyone, but my introvert self-was thanking me!

When we all arrived at Magnolia Table they had the most beautiful spread of treats and snacks including lemon lavender donut holes, pimento cheese sandwiches, candied bacon, and so many other yummy things. This was such a treat because we had the whole place to ourselves, which on a normal day you can expect to wait approximately 3 hours to get a table.

We did as all bloggers do and immediately snapped about 500 pictures and then dug into the food. Once we had a little something to eat, the team let us know Reese was almost there. We all touched up and got in line to meet Reese.

Meeting Reese

The moment was here! Time to meet Reese! Once again the nerves kicked in, what do I say? How do I look? After all, I’m only going to get one chance to meet Reese I can’t look like a goof in my picture.

I went up first and to be honest I don’t know what I exactly said. I remember her saying she loved my earrings (thank Lisi!) but after that, it was a total blur. My mom jumped in after our photo and I remember telling her we were going on a mother-daughter weekend and she thought that was cute. We snapped a mother-daughter photo and my mom got one solo and off we went.

Although it was short, she was so gracious and felt very down to earth. She was and is a true southern icon!

Whiskey in a Teacup Event

After the meet and greet, we all headed to the Silos for the big event! We got to be privately be escorted into the front row for the event. Little did we know, Joanna Gaines was introducing Reese and Jenna! AH! Could it get any better?! The kids were watching from the rooftop and Chip screamed “I LOVE YOU JOANNA GAINES!” from the balcony…typical Chip!

The interview between Jenna and Reese was so natural and empowering. Reese is a total girl’s girl. She loves building girls up and watching other women succeed. Shouldn’t we all? She also had a great sense of pride in freedom and America. This probably due to Jenna Bush Hager being the moderator that this came out more in this interview.

I left feeling so inspired and empowered!

New Friends

On top of all of the amazing events and goodies. I got to meet some amazing women in the blogging industry that I’ve followed for a long time. I even got to meet some girls who were IG friends in person! Below is a list of all the sweet girls who attended the event! Go check them out I know you won’t be dissappointed.

Kate from Lone Star Southern

Tristan from The Polished Posy

Anna from Fleurdille

Ellen from The Perrenial Style

Mallory from Style Your Senses

Natalie from The Fashion Hour

Alicia from The Lush List

Stephanie from Stephanie Taylor Jackson

Madison from Hey Madi Nelson

Olivia from Livvy Land

Niqui from Fash N Curious

Natalie from Natalie Means Nice

Ashlee from Little Lovelies

Hunter from Hunter McGrady

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