Biddle Bits: Southern Bloggers Conference

I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural Southern Bloggers Conference in Raleigh this weekend. I learned so much, got some great ideas, and met lots of new friends and well-respected bloggers. (Not to mention I got to hang out with Jacque and Matt Knowlton from the DIY Village all weekend (who just happen to be my brother and sister-in-law!).

This was my first bloggers' conference, so before i got there I didn't know what to expect, and was feeling very much like a newbie and a little unconfident about my blog! There was a fall decor contest on Friday night, so I entered the contest with the expectation to "only do it for fun"...the attendees (around 100 bloggers) voted for their favorites in each category (fall wreaths, centerpieces, place settings, fall decor...I know I'm leaving one out!), and my placesetting won that category!! I was thrilled!!

It turns out that, for someone who's relatively new to blogging, I'm doing pretty well so far and have some smart, creative ideas, so I left the event with a renewed confidence, new information, and excitement of what's to come :-). I guess I need to have a little more faith in myself...

While there's no step-by-step for my *winning* placesetting, I wanted to share where I bought everything, so as to maybe inspire ya'll for autumn get-togethers or Thanksgiving dinner. Most of the items came from discount stores like Target, the Christmas Tree Shops, and Dollar Tree - some items we already had on-hand, and others are expensive brands (i.e.: Vietri) that we either received as wedding gifts, or I bought at the annual Vietri warehouse sale, deeply discounted, at the Vietri outlet nearby. I'm a bargain hunter, so there's no way I could pay retail price for Vietri!