My lovely daughter and I went to see Brandi Carlile at the historic Bijou Theatre in Knoxville
on Wednesday. We ate at Nama Sushi—which is todiefor—- and then
sat numbstruck at the raw talent of Ms. Brandi.
She claims country western roots and is a self-proclaimed super-fan
of Elton John. Her lyrics are timeless and her vocal performance
purposely leaves the listener feeling vulnerable and amazed.
I loved her already but when she covered Folsom Prison Blues by
Johnny Cash and then busted out Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette,
I seriously wasn’t sure if I could keep myself composed.
You must give her music a try. She’s phenomenal. Kinda reminds me of my sweet CAiti’s voice.
And now I have 267 photos from Blissdom to show you. Go get coffee, I’ll wait.
Friday night, the (in)courage folks threw a little party and it
was so much fun to meet Annie and many of the other
(in)courage team.
I also got to hug Sibi there. She’s the author of the wonderful blog, Pearl and Grace. And she’s about the sweetest thing
I’ve ever met. She’s beautiful and gracious and genuine and funny.
And um, love the necklace.
As we were walking to the (in)courage party, I snapped this photo of little miss sassy Nester girl
and her SHOES! Stop.The.World. Of course, I love
Kristi’s boots too so I asked her to show us a little, um —-boot. You should go
to Blissdom if for no other reason than to shoe-watch.
On Saturday, we had a lovely full service lunch and I was lucky enough to sit with Kim
and Kris from YouCanMakeThis. They’re launching a new website soon called
DIYdish which will be fantastic I’m sure. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
They’re so cheerful and friendly and funny
and they look just like Marie Osmond. Only prettier and more interesting.
I love these girls and you will too.
I’ve loved Emily from Chatting at the Sky since I met her last year.
But let me reiterate; she is so sweet and
authentic and lovely and gifted. And she has a book deal. I can’t
wait to say ‘I knew her back when…’
Then there’s my new BFF Melissa from A Familiar Path. There are no words.
And there were almost no pictures–because everytime I was with her,
I was laughing so hard that I forgot I even had a camera.
She is HI-Larry-us. With a capital Larry. I miss you dearie.
Let me just say that I should have stood on someones’ suitcase for this picture.
I’m quite vertically challenged—and I had on boots with heels! And I’m 5’5″-ish. Sorta.
These are all bloggers that I have admired from afar and I’m so glad I finally got to meet them all.
Meet Lindsey from Living With Lindsay, Emily from Remodeling This Life and Kimm from Reinvented.
And Emily, we never did get to have that coffee? Promise me, next year!
This picture makes me giddy. I was overjoyed to meet Lisa Leonard. She and her twin sister Chrissy
are so wonderful. Lisa led one of the sessions on social media–which was
one of my favorite sessions of the conference. And since her beautiful necklaces are
by far my favorite accessory, I was so excited to win one of her ‘by grace alone’
necklaces at the (in)courage party! Aren’t they beautiful?
The Harry Connick Jr concert was Friday night and we swooned together with
this fun little clan of girls. I feel so stupid because I knew wanted to meet Mary from Giving Up On Perfect
before I left. She was with Hillary, from The Other Mama, at the concert and I
didn’t even realize it was her. I’m gonna go ahead and
blame it on Harry and on this tweet I got from my husband that night.
But I love all these girls. Hillary, you are so funny!
And Sara, it was such a joy to spend time with you!
Meet Mary, Hillary, Sara, Lindsay, and Kristi. It was such a pleasure
to meet you all and so inspiring to read/feast my eyes upon, your work.
Last year at Blissdom, I was privileged to meet both the Nester and Sandy.
And what a blessing to renew these friendships in person. I think of them
both as my mentors and admire them for
how they honor their families as they pursue their
own dreams. They are both incredible women, strong and talented, yet humble
with servants’ hearts.
I’m so mad at myself for not getting better pictures of this motley crew. Kristi, Lindsay and I
sat with these crazy girls for several sessions. I consider them my peeps.
And they are completely to blame for my lack of photos.
Who can operate a complicated camera while rolling on the floor laughing? Yeah, not me.
But go visit them and you’ll see why I love them so much.
Melissa, Ruthanne, Marsha and Karin. Thank you girls for the abdominal
workout. Laughter really is the best medicine!
And last but not least, let me introduce you to the wonderfully talented and brilliant woman
who keeps my blog from exploding every other day. I love you Darcy and let me just
say that those Audrey Hepburn eyes—-are AMAZING!
I send Darcy a lot of emails (because I’m a little slow) and I often put interesting titles in the
‘subject’ of the email. The last series of (100) emails I sent her, I put “Edie is Annoying” as the subject.
My girls, who are always peering over my shoulder when I’m on the computer,
said, “Mom, why does she say you’re annoying?”
Because I am. And she loves me anyway!
There were people I met that I didn’t get pictures of (or at least decent pictures of) and a few that I’ve started blog-stalking since I got home.
I love meeting Mishelle and Layla and Cate. It was so great to see Rhoda and Kimba and Melissa and Jen again. I’ve started blog-stalking Toni and Moosh-in-Indy and Heather and Meredith and Lizzie.
And I’m still completely wiped out. I think I need to paint something soon. I hope I haven’t completely lost my mo-jo in all this fun I’ve had.
Love to you all and thanks for reading this eclectic, often long-winded, sometimes opinionated blog. I have an awesome giveaway coming soon so stayed tuned. I will ask you to update your bookmarks to my new url address “lifeingraceblog.com” as a prerequisite to entering the giveaway, so go ahead and do it now and then you can enter right away. It’s gonna be a good one. Toodle-loo!
It looks so fun! I wish I was cool enough to pull off going! 🙂 Everyone looks so glamorous I would stick out like a sore thumb!
Oh how fun….I look forward to going to check out all these new blogs you’ve mentioned. and I can’t help but believe we would get along beautifully….maybe one day we will meet.
Suzanne
Loved every second of your ‘lengthy’ blog. Somehow I thought I would get to drink my entire cup of joe! You make time fly by with your humor. I sure would love to get to meet you next year. But my knees shake just thinking about being amongst all you celebrities! Have a great weekend!
You pictured all my favorite bloggers! Thanks for the update.
She covered “Folsom Prison Blues” AND “Stand By Your Man”?? I would’ve hyperventilated. I was born and reared in Tennessee!
So glad you got to go to BlissDom again. Reading that tweet from your husband made me laugh so hard. . . I think your husband and my husband might be a bit alike. 🙂
Blessings to you,
Richella
3 things…
1- Isn’t the Bijou just the best place ever for concerts? I know I am going to sound insane,but I swear there’s something mystical about that place. I saw Indigo Girls there years and years ago and similar to your Johnny Cash/Tammy Wynette moment, they played one of my favorite songs that’s not on any of their records and even pulled Michael Stipe from REM up onstage to sing back up just because he happened to be there. I have a secret wishlist of bands I want to see at the Bijou and when I win the lottery I am going to produce my own concert series there.
2- Throw it All Away is my fave Brandi song. I have it on my “I need to run really hard” playlist for when I bust it out on the elliptical and need to “throw all the negative energy away”.
linky to listen (cut and paste required) http://s0.ilike.com/play#Brandi+Carlile:Throw+It+All+Away:97630:s2018022.8120031.8452755.0.1.81%2Cstd_f72ce1f82109ee38a145e73137480092
Love her. Somehow she knows my life and puts it to music. I think one of her songs is going up in my blog soon as daily inspiration.
3-
It looks like you had the most amazing time at Blissdom. But I think you need to consult with them on the nametags. Those things are huge and could be much cuter with some bedazzling. I also hate it when they give you that style to wear with the little clippy things that were clearly designed to work on a suit jacket and nothing else. For a women’s leadership conference I help out with, we got fancy new badge holders that clip into a lanyard so you can wear them with anything. I think I am a little ocd about badge holders.
Hope you are enjoying the weekend.
Looks like a grand old time!! And if 5’5″ is vertically challenged I am a downright shrimp! (Should see me standing next to my daughter. YIKES! LOL)
This is such a great way to experience the conference vicariously, and get a look at some bloggers that are not on my radar. Thank you for the lengthy post. It was worth the read!
capital LARRY. *snort* i about fell out of my chair!
oh my word, edie, your personality fills up and brightens a whole room. and i’m going to stop my comment now before i start sounding like a goob.
ps sushi picture is very rockstar-esque. love it.
capital LARRY. *snort* i about fell out of my chair!
oh my word, edie, your personality fills up and brightens a whole room. and i’m going to stop my comment now before i start sounding like a goob.
ps sushi picture is very rockstar-esque. love it.
I LOVE Brandi Carlile! So jealous you got to see her in concert! Her CD is so soothing and relaxing. 🙂
Looks like you had a wonderful time! I cannot wait to meet all of you next year! And by the way…LOVE the post on your husbands tweet! I missed that one somehow.
PS. You have great legs woman! 🙂
To my not-at-all-annoying-friend,
Oh, your hubby and my hubby… could be BFFs. What an awesome tweet!
And I do love you. So very much… can’t wait for our next conference for another excuse to hang out!
xoxoxoxo
Darcy
What a wonderful recap post, again!!! I did not get the opportunity to meet many of the women you did, and I think I only got to say hello to you in passing.. but I love your photography, and your enthusiasm, and your storytelling, and will be coming back again for more!
it was so wonderful. i have to come back next year if only to make you laugh again. i’m so excited we are BFFs!! (text me) LOL the text me at the end of every teenage face book status update makes me laugh so hard.
It was soo good to meet you! I hope you are able to put that chunky chalk board to use!
Much love!
Love this post! Looks like so much fun! Because I am just beginning (expanding, I should say) this blogging um, thing, thank you for all the links! Now I can meet some more people & find some more awesome blogs! And oh yes, the boots rock!! It’s all about priorities! 🙂
Edie, thanks for the mention! I wish I would have had more time to hang out with you. I think you are charming! Just haven’t had the chance to get to know you better. So many fabulous women, so little time.
I have some great pics of YOU on my Blissdom post, hope you saw them. 🙂
Thank you for putting such a great post together for all of us who couldn’t be there! It is fun just to read about and see all the fun you all had!! 🙂
I could go on and on for days about how fabulously wonderful I think you are. Intimidatingly fabulous. Next year, coffee for sure! How did we not do that? I’m an idiot.
Love you.
Oh girl…this post was NOT way too long. So much fun. I regret that we didn’t get to hang out much much more… I seriously felt like I was lost way too much of the time, looking for some buds to hand with. LOL.
You are PRECIOUS!
Ps. And Toni (who you’re now stalking.. ha ha…just thanked me for telling her about you (even before Blissdom I was talking about you behind your back…were your ears burning? 🙂
I’m so glad we got to meet! Even if you didn’t realize I was myself. 🙂 (And I love Brandi Carlisle, too!!)
I so enjoyed meeting you. I have secretly been stalking you since Darcy re-did my blog and put your button on my template until I had a chance to fill my ads in. 🙂 You were more delightful in person and ever so stylish! Blissdom was such a fantastic conference that I dare say it just can’t be topped. That many wonderful bloggers in one place is mind boggling.
You, your blog, your radiance…makes my heart smile!!
So glad to meet you and look forward to getting to know you more and more.
Through your blog- I have been introduced to many of your “favorites” and bloggers who inspire you…and you and they inspire me. It’s daily “down” time that I live for- and a nice escape. A daily dose of inspiration!! So happy for you and your experience at Blissdom…
uh, NO, I’m the annoying one – not you! silly!
didn’t you know that? (Darcy is a saint!)
love you girl, and your words are far too kind …
YOU bless me!
OMG, you are my first link! I read this and started to cry. You are the reason I sucked it up, told my inner high school geek to grow up, and went to Blissdom. You are the first person I knew by name that I could say hi to and the fact that you greeted me so openly and BY NAME meant the world to me. I belonged! I was so overwhelmed by it all that I only have a few photos, mainly from our lunch with (as in he stopped to take pictures with us) George Duran.
I don’t want to hijack this about Blissdom since it’s also about your night out too, which sounded divine! You keep my inner southern girl completed.
To say thank you seems inadequate, but I can’t think of anything else. So, Thank You, my dear friend!
You all are just cute to boot!!!!! You look like a bunch of celebrities!!!!!! Plus your pictures are so cool how you edit them. How do you do that??? Photoshop????? I probably could have just sat in a corner and been content to people watch all night! Looks like a blast!
Meeting you. Hugging your neck. Laughing with you. Receiving confirmation from you that some day I WILL get my MD by watching Grey’s Anatomy *snort*. I loved every minute!
Blissdom sounds wonderful even though I have no idea what it is! Everyone looks beautiful and happy…
Thanks so much for this post – it is so cool to put names to faces of the bloggers I already read, and to be introduced to so many other cool women.
Having now seen you all in action though, I’m kinda glad that it was a little far for me to get to. I would have felt so old and frumpy next to you all – everyone looks amazing!! (and about 12) 🙂
I’m coveting your experience… I should go to bed now ;).
What great great GREAT pictures of Blissdom and a wonderful time! Also great time with your Caiti! Glad you had such a great time!!
There were two things I wanted to ask you, but since it’s 1:19 am and I should have been sleeping hours ago because I’m going on a road trip, lol, I can only remember one…… What kind of camera do you have? I recently got a Nikon D90 and LOVE IT although I got A LOT to learn!
I don’t know anything about Blissdom, but it looks and sounds like you had a great time.
-FringeGirl
I’ve read so many Blissdom posts I can almost imagine what it was like there now! I sounds so, so amazing. I’d love to meet some of these bloggers, especially Melissa @ Familiar Path, Sandy @ Reluctant Entertainer and of course you – all of you are so inspiring to me. I’m glad you had a great time, maybe one day I’ll be able to go. Hope you learned lots too.
Jade
I KNEW you would do us justice and gives us some great Blissdom pics! *sigh* so jealous. Perhaps, next year, I will come, too.:)
I LOVED your recap post. The photos were amazing! I think you got great pictures of everyone. One of my highlights was meeting Melissa too… she is hilarious!
Still laughing when I think about our conversations.
Hoping we will meet again soon.
Toni
Ohhhh Edie, you are a doll!! Still counting my lucky stars that by chance I sat at your lunch table. All of you gals were so beautiful and gracious to Meredith and I – truly was one of my favorite moments from the Blissdom weekend! So excited to count you among my new friends:)
It looks like you were all so thrilled and filled with bliss!!! Everyone looks so happy and like you were having a ball. So many great bloggers. What a fantastic chance to be able to meet each one.
Ruth
Hello Sweet Friend,
Thank you so much for your mention in this beautiful post. You made my heart sing……
I LOVED meeting you on the very first day (could you tell?!!) and then talking with you and sharing at the In Courage party. As I tweeted to you after Blissdom, you really do have a beautiful spiritual fragrance! You exude His love and goodness Edie and you shared it with every, single woman you came into contact with at Blissdom.
It was a tremendous blessing for me to meet you in person!
I sent you an e-mail…did you get it? If not, I may try and re send from my personal email.
Big Hug,
Sibi
Edie, another wonderful post full of beautiful women of Blissdom! I did have to laugh about you being vertically challenged. If I was 5’5, well I’d feel like a giant (I am 5’2) 🙂
Thanks for sharing all the loveliness!!
xo
I heart, heart, HEART you more than you know! One of my VERRRY Favorite people to meet at Blissdom!!!
I would say you light up my life, but that would be so wrong.
But you’d love me anyway, ’cause you’re cool like that.
Blissdom, Brandi Carlile and Better grab a cup-a-joe ’cause this post is long – life{in}grace
jordan a talon http://www.lavau.eu/wayfarer/jordan-a-talon.html
메이저사이트추천Why are billionaires such as Bill Gates investing in nuclear fusion power generation?