Girl Behind the Blog: Travel

Y'all 

I'm so stinkin excited that today my blog BFF Annie from What She Saw is co-hosting The Girl Behind the Blog vlog link up with Ashley at Written on Her Heart! This is my absolute favorite link-up and the only one I really keep up with :) If you don't know either of these ladies, go check out their blogs and say hello! 

Today we're talking about travel- where we've been and where we'd love to go. I apologize for gushing about my domestic journeys ;) 

And I totally forgot to include that this past year I traveled to Indianapolis for The Influence Conference and then spent a couple of days in Chicago (which was awesome). 

Some things I refer to in my video:

DECA- a business and marketing student organization

Megan I had dinner with in Cocoa Beach, of Megan Elizabeth Photography 

Inspired to visit Greece by Margaret

Thanks for stopping by! 

Blessings

Spring Fling Swap

My awesome bloggy friends, Erin from Sweetness Itself and L from All Glorious Within came up with the brilliant idea that is the Spring Fling Flip Flop Gift Swap. The idea behind it was to celebrate spring, make new friends, and send some sweet encouragement to our new friends! The only requirement was to send a pair of flip flops and to spend around $25-$30 on the gift. 

I was paired with Rachel from Along the Way with Rae. She is such an amazing woman! She's studying to be a teacher, loves the Lord and has a blog just radiates inspiration. You should definitely go check her out and see what I sent her! 

 

Yes this lovely lady! 


I actually got my spring fling package in the mail as I was on my way out of the house. The suspense was killing me as I drove with it just sitting beside me in the car so I had to pull over into a parking lot and open it!

I was not disappointed. Rachel spoiled me with some of my favorite things! She even sent a sweet card saying thank you for her package. 

A pair of gorgeous flip flops with gold braided straps-  perfect for a breezy look

They even take your attention away from my chipped pedicure!

Rachel loves coffee as much as I do and included a lovely coffee mug 

with pretty flowers on it. New favorite!

And a precious knit coffee sleeve. With a mint heart. Love.

(ok so there's not really anything in that jar... but I HAVE used it that way. Just pretend!)

And some pretty pretty matching earrings- gold leaves and mint/gold hoops

Swoon!

THANK YOU so much Rachel for the amazing gifts you sent. They've already ALL been used. I'm truly grateful to have been partnered with you for this! I'm looking forward to continuing our friendship!

And the winner of the missions supporting giveaway is....

Ashley! 

Congrats, girl! Email me and I'll get your prizes shipped out to you as soon as possible!

Meet Rachel from Along the Way with Rae!

I'm really excited to share with y'all about an upcoming gift swap
celebrating spring and helping to create new friendships!


It is so much fun to get mail,
(especially mail that's not bills or credit card applications!)

so Erin at Sweetness Itself and L at All Glorious Within are hosting a Spring Fling blogging gift swap. They've paired up 100 bloggers to send each other a pair of flip flops and other goodies and encouragement! Doesn't that sound awesome? I've had a lot of fun shopping for my gift package!

My awesome partner is Rachel at Along the Way with Rae. She is such a sweetheart! She loves the Lord with all her heart and frequently writes about her faith. She is also intentional about being active and living a healthy lifestyle. She plays college volleyball and has began running. (I definitely need to take a note from her book. I'm eating a muffin right now.)


Check her out and send her some love!

My name is Rachel, and I blog over at Along The Way With Rae. My parents call me "Rae" all the time and I love that nickname, but no one else calls me that, so hence my use of "Rae" in my blog name :) I am a 20-something, college student, new to the blogging world. I've had my blog for about 3 months now, and I must say that I LOVE BLOGGING and all of the wonderful bloggers out there. Blogging is my outlet. It's my way to express myself and get my thoughts out there. I am a Christian gal, and God is, and always will be at the center of my life and at the core of my blog. I love being encouraged by other Christian bloggers and wanted to do the same! You will also find the musings and randoms of my every day life and experiences, fitness tips, wedding inspiration {I'm not engaged or married, but I LOVE weddings!}, style inspiration, or anything else that may be on my mind or heart. Now come on over and say hi, I love meeting new people, and it would make my day if you were one of them! :) 

You can also connect with me on:

Twitter: @rachlarz

Facebook:  Along The Way With Rae

Pinterest: Pinterest Addict

Instagram: rachel__elizabeth__larson

Same Blog, New Name!

Hey y'all!

So, it looks a little different around here. 

Lenora at Yellow Heart Art designed some ah-maze-ing bloggy things to help spruce up this blog. If you're interested in making an investment and getting custom art done, I would definitely recommend her! She was so easy to work with and took my poor explanations and visions and created something absolutely perfect! Seriously, these designs are sooo me. 

Plus, she's super funny and cute. Check out her blog, store and Twitter.

You may have also noticed that although the url is the same, 
I've changed the name.

What do y'all think?

There are a lot of other "Live Laugh Fill in the Blank" 
blogs out there [that are really great!]

but I didn't want to add to any confusion

and wanted to make the title a better indication 
of what you can expect to see here.

"Taste and See" is based on Psalms 34:8

Psalms 34 is such a beautiful chapter and I am praying for this blog to exemplify these words. In verse 3 it says, "Come let us tell of the Lord's greatness; let us exalt His name together." So, first and foremost this is a place where we can encourage one another, share what God is teaching us, and glorify His name through our words. I want to invite you to share your experiences, stories and needs here also. I pray for several of you who I've never even met and am happy to get to know y'all better.

I also chose "Taste and See" because food is my second love.

after Jesus ;)
Seriously though, food brings me joy.

Although I am in no way a gourmet chef, I do love to cook and really love to share my successes with y'all. So expect to continue to see recipes at least twice a week!


Lastly, I now have a button to swap! If you're interested in button swapping, let me know!

Swag Bag Sponsor Feature: Bearing Fruit and Naptime Diaries

A couple more sponsor features today!

Meet Andee!

Andee from Bearing Fruit sent over a "Letter from God" for each girl. 

Check out her post here to read the entirety of the scripture laden, 

beautifully written letter. It is a must read for ladies of all ages 

and a great reminder of the vastness of our Father's love for us!

Send Andee some love at her blog!

.... and meet Jessi!

Jessi from Naptime Diaries donated the digital file for this awesome scripture print. 

Even in the middle of a cross country move, she took the time to contribute! 

She just relaunched her Etsy store with some great new mixed media prints. 

Go check out her blog and shop! 

Ladies, thank you so much for sending over some beautiful scriptural truths to encourage our girls! It was very much appreciated!

Valentine's Day Blog Gift Swap!

In case you haven't noticed, I love these things ;)

There's something exciting about getting mail...

especially packages...

especially when you don't know what' s inside! 

Alissa at Rags to Stitches and 

Caroline at Good Times Never Seem Sew Good

hosted this awesome swap for the day of love

I was paired with Kassi over at Truly Lovely.

She and her sister Kayli

share lots of fun projects, recipes

and stories!

Kassi's awesome!

She sent me tons of goodies.

She sent a sweet Valentine's card!

Heart shaped cookie cutters

a notepad 

awesome turquoise earrings

(i LOVE these)

purple nail polish

And a Scentsy car air freshener

I put this in my car as soon as I opened the package!

I had so much fun getting to know Kassi.

Go check out her post and see what I sent her! 

Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's,

celebrate love today.

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends"

John 15:13

The Girl Behind The Blog Vlog Link Up

Today I'm linking up with Erin from Captivated By Grace and Ashley at 5ohWifey

Go check out all the other vlogs and get to know some super sweet ladies!

In case you were wondering,

here's what the prompt was!

Introduce yourself and any other "regulars" on your blog (spouses, kids, pets)

Tell us a little about your blog. Main theme? Do you have a niche?

Tell us why you started blogging and why you have continued to blog?

How do you envision your blog evolving in the future? What hopes do you have for it?

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

What is the most challenging thing about blogging?

What inspires you to blog?

Is there anything else you'd like readers to know?

New Year Blog Swap

I was super excited to be able to participate in the 

New Year Gift Swap hosted by Casey, Danielle, and Alycia. 

I was paired up with Danna from A Hippy Heart, and the only guidelines 

were that we should send each other a gift within $10-$15. 

Danna is absolutely adorable! 

She is a fellow Texas girl who owns a vintage clothing shop.

We both love turqoise, Dr Pepper and Jesus

 and she is one stylish mama! 

There are about twelve things on my wish list from her darling shop.  

Want to see what she got me?

She did really well!

It was packaged so sweetly with lace and twine

and a kind note

And included:

a mini book about chocolate!

Who doesn't love chocolate?

(my sister, but she's a weirdo)

and a gorgeous necklace with turquoise

and a lovely vintage apron!

Isn't it the cutest?!

And kind of all together

it goes with my crazy colorful kitchen!

I LOVE my new toys and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Danna!

Want to see what I got her?

Go check out her post!

Or go on over to Casey, Danielle and Alycia's

to see all the goodies that got shared this round!