Hey Y'all!! I've been to enough concerts and music festivals to know what should and shouldn't be brought. That is why on today's blog, I decided to give y'all my guide of what to bring and what to leave at home, as well as tips + tricks! Enjoy!

Need to save your phone battery?

Usually this is my number one priority because I'm a huge social media enthusiast. I really do have a problem where I get so distracted by social media. My tips are: use your phone usage wisely (wait to text people back, hold out when you want to use those fun photo apps, also do not record all the music on video if you want your phone to last! this will drain your battery faster), Close all apps on your phone when not using, wait to post a majority of your photos till the end of the night/the next morning (trust me on this). Also, If you need to check the time, wear a watch instead, this way you don't keep clicking your phone on! (Don't forget to bring your car charger and wall charger but leave in car because not every festival has a charging place)

What To Get Info on Before the Actual Festival Starts:

• Parking/shuttle (this is always a major problem with any major event with a lot of people)
• Good cheap food places around the Festival just incase you decide not to spend an arm and leg on that expensive festival food because lets face it 5 dollars for corn on the cob seems pretty expensive when you just spent all that money on a shuttle pass and your ticket to even go to the event.
• Make sure if you are staying at a hotel to look how far the distance is from the actual festival (I'm sure if you are an avid concert/festival goer, you already know this lol but this is without assuming you're staying at a camp ground)
• the closest Starbucks or coffee shop because if it's a 3-Day event, you're going to need it since you're probably going to be getting up in the mornings after staying out late (count for traffic, nobody can prepare you for that, it's inevitable) 
• The Weather! (rain or shine performances all day of everyday)
• If there is an app! (this will help instead of carrying a paper of all the times, be sure to map out which performances you want to go to & a rough idea when you take a lunch/dinner break)

Should I Bring a Purse or No?

I personally only carry around a small satchel or a wristlet for my I.D. & Money. You don't need to bring anything major really, it's a drag carrying a huge purse around all day especially during the summer festivals...Trust me you'll thank me later. ;) (You can also carry around a small back pack to your liking, but it will be checked when you get to the gate)

Want to bring a camera/folding chair/cooler/weapons?

Usually all but the folding chair is banned from most of the music festivals, but not all, just make sure on the websites. I wish that they would let camera's in, but that's only wishful thinking (I'm a shutterbug). I also know this goes without saying but leave all the weapons at home, because just because someone cut you in the beer line it doesn't give you a right to cut or shank them, yes they are crappy for doing that, but trust me, just enjoy the music. :)

What should I wear?

I'll be doing a blog next week on my favorite looks for the festival but hint: leave the heels at home. ;)

What I Suggest Bringing:

• Sunblock/sunglasses
• Cowboy hat/baseball hat
• Blanket/towel to sit on
• Money/I.D.
• Chapstick/lip gloss (sometimes I carry powder & blush with me too if I have the room so I can freshen up, otherwise if my car is within walking distance I just keep it in the car)
• Spray bottle with fan (it gets hot! especially with that humidity in the south)
• Pack of gum
• Bottled water (as long as it's allowed, again festivals vary on rules)
• Wet napkins/tissues
• Small Snack (again if allowed)
•  Especially if you have kids a few band-aids wouldn't hurt to bring just incase.
• Hair tie(s), if you have long hair you understand and sometimes you just need to bring a back up.
• Poncho (just incase)
• You, your friends, and a plan to have fun!

I hope y'all enjoy all the amazing musicians and have a great time with your friends/family! Stay tuned for next weeks blog full of amazing outfits just for the festival season.

Every Size Has Their Struggle!

Why is skinny just as much of a struggle for some girls as overweight is to others? to clarify, I don't pretend to even know the first thing about being overweight and what it feels like. Honestly, I have no idea. However, I do know the struggles I have faced in my almost twenty three years with being a fun sized girl. I've been short (4'11 to be exact) and skinny for as long as I've been breathing. I also should clarify I'm pretty healthy for my age (besides eating some junk food). There are just some things you can't say or do when it comes to a persons body size and although I can't speak on anyone else's behalf, I wanted to bring to light what most petite girls I've encounter go through.

The fact that you got told you're 'so small' no matter how age you get and no matter how much someone sees you, they will tell you that or at least bring it up once.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, to many it's a compliment but to other girls it can just be a reminder of them not being able to fit half of the clothes they find that they like in their local mall. Just be mindful that it can get kind of old pretty fast when literally everyone and their mother tells them this.

Telling petite girls to put 'meat on their bones', or 'eat something' or even using 'only dogs love bones' will never be okay.
I grew up with hearing from various people they need to put meat on my bones and others would tell me to eat something countless times. Even if it's said with no disrespect, you should know it is disrespectful. Not to step on anyones toes here, I know a few of you who are reading this are guilty as charged, but it will never be okay. Say for instance, if you were bigger in size than me would it be okay if I told you to 'eat less'? My guess is no. I also have had to deal with a whole group of mean girls in my lifetime. Not just one many. I also see this in my newsfeed sometimes women who have a different body type will use the age old, 'only dogs love bones'. Why would anyone who is 'proud' and 'confident' need to attack other women for their body type. We need to be building each other up, not tearing each other down. Ladies, Men have different ideas of what is beautiful not just one body type, and if one doesn't think you're beautiful the way you are what business do you have being with a guy who doesn't appreciate you for who you are. Own it. Flaunt it. Just be respectful about it. I also think my husband likes me just the way I am if I do say so myself. ;)

The fact that you're cute when you're mad, and nobody takes you seriously.
Sometime's when people, like my husband, picks on me when I'm calling him a butt head, he'll call me cute because I'm feisty with him. That's cute. However, when I am explaining to whomever a very serious manner like about something they said or how it makes me feel, some people don't take me seriously and I don't think it's cute at all.  I'm 'too friendly' and judgement of I can't bring the hammer down when need be is clearly a factor I've had to face as well. Just like every blonde isn't dumb, every friendly, petite young girl isn't naive and isn't your welcome mat to step all over.

The fact that you're automatically 'anorexic' because you're a skinny minnie.
Just like 'only dogs want bones' or 'put more meat on your bones' this one is definitely the cake topper of disrespectful. Never under any circumstance call any skinny girl anorexic. Sometimes even if the person is going through something that traumatic, calling attention to in a rude way won't help, if you are concerned for their health talk to them one on one and then go from there to see if you can seek that person help, but DON'T embarrass them about it. If you do call someone anorexic to be mean spirited, then I'm telling you now it's rude and to cut it out.

'They (insert clothing brand/store here) don't cater to bigger women'
There isn't really a argument to know all sizes have their down falls and it's not a competition of how hard this one has over the other, but I can speak behalf of my size. I sometimes am an XXS and I can guarantee you if it's not a 00-Short jeans I can't fit them. Half of the time I will go into the kid section to find a certain item that is popular because I can't fit it at our local rue 21. Not that I expect everything to fit me perfectly, but I recall crying in the fitting room as a younger girl because I couldn't fit into most of the latest clothing craze without it feeling baggy. They might not cater to bigger women, but they certainly do not cater to the smaller women either. I hope they fix it for both of our sizes so we can all can finally be happy and not crying in a fitting room over it.

'Skinny doesn't need to be made over'
I am a huge YouTube watcher and I have some YouTubers I sit to watch their videos in my free time every few days. There is one in particular that I love but there was a vlog about her talking about the Nicki Minaj song, Anaconda, and the lyric in the song is 'f*** them skinny b******' and she goes on to say that skinny girls are already made over because it's always in the magazines and the media and she said let us have lyrics that make us thick girls feel empowered. I realize and understand where she is coming from, but some girls are just naturally skinny and we don't deserve to hear lyrics that tear us down. I'm all for writing good material that people relate to, but I try my best to be respectful of others as well. I don't feel like that song does a good job of that in my own opinion. I don't ask for my size to be commented on, I don't think any size really does, so my point in bringing this up is don't let a song or quote filled with hate make you feel empowered as a person, empower yourself by loving and respecting yourself and loving and respecting others. That's how you get respect as a person because your size is just a part of you and it's not all of you. Other people may have their opinions and be rude to you, but you can't control them, you can only control yourself and how you react towards them. Love yourself.

Bringing this blog to a close, it was not my intention to be little anyone else's daily problems they find within their size, it was only to show people who share the daily annoyance of my size that they are not alone. I'm rooting for all sizes to be able to live worry free and equally. I hope y'all have an amazing weekend & week!

XO