Saturday Sessions: Kristyn from Chits and Giggles & Giveaway

Welcome to another Saturday Session. Today, we have Kristyn from Chits & Giggles. I love Kristyn's blog. She shares everything from book reviews, photoshop how-tos, blogging tips and everything in between. I love her book reviews and her Between the Lines link-up. 

1.    Describe your blog and why did you start blogging?

My blog is called Chits & Giggles and I blog about our wedding, blogging tips, and everything in between.  I started my blog because I got bored on the weekends when my husband was working nights.  I didn't have anything to do, so why not start a blog?  And now, 3 years later, it has become a wonderful space for community and tips and tricks.

2.    What do you do when you’re not blogging?

I love to travel, so when I am not blogging, I am either working or planning our next trip.  We have such a long list of places we want to go, so we need to start planning them all now - right?  

3.    You say that food is your favorite thing -- even before your hubby! If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?

Ooh.  My favorite meal would either be a lobster dish or a steak dish.  I ate so much lobster when we were in Maine, but it was so delicious that I would love to have it as my last meal.  I have always been a steak girl, so that is also on my list.  I can't decide between the 2, so I guess I will have 2 last meals.  They allow that, right?

4.    When you started blogging, you wanted to turn your blog into a book. Are you still thinking of doing that?

Back then, I was just blogging to blog.  I didn't realize what the community was like and I just wanted to document my life.  I am still sort of doing that, but I don't know if I would still turn it into a book.  It's become so much more than I could have ever imagined it was 3 years ago, so it would be one really long book!

I wouldn't mind doing it, but I would like to pick and choose the posts that get turned into a book.

5.    If you were to meet any famous person in real life, who would it be and why?

Colin Firth.  I have loved him for a very long time and I would love to meet him in real life.  He's an amazing actor and just seems like a great human being.  I would love to meet him.

5.    What are your favorite posts that you've written!

Our wedding ceremony

That post where I wear a bikini

Why I’m not a fashion blogger

Our wedding video — it’s beautiful!

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It's time for the best giveaway ever again...that's right, our famous/infamous ad space giveaway! I teamed up with 17 other bloggers to giveaway a total of twenty-three (that's right, TWENTY-THREE) ad spaces!  That means that 23 lucky readers will walk away with FREE ad space, no strings attached!  The spaces being given away range from 200x200 spots to in-post ads, and are from bloggers you've all heard of and love!

Classy, Sassy, & a Bit Smartassy // Wife Mommy Me // Southern Hope // Sage // The Jessa Olson Blog // All the Joys Whimsical September // Sea Salt Secrets // Love the Here and Now // Alanna & Company // Yellow Door Diaries Everyday Thoughts // T.O. & fro // That Southern Mama // Keeping Up with Ashley and Cody // Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilletos // Southern Beauty Guide // The So-Called Homemaker

The rules are pretty simple:
1. Open to everyone, including our out-of-country friends!
2. All entries will be verified. Although we are saving you some time by not asking for your username for Instagram, Bloglovin', etc., your entry will be verified before you can be declared a winner. If one of your entries cannot be verified, you will be disqualified completely!
3. One ad space per winner...that means there will be a total of 23 unique winners from this giveaway!

Enter below and best of luck to you all! 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Saturday Sessions: 5 Things You Have to do When Visiting San Antonio

Hello all! My name is Brittany; I blog over at Your Friend, Brittany and I'll be taking over Alanna & Company today! Before I get started on my post I just wanted to say a quick hi and give you a bit of info about my blog. Your Friend, Brittany is a lifestyle blog where I discuss any and everything I'm interested in. I wanted to have a space where I could discuss books, pop culture, my personal life, and anything else I wanted to share. My hope was that the space would be fun, inviting, and interesting and that it would spark conversation with readers and that the conversation would be an easy one, just like with friends; hence the name. I also have a street style/fashion blog on Tumblr called BritBritLand. If you get a chance I hope you'll stop by one of the blogs and say hi! Now let's get to my post! 

5 Things You Have to do When Visiting San Antonio: Kid Free Edition

The Pearl Brewery

There is lots of history about The Pearl  but the short version goes like this: The Pearl was a brewery, it shut down, then San Antonio decided to be awesome and turn into a wonderful space with shops, restaurants, a soon to be opening hotel, and condos and it's WONDERFUL. You can find a list of all the places in The Pearl here but my favorites are Southerleigh, Blue Box, Arcade Midtown Kitchen, and Cured (for Saturday brunch). Southerleigh is the newest addition and I don't know if it's even on the list of places yet but it's amazing!! And they have wine on tap; the end.

The wine on tap at Southerleigh

Float the River

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OK, neither of these is technically in San Antonio but it's less than 30 minutes away and floating the river is one of the best things about summer in TX. People drive from all over the state to come float either the Guadalupe or the Comal.  You drink, you float, you make friends with strangers who offer to share their cooler of alcohol with you and you get to stop at Buc-ee's on your way to and from the river; you basically live the dream.

Eat, Eat, and Eat Some More

You can have the GIANT pizza at Big Lou's, the giant cinnamon roll at Lulu's, amazing breakfast at Magnolia Pancake Haus, some fine dining at The Cookhouse or Cured or Boiler House or Southerleigh or anywhere in The Pearl really, have BBQ have Smoke Shack or Coopers (go here after river floating) or eat your weight in Mexican food. Basically this is Texas and in Texas we love our food and we've got lots of great options here in San Antonio so do not waste your time eating at chain restaurants; there are too many other options to try!

If You Need a Food and Drink Break

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If you're looking for something a bit more cultured or at least need a break from drinking and eating there are tons of other options! Obviously you can visit the Alamo but you can also check out river boat tours through downtown SA! There's also the San Antonio Museum of Art, The Witte, and The McNay for museums. If you want a bit more fun there's a Ripley's Believe It or Not right across from the Alamo (strange I know). We've also got the Natural Bridge Caverns (super fun but not for anyone who may be claustrophobic!) and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, the Historic King William District, and more! I've included a pretty extensive list of historical places in San Antonio below.

Historic Sites & Landmarks

Drink!

A margarita float, y'all! And now we're on to the important stuff! Drinking! OK, maybe not the important stuff but a good part of any trip is having a few cocktails! San Antonio has so many wonderful places you can try but for the sake of not making this entire post about alcohol I'll only list a few. Beer Lovers: The Friendly Spot, Alamo Brewing Co, The Cove, Big Hops, Stella Public House, Southerleigh *All of these except Alamo Brewing and Big Hops serve wine as well and Stella has a small liquor selection. Craft Cocktails: Blue Box, Stay Golden Social House, Park Social, The Last Word and Juniper Tar This is Random but it Works: Halycon-a coffee house that also has brunch on the weekends and serves alcohol. They have an amazing brunch margarita! Restaurants with Good Bars: Taco Garage (this is the place where I got a margarita flight!), La Gloria, Hofbrau (they have like 20 something versions of a margarita with something in it, see photo below), Arcade Midtown Kitchen

San Antonio is one of those places that people tend to forget about when talking about Texas. You've got Dallas, Houston, and Austin so why visit San Antonio but I've got to tell you, San Antonio is great! I have lived in a few places around the state and I have to say that San Antonio is one of my favorites. It's also worth noting that I've heard from friends with kids that this is also a really kid friendly place to visit (both The Cove and The Friendly Spot allow kids and have playgrounds) so if you have kids you should definitely look into some of those options. Now that you know a little about me and a lot about San Antonio I hope you'll consider visiting both my blog and this great city! 

*All photos, unless otherwise noted, are my own.

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