Branching into the Team Roping world.....via Allen Bach Roping!

Well hello SJ fans and followers! If you follow me on FB or through my online store, you will know that I have been plenty busy bringing in and creating new designs for the spring time. This is a very exciting time for me, because I personally L-O-V-E all the bright colors and flowers that come along with spring time! Butttt.....back to the main reason that I am blogging....

Last Thursday evening, I received an unknown phone call. This of course is not unusual, especially since my customers are located all over the world, but this was a phone call that caught my attention. It was from a young lady named April. She is the daughter of Allen Bach. It's okay if you do not know who he is (I actually didn't realize who he was at first either)! But, here is a little information on Mr. Bach: He is a 4 time PRCA Champion and a 30 time qualifier to the National Finals Rodeo. He has won almost every Team Roping or Rodeo at least one time. But, his real fame might come from his gift and talent to teach and instruct ropers all over the world. He teaches roping clinics all over the country, as well as Canada, Brazil and Israel. So in my lingo........HE IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL!

Mr. Bach's daughter, April, works for him full time focusing on marketing and public relations. Allen Bach Roping hosts summer camps called "Camp of Champions". This camp is very prestigious and hard to get in to, as the ropers have to apply and be reviewed before accepted to attend. This year will be the first ever ALL GIRLS camp. So, this is where Southern Jewlz comes in! April called me asking if I was interested in being a sponsor. Of course with building up a business and trying to make SJ as well-known and prestigious as I want it to be, I said yes. But, little did I know, there would only be ONE jewelry sponsor for the girls camp. So, as soon as I realized what a huge deal this could be, I made sure to shoot April an offer she couldn't turn down, or at least what I thought was a pretty good deal. Needless to say.....IT WORKED!!! Straight from her email, here is what April said, "I am excited to say that you will be Allen Bach's Camp of Champions (girls only) jewelry sponsor for 2010! What sold us was you as a person and your story. I think all girls should feel like a princess too ;)"

So, the Southern Jewlz banner will now be hung in Mr. Allen Bach's arena! They are also going to use SJ items as prize give-a-ways to all the girls that attend the camp. Also, the SJ website and logo will be linked onto Mr. Bach's website at www.allenbachroping.com, the camp's website at www.forevercowboys.com, as well as Mr. Bach's personal facebook and the "Camp of Champions" facebook.

The camp is going to be May 23-27 in Graham, TX. I more than likely will be traveling down there one evening to give a presentation to the young ladies, not only on fashion, but more importantly about my personal story, life and overall success in general. Anyways, I am really excited about this opportunity and wanted to share it. I will conclude with a quote from April about her father.

"There are not many men in the world like my dad. He is faithful to his family, friends, and commitments and he always made time to spend with his children, even if he was really tired. I have never seen him give up, and he has always made me feel like I could do anything. No, he is not perfect, but I would say he has the most important things down. His priorities: God first, family second, and then everything else." - April Bach Patterson

So, here are a few pictures of the famous Mr. Allen Bach!

An Aggie Fun-Filled Weekend

Hello SJ Fans and Followers! This past weekend, April 17-18 was the Annual Parent's Weekend at Texas A&M University. It has almost been an entire year since I graduated from TAMU. It is still a bittersweet feeling, because those 4 years were honestly the best days of my life! The rewarding part about it all is the fact that I still live in College Station and play an active role in the Animal Science Department, The Beef Center and the Saddle and Sirloin Club (due to all of my fabulous friends and role models!)

So, I figured I should share a little bit about this past weekend and my career at Texas A&M in the blog this week. Saddle and Sirloin is the largest club at the University and its primary focus is the promotion of animal agriculture through meetings, career opportunities, socials, community service events and supporting the judging teams. I served as an officer for 3 years while I was a member of the club, those being Treasurer, Sweetheart and President.

My friend, Dustin Burke, who was also an S&S member and fellow livestock judging team member, headed out the the Little Southwestern Showmanship Contest, Cookoff and Ham Auction taking place at Louis Pearce Pavilion on Friday night. We had a fun time watching all the members compete in the showmanship competition, enjoyed the yummy food cooked by all the cook-off teams, and even bought a few items in the Auction. Burke and I split some brownies baked by Jeannie Smith, mother of Jennifer Ann Smith (Current S&S Officer and dear college friend of mine). I also bought a photo session from an officer who is starting up his own photography business, so look for those in the near future!

On Saturday morning, I headed over to the Washington County Fairgrounds in Brenham to judge a Texas Junior Brangus Show. For those followers who don't already know--I grew up actively showing Brangus cattle and am still a breeder raising show heifers. Tanner's mom and little sister came to watch me, since Tanner was busy working at the Beef Center preparing for the 1st Annual Production Sale. Also, Tanner's little sister, Emily, is a new Junior Brangus member and will be showing a "Royal Genetics" bred Brangus heifer this next year.

Saturday evening was the Spring Banquet, and even though this event takes sooooo long since there is so much business to cover, but I still went to support some dear friends, see old Animal Sciene Alumni and enjoy the Pork Loin prepared by the Meats Judging Team. Also, I am proud to say that Ashleigh Sowell (my brother's girlfriend) was selected as the Outstanding Freshman of the club and Emily Huskinson (a dear S&S friend and SJ model) was selected as the Outstanding Sophomore of the club! Yay!

After the banquet, the 2009 Livestock Judging Team dunked their rings together at Pearce Pavilion. This of course brought back memories from our ring dunk which was this same weekend a year ago. Some other members of my livestock judging team along with my favorite roomie Mandi McDaniel all dunked our rings together! But, it was fun to see a lot of old friends and parents at the ring dunk! And a shout out to Devin Felger (my favorite Rodeo Queen) for sharing her super awesome Peach Smoothie drink with me that night.

And the last event of the weekend was the 1st Annual TAMU Beef Center Production Sale. I was very proud to see Mr. Paul Maulsby (Beef Center Manager) pull off a very successful first sale. Tanner worked all weekend at the beef center preparing the cattle, keeping them nicely presented to be viewed, and working in the back during the week.

Now on to some pictures, rather than rambling....

This is Emily and I at the Little Southwestern Showmanship Contest watching Devin!

Below you will see the absolute cutest dressed rookie sheep showman: Miss Devin Felger!

This is my new favorite picture of Tanner and I. It was taken right after the S&S Ham Auction on Friday evening.

This is a picture of my family and I after the S&S Banquet last year. I was awarded as the Outstanding Senior and won the Brewer Award, which is awarded to the top senior in the Animal Science Department each spring.

This is a shot of us right before we dunked our rings last year. From left is Luke Neumayr (check out his blog at www.outlittleranchintexas.blogspot.com), Shelly, Mandi, myself, Burke, and Kari Bailes.

This is a shot of Dr. Hussey (Dean of College of Ag) and myself last year at Ag Convocation. I received a Senior Merit award.


But even after I shared all of this from my time at TAMU, I am soooo glad that I pursued Southern Jewlz full time, rather than taking any of job or staying in graduate school. Until the next blog........peace, love and jewlz!

Paying Attention to the SJ Facebook Pays Off!

Okay SJ fans and followers, this blog post will be a little bit short and rather boring, as there will be no pictures posted. I have been really busy managing the online store, shipping out orders, and scheduling shows for the rest of 2010, but I haven't forgotten about the blog.

This morning, I just had a regular 'ol "Monday morning feeling". You know, where you feel blah, not really too excited about the day, wishing you were still in bed, or that it was Sunday, etc. So, I decided to liven the day up just a bit. I went into my handy-dandy SJ online store (by the way, I am completely in love with it and would love to thank Catherine at the RHD office for leading me in the right direction) and I created my very first coupon code. It was a discount of 15% off any purchase made today, by midnight (that is right now, ahhhhh I should be in bed). And of course I named it the "Just Because It's Monday" discount. Needless to say, it was a very big success, both for SJ and our happy customers who saved a bit of money!

So, this is just me reminding all of our fans and followers out there to always be checking the SJ facebook page. You never know what kind of fun I will come up with and decide to share with the SJ fan club.

And while I'm on the subject of facebook, be sure to check out our April promotional. Anyone and everyone is welcome to nominate their mom as the "SJ mom of the month" by posting on our "Fan Wall." The really cool part about it all, is that YOU (that's right, the SJ fans and followers), will decide the winner! The post with the most activity (likes and comments) at the end of the month will win a $50 store credit just in time to be redeemed before Mother's Day. Even if you don't nominate your mom, please take some time out to read the other nominations. There are some pretty special moms out there!!!!

Until my next blog, remember to stay fabulous. If you wake up feeling "blah", just throw on a big pair of earrings, a few more bracelets, and maybe some crystals or pearls around your neck (if you don't have any, I think we could hook you up), and then you will be rock-star ready to conquer the day!

SJ Home Party along with "My Vintage Baby"

Well hello SJ fans and followers! I of course have continued to stay extremely busy after Rodeo Austin. Between organizing inventory, working on orders to get shipped out, creating new designs, and hosting some home shows --- well, you can imagine, there is barely time to breath!

I had the pleasure of hosting a home show in Houston last Thursday at the home of Michelle Goss. Michelle and I actually just met through FB! She had ordered some items from me, but she sells "My Vintage Baby" and was going to be hosting a show to launch the new Spring Apparel line, so i joined in with her.

Michelle and her husband have a beautiful little girl, a beautiful house and what seems to be a fairy tale life. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet her and visit with her and her husband after our party.

So for all of my followers out there who have little ones (they also carry a boys line!), check out these adorable clothes. These were some of my personal favorites. And if you are interested in "My Vintage Baby", I will be glad to put you in contact with Michelle!