We Aim To Slay

Some of you may know that I have been competing in pageants since I was 11 years old, and not long after me, my mom and sisters also started competing. But, this is the first time that two members of our family hold national titles at the same time, in the same system!

On July 11th, my mom, Stacey, was crowned the American Women of Service Classic 2024 – the same day I was crowned International Women of Service Mrs 2024!

Earlier this month we traveled to Pennsylvania on our first joint appearance! It was so nice to be reunited with long time pageant and family friends while judging the Miss American Nation and Miss Culture Galaxy Pageants.

What I Packed

Before leaving, I had to breakout my new I.A.W.P. luggage set and fill it to the brim with all pageant essentials!

Jumping on the “Paging Dr. Beat” trend on Instagram, I asked my followers which of these four dresses should make an appearance with me! Which dress would you have picked? Let me know in the comments below!

Other pageant essentials included my crown and sash, several pairs of shoes, makeup and lipstick, a steamer, and several tripods. But in true Taylor form, I brought very few “regular” clothes: only two pairs of shorts and two shirts. Lol! We hit the road around dinner time on Friday, arriving at The Chateau Resort around 10 o’clock pm, checking in and heading straight to bed!

Day One

The first competition we judged was the Miss Culture Galaxy interview portion, and we dressed acordingly!

I wore my interview dress – from Venus – and my mom wore a magenta, one shoulder dress. Interview is my favorite area of competition to judge because it allows you to really get to know the woman standing in front of you!

After a quick lunch at Zack’s Taco Shack – more on that further down – we headed back to The Chateau Resort for a quick outfit change before heading back to the ballroom. It was time to judge the on stage competitions and crown the new Miss Culture Galaxy Queens!

From there, we had the pleasure of meeting up with our sister queen, International Women of Service Sweetheart 2024, Chelsea, for an evening of bonding over a bite to eat. We kept it casual for our dinner at Barley Creek Brewing, and the only photo we took is this blurry selfie, but I’m so excited to spend this year with her!

Then we finished off the evening with the interview portion of the Miss American Nation pageant – and yes, there was an outfit change, but I only have this mirror selfie (I’m wearing the DKNY dress I got at the Renee’s Resale Ladies Night event!).

And before I knew it, we were taking off our heels and headed to bed!

Day Two

This was the final day of competition – the on stage portion and crowning for the Miss American Nation pageant! Mom and I had to have a twinning moment in our custom Johnathan Kayne opening number dresses from our pageant in July!

This adorable dress has a base of black velvet, with the pattern made of iridescent, purple and blue sequins. But the best part of this dress is that it’s customizable! It features detachable Juliet sleeves, and a cape that attaches to the single shoulder strap!

During the I.A.W.P opening number I chose to wear all three attachments, but for this event I only wore the Juliet sleeves. My mom chose to take off all three attachments, and added a rhinestone pin that said “Judge”!

And, after a successful crowning ceremony, we headed back down to Zack’s Taco Shack for our second round of tacos before making the drive back home!

Zack’s Taco Shack

This was my second time staying at this resort; the first time was in 2021, when I judged the 10th anniversary Miss American Nation pageant and the Miss Culture Galaxy pageant. Between competitions, one of the other judges and I made our way down the mountain to Zack’s Taco Shack. I instantly fell in love, so much so, that I have been talking about coming back to this area just to introduce my favorite people to these tacos!

I’ve never met a taco I didn’t like, and these homemade tacos may rank highest of all so I had to take my mom to the taco stand – twice! Not only is each taco made to order from fresh ingredients, they’re incredibly affordable! And who doesn’t enjoy eating outside?!

What Do You Think?

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso

One of the things I love most about being a part of the International and American Women of Service organization is just that – service. I’ve spent a good amount of time this year talking to you about the ways I enjoy giving back, and for me, it’s always been acts of service.

I.A.W.P and our International Platform, Crown of Service, are dedicated to supporting all forms of service, supporting all contestants and titleholders in their efforts to make the world a better place, and I think that’s really special.

It was my honor to give my time to these truly incredible women competing for the titles of Miss American Nation and Miss Culture Galaxy. Each of them are working diligently to make their communities a better place for all; and at the end of the day, that’s what pageantry is all about. In my own way, this blog is small act of service – I hope to share information and resources that make your everyday life a little bit easier, and filled with a little bit of SLAY energy!

As always, let me know in the comments what you thought of my outfits from my trip to The Poconos! I’ll be back next week to walk you through my updated curly hair routine. And, I’ll be going live this Saturday at 9:00 am EST., to show you exactly how I apply my pageant-perfect makeup! Join me on my official titleholder Facebook page, International Women of Service Mrs!

Have a great rest of your week, and remember to SLAY!