Modeling for Tony Bowls in ATLANTA!

As you all know, Tony Bowls helped me design my dream dress for the national pageant, Miss Teen USA! He is truly an incredible person and he couldn't have done a more perfect job on my gown! When I had met Tony to design my dress, I tried on a variety of gorgeous gowns in all different colors and designs. All of Tony's designs are beautiful, so it definitely made it hard to choose what I wanted for my gown! Tony had a difficult time choosing what was best for me too! He couldn't believe that all of his sample gowns fit me so well. After we sealed the deal & sketched the PERFECT gown, Tony asked me to model for him! I was beyond excited! What an honor to model for one of the most famous designers! After Teen USA, Tony contacted me to model his 2011 collection in the Atlanta Apparel Market! This was so exciting to know that I would be one of the first to ever see & wear his designs. When it comes to gowns, Tony Bowls offers a unique look. The collections are fresh, gorgeous designs that include voluminous ball gowns, trendy formal gowns and playful special occasion gowns crafted by a world-renowned designer, Tony Bowls. All of his lines are different from the sophisticated collection of sexy, sleek gowns and modern special occasion gowns for the fashion-forward woman to the show-stopping, upscale collection of eveningwear that offers couture formal gowns and sophisticated styles designed with close attention to detail. It was honor to even wear these gowns, much less to actual model them for him!

I flew out to Atlanta for an entire week filled with runway shows & TONS of fun! The other models were the sweetest girls and we got along so great! All of us were past, present, and future titleholders so we all had that in common! We really had too much fun together which made the week even more exciting! Tony and his staff were just as amazing. They are such inspiring people and I am lucky to have met & had the opportunity to work with them. If it weren't for them, the shows would not have been as big of a success as they were! With Tony's absolutely incredible designs, the fun, upbeat music, the beautiful models, and the amazing runway, the shows couldn't have been better! We had so much fun dancing and strutting down the runway! I was in heaven up there! We had 2 to 3 shows per day and each were about an hour and a half long. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed every minute of it! From running back stage, ripping off the dresses and changing into the next, to kicking our heels off and switching them up, to getting our bodies baby powdered up to slide the dresses on faster...the week was priceless. If only the crowd could see the madness backstage! Haha, we had a blast though! After the shows, we got to shop till we dropped! The market was full of amazing clothing designers and awesome jewelry and accessories too! I was having a field day with all of the bargains! All of us models went to karaoke one night which was an absolute blast as well! Who knew we had 2 American Idols modeling with us! They were AMAZING! Instead of torturing the crowd with my singing, I decided to rap and teach everyone how to dougie! Haha! It was too much fun! The entire week was incredible and I will never forget it! The girls will be my friends forever and I am so lucky to have met each and every one of them!

This is the gorgeous Ashley Durham who was Tennessee Teen 2006 & just this past weekend won the title of the 2011 Miss Tennessee USA!!! Couldn't be more proud of her:)

Tony had picked 5 out of the 14 of us models to do a fun runway show for him the night before the real week of shows began! I am absolutely in LOVE with my gown! It has my name written all over it! I HAVE to introduce these beauties! The first one on the left is Ana who just recently won the title of the 2011 Miss Texas USA! She was preparing all week because she competed the weekend after the market. I knew she was going to win from the moment I met her. She is HILARIOUS! She brightened up my day everyday. We got along so well & I love her! I can't wait to see her compete at Miss USA along with the beautiful blonde, Ashley! They are both truly just as beautiful on the inside as they are the out! How exciting that they are best friends too and will get to compete at Miss USA together! The other beautiful brunette with the fun sparkly dress is Courtney! She was Miss Kansas USA 2009! She is one the sweetest girls I have ever met! Last but not least is Adrianna! We had so much fun together all week! She taught me some new dance moves that I brought back to Ohio! She will be competing for Miss Texas America this year as well! Can't wait to her about her success too!

This the beautiful Elena who just happens to be Miss Pennsylvania Teen 2010! We had a blast together at Teen USA, so I was beyond excited to see her again & get to work with her! This picture was taken right before our first show of the week! I have to credit Joel Green for the hot make up & hair!

The beautiful blues!

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS!! Team Tony Forever :)


Kayla aka the next Miss Arkansas USA (keep her in your prayers!) & Elena :)

The amazing Jayme Shaw! She was the designer of our swimsuits at Teen USA! Love her:)

After our night of karaoke! Best group of girls I could have spent the week with!

Hahahaha oh Joel!! He is hilarious! We had so much together!

He's the best :) Thanks for all your help Joel!

Haha I love Elena! DANCE PAARTY in our room :)

ALL of the gorgeous dresses I got to model :)

Hahaa my new best friend of the week, Brittany! She was the lucky one that got to dress me AND powder down my body when I would get sweaty from the constant changing! Too funny!

Love all these girls! On break before the next show!

All of the models after the final show :)

TEAM TONY! All the incredible dressers/staff :)

My Weekend in Cinci :)

A couple weeks after competing at Teen USA, I made a trip to Cincinnati for some exciting events! I stayed with the best sister queen/friend EVER, Amanda for the weekend. We woke up early Saturday morning and modeled in the Bridalrama fashion show for Bridal & Formal! We had a BLAST! We got to wear some gorgeous dresses & the people from Bridal & Formal are the best. They treated us so well & made the show so much fun. The event had some amazing vendors as well. The DJ they had was the best! He played my favorite, Michael Jackson all day for me! I think Amanda wanted to kill me by the end of the day because I kept making her walk by the DJ booth with me so I could dance to MJ! We modeled in two shows that day & at the end of both of them, Amanda & I got introduced as Miss Ohio and Miss Ohio Teen USA which was really exciting! In between shows, we got to sign autographs and take pictures too :)


Getting ready for the show :)

An adorable fan!

After the show!

Haha love this group :)

Since I was in Cinci for the whole weekend, of course we had to make a trip to the famous KINGS ISLAND!! We needed some quality sister bonding time & what better place to do it! We had so much fun together that day! We rode almost every ride there & Amanda introduced me to my very first Skyline coney dog! I'll admit, it was delicious! We also celebrated with some yummy ice cream too! We worked very hard all year, so we decided we deserved to have some fun & eat junk food! That night after we left Kings Island, we had a fun girls night with some Chinese food & watched our pageant on DVD to bring back the most incredible moment of our lives! We had so much fun reminiscing about the memories of the weekend & also making fun of ourselves haha! We certainly made some improvement throughout our year! I will never for that night though. I couldn't be more blessed & I believe that everything happens for a reason & I think that Amanda & I won together for a reason. She is seriously my best friend & will be for a lifetime!

My first CONEY! Had to catch it on camera haha

ice cream + sprinkles = heaven!

Only we would pose while on a ride haha love her too much!

The next day was even better! Amanda & I got to model for Saks 5th Avenue at the ATP Tennis Tournament! We got to wear some hot outfits! It was so awesome to get to wear the latest fashions & meet the New York designers. We also got to meet some of the professional tennis players that were competing. It was so exciting walking down the runway with such a huge crowd watching & getting to experience it with Amanda made it even better!

All of the models before the show!

One of the pro tennis players!

Altima Tan :)

A good friend of mine, Tim Freeman owns the tanning salon, Altima Tan. This is a high class tanning salon and a very popular one too! They have put a cozy, but classy touch to the salon. You will find that the decor is very natural and warm with wonderful aromas to create a relaxing environment for your ultimate tanning and massage experience. Altima Tan has been in business since 2007 and tans on average 260 people a day. Tim is an ardent supporter of tanning in moderation and tanning responsibly. I feel the same way about tanning and I respect him very much for making his customers aware of this. Once I was crowned Miss Ohio Teen USA, Tim had approached me shortly after to help back me up on my responsible tanning platform. Especially in pageants, girls think they have to be super dark and tan at all times and will tan everyday. I have been advising people of all ages during my reign to learn about their skin type, find out how much exposure their skin can accept without burning, protect their skin with protective lotions and ALWAYS wear safe, protective eye wear. I have also been educating people all over Ohio about the benefits of UV exposure past simply getting a bronze glow on the outside. Tanning does have its benefits and does make people look fabulous! Although, I think it is important for people to realize that they don't need to tan everyday to keep their glow. Moderation is key! I have had so much fun working with Tim this past year and he has helped me so much! It is so cool to walk into the salon and see posters of myself hanging all around! He has made me feel like the celebrity that I always wanted to be! People are always stopping me and telling me they saw a huge poster of me hanging in the plaza, saw my picture in ads in the newspaper, and even on coupons! Also, at my send off party to Miss Teen USA, I was presented with an award for the goodwill ambassador of the year for safe tanning! He really is the best just like his salon!

MISS TEEN USA 2010 in Bahamas!

I once had a dream of becoming the new Miss Ohio Teen USA and I was willing to do anything to make that dream come true. I stayed true to myself, worked to the best of my ability, took in every moment, and had the time of my life throughout my entire journey. On October 10, 2009, my dream turned into a reality! I will NEVER forget that moment when the crown was placed on my head and I heard my name announced as the 2010 Miss Ohio Teen. From that moment on, my life had changed forever.

This past year has been almost like a fantasy for me. This is the life I have dreamed of ever since I was little girl and I can't believe all of the amazing opportunities I have gotten to experience. From the moment I had been announced Miss Ohio Teen USA, I had a new goal and dream. I worked very hard all year all while having the time of my life! All of my training sessions, photo shoots, appearances, and work outs were all leading up to the moment I had been waiting for all year....MISS TEEN USA!

I traveled all the way to Nasseau, Bahamas with my amazing family and support group! The first day I arrived, I was able to relax and spend time with the most incredible family anyone could wish for in the beautiful Bahama weather. Unfortunately, the relaxation with my family was short lived. I woke up early the following day and checked in to the beautiful Atlantis with all of the other titleholders. This was a free day for the queens to get checked in, unpack, eat, and hang out with one another. Miss Michigan Teen, Catherine McGhee was my roommate! Not only was she my roommate, but she is also my sister state! We unpacked our things together, hung up our dresses, laid out our heels and jewelry, and were off to meet the other queens! I made friends with so many incredible girls that night and we all shared a nice healthy buffet together! The food at the Atlantis was DELICIOUS! We all hung out and laughed together while walking around the gorgeous resort. Although none of us wanted to end the fun, we knew we had to get to bed early for the anticipation of our first morning of rehearsal for Teen USA!


My beautiful view :)




The entire week was filled with countless hours of rehearsals. Kent is the choreographer for Teen USA, so obviously the opening number dance and walking patterns were AMAZING just like him! The opening number dance is my favorite part! The dance was so much fun and I got to stand right in the center :) I rocked it out and had a blast learning and performing it all week. The week wasn't only just about the early morning and late night rehearsals, we also got to experience some fun and exciting events! There was a welcome cocktail party for all the contestants and their families. The dinner was superb and it was so nice to see my family and meet all of my new friends families as well! It was such a warm feeling to be apart of something so special. After the cocktail reception, we got to dance the night away at the teen dance club in the Atlantis!! If you know me at all, you will know that I LOVED this! I had SO much fun! We also got to tour the world famous Atlantis resort. The resort is absolutely beautiful and there are so many things to do there. I wish I could have stayed an extra week to experience all of the fun activities! It was such an amazing feeling walking through the resort and having people stop and ask for autographs and pictures! I felt like a real celebrity! Unfortunately, we had strict security and we weren't allowed to stop most of the time. The security made me feel like a superstar too! I've never had a personal body guard follow me around! It was definitely a new and exciting experience!


First morning before rehearsals!


SC! Megan & I met at the titleholder
retreat back in February and we were
instantly friends! We have to much fun
together! We had a blast in Vegas &
then even more fun in the Bahamas :)


The beautiful queens before the cocktail party!




Dancing the night away with the girls!


The beautiful West Virgina, Ally & I after rehearsal!

After long hours of hard work and fun, the night we all had been waiting for FINALLY arrived! On July 23rd, I competed in the Preliminary competition for Miss Teen USA 2010. I worked it out and strutted my stuff down the runway! I had so much fun and I felt like a truly shined on stage! It such an exhilarating feeling hearing my name and state called out, then seeing a huge audience cheering me on! I felt like all of my hard work had paid off and I did the best I could! Every single contestant looked absolutely gorgeous and were STUNNING on stage! I've never seen a group of more beautiful girls in my life. It was a true honor to have met and bonded with each one of them. I know that there are some girls that will be life long friends of mine! After competing in prelims, we woke up the next morning for interviews and more rehearsing for the FINAL NIGHT! I had so much fun in the interview. I just acted like my complete self and enjoyed meeting the judges! You never know what they are looking for, so I just stayed confident and hoped for the best on the night of the 24th! Finals night was the night we performed the opening number! That moment was indescribable! I can't even explain how much fun I had. Immediately after was time for the top 15 to be called. We were all so nervous and were hoping to hear our name and state called, but unfortunately, there are only 15 spots. Even though I didn't hear my name, I still can look back at my experience as the greatest time of my life. I am so proud of all of my friends that made it so far especially to the new Miss Teen USA, Kamie Krawford! I know she will do an amazing job and make our country proud!


Kandis!! or as I like to call "Okie" We had too much fun together all week! Love her!


Haha! My OHIO glasses that my amazing sister got me :) Love you Amanda!


Diamond Nexus Group :) Miss this!


My best friends before evening gown competition :)


Swimsuit Competition!

After the show was over, I got to see my beautiful family, my incredible director Melissa, my gorgeous sister Amanda, and my dance teachers who came to support me! I had the best fan club there! These are the people that have been behind me cheering me on throughout my entire year. I knew no matter what the result was, they would still be so proud of me and continue showing their support. Melissa has impacted my life in a way no one else in the world ever could. She is truly the most incredible person I have ever met and I would have never grown into the person I am now without her. She was there to tell me how proud she was of me and my performance! My parents, aunts, sister, and my baby nephew were all there showing me their love and care as well. Seeing their smiling faces after the show meant the world to me! My Irish dance teachers from Michigan and Chicago also traveled all the way to see me! I have grown up with Tim O'Hare who is the owner of my dance school and Megan Sanders who is a highly recognized dance teacher in my dance school as well. They have been behind me in not only dance, but in everything I have ever done in my life. They have always told me to shoot for the stars and DREAM BIG! They couldn't have been more proud of me and I am so happy they were there! Of course it was a pleasure to see my stunning sister queen, Amanda too! She has been my back bone throughout my entire journey and I truly couldn't have been blessed with a better Miss to share my year with!

Overall, I have grown up so much and have learned so many things about myself that I never knew before. I have met countless incredible people that have impacted my life in such a positive way and so many doors have opened for me throughout my journey. Now I can only look to my future and keep working hard while staying true to myself to reach more success in my life. I thank God everyday for blessing me with this once in a lifetime opportunity and I am anxious to see what he has in store for me in the future!

Rima's Homecoming to MICHIGAN!

Hi everyone!! I know I have been way behind, but I HAVE to update you on all of the exciting things that have been happening! One of them being our absolutely amazing Miss USA, Rima Fakih's Homecoming to her hometown in Michigan. Amanda and I traveled to Detroit, Michigan together for a fun little road trip to see our sister...who just happens to be Miss USA! The event was held in downtown Detroit at the $200 million remodeled Westin Book Cadillac Italian Renaissance hotel. The hotel was beautiful and had top notch decorations for our wonderful Rima. Right when Rima captured the title of Miss USA, her new journey in life quickly took action. After a whirlwind tour including visits to China and New York after her crowning, The Pink Fund hosted a much-needed homecoming for her. Rima looked like a goddess. She is so beautiful and the party was everything she could have ever dreamed and more. Everyone that was close to her heart was there showing their support for her as she took a step into her new journey which was Miss Universe! We danced and socialized all night and had SO much fun! I will never forget that night and it will always be close to my heart. I couldn't be more proud of Rima. I am truly honored to have spent my year as Miss Ohio Teen with her. She has taught me so much and deserves every ounce of her success. She is the most beautiful, friendly, loving, down to earth, and funniest person you will ever meet. I have never met anyone who has all those qualities balanced in one package. I will always be her number one fan! After the party, Amanda and I went straight to sleep! We were so tired after the eventful night. We woke up the next morning for some more sister bonding! We went shopping all day and she pumped me up for Teen USA! I love her so much and I can always count on her to make me smile. Whenever I need anything, she is there with me in a heartbeat and we will be sisters/best friends for life!

The Fabulous Four :)
Haha dancing & have a great time with some of
Rima's friends & of course the fabulous CHESTER :)

One of the most incredible women in the world!
LOVE YOU RI <3>

Send Off Party!

I am truly the luckiest girl in the world to have been blessed with the most incredible family and friends anyone could ever wish for! My Mom never ceases to amaze me, but this time, she completely outdid herself! A few weeks before I am leaving to compete for Teen USA in the Bahamas, I ask my Mom, "So are we going to have a send off party for me?!" Since we are new to the pageant world and how everything works, she had no idea that people had send off parties haha. She was confused on what I even meant, but she went above and beyond and threw together the best party! My aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and friends all came together for me and helped out to make the party a success. My Uncle Kevin works at the University of Akron as the equipment manager which means he works a lot with the sports teams and events at the University. He came through for me and rented out the Press Level at the brand new Infocision stadium! It was perfect! The stadium is huge and one of the nicest places I have ever seen. It was so nice to have the University of Akron support me and honor me by having it there. I love Akron and proud to be a Zip! My aunts came together and got some delicious appetizers and drinks for the occasion. They also went on numerous shopping sprees with my mom picking up decorations! I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in to the party to see posters of me hanging up, a big sign that said "Bridget Linton Miss Ohio Teen USA", a plethora of food and drinks, adorable tables with Hawaiian necklaces (representing Bahamas haha)on them along with my autograph cards for people to take,and my family running around making sure everything looked perfect! One of my great friends, Erin who made me my birthday cupcakes made a GORGEOUS cake for me! It was absolutely beautiful all glitzy and glamorous! She knows me too well and knows what I like! Also, there was a table set up with plain white puzzle pieces laid out for people to write a little good luck note on, for me to put the puzzle together and always remember who was there to support me on my journey to Miss Teen USA! I loved this idea and wasn't shocked to hear that Laura Spray came up with it and set it up for me. Laura Spray is who I like to call my "second mother." I literally call her Mom, never Laura or Mrs.Spray! I grew up with the Spray family through being best friends with both Adam and Kevin Spray. Adam is in my grade and Kevin is a year older. They have been such great friends to me and have ALWAYS supported me in everything I do. I know I can look to them for anything and they will be there for me. "Mom" has been nothing but so gracious and amazing. She has always treated me as I were her real daughter and spoils me! She's too great to me! I truly love the entire family and am so lucky to have them. The party then started at 7 and I was shocked to see how many important people in my life were able to fit me into their schedule and come to support me. The party was very last minute, but it was really the best party I could have ever wished for. All of my family and best friends were there and I just felt so blessed. People went up to the microphone and said the kindest words about me. They really brought tears to my eyes. After hearing what they had to say, I realized that I didn't care about the result of Teen USA because I already have had the most incredible journey and have grown up so much this past year preparing for this. I knew I was ready to walk on that stage knowing that I was going to be the best that I could be knowing that I had all of them behind me. Overall, my send off party was more than a success and really made me realize how lucky I really am!

I LOVE my food :)
The most amazing woman in the world and the one I can
thank for the greatest party! Love you Mom :)

I love this family too much! Some of the Irish dancers
that I teach :) We have some future Miss Ohio Teens
right here!

The CUTEST little man in the whole world!
Notice his onesie....it says "Good Luck Aunt Bridgie"
I love him too much!
Some of my best friends that came to see me off!
This group of gorgeous girls with me are my absolute
best friends!! I don't know what I would do without them
in my life! Look at them...any one of them could be Miss USA!

My handsome Pap!My 2nd family...the Spray's!!My two mini mes! They are just as crazy and outgoing as me
& LOVE the spotlight! I gave them the crowns off my cake
so they could be queens for the night too!

Hahaha! Just being funny & reliving the moment
my dream came true!