Ok, this past weekend was so much fun, I don't even know where to begin...so I'll start with the beginning :) DUH
Liz and Eric have the cutest little baby EVER. I told them that if anyone needs a model for a great Asian baby doll, they need to get a hold of Audrey. She is the sweetest, tiniest thing ever. I just love her and it was so hard leaving knowing that the next time I see her she will be so different and she will shrink away from me because I will be that "crazy lady who can't stop petting her". Thank you, Liz and Eric!! I had a great time! (((HUGS)))
Sunday morning, Hollie of Holliewood Studios picked me up and we headed to Anaheim. I have to say that Hollie is VERY cool. She's UBER cool, ya know? SO easy to talk to and we hit it off immediately! So, we got to the convention center and while Hollie was getting her badge, I saw Meredith in another line and we ran to each other! It should have been a beach and in slow-mo, but the convention center badge pick-up would have to do. :)It's kind of weird to be meeting for the first time after running a site together for 10 months! But it was fabulous and I was so sad to leave her! First stop was the Prima booth:
And then we ooh-ed and aah-ed over Meredith's yummy stuff at the booth! You should have seen people's reactions to her stamps and goodies! It was awesome!
Then we headed across the way and met up with the gals at Dream Street Papers. I'm kicking myself because I didn't get a photo with Amy Teets. She was just so awesome and funny and cool. Love that! However, I did get to squeeze on Audrey Neal! And she even got me a copy of the book she co-wrote Paper + Pixels and she signed it! she was such a sweetheart and I wish we could have had more time together. This is her, next to her line of papers! :)
We saw the MM booth and, as usual, they have the coolest stuff across the board. Slice was, by far, the coolest gadget I saw. If I still paper scrapped enough, I would've ordered one. It has this knife linked to a teeny computer inside that die-cuts all these awesome shapes. And the coolest thing...it's small. The cutting board is big, but the machine itself is small. And they also had some of my favorite paper collections...I don't really know what I was doing doing, though. I was so busy gawking at and fondling everything that I forgot to bust out the cam a lot. :)
Then we saw Heather Bailey's huge sign with her pretty little eyes poking out. Wish I could have had a chance to meet her. It would have went something like: "Hi, I'm Jan...remember? the snart?" And then we would have been instant BFF! ;)
Then I stopped to gape (mouth open and everything) at Elsie Flannigan's booth. I want one just like it for the girls...it would be the cutest playhouse ever and I would kick the girls out so I could live in it. Just kidding...sort of...
Meredith Fenwick, Sara Carling, Elsie Flannigan, Hollie Haradon, some chick
Isn't it adorable!?!?!? I even love the floor :) It's a happy place, for sure.
Ok, so then we're wandering along and we happen upon the CK booth and lo and behold, Jessica Sprague is there! So we stopped and chatted and she was showing us her Shutterfly book and Ali's and we're all ooh-ing and aah-ing and crackin' jokes and then all of a sudden we notice that none other than Miss Ali herself is sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HER. We notice her and she notices our group at about the same time and the reaction on our half was a sort of half scream, half inhale thing that was totally audible and I'm sure we sucked in everyone else's oxygen in the process creating an Ali vacuum. It was heaven. So, Meredith, in all her sweetness, wants me to show Jessica my portfolio (because, it too, is a Shutterfly book) and then Jessica gets Ali's attention and then, before I know it, Ali Edwards is holding my portfolio. Lemme repeat.
>>>>>>>>>>ALI EDWARDS IS HOLDING MY PORTFOLIO<<<<<<<<<<
DUDE. And not only is she holding it, she's looking through it and making cracks and she's making sure that Jessica Sprague is catching all the funny faces she's making and I almost died. So, Ali has my portfolio in her hands and Jessica has my camera in her hands and meanwhile, my inner dialog went something like this:
MY WORD FOR THE YEAR IS ALI AND I WANT TO STAY IN THIS BOOTH 4EVA AND BE YOUR BFF AND I WANT TO TAKE YOU HOME AND I LOVE YOUR SHIRT AND IF WE HADN'T JUST MET AND IF WE WERE ALREADY BFF, I WOULD TAKE YOUR SHIRT AND RUN AWAY CUZ YOU WOULD LET ME AND THIS PHOTO IS GONNA BE FABULOUS BECAUSE JESSICA IS A GODDESS.
It got a little ridiculous in the old noggin. But, any scrapper who knows Ali knows exactly why I reacted internally the way I did. So, I tried to contain myself and play it off like I was all cool, but everyone could see that I was on the verge of tears and Sara Carling is over there mouthing "lick her" because I was cracking jokes at lunch saying how I would actually do just that if I met her. Thank God I didn't. And then, as if that weren't enough, we told her we were the "Songbird Avenue" girls and, let me just say, that when Ali Edwards knows you...it's a hi. And when she puts her stamp of "cool" on your site, you suddenly feel right with the world. I just can't believe that poor Ali meets people like me. This woman is continually bombarded with psychos like me, who cannot handle being starstruck and who fight the urge to bear hug her and run away. She's a class act, that one. Totally cool and awesome. I'm so glad I wore heels...cuz I would have ended up having to talk to her badge. Who knew she was so tall? :)
So when we finally let her go and greet all the other drooling fans, I had a contact hi for about a half hour that left me with goosebumps and a PERMA-GRIN. Ali, I will never wash my portfolio again.
So, we headed off to find more pretties to stare at. Here are some more photos:
BasicGrey booth: Their papers are gorgeous and the displays are phenomenal.
I had to stop by the Anna Griffin booth. I have to admit, though, I can only take her stuff in moderation. I adore it, but I definitely have to mix it with something simpler or grungy. That's just me, though and I scrap like a caged monkey with a marker, so what kind of judge am I, really?
Then we headed back over to the CK booth to get a photo with Jessica Sprague and, of course, I didn't get one, but I love this one with Mer and Jessica! So cute! Jessica is really funny in that way that makes you want to hang with her all day. It was so awesome to meet her!
Then I got to hug on Sally and Josie of IOD fame. I stalked Sally and her sister until they broke down and gave me a CT spot. She was painting on some of her overlays and it was so beautiful! Kinda cool seeing her in her element and all. :)
I also got to meet Corina Nielsen and Traci Murphy who are both beautiful and ultra fab. And, of course, I am NOT ultra fab and I didn't get a photo! :( Then we wandered around some more and Sara rubbed on this cute puppy. We were total 8 year olds. Sara is an awesome person! I loved getting to know her and spending time with her! :)
Then we stopped by Paper Salon and ran into a bunch of gals! We blocked the whole hallway!
some chick, Meredith Fenwick, Robin Carlton, Andrea Graves, Sara Carling, Susan Bartolini, Christy Lyle, Tana Coleman
We later ran into Dani Mogstad and Traci Reed, but I don't have that HUUUUGE photo. Hopefully I can snag it from someone!
And then, unfortunately, I had to head out so I could catch my flight back. It sucked saying goodbye to everyone, but I just feel so lucky that I got to meet them!!
The flight home was excruciating...next time I think I'll need a longer break in between flights. My tush and piggies were aching the entire time. BUT when I got home, Colin was waiting for me at the train station and the girls were so excited. It's so nice to be greeted by 3 deliriously happy kiddos. Norah looked like she had been missing me. She had this huge smile on her face the whole ride home. I promised Lara I would go clothes shopping for her while I was in LA, so she was pretty excited to see what I brought back. Liz also got the girls some sweet little gifts and they were thrilled and kept saying "Liz is so nice!" She gave Norah a pair of jellies and I knew Norah would love them, but I didn't think she'd love them as much as she did. The child WENT TO SLEEP with them on. We got her ready for bed and she cried until the jellies were back on her toesies. She has been wearing them all day, too.
And, since I have my new camera, I thought I'd snap a few shots of the kiddos. Lara was still in bed, sawing logs at this point, so I'll have to snap one of her later. :)
Mia and Norah had so much fun posing for me. I think they're in awe of how big this camera really is. The lens itself is like 5 inches long. It takes amazing photos, though, and I don't regret buying it at all. At first I had buyer's remorse because I thought it was crazy expensive and I am super thrifty, but the photos are what did me in. They're just so...good.
So, holy cow, this has been my longest update ever. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I'm off to eat some lunch and snuggle with my kiddos. Ciao! :)
