bloggers & blizzards

wow, sorry for the radio silence! last week, jack and i went to salt lake city so i could attend the altitude design summit, a conference for design bloggers.

we arrived a day and a half early so there was lots of time for important stuff like in n out, playdates with long lost friends, and a random visit with my mom & sister while they were in town.

i kid you not, this is the ONLY picture we got -- out of a looot of tries -- where you can see most/part of everyone's faces. oy, toddlers! :

then it was time to get down to business. ALT was a-maz-ing and i was so, so happy to be there. if we're grading my performance at alt based on my CONNECT new year's resolution, i'd definitely say i nailed it -- saw old friends, made new ones, got some new biz going, and hung out with some freaking awesome people. [for example: anya from project runway / brooke white from american idol / dooce / design mom / ben from pinterest.] if you want to know more about the trip, check out my top five moments of alt on my stationery blog.

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me & ben, founder of pinterest! he may look happy in this photo, but i'm pretty sure he hated his life at that moment. after his incredible keynote speech, bloggers lined up down the hallway to meet him. let's just say i'm even MORE of a pinterest fan now than i was before.

me & brittany from one charming party -- i'm SO lucky to have a client who has become a good friend! we hung out the whole week and i loved it. 

anya is sooo pretty and nice. i didn't tell her i only watched 3 episodes of her season :) 

a major highlight of the week was seeing my friend dana! (yes, THAT dana -- she's a bonafide internet celebrity.) we were friends in pasadena, then both moved away the same summer and i hadn't seen her since! can i just say how GREAT it feels to catch up with old friends -- we chatted for hours just like we used to. dana taught a sewing class at the conference and is pretty much having a baby this week. way to squeeze in the important stuff!

while i was gone, jack spent his days with b's parents and had a BLAST. they went to an aquarium, played with cousins, shopped at costco, and climbed up and down the stairs 20x / day. basically a toddler's dream. i was SO happy and grateful to know he was in good hands -- but i missed my little buddy!

and meanwhile...
b was SNOWED IN during the worst seattle snowstorm in 30 years.

it snowed a little before i left, but everyone was saying a giant storm was due to hit on wednesday. we had no problems leaving on tuesday and i was so glad! a bunch of my seattle blogger friends ended up scrambling to change flights so that they could make it to utah in time for ALT.

the snowstorm hit on wed and dumped 8ish inches of snow on the greater seattle area. luckily the roads were plowed on our mountain, so b could still get around. thursday the power went off, and stayed off for THREE DAYS! b grilled steak with our neighbors for dinner, lit our newly-purchased candles (glad i stocked up on emergency supplies!) and tried not to open the refrigerator. he went to work -- they still had power -- and charged up his cell phone, kindle, etc. friday night he spent the night with our awesome friends the davises because he was bored and sick of being in our cold apartment. then saturday the power returned and we came home.

the snow was mostly melted by the time we got back to town -- i missed the WHOLE thing! not going to lie, i was a little bummed to miss the adventure, but it was probably for the best. so many of our friends ended up going to hotels for a few nights or suffering through the darkness with their little kids, so i'm glad i didn't have to deal with that. the only evidence i have of the whole thing are giant snow piles in the target parking lot and a bunch of rotten food in my freezer.

crazy! so, anyway, i'm happy to be home safe and so grateful that a.) i got to have a successful, fun trip and b.) that we survived snowmageddon without major issue. what a week!