Thursday, January 28, 2010

CHA Day 1...

I'm baaaack! And wow, did I have a blast! I just knew I would love all the AMM girls (which I did!) since I already felt like I knew them, but it was SO cool to also meet so many other people who i've "met" online. I can honestly say that every single person I met was so warm and friendly - it truly felt like meeting long lost friends who i've known forever!

I took a ton of pics, and my computer is not cooperating tonight, so i'm going to divide them up by days. This first photo was actually taken Saturday night, the night before CHA day 1. I met up with the AMM girls at our condo, and then we headed to the SEI party. Although the huge pack of newly released paper lines was very cool to receive, I think the awesome ice cream bar may have been my favorite part, hehea. I finally got to meet Anabelle, and it cracks me up that we met for the first time in CA when we live about two hours away from each other on the east coast. That's Anabelle and Jenn in the back row and Michelle (AMM owner), me and Tonya in the front row:

The first stop I made on Saturday was to the Fancy Pants booth where I got to meet FP owners Jodi and Jared for the first time. They were both so wonderful!! I also got to meet their new baby who was super adorable :-) In the FP booth, I also got to meet fellow design team member Ronda. Not only is this girl amazingly talented, but she is so super sweet, as well!
I can't even remember which booth I took this photo in now (prima maybe?) but cupcakes were one of the many themes I saw all around the show (along with dress forms and handmade flowers). They were making me hungry! :-)

Stacy and I are constantly dealing with people confusing our name spellings since we're both on the AMM DT. Poor thing had to walk around with her CHA name tag with a spelling of Staci lol. Lucy and I have talked on the phone a bunch of times, so I knew we'd hit it off, and I was right. Both of these girls are awesome, and I kept hoping some of their talent would rub off while I was with them lol! That's Krista on the left, who was a total sweetie, and Karen next to her, another AMM DT girl (who was also awesome and had the cutest baby!). Teresa Collins' booth was gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
So, who watches The Bachelor (come on, you know you do... lol)? Well, i'm sure those of you who watch remember "Psycho Michelle" who just got kicked off last week. Well, actually, she told Jake she wanted to leave and he told her to go ahead. Anyway, as we were walking across the street from the convention center to get lunch at the Marriott hotel, who do we see waitressing at the restaurant there but Michelle?! We asked her for her picture, and she was very happy to oblige (she's the pretty brunette dressed in black).
Yay, I got to see Sherry again! Thanks to CHA, Sherry lost the title of being the only scrappy friend I had met in real life, lol. It was so good to see her again, and I may get to see her next month, too, when she comes to my neck of the woods :-)
Anyone recognize this scrapper? Ok, ok, so Kathy Ireland is not a scrapbooker (at least not that I know of), but she was at CHA promoting her new fabric line. And she was super sweet and gracious, shaking all of our hands and introducing herself. And man is she TALL!
Aaaaah, Doris! It was hard for me to believe that I'd never actually met Doris in person before this, because I feel like i've known her forever. I totally wish I could have spent more time with this girl, but i'll take what I can get ;-)
Loved the homespun feel of the Unity Stamp company booth. They had these adorable sewn flowers...
and this super cool tree! Wouldn't this look so cool on a child's bedroom wall?
The Dear Lizzy line by American Crafts was super cute, and I was loving all the awesome shadow boxes they had displayed with the product.
Well, my friends, i'll be back soon for CHA day 2 :-) For now, I must get my jet lagged self to bed!

26 comments:

Pearl said...

Woohoo ! great reporting , hun ! Wow look at you beautiful girlies from AMM ! woot !

TFS !

krista said...

Love the pictures and commentary....very nice :) Wish I could have spent more time with you girls!!!
Your picture of us w/Bachelor Michelle turned out good...can you send it to me? kristagradias@yahoo.com

Jocelyn said...

Oh I just loved seeing all the pics...is that not awesome that you saw Michelle from the Bachelor and Kathy!!! She is TALL!!!!

It looks like you had a Fabby time and I have seen so many goodies that I have to have....I better start saving my money!!!

Rest and recoup!!!! :-)

Andrea Amu said...

OMG, I can't believe you all recognized and ran into psycho Michelle from The Bachelor! That's so wild, Staci! Lol! And you all got a picture with her to boot, haha!

I'm jealous of your CHA experience...totally! Wow, how great to meet up with so much talent :) Love your pictures and so glad that you had fun!

Meg Giroux said...

Staci...okay now I am totally jealous!!! What great photos you got and looks like you ladies had a fabulous time!!!! I am so happy for you that you had the chance to do this!!!

Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!!

ellen s. said...

oh sounds like sooooooooo much fun! do you think you would be able to go in the summer?

holy kathy ireland?! that is so cool and i bet you had blast

Allison said...

What fun, what fun!! I've never met any online scrappy friends before, but hopefully soon. Get some rest. :)

Jess said...

oh gosh I love all those pics! looks like such a fun time...and whoa, Kathy I. is one tall mama! I am looking forward to seeing your day 2 pics!

Wendy Kwok said...

Oh... so sweet photos... isn't nice to meet up.. You gals had so much fun! Cool.
I wish I could fly thousands of miles to USA too... hee.. hee.. that is on dream list.

Jenn said...

oh, just you wait till I post mine!

marcibun said...

It looks like you had a great time. I can't believe you met Kathy Ireland!!!! You have to scrap THAT photo!

Stacy Cohen said...

I had so much fun meeting you and hanging out with you Staci (with an "i")!! You are just as sweet and fun as I thought you would be. Hugs!
-Stacy (with a "y")

sarah said...

i'm so bummed we didn't get to meet up. but that's okay... everyone is all over the place at CHA! perhaps chicago we'll bump into each other!! and we can grab a bite or something together! :)

anyway, looks like you had a blast on your trip. all of your pics look like tons of fun... and i totally agree, kathy ireland is way too tall for me. i come up to her hip! HAHAHHA jk.

anyway, don't be a stranger!

hugs!
sarah.

Lori Renn said...

Thanks for all of the great pics! How fun for you!!

Nicole said...

YOU are a doll...and i'm so happy we got to spend some time together during the make & take!! :)

karen said...

it was so awesome to meet you too pretty girl :)

doris sander said...

oh that is a great pic of us! yay! so happy to meet you in person finally. :D

Julie Overby said...

I could just KICK myself that I missed meeting you! LOL I was so 'out of it (sick)' before I left (and while there) that I didn't even bring my camera. You got some great shots! Next year we will make it happen. ; )

Aussie TM5 Thermomixer said...

Wow great photos! Look at all the gorgeous gals you got to meet!! Sounds like so much fun! One day I will get there!! ;D

(seeing Michelle from The Bachelor must have been funny)!!!

Sasha Holloway said...

love the post you got some good pics girl .. glad you made it back home safe ..

xoxo

Amy said...

omgosh it looks like you had a blast!! omgosh the photo with the bachelor Michelle is awesome! (kinda funny)

dstandard said...

How cool - miss all you girls from CMK - where does everyone go now? Facebook? Looks like so much fun t CHA!

Audrey Pettit said...

Wooooo!! LOVE your photos, Staci! SO wish I could have gone this time.
Looks like you had an absolute ball!

Sherry said...

awww! look at us, Staci! LOOOVE that photo. Email me at lemontwist1971@gmail.com a copy so I can scrap it!

Sherry said...

PS: the post above is from me; Sherry

Lucy Edson said...

Hey, girlie!! Love that picture of you, me and Stacy....would you send it to me, please?

I love looking at your pics! What a great time we all had!! It was great to finally meet you IRL! xo