Last week was kind of crazy busy. On Friday I hosted the preconference dinner party for about 30 people at my home. I wanted the tables to look nice and kind of match. I searched for 8 matching table clothes for days, but never had any luck. The closest I could get would be three matching tables. My friend Laura suggested that I modify flat sheets, but that was not an option either. Luckily, the Gods of Dinner Parties and Good Deals came together for me and steered me towards an awesome deal. just when I was just about to give up I spied a lovely blue woven material on the clearance rack at Walmart. It was just $1.50 per yard and was 58" wide. I was thrilled to find that I hit the jackpot when I could make all of my table clothes for less than $25. I also got a deal on flowers and candy at Sam's club. In the end each table sported a nice blue tablecloth, an arrangement of flowers, a set of salt and pepper shakers and a cute, polka dotted dish of spring colored M&M candies.
Matt de la Pena with Ellie and Christy
That afternoon they special guests, our key note speakers,Matt de la Pena and Ellen Hopkins, showed up thirty minutes early. I was still cooking, complete with my favorite, very used apron on. They were cool about it all and that was the start to a wonderful party. I made the sugar cookies I wrote about earlier especially for Matt. I told him about my bake off and indecision. He smiled politely, perhaps amused. Then he explained that he is a bachelor. He just buys cookies from the grocery story. I think he was please to have such a treat.
We had almost 30 people over, with tables set up in nearly every room on the main floor. It is a great place for a party as the big room can hold table space for up to 14 people. We laughed, we ate and we swapped stories. And we put together the gift bags for our various presenters and speakers. That was fun, too. Everyone went home early since the conference started at 7:30 a.m. the next morning.
Saturday seemed to come quickly. Ellie was excited and ready to go by 5:17 a.m. This made it possible for us to stop by Starbucks for a special early morning treat. The conference was a hit. We sold out almost two weeks before our deadline. We had 450 people register and another 30+ who did walk in registration and paid the full price even though they knew they did not get a breakfast, lunch or guaranteed seat. We had a great set of sessions.
Ellen Hopkins was a big draw. She wrote Crank, Glass, Burned and many others. Her heartbreaking stories about lives torn apart by addiction really touched people's lives.
Lauren Myrcle with Ellie, Anna and Christy
After the conference was over we treated Matt, Ellen and our committee members to dinner at a nice downtown restaurant.
Ellen Hopkins with Ellie and Christy
Ellie, Christy and Amy Efaw
No comments:
Post a Comment