Hello Hello!!!
I’m home from the most pump up blog/design conference EVER!

Some of you may have heard me gushing about my excitement, as I had been looking forward to Altitude Design Summit since I signed up in October. It was the first time I ever found myself wishing the holidays would just hurry up and be over already. Typically when I look forward to something as much as I was looking forward to Alt I tend to build it up too much and become disappointed, not this time. Every expectation I had was exceeded and all the hype was worth it.

I could write on and on about Alt, what I learned, what I did, who I met, what inspired me, etc etc… But I will try to keep it short as I think even Garrett may  be    ”Alt-ed out” at this point.

Alt was all about three things.

Living

I arrived at Alt on Wednesday afternoon and stayed at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT for the next 5 days.

I had a wonderful roommate named Liv who is from Austin, TX. The hotel was beautiful, the staff kind, the amenities plentiful. It was quite the location I must say. Although this was probably the warmest winter Salt Lake has ever had, we finally got snow on the last day of the conference and Liv and I enjoyed our first night out of the hotel and ate dinner at Cucina Toscana and played in the snow.

Learning

Alt is all about learning. From panels, to keynote speakers such as the Editor in Chief of Martha Stewart Living, and Founders of Apartment Therapy and Pinterest as well as a full day of classes on Saturday. But Alt was also about learning peoples names, their businesses and that you are not alone in this (seemingly scary) adventure into self-employment and entrepreneurship .

Loving

There was so much to love about Alt, the colors, sparkles, photo booths, food, friends, and a whole lot of fun and learning.

Coming home was bittersweet, while I don’t know if I could have taken in any more information, I am excited to put it to practice!
I hope you all benefit from a much better blog from me, and for that, you can thank Alt! I know I will.

The past few mornings have been a marvel of light. If you discover the will power to drag your snooze button outside and wake up with the sun it is well worth the effort. Garrett and I find that these early morning walks leave us feeling the most inspired and prepared to take on the day.

Great things are on the horizon.

Its true. It’s day one of this new year.

The two of us had a late night and therefore a later than usual morning, getting out of the house and off to the beach took a little longer than expected. It was a glorious day, not that there are many ugly days around these parts. We went for a long run on the beach and then enjoyed oranges that we picked of our tree only yesterday.

I celebrated the new year and this new business by taking the Excelsior apart and giving him a good cleaning. Garrett’s dad helped me build a base to keep the press sturdy, I was in charge of collecting the proper nuts, bolts and washers. (He always gives me the most difficult jobs.) It sounds incredibly strange but I loved the smell of the wood being sanded, it reminded me of bonfires during the summer.

2012 is already shaping up to be a great year with big plans being made, dreams being dreamt and dinner being made at a reasonable hour.

It’s New Years Eve, and husband and I are taking it easy tonight.

I find us sitting here, eating oranges, listening to Mumford and Sons, husband reading, and me fiddling with this brand new little blog of ours and reviewing the wonderful photos taken by my beautiful cousin of my sister and I over Christmas.

So while I’m here (because soon enough I’m going to put this computer down and join my husband in this evening’s festivities) I’m just going to say, I am so very happy to be here.

My hope is that this blog will highlight recent life and our current work. Welcome to our little online home.

Happy New Years Friends!