Spring Success

The style show was a success. The food was delicious, the decor turned out great, and because of the Sunday night vendor rehearsal where we spent hours working on the best way for the models to present the clothing, the timing and coordination were practically perfect. So post-show, I was very happy.

The picture you see here is of Lori (our fitness director), Betsy and me, and we are standing on the runway in front of "the Eiffel Tower," which was created by Baileigh Levee. She is an artistic genius. At last year's spring show, she told me she was going to build a tree in the center of the runway out of chicken wire and sheet moss. The thought of it scared me to death, but sure enough, when it was time for the models to hit the stage, they were walking beneath a beautiful moss tree. (The picture below is of Betsy and Baileigh with the "tree.") So this time, I just simply told Baileigh I wanted the Eiffel Tower, and trusted that she could do it. She didn't let me down.

You can't really tell from the photo, but the tower is created out of four pieces of wood nailed together around the room's center post. Baileigh stenciled the tower on each side, cut out the pieces and put thin white paper behind the stencils, and then put spotlights beneath the stage so the tower would light up and shine through the wood boards. Then she painted it to match the sunset that we used on all the outgoing invitations and menu cards. She's simply brilliant.

Once Baileigh comes up with the idea, Betsy is her right hand woman, and helps her bring the idea to life, along with her usual job of handling all the seating charts and reservations. That in itself is a huge job, especially when you're dealing with around 200 people who attend the show, but Betsy handles it with grace. I'm not sure what I'd do without either one of them. It's a beautiful thing to work with people you can trust to do what they say they will do. I have a ton of faith in, and am very thankful for, both Baileigh and Betsy.

So now that the show is over, I can take a deep breath and relax for at least a couple of days, and catch up on some things I've allowed to stack up on my desk. Our next big event is in two weeks, so I still have a lot to do, but at least I have a little wiggle room.

Away from work I will still be busy. I start my final quarter at school next Tuesday. I have 6 weeks until I have to take my comps exam, and 10 weeks until graduation. I've been trying to picture what my life will be like once I finish school, and for the life of me, I cannot get my mind around it. But I'm definitely looking forward to it. The light at the end of that tunnel is shining really bright.