October 1-3, 2010 will be remembered as a weekend where I spent so much time laughing that my cheeks and abs hurt. What a success our first retreat turned out to be!
Friday afternoon we welcomed 11 marvelous women to a weekend full of crafting, food, laughter and friendship.
Upon arrival the ladies were greeted with a goodie bag on their bed that contained a memento album (with all supplies precut and ready for assembly), a sampling of all the new paper packets, templates from Magic and Wishes and a water bottle personalized with their name.
Dinner Friday evening was a taco bar, num! After dinner the ladies went back to crafting we got busy putting out a survival goodie bag on each bed and making a special desert, cake baked in paper cups with our logo and topped with whip cream to represent a mocha or hot chocolate. Dessert was delivered and received "oohs and ahs" and the ladies loved being "served as royalty." Crafting went late into the night (3 am for some) and was accompanied by the forming of new friendships and oodles of giggling.
Saturday morning the ladies rolled out of bed to breakfast being served and another goodie bag waiting at their table. Many of the ladies had a "rough" time adjusting to our spoiling, so we had to stand at the sink and "order" the ladies to put down the plate and back away from the sink, tee hee.
Throughout the day, the ladies enjoyed a variety of classes, more crafting, more food and more laughter and friendship. By the time dinner arrived, it was as though we had all been friends for years. Without a doubt Saturday night was probably the funniest night I have experienced in years. As the saying goes, "what happens at the retreat, stays at the retreat." You'll just have to join us next time to experience the fun we have first hand ;)
Sunday arrived far sooner that it should have (although going to bed at 3:30 am probably didn't help). We all enjoyed a quick breakfast and took advantage of our last few hours together to wrap up a few last projects. Each lady received one final goodie bag which contained a hand crafted notepad and pen personalized with their initial on the front.
The hours sped by and soon it was time to say goodbye. It was a bittersweet moment as we (tearfully) hugged everyone goodbye and then watched the last ladies leave. Alicia and I were blessed by each attendee and felt extremely happy to have achieved our goal of successfully completing our first (of many) retreats.
Feel like you missed out? You did, but that's okay, join us for our next event... April 1-3, 2011. Additional details coming soon...
Want to see what one attendee had to say after attending? Check out
Stephanie Dawson's blog, she was a card making machine at the retreat and even captured these video of the weekend for us. Thanks Stephanie, a.k.a. Ste-funny!
Something you probably don't know about me, I LOVE watching the food network, specifically the cake decorating shows. I am in awe of the creativity and talents of the decorators. What they do with cakes is amazing! 
