I love shoes--I don't buy many, cause I'm heinously cheap--but I do love them. I bring nearly every pair I own to Nationals--what? Pink dresses just won't work without pink shoes!--and get teased left and right by roommates. But such is life.

The trial is always making sure my bag weighs 50 lbs or less for the airplane. (I'm a master at getting the most bang for my buck) My last year, my primary bag came in at 50.0 on the dot. Even the attendant was impressed. Herniated, but impressed. :)

Looks like y'all had a great time!
Dee

I'm impressed !! You took 8 pairs of shoes (+ the one you were travelling with I imagine) and managed to wear them all in what...5 days !! I usually take tons of shoes and wear only 2 of them. No need to say THAT makes DH even more crazy !!
Glad you had a great time at RWA. I've seen a lot of pics and it really looks like a great experience.

Oh, I LOVED that Lebanese restaurant -- Natale Stenzel and I went there for dinner, and it was heaven. I want to go there now. Wah. :) We have a couple middle eastern restaurants here, but they feel like fast food now, next to that place.

Shirley looked amazing in every one of her outfits, and her shoes. :) I enjoyed seeing what she was wearing each day.

I also used everything, just about, that I brought with me, though I would pack completely differently for the next time.

The suitcase mystery for me was how everything fit going down (considering I had included bags for the Cigars gals, my agent and editor) and yet coming back, I should have had less, but nearly had to sit on the case to close it and it was just as heavy.

Probably because I really hate to fold the dirty laundry, and just stuff it in how I can. I do plan to pack more lightly for NINC, and want to create a "conference wardrobe" so I know what I take whenever I go, and it's just done.

Was fun... now back to writing!

Sam

I'm home from RWA and the highlight for me was receiving my gorgeous new Sam Bag. I love it!! What a thoughtful and terrific gift.

I was so thrilled to meet Shirley and re-meet Sam and connect with Jeannie and Diana. What a great group of folks here. ;-)

I drove down and on the way back I had fewer passengers so I overloaded on the free books. I love the free books and this time didn't have to pass up a single one! I stopped at my mom's on the way home and let her have first pick (we'll trade later) and presented her with the autographed Julia Quinn book I'd gotten just for her. Very fun!

I was part of the Harlequin book signing (what a cool, cool treat!) and only had one serious spelling mishap while I was signing so that was a relief. (My poor spelling gets worse when I'm nervous.) I did spell my name wrong (Hatman) but was able to squeeze in the "r." So the book wasn't wasted. The very nice person waiting for the book tried to reassure me by saying she sometimes gets mixed up with her pen names, too. I was mortified to admit Hartman is my *real* name. Ah well. Poor spelling has been dogging me my whole life--no sense expecting it to change now! ;-)

I danced the night away at the Harlequin party, loved Jeannie's fantastic dress, and Diana and I gave a successful workshop. Pretty good conference experience. Pretty darn good. :-)

Hope you're all well!
Ellen

P.S. I took 5 pair of shoes, including "dress" and "regular" sneakers. I wore 3 pair--skipped the dress sneakers and the uncomfortable shoes that make a particular pair of pants the right length. I didn't need those pants so the shoes stayed in the bag, too.

the table skirts at the signing were to the floor, you could have shown off your shoes. Anna DeStefano also has great taste in purses.

Of all the shoe people at the signing, only Samantha showed me her shoes.

I loved meeting you all at RWA. Thanks for noticing my jammies at the party, Holly.

It was great to meet you at the book signing, Anna. I'm a fan of yours. After much consideration, I bought your latest Superromance, making an investment in the name of literacy.

Then I came home to find Anna's same book in my TBR pile. I guess I was more a fan than even I realized. :)

The restaurants were great, too. I went to Paradisio and had scrumptious salmon with new friends at the meet and greet for the From the Heart online chapter.

The books were amazing and I was glad I didn't have to get them on an airplane, although getting the books onto a crowded metro was no party, either. But it was all worth it.

BTW, I had an insider look at Shirley's packing. The woman could be a secret operative (is that the word?) for all the outfits and shoes she changed into. Every look was dynamite. I tried not to be jealous and to just enjoy the show in amazement as she breezed through the door. With any luck, some of her finesse filtered over to me like magical powder.

Hugs to Shirley and all!

Cathy

Shirley, Fiona Harper and I had dinner at a Thai place. Her shoes were so hot people were staring at them going back to the hotel. And that's saying something because Shirley is STUNNING.

And I agree with the Lebanese cafe assessment. DELICIOUS.

I took five pairs of shoes, and wore all but one. That pair was NOT open toed and I was going to wear them on Saturday. However I blistered a toe dancing at the HQ party so I had to improvise. Thankfully my silver sequin shoes were fine for the Ritas.

Shirley - it was FAB to meet you. YOU are the bomb, baby.

Donna

Emotional, Feel-Good Romance
http://www.donnaalward.com

Beautiful blog with great informational content. Mostly certifications related and suitcase fit related topics are really very good. testking 000-433, testking 000-730 and testking 000-965 are also good topics. Thanks for this great sharing.