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I'M MOVING!

I'm moving on up, and headed over to my own domain!! The only thing set up at this time is my blog, but I just wanted all of you to know you can now find this blog at: kmanndesigns.com/blog


See you there!!

TASA Convention

I spent the last few days in Austin for the TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators) Convention, also known as Midwinter. You're probably thinking why. Well, in case you didn't know this, my firm specializes in public education (K-12), so being at these conventions is a must. If not for anything else than to see your clients.

So this was our booth..

Steve is on the left talking with a guy from one of the companies we like to use for gym flooring, and on the right are Tim and Richard. I want you to notice something though...

This was our booth at TASB back in September:

And here's our booth now...

There are a few things that were new for this convention that I was able to be in charge of! We got new carpet, new counter tops, new chairs (because the old ones were beat up) and a TV. Before the TV we had a small projector screen with the projector inside playing a slide show from the computer. Now, we have the TV playing a movie that I made off of an AppleTV. If you've never seen one, they're pretty sweet.

Here's a better view of our new carpet:

Isn't it so fun?

I was so excited when I found out that Tim would be joining us again for the convention. Tim is one of our consultants and owns Yaggi (like Aggie with a-Y) Engineering out of Arlington. He and I got to know each other in Houston at TASB and I like to say he's my BFF so I had to get a picture with him!

Then Theresa stopped by...

Theresa and I have known each other for some time now. She works for one of the Construction Management groups we've worked with a lot recently and she is so fun! This is the look she gave Steve when he picked up the camera to take a picture of us.. she was also saying "oh geeze!"

The second day at the convention, I noticed something across the way...

See that guy in the yellow? Well, I didn't take a picture the first day, but he was sporting a bright red coat and an awful tie. When I saw him at first, I thought it was part of their booth... then I noticed the other people he worked with dressed normally, so I had to sneak a few pictures.

You can't see the tie very well, but the tie the second day was just as bad as the first. Please notice the other two guys he is talking to, they all work together.

We were joking that he looked like a used car salesman, or someone out of the movie Anchorman.

So that was TASA. It is so fun to see all of our clients and visit with them. Every person I have worked with since I've been with this company is just so great, and I love getting to know them through these various things!

Erika & Kanyon's Wedding

Saturday evening was Erika and Kanyon's wedding. Erika and Kanyon are (well, were) two YoungLife leaders with me and I'm so happy for them. It is always great to see such God-fearing couples come together in marriage. They will do great things for His Kingdom.

Their wedding was so sweet and so perfect for them. They had the ceremony at the Chapel on the Hill at ACU.

If you haven't ever been to ACU, the Chapel on the Hill is so pretty. There is stained glass on two sides and the colors are just brilliant. My favorite memories of Chapel on the Hill are from the days of Sing Song. Before each show, we (Siggies) would always meet and worship together in there. The acoustics in that room are incredible especially when you put 110 beautiful women's voices in harmony worshiping together. It will bring tears to your eyes.

Enough on that, back to the wedding.

Erika wore her mother's wedding dress that was re-built/designed for her and it fit her perfectly!

Here's the front (well, I guess side)

and here's the back.

If you don't know Kanyon, you don't know that he's a true, full-blooded, country boy. It is rare to see him without his cowboys hat. In honor of this, Erika wore some white cowboy boots and they were perfect!

And here's the groom.. there was no chance I would get a pic of the two of them together unless I followed them around, so you'll just have to get over it!

We also ran into some old friends!! Hi Sawyer!

thanks Bryan!

I love this man!

and last, but not least!

I could have taken this precious thing home! He was the ring bearer and his tux with boots and cowboy hat combo were nearly too much to handle, then he started dancing!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Brown! We're so happy for you!

I spent all day in the convention hall here in Austin and things have gone great! I'm headed out now to take about 30 clients to dinner! More pics to come on that later!

One down, One to go...

I mentioned something last week about the chairs I'm re-upholstering... and I also told you not to mention anything about how long it has been since I started them. I have good news though! One is finished!

I had to order the tack strips online because Hancocks in Abilene either can't keep them on their shelves, or they can't manage to get them in their shipments.

The other night B and I went to Lowe's to get a legit staple gun because the one I had wasn't cutting it and I had been recycling the old upholstery tacks I had taken off the chair.

When we got home, I got to work and it was finished in no time!

This is what the poor little chair has looked like for literally 6 months.. the main seating area was finished, but the edges and back were not complete.

Here it is now, edging and everything! This was just a quick photo I took before I had to get ready for Kanyon & Erica's wedding (more to come on that later), so sorry about the quality! In the middle is a pillow I made with my scrap fabric and brand new sewing skills! I don't have a pillow form for it yet, and I don't know if I'm actually going to use them, but I was in the mood to sew and I had that fabric on hand!

Here is a quick close up of the welting and bottom panel! I am so proud of myself, and I'm very happy with the result! Most of all, I love that these chairs came from my grandmother.

I love older furniture for its character and the stories that each piece has. Going to a furniture store and buying everything brand new is nice, but to me, you can't beat the character of these older pieces. I love putting the life back into the furniture, and knowing that it is unique and no one else has it!

So there's one. I didn't have time to take a picture of it before, but I haven't started the other and I will be sure to before I do!