altitude design summit dinner

When Sarah and I committed to cooking dinner on the night of the eve of Altitude Design Summit, I didn’t quite realize that it would feel like creating a small wedding in one day. Like a wedding, it was creative and stressful and exciting. And ultimately, a whirlwind of happiness that felt reflective of our personalities.

We landed at HoJo’s on Tuesday night and got to work binding the booklets of recipes and photos and ironing birch veneer strips into what would become the overhead table decorations.

After a few hours of sleep, we roared into a professional kitchen the next day with grocery carts, a crate of wine, a suitcase of craft supplies, and a big case of nerves. The Alt team lined up the Roth showroom kitchen in Salt Lake City, run by Marie. In the final moments before the guests arrived – as we were frantically whisking and stirring and putting on mascara – Marie IRONED OUR DRESSES. She and her team of Jamie and Brenda went so above and beyond. We were family by the end of the night.

We chopped and prepped and decorated and at 7pm, a dozen bright, glittery, stylish ladies arrived. The energy lift was awesome. We clinked champagne glasses, made introductions, ate cheese and onion jam, and then moved into the kitchen classroom to decorate dinner napkins with hole punch stencils and fabric paint.

After that, it was onto a DIY pickling session. Then finally, the sit-down dinner, where everyone sounded like old, reconnected pals. As Sarah and I shuttled plates of food back and forth from the kitchen, we made dorky, over-the-top happy faces every time we passed each other because hearing the bubbly chitchat and oohing and ahhing seriously warmed our hearts.

Then it was all over, and we released the happy group into the cold Utah night.

super duper fun thing

photo by Sarah

You remember my friend Sarah, the foodie and photographer? Well, thanks to the wonderful team at the Altitude Design Summit, the two of us are hosting a dinner on Alt Eve (that’s my new name for the night before the conference kicks off). I'm so flattered to have been asked. We decided to incorporate both our strengths and turn it into a hands-on evening of cooking, crafts and cocktails.

I’m in Seattle now, so we're going to get up to a lot of experimenting on this rainy weekend. The event sold out as soon as it was announced because it’s limited to a small group. But if you’re going to Alt and want to join, keep checking the Dinner With section of the registration, because people can switch events, so some spots might open up.       

Are you going to Alt this year? I really think you should.