Road Trip for Annie Sloan Training~Day One

Good Day Everybody~I drove 5 hours yesterday from Boston to New Jersey to take my Annie Sloan intensive Train the Trainer session with Patty Seaman of Classic Wall Finishes.  Patty was one of the first stockists in the US and the second lady I bought a can of chalk paint from! I am in my hotel room without my usual photo downloading set up, I am not likely able to share the photos from my first day in New Jersey, as the photo files are huge and they may take forever to load on the blog...so while I try to figure that out, I came across this gizmo on my mac and I think it is pretty fitting self portrait, Andy Warholish~in that today I will be immersing myself in color and technique, the Annie Sloan way!

I really wanted to share all the pictures I took when I arrived a day early in New Jersey and headed to visit Magnolia Lane~the Annie Sloan shop that belongs to Stephanie Kahrs Granit~here she is talking to a lady who walked in to ask about the chalk paint that she had seen online!  It was pretty amazing to watch this happen, as soon I will be in these exact shoes~in my own shop and I'll be sharing the excitement of this wonderous chalk paint that needs no prep, no stripping, no sanding~just the fun of getting right to the painting! Stephanie's shop is very beautiful, and it feels a little like my space, in that there is lovely light and lots of white~it was a real treat to look at the pieces she has finished. You have to run your hand over the surface of her pieces, they are like glass! I was very impressed with her technique and taste! So there is plenty to share, but  I have to get home to do it so it won't bog down your computer and make you want to pull your hair out or click escape.

I have to share this shot of the lovely window graced by a beautiful chandy~
gorgeous! I love natural light, and of course I love chandelier lighting!
The full story of my visit and dinner with Stephanie is still to come~this morning I am getting ready to go to my class.  It will be from 9:30-5~and I am super excited!! When I left home yesterday, I will admit driving for long distances is not my favorite thing to do~I don't think I have ever driven this far alone...but I did it! The worst part was the crummy section of driving through the bronx in NYC and up onto the George Washington Bridge...but the rest of it was not horrid as I was listening to my book on CD, The Paris Wife, about Hemingway's first wife.  It is a pretty good love story~and anytime a story is true it makes it more fun, don't you think?  While on the road my shop was expecting a huge delivery, which had already been scheduled before I knew I would be out of town....so my landlord Mike came to my rescue and waited at the shop and took all my packages in for me!! He is the BEST!!

Alright everybody~have a great day!! I will be 

learning and having a blast~maybe if I take some iphone pics 

I can share those with you tonight or tomorrow morning.