TQ has started doing launch parties for the magazine, which I think is incredibly fun despite the fact that I haven’t managed to attend yet. However, I just got the invite for the Mountain Home 2019 party and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to make this one! After all, I wrote SIX stories for this issue (five homes plus the Arts profile), and it’s taking place at Reno’s Nevada Museum of Art, which is an amazing venue and conveniently close by.
The invite also contains links to last year’s Home Award winners, which reminded me that I haven’t updated this site with my more current published articles in at least that long (and, let’s be honest, probably much longer). That being said, since I finished with this round of work, I decided it’s time to get some of those stories onto the interwebs. I’ll try to get more uploaded at some point, but here are my architecture stories for the 2018 Mountain Home issue:
Clockwise from top left: Simply Majestic; PRE-tty FAB-ulous; Relax, Rejoice, Retreat; Interior Divine
We went for the Associated Collegiate Press National Conference. Got in Wednesday night, spent Thursday morning sightseeing and ducking into museums, then got to the conference headquarters at the Grand Hyatt in time to get registered and grab seats to see Donna Brazile, the DNC chairwoman. She was incredible—not only was she incredibly interesting, but she was so much fun. I wanted to go out for drinks with her. And she was just the kick-off to other great speakers: On Friday, we heard from Bob Woodward (Bob fricking Woodward of Watergate fame!), then Saturday we had Edward Snowden beamed live from his secret location to address us. He was wonderful. When he got a huge ovation, he remarked that journalists are about the last group that like him. He, too, was wonderful. Both he and Woodward both had a lot to say about the importance of journalism, as well as how the future rests in the hands of the audience. I found them both incredibly inspirational.
Besides the great conference, I got to see my brother and his girlfriend, plus enjoy three full nights that I didn’t have to worry about a child waking me up in the night! The students got a ton out of the conference, too, and got to get in some additional sightseeing after I ducked out on Saturday afternoon to catch an earlier flight back so I could be home for my daughter’s fourth birthday. Anyway, great event and great to be in D.C. just two weeks before the election!
Alison O. Bender 