It's all about the love

Some want it to happen. Some wish it would happen. Others make it happen!

I know you've all been sitting on the edges of your seats waiting to hear about the end of my tennis season. Those of you on Facebook may already know that my C8 ALTA tennis team -- affectionately known as D1 -- won our division. Through blood, sweat and tears (and some drama) we worked our way up from worst to first. We went to the city finals last week, but lost.

Having never imagined going to finals, we didn't know what to expect. In addition to being the premiere sporting event of the season in Atlanta, city finals is a showcase of fashion and decor. It is all about decorating, after all.

I talked a little bit about D1 fashion in an earlier post. As Derek Blasberg says: "the gear impacts the performance." D1 girls take this advice to heart and dress for success. No tramps in this crowd. We even wipe our brows in style.

Our captain gave us personalized towels last year. Each with our appointed nickname. 
That's me. Cute, right.

The day before the match I received an email outlining the details for the day. Not only were we expected to play like champions (which we are), we had to compete in the "Best Dressed Table" competition. BYO everything, including the table. ALTA coordinators would be stopping by to view tables and sample food. Although it was a team effort, Tracy (aka "the Hammer") pulled out all the stops and dressed that table to the nines. Believe me when I say it was very classy.

Let's take a look:

Linen table cloth, pewter serving pieces, vintage racquet...

Chocolates courtesy of Greene's Fine Foods.

Champagne glasses with stem tennis ball charms -- nicknames of course. We used plastic just in case the revelry get out of control.

A closer look. Hmm, it looks like Marni (aka "Hot Shot") rearranged the glasses and put hers up front. Always vying for the center of attention.

Adorable D1 and tennis ball cupcakes courtesy of Katie "Moss the Hoss."

Empty tennis ball cans used as high ball glasses. So clever.

Unfortunately, I was unable to visit other tables except for our opponent's that was sitting right behind us -- not so classy. That's to be expected from any team residing OTP (outside the perimeter for those of you who don't live in Atlanta -- similar to outside the beltway for you Washingtonians).

You can imagine my horror when Tracy told me later that a team with ties to Party City won the table competition. Gasp! We were robbed.

Back to the match.

It was a nail biter of a day. The D1 girls toughed it out for over six hours. Boy did we put up a fight. Margaret (aka "Bruiser") walked off the court with a black eye. No lie. Her partner Maggie (aka "Killer") inadvertently hit her with her racquet. But, we did not prevail. With grace and poise, we accepted our ALTA salad plates. First place team won an ALTA dinner plate. I guess the idea is that you can collect an entire place setting if you make it to the finals often. And, we toasted ourselves with prosecco -- our match day drink of choice. Truth be told, we used to drink prosecco before most of our matches. Okay, I had some a few weeks ago. Not during playoffs.

Overall, it was an amazing season. Moving on up to C4, we will always remain D1 in our hearts and minds. Tennis is all about love. We have many challenges ahead of us, but we're bringing home the dinner plate next year. Our new motto:

Good. Better. Best.
 Never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.

-- source unknown

Go D1!