My favorite blessings from blogging have been my face to face meet ups with the individuals I’ve learned about from their personal blogs. The first blogger I met and who became my walking buddy while Dear and I lived in Camarillo is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. While our friendship continued we met up with Sara from Come Away With Me at The Getty Villa. Willow and Sara already knew each other. Besides the Getty Villa we met up again for some time at the Getty Museum before I moved back to Seattle.
On one of my trips across Los Angeles to visit my folks in 2009 Cori G! from Brambleberry Cottage (formerly Gingerbread and Co.) and I set up a meeting over coffee in Orange County, California. It was a delight to meet Cori. We were able to meet up again on one of my trips back to Southern California and have a meal and stroll through a antique market in the city of Orange.
On Dear and my road trip moving back to Seattle in 2010 we met up with Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer and her husband at the Winchester Inn in Southern Oregon. It was a delight.
In July of 2010 Dear and I met the Scrabble Queen from Scrabblequeen Knits for breakfast while we were in the Sacramento area for a funeral. She gifted me with some wonderful loose tea from England!
On our sister trip to Victoria, B.C. to celebrate my 60th birthday my sisters and I were treated to wonderful time with the lovely Pondside from Life Between the Ponds.
Oh dear me…I forgot another major bloggy meet-up. Jill from Jill’s World of Research, Reaction and Millinery came to visit in my home and we attended the Lavender festival together in July of 2011. Maybe it was the home part that made me think it was a family visit instead of a bloggy visit.
We had a great day seeing beautiful lavender fields, eagles, and eaglets and a baby seagull. Sorry for the oversight dear Jill!
At a book signing in Winnepeg/Manitoba I was able to meet Millie from Wreathmaker. What a fun surprise to see her and her hubby at McNally Robinson bookstore.
Just this year on Katie and my roadtrip from Seattle to North Carolina we arranged a meeting over lunch in Kansas City, Missouri with Pam from Abiding With Love. We had a wonderful meal paid for by Pam’s husband and great conversation with Pam and her daughter.
What a blessing it has been to get to know these ladies and enjoy their thoughts and adventures and beautiful tables, tea settings, recipes, decorating, devotionals, book recommendations, etc. etc.
Judy correctly pointed out that there is another group of women that I met through blogging that have changed my life forever. This next photo is from the first time I met five of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook! This meeting was in the Spring of 2010. All ten of us would meet when we got together in British Columbia to sign the contract for our first book in the summer of 2010. These girls are a big part of my life now and they are more like family so that’s probably why I forgot that initially it was because of blogging that we came together!
These are my favorites for Susanne’s Friday’s Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story. It would be fun to meet Susanne some day!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
What a lovely post — such sweet friends can be found in blogland!
What fun to meet so many of your bloggy friends face-to-face! I think you have nine more ‘real friends’ that began as bloggy friends as well. Those Canadian ones! Friendship is a wonderful blessing.
I remember so fondly our meeting you last year, and also the other girls from MGCC. How nice that you have been able to meet so many bloggers. There are many ladies I would like to meet in person.
How fun that must have been! So far I have never met any of my blogging friends in person. If you’re ever in TN, let me know!
how fun to meet in face to face time, some dear blogging buddies!! on my bucket list is meeting Susanne from this FFF! not sure i’ll ever get out there seeing as how I’m an east coast gal but hubby says it might be possible 🙂 Loved your FFF post!!
It was so fun to meet you both in person. Loved our quick visit. I have 3 other blogging ladies back east who I can’t wait to meet. I rarely blog anymore and none of them do but our hearts have been knit together. God used you to encourage me and bring some life to a weary soul when I first found your blog years ago….grateful.
It’s great to meet blogging buddies personaly!
Forgetting your Lavender Festival attending blogging buddy who came to visit you from Utah?
So many blogging buddies you are losing count of the ones you’ve met in person now!
Oh dear, just like my sisters across the line I forgot about our time, Jill. Oye!
Such a fun post. I’ve met two blogging friends in person, and there are so many more I would love to have the opportunity to meet.
How precious Ellen … thank you for sharing such a full – of – love and friendship post.
You collect bloggers?! I love it! (I collect blogs and bloggers.) How cool that you’ve met so many you forgot a few or ten. = D
=D
I feel quite related in a non specific manner–between getting to own the elderly Russian sisters hats and living just a wee drive from where Katie and Andrew became engaged. Hope one day you will visit SLC!
I have met two of my blog friends so far…Vee of A Haven For Vee and Deanna of Creekside Cottage. Both were delightful meet-ups and I found them both to be just as delightful in person as I had known them to be through their blogs. Blog friends are the real deal.
What a blessing to have met so many friends whom you probably would not have known except through blogging!
Loved this post! How rich in friends you are….so glad you and I came to be part of the circle of ten friends at MGCC. Changed forever….in a wonderful way!
That’s wonderful to meet blog friends life ! I met a few too. One from Australia who stopped in Brussels to meet me and another couple from Canada. I also met one from South Africa in London and made a friend in the South of France. The world becomes smaller and smaller !
What a happy post this is – all those smiles! Meeting someone that you already ‘know’ is such a treat – to find that she is just the person you expect and to have such a lot in common is just the best. Aren’t we lucky?!
From virtual to real. How wonderful!
Yes, this world we would of not known, lest for blogging. It’s fun to see where and what everyone is doing from any part of the world. cheers!
I sit her amazed at the thought of how blogging friends have brought about a whole new chapter in life. I think I won’t even begin to mention them all by name, since I’d be bound to forget someone by now. How rich we are!
Sweet post! One day when I visit Seattle, I’m gonna plan a date with you!! 🙂
That sounds good!
What a blessing you have gotten from blogging! Meeting all these lovely ladies who are now friends whom you would never have met without blogging! If you ever come my way, I want to make your list! 😉
those were great days, Ellen! I still miss our walks and hikes. Our blogger friends are the BEST!
Oh dear Ellen – how wonderful it would be to meet you face to face someday!!! I love this happy post and marvel at how many blogging friends you’ve met already.
I would love to meet you face to face, Rosella!
Such sweet pictures of friendship!!!