Tag Archives: The Reluctant Entertainer

Bloggy Friends ~FFF

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!

IMGP0168At 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.

SeaJack #4 001Just 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!

Short Week Favorites…

When the ole girl parties downtown on Thursday night her Friday post comes late to the table! Never-the-less the party must go on…

Thank you to Susanne for reminding us to take a look back and see the favorites that came our way since last Friday.

1. My number one favorite was spending Dear’s birthday with our son Josh in downtown Seattle. We met Josh at a Park n Ride and then drove together to Seattle. We had dinner at the Wild Ginger Restaurant and then headed to Qwest field for the Seattle Sounders F.C. game against Real Salt Lake. It was fun spending the evening with our first-born. On Saturday we are going to have a family birthday celebration with Josh, Laura, and Katie.

 

It’s truly a blessing from God for me to be married to this man!

2. I got 2 new books in the mail this week. So for my #2 favorite I wanted to share my friend Sandy Coughlin’s new book with you. Sandy is a blogger at the Reluctant Entertainer and she’s had a book published about simple and gracious hospitality. It is well written with great ideas on entertaining that won’t break your budget. There are lots of recipes in the book, too. This would make a creative Bridal Shower gift! I ordered my copy from Amazon but you can click over to her blog and order it there, too. She’ll also sign a copy if you order it from her. You won’t be disappointed with the reluctant entertainer – every woman’s guide to simple and gracious hospitality

3. Speaking of books, I also ordered the new book in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series by Susan Wittig Albert, The Tale of Oat Cake Crag. I really enjoy these mysteries surrounding Hill Top Farm. I’m looking forward to reading this new book.

4. I bought some granola that was good for you but didn’t taste good to me so I came up with a cookie recipe using it. It’s fabulous in the cookies. I’ll share the recipe later this month on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. I’m calling them Granola Chews.

5. And last but not least I’m still savoring and remembering with contentment and joy my 3 days in Canada with these Mennonite Girls that cook!

 

So what have you been up to and what are some of your favorites?

Have a great weekend and NEVER FORGET!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.