A Delightful Lunch with Fellow Bloggers

Good Morning dear friends.  Sister and I enjoyed the most delightful lunch yesterday.  We had the privilege of meeting some of our favorite bloggers.  

I was so excited.  I felt like I was asked to sit with the popular girls at their lunch table!

  The setting was far more glamorous than a school cafeteria.  The lunch was arranged by the two leading ladies of blogland, Tina, from The Enchanted Home and Sandy from You May Be Wandering.  We met at  l'escale which is set in the spectacular Greenwich harbor.

  Sandy and Tina provided a beautiful arrangement of hydrangea in a sweet blue and white teapot.  There were also party favors at each table setting. 

So are you curious who was there?  I did not take any group shots because some ladies don't have their photos on their blogs.  I didn't want to be responsible for blowing their cover.

Let's begin with our hostesses.  Tina, the queen of blue and white, writes The Enchanted Home and is positively adorable.  I have followed her blog since the beginning of the construction of her breathtaking home.  She is warm, genuine, and has a great sense of humor.  

I had the privilege of sitting next to Sandy of  You May Be Wandering, my favorite travel blog.   She is positively lovely and my Sista and I  enjoyed great conversation about our families and travel.  Sandy, who's day job is travel advisor,  gave us great suggestions and advice for an upcoming trip that we are taking.  Our next trip will definitely be planned by Sandy.  She's the best.

Karolyn, from The Relished Roost sat next to Sista.  Karolyn is exactly what I expected - pure sweetness.  She weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet and looks like she's 20 years old.  No one would ever guess that she has a daughter that age!  She is a talented decorator and I always learn something about design when I read her blog.  Karolyn owns a beautiful antique home in New Jersey.

Patricia writes PVE Design.  Not only is she a beautiful, thoughtful writer and accomplished artist and illustrator, she is a lovely lady with the most gorgeous skin.  It is practically luminescent.  I was very excited to meet Patricia because I am a big fan of her artwork.  She also writes the sweetest nice comments on my blog.

It was very exciting to meet Sue from Zhush.  I really enjoy her blog and she has fabulous things in her shop.  She is very personable and adorable looking.  Sue has a beautiful home in New York but has just recently purchased a home in Connecticut.  I can hardly wait to follow her new journey.  She gave us all a beautiful set of coasters.

I finally got to meet Elizabeth from Pretty Pink Tulips.  She is a true Dallas girl with all the beauty and charm of a southern belle.  We reminisced about all our favorite hot spots in the Dallas area.  It was so fun to meet her.


Well, Sista and I thought we looked like pretty snazzy sistas until Carolyn and Cynthia from The Buzz blog walked in.  Wow!  Such great looking, smart ladies!  The twins write a great blog of design with a botanical twist.  Along with that, they are hands-on in their mother's family business, Diane James Home.  Cynthia and Carolyn have the whole package - great looks, fabulous education, and vibrant personalities.  They brought us the darling luggage tag in the picture which Sista and I will put to good use in the very near future.

I couldn't find a photo of Cynthia and Carolyn on their site which I can't understand.  If I looked like them, I would have it plastered it all over my blog!

I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank Jeanne from I Dream of  for sending the sweet hostess gift of blue and white jelly beans, which I devoured on my drive home, blue and white flowers seeds and the prettiest package of Caspari tissues that are much too pretty to use.  Next time, Jeanne, you will have to fly in from the West Coast. 


By the way, we weren't the only table of celebs in the restaurant.  I'll give you a hint who else was there.

Looks like Michael just noticed the table of infamous bloggers!

Hope your weekend is filled with new friends, fabulous food and conversation, and maybe even a star siting!

Summer Ties

Hello dear friends.  Last Saturday, the Mister and I spent the day in one of my favorite places in the whole world -  Newport, Rhode Island.  This is the first of a few posts chronicling our visit.

We had limited time.  Chowdah was at doggie day care digging one hole after another and we had to pick him up by five.  The Mister said that we could either shop or take the tours of the mansions.  Three guesses which one I chose.

This looked like my kind of store when I spotted it across the street.  I practically stopped traffic making my way over to the preppy green store front.  

The sign in front even had my favorite four-letter "F" word on it- free!

The Mister and I were not disappointed when we walked into Summer Ties which was filled with a menagerie of darling brightly- colored preppiness.  

Of course, this was the Mister's favorite table.

The scarves are a great size and designed in a lot of scrumptious colors.

Lovin' the preppy pillows!

I had nice conversation with this handsome young man.  He is one of four partners in this company.  His name is Joe Smith and told me the story of how the company originated.  Joe spent every summer growing up in Martha's Vineyard.  Poor kid.  Three of his friends from those fun summers decided to go into business together.  Thus, the company and the name Summer Ties was born.

So next time you are in Newport, stop in and say hello.  Tell Joe that Katie sent you.

 Summer Ties also has a website if you can't make it to Newport.

The Mister bought himself a bow tie and cuff links.

I tried to convince the Mister all the way home that anchor cuff links were so much cooler than owning a boat!

Hope your Thursday is filled with color!

Hold on to your toys!

Good morning friends.  When my #2 was a baby, our 5 lb. yorkie, Jackhammer,  would steal her binky every chance he had.  She finally gave up and sucked her fingers.  

My #1 sent me this video, who, by the way, may or may not have been Jackhammer's accomplice.

Hope nobody steals your toys today!