Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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three wonderful links for you

Is it just me or is there suddenly about seventy million times the reading material available than there used to be? In print, online, everywhere? It’s a wonderful problem to have, really, but I have struggled staying caught up with my favorite writers and bloggers. With a little schedule tweaking (i.e., reworking mindless television and Facebook hours each week), I’ll catch up in a flash. In the mean time, just in case you too are having trouble wrangling internet gems, how about a weekend compilation? Some of my favorite people have been offering this for a while, and I love it. Here goes.

A Reception
First up, my beautiful friend Sonya has shared her beautiful daughter Kayleigh’s bridal shower photos. Especially if you are in the planning stages of a bridal event or any really feminine fete, you owe it to yourself to take a gander. So luscious. I am particularly crazy about the mix of florals and stripes, crystals and paper.

This lovely woman could be from any decade, any era of feminine beauty. I am infatuated with her dress, her necklace, her striped paper lanterns, her floral crown, everything. Mostly? Her obvious joy. xoxo Congratulations Kayleigh!
This lovely young woman could be from any decade, any era of feminine beauty. I am infatuated with her dress, her necklace, her striped paper lanterns, her floral crown, everything. Mostly? Her obvious joy. xoxo Congratulations Kayleigh!

A Respite
Another friend has me hypnotized for literary reasons. Brittany wrote this past week about the dazzling minutiae of life in the emerald forest, and as usual with her writing, I couldn’t get enough. Every syllable on her blog drips with both poetry and grit, and I never ever want her posts to end. How often can you say that honestly? Read this entry called Drunk in Love then browse around there for a while. I bet you fall in love like I have. And if the bad news is that her blog posts always end too soon, then the good news is that she has a full length novel releasing soon. Stay tuned for that!

Brittany is one of those women who can wear red lipstick. It's a lie that everyone can.

Brittany is one of those women who can wear red lipstick like a boss. It’s a lie that everyone can do this.

 

A Recipe
Local foodie author and television cook Katie Johnstonbaugh, who also happens to be one of the sweetest, warmest, most prayerful people you will ever meet, offers lot of original recipes on her website Dishin & Dishes. This one really got my attention: Triple Berry Pretzel Salad Dessert in a Jar. YUM. Something I appreciate about Katie’s recipe collection is how she freely gives kitchen tips and tricks. In this entry she shares a whipped cream secret I can’t wait to try.

 

I love fresh berry desserts, and I really love sweet-salty combinations. This recipe is on my short list of must-tries!
I love fresh berry desserts, and I really love sweet-salty combinations. This recipe is on my short list of must-tries!

 

So there you have it! My offering to you of a reception, a respite, and a recipe. I hope you click around through these blogs and get acquainted with a few of my favorite writers and creatives. Now. The internet is a crowded place and time passes quickly. Give me some links I shouldn’t miss!

 

“There is just one life for each of us: our own.”
~Euripides
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

Humilspiration (Blogger Event)

   Yes, I am pretty sure that’s a real word.
    Humilspiration: 
(hyoo-mil-spur-A-shun), noun
A luscious blend 
of humility and inspiration
resulting from gentle exposure 
to brilliant, accomplished people
who are willing to share their passion. 
   It’s what happened to me last Saturday when a small, cozy group of Oklahoma bloggers convened right here at our little farm for a few hours of chatting, nibbling edibles, and soaking up each others’ experiences. It was wonderful in every way.
   Honestly, I am still not sure how in the heck I scored an invite since every other woman there has been blogging far longer than me and has established herself in various ways both professionally and in the blogging community. But I am ever so grateful to Kelly from the Red Dirt Chronicles for her thoughtfulness.

Here are Kelly and Dee strolling with cameras and kind words.

Early on in the event’s planning stages I stuck my neck out and offered to host, trying to conceal the truth that I just meant to cement my attendance. I mean, eventually someone was bound to realize this *crazy* Lazy W lady was pretending to fit into the “real bloggers” club and then promptly revoke my welcome card. Have you ever seen Catch Me if You Can? Kind of like that. But if I was hosting, well… then my chances for retaining my invite just greatly improved.

Several home made dishes and decadent bakery luxuries filled the table that day.
   Anyway, the other eight women who joined in on Saturday were just dazzling in every way. About another eight were invited and had to decline, but I know they would have dazzled me too. I certainly look forward to meeting them eventually.

I can still smell the sugar…
   You may remember that last Saturday was a drop dead gorgeous day in Oklahoma. Bright sunshine, warm skin, cool breezes. As everyone arrived one by one and trickled down the driveway, we mingled outside and fed treats to the animals. Mia the gander bonded suddenly and passionately to Rose, one of the loveliest and warmest people you will ever meet. She has recently revived her blog OKRoserock, and I am so glad she did. Go find her post on International Women’s Day!
But Mia was rude and inappropriate with Brooke. (So sorry for that.. but Pacino did think it was funny.)

Here are Laura and Brooke are getting acquainted with Pacino the macaw, 
and moments later Brooke suffered some unwanted aggression from Mia the gander.
   I had the very real pleasure of meeting Sonya of Beyond the Screen Door, a woman whose exceptional seamstress work and talent for combining unexpected fabrics has been inspiring me for a long time.

I had to apply every ounce of self control in my body
to *not* ask Sonya, pictured here chatting with Allison,
her opinion on a fabric idea for my kitchen.
She is so gracious, I would have ended up taking advantage of her.

Another guest was a kind of local celebrity, Katie from Dishin and Dishes. She is a food blogger who appears weekly on Rise and Shine Oklahoma. She is also in the final stages of writing a book surveying all the best local restaurants in Oklahoma! This will definitely be on my Christmas shopping list next December.

Here are Rose Marie and Katie, two fabulous women 
who first forged an acquaintance on Twitter 
then had lunch together the week after this event!
I almost cropped this photo, but if you look closely 
at the bottom you will see Mia, 
the gander who chooses people to love. 
This day he had his sights on Rose, loud and clear. 
   Allison is the super energetic talent behind Refunk My Junk. All of her ideas are fresh and pretty, and she makes it seem doable! Love that. If you’re in OKC, you can find her wares over at The Feathered Nest. We also discovered that she and Handsome worked for the same big box bank once upon a time. Cool!

Allison is* hilarious* to listen to
and her style really flows over into her blog. 
(Stripper glitter, anyone?)
I managed to snap a photo of her during 
exactly the four seconds she wasn’t smiling and making friends!
So sorry, but it’s kind of my talent.
   Dee is the talent behind the curtain at Red Dirt Ramblings. Her topic of focus is my not so private obsession, gardening… Oooh la la… Plus she has spun her skills and knowledge into a full blown writing career. This is what I am talking about, you guys! These things are actually possible! After some note trading and chatting, Dee and I noticed that her children are attending my high school Alma mater, Mount Saint Mary in south Oklahoma City. Small, beautiful world where we live, huh?
   Laura is a young, gorgeous professional who has been stylishly chronicling her home renovations over at The Steen Style. She is one of those women whose smile is bright and whose energy is contagious. In fact, she arrived at the Bloggers’ Ball (as it was cheerfully dubbed) with another lovely young woman, Brooke, and we all assumed they were lifelong friends. Not so! They had only met in 3-D that morning, on the way to the Lazy W. How’s that for making connections real?
   Brooke has been writing Rural Gone Urban for a while and recently launched a brand spankin new site for Chickasaw Country. Very exciting. Now she’s writing a children’s book, so keep your eye on her!

These ladies showered me lavishly with unnecessary but much appreciated hostess gifts. The funny thing is they didn’t know it’s also my birthday week, woo-hoo!

   After we pressed the clock for every spare minute sharing stories, ideas, questions, and hopes for the future of our little group, everyone said goodbye and drove away from the farm. I was literally stunned into silence. Not the normal post-party fervor or exhaustion, just a wonderful, bizarre sense of possibility. 

Possibility for my blog.
Possibility for Oklahoma, my heart’s homeland.  
Possibility for the universal experiences 
of creativity and sharing.
   I could barely speak for about fifteen minutes. See… each of these women started blogging for intensely personal reasons (like me) and each has gradually discovered her voice, mission, and platform in her own unique way. Now they are evolving unapologetically and sharing those mindful resources.   Collectively these bloggers were an ocean of knowledge on IT and had a firm grasp on social media, all of which is crazy useful to me. But their greatest gifts were openness and drive.

Kelly’s Twitter stream of most quotable remarks during the session was priceless.
“Blog drunk, edit sober.” Solid advice, ladies. Solid.

In a nutshell, it was one of those times when life shows you exactly how much you don’t know but simultaneously offers you a chance to learn it all. And to learn it through some really delicious connections.

I am whole heartedly looking forward to the next event and expect to see some of you between now and then, too. Thanks again for visiting the Lazy W, thanks for the gifts, thanks for the generous exchanges. Best wishes to everyone this spring and summer!

Birds of a Feather Can Still Be Mighty Different.
And That is Very Good.
xoxoxoxo