I had the best time!! Coaching in Providence, you ask? No. I mean, that was fine, but I’m talking about my morning with Elyse!! Yes, I got to meet my pal in person on Saturday morning.

This blogging world is an amazing place filled with wonderful people. Elyse and I have been chatting for a long while now (we even had a little summer swap.) When I found out I was going to be in Providence, I crossed my fingers that Elyse might have some free time to meet. She did! Bright and early Saturday morning, Miss Elyse pulled up to my hotel. We ran and hugged each other, started talking and didn’t stop until she dropped me off over 3 hours later. (We could have kept on going, believe me, but I had to be at rehearsal.) As is only natural, we had both been a little nervous about meeting. Would we have enough to talk about? Would it be awkward? ‘Yes’ to the first question and a resounding ‘No’ to the second. It was exciting and such fun. I was positively giddy with delight! Of course, we took lots of pictures because we’re bloggers!

We had breakfast at this wonderful restaurant:

Here’s our superhero waiter, Cory:

Cory was extremely patient – thank goodness. He heard our blogging story, took our picture and was generally a great guy.

Cory took this photo with my camera. Thank you, Cory!

(Photo by Elyse)

There were metal hearts hanging everywhere – all dressed up for Valentine’s Day.

I loved this metal pot rack. The food, especially the wonderful bread, was great.

Both Elyse and I said it seemed like we had known each other for years. Isn’t that the best feeling? My husband told me that the real reason I was going to Providence was to meet Elyse. I think he’s right. It was meant to be.

I brought some little presents for Elyse. She brought some for me. As Elyse would say, ‘Swoon!’

One of Elyse’s Les Petits Tiroirs.

And another.

Oh – one of Elyse’s adorable clothespin dolls – in pink!

Another decorated clothespin for my collection, a sweet pink glass shaker, a cake eraser, and a little pink chick. She had an extra, so she brought this for me:

I can’t wait to sit down with some hot chocolate and this catalog/magazine. (Yet again, my feet are in a photo.)

I couldn’t wait to meet Elyse and I was not disappointed. She is fabulous – smart, funny and talented. And I know I’ve found a great friend.

I was so wanted to share the story of our meeting with you that I decided to postpone McCoy Monday this week. It will be back next Monday.