Stylish Blogger Award

Cindy from Champagne & Sundays tagged me in her stylish blogger award yesterday. I couldn't be more tickled. Her friend tagged her and she tagged seven of her favorite blogs. I swear this is why I love this blog thing. These connections upon connections. I have been following Holiday but now have six other blogs to check out. Thanks so much Cindy!!!

Once tagged you are supposed to share seven interesting things about yourself. So here it goes. Prepare yourself to go around the world a few times for my stories.

1. I love the number seven and was married on 7-7-07. It was a pure miracle our church and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts was available that day!

2. My husband is an entire foot taller than I am. He is 6' 4". I guess that isn't about me but I think it's interesting and hilarious. Honey, you look smokin' hot in this photo.

3. I bought a 650 sq. foot condo in DuPont Circle in 2000. E. proposed to me on the deck in 2006. Everyone calls it The Nook including our renter. Someday I want to have it all paid off and use it as our city house. (This is such an old photo you can see cigarettes on the cafe table, Momma!!!)

4. I was a wedding photographer's assistant college summers in The Zoo and as a second job my first years out of college. I LOVE taking wedding photos and still enjoy taking nearly 2000 photographs a month. I have to figure out a better way to store these photos because I've eaten all the disk space on E's Mac. This is a to do, but not a huge priority so the blog is taking a back seat for now and I'm recyling a few photos.

5. I was named for three women named Nelle. My two great grandmothers, Nell Bond and Nelle (pronounced Nellie) Tayloe and my great aunt, Nellie Tayloe Ross who was the first woman governor of the United States (WY). Nelle Tayloe and Nellie Tayloe Ross (grandfather Tayloe's sister) were best friends and they wrote the most incredible letters to each other. Grandmother Tayloe saved all of Aunt Nellie's letters. My great grandmother wrote to my granddaddy when he was at W&L that went something like this: "Dearest Howdy, We had so much fun with Aunt Nellie today. We rode behind her in the parade." She was referring to the Inaugural parade!!! My great grandmother was in the inaugural parade for Calvin Coolidge. How cool is that? Momma would visit Aunt Nellie during spring breaks from Randolph-Macon Women's College in Washington when Aunt Nellie was the Director of the U.S. Mint, under Roosevelt. Needless to say, there are deeper reasons for my love of Washington, not just The Nook. Click the book above to purchase "Governor Lady" to learn about this amazing woman who lived to be 101 years old.

6. My parents owned a little shop called Forty Carrots in Kalamazoo where Burdick's is now. My grandparents had one in Memphis in Overton Square Garden. It was a gourmet kitchen and gift shop. I have the most incredible memories of my grandmother teaching people how to cook in her cooking school and my mother making home made peanut butter in the Cuisinart. I am a passionate cook because of my family and my earliest memories of this dreamlike place. Nearly everyone I know from my childhood, many of whom are loyal readers of this blog, worked for my parents. 

7. I went through what the Episcopal church calls the discernment process to become a priest. I withdrew, feeling clearly that I was called by God to be an event planner. That sounds hilarious but it is the truth. I had to work in the church three years, move to Ireland and move home before I went back to event planning. Stuart, our priest came to a party I gave at The Nook and said, "You truly have the gift of hospitality." It is one of my favorite compliments. I think hospitality is to know what people need before they know they need something. It is stressful as all hell sometimes but so worth it. I love my job working for the tourism bureau in Baltimore. I get to do what I love and serve people with a hospitable heart.

Now, here are a few bloggers I would love to know more about and I'm sure who probably have received this fun award already. Had to pick eleven and I could have tagged all of my Good Figs. 

Spice and Sass
Fly Through Our Window
Maryland Pink and Green
Dandelion

Annechovie

Twist of Lime

The Dishy Decorator
Let the Tide Pull Your Dreams Ashore
Summer is a Verb
Pigtown Design
Pink Preppy Lilly Lover

Thanks again sweet Cindy. You've been an angel helping me figure this blog thing out with email lessons and html hints. I love that you went to Ole Miss (even if you didn't know my brother) and that we've both been caught "blog stalking" the hell out of each other. Hotty Toddy!