Dinner for Bridget

This is lonnnnng~whoopsie-daisy.

To say that I was "excited" about hosting a dinner party for Bridget and her boys

 is an understatement. 

Bridget~Mr. E~ and Kiddo flew in to Seattle on Friday afternoon. Greg picked them up from the airport~gave them a little tour of downtown~ and delivered them to the Pan Pacific Hotel.

You can only imagine how beside myself I was that Greg was meeting Bridget before me. He called right after he dropped them off and said "You're gonna LOVE em!"

Bridget and I spent the afternoon texting back and forth.

It was quite surreal texting Bridget knowing she was just across The Sound in Seattle.

Later that afternoon I got ready...and headed out.

It was raining. Amongst the excitement of it all my windshield wiper broke while I was driving to catch the ferry. When I got on the ferry it was like a sauna! I was so worked up from being so excited I couldn't take the heat! You know the feeling. It may be called a "hot flash" of the "overly excited" kind.

I may or may not have been seriously running a fever from still being sick. Whatever it was I was desperate for my make~up not to melt off. I headed out on the cold~wet~drizzly deck of the ferry 

like a fool to cool off. 

I'm certain I looked like a crazy girl but I was determined to cool off and calm my anxious self down.

I honestly don't know how bloggers attend these blog conferences where they meet up with millions and trillions of other bloggers in person. 

As close as Bridget and I are it made my heart race a million beats a minute to think about meeting her after we had been blogging and texting and chatting on the phone for over 2 years.

I was anxious in a GOOD way!

When I finally met up with Greg in Seattle and got in the car I instructed him to turn the AIR~CO on full blast! I needed COLD air!

I don't know about you but when my hair and makeup get all yukked up from the weather a quick remedy is to let some COLD air on full~force blow right on my hair and face!

I've been pulling that trick for years!

It always helps to straighten my hair and chill my face into looking fresh again.

Believe me~

after that ferry ride I needed freshening up! 

Once we pulled up to the hotel and met up with Bridget and her boys all was well.

Getting to hug Bridget~Mr. E~ and Kiddo was a happy~heart filled moment. 

Honestly~

it was just like I thought it would be.

When we all got together it was like we'd been friends forever. 

Having our boys with us made things less about blogging and much more about all enjoying each other and getting to ask questions that we'd always wanted to know.

Questions like how did you guys meet?

What do the husbands do?

What does Kiddo like to do when he's not assisting Bridget in the kitchen?

After dinner at Serious Pie we drove around a bit downtown {it was still raining}~

and headed back to The Pan Pacific where Bridget surprised me with the sweetest cookies ever.

You know...The DOOGAN Cookies!

Pop here to see how Bridget made these adorable cookies!

Can I just say how DREAMY it was to finally take a bite of one of Bake at 350's cookies! 

I really should have videoed myself taking that first bite!

Greg and I wished Bridget~Mr. E and Kiddo a happy Saturday and headed to catch the ferry.

There was lots to be done!

Bridget was coming to Bainbridge Sunday night for dinner!

Let me say upfront I could not have pulled this magical dinner off without My Man!

Having not felt well prior to the big event~

there were many things that had not gotten done the week before the dinner. 

Thank you Greg for all that you did as I prepped the food.

I owe you~BIG TIME! ;)

I used several cookbooks to plan the menu for Bridget's dinner.

You can't get much more LOCAL than Chef Tom Douglas.

I also used one of my favorite Bainbridge Island cookbooks to plan the "Starter" course.

The goal was for each course to represent LOCALLY inspired cuisine and ingredients.

When a FOODIE from Texas comes to The Northwest you gotta let THE NORTHWEST shine!

I was ready to roll once the menu was jotted down on the chalkboard!

That always makes things official! 

Honestly~

I felt like I was on a marathon episode of CHOPPED as I went through each course preparing the meal.

There's no way I could have pulled out the good camera and photographed the recipes to share.

Obviously all of these pics were taken with my phone. 

Luckily I had prepared all that I could the day before.

I began with the "starter" course and went down the menu~

just like the chefs do on Chopped.

I kept yelling out to Greg~

"I feel like I'm on CHOPPED!"

Every now and then Greg would yell~

"Have you heard from Bridget!"

He kept needing an update of what they were doing in Seattle! 

My phone was seriously covered in herbs and flour!

Bridget would text me~

I'd text her back~

I'd take a picture and post it to Instagram~

and keep on prepping the food!

I was listening to Elton John one minute and Adele the next!

It was intense!

Just knowing Bridget and her boys were coming to Bainbridge Island for the first time and having dinner with us had me on a huge~high in the kitchen!

I seriously couldn't believe it when I began toasting pine nuts ~

soaking currants~

redusing balsamic vinegar~

and spreading chevre {goat cheese}.

This meal was fancy....there's no doubt about that! 

I hit an all~time KITCHEN high when I started in on the CHOCOLATE part of the meal!

It was all coming together...without one moment to spare.

Picking Bridget~ Mr. E~ and Kiddo up at the ferry was surreal!

Hoping to catch the sun setting out over the water we headed to Crystal Springs!

It was my hope that Bridget and I could get some good pictures together with the sun setting behind us and the water glistening.

Can I just say~

THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

The wind was whipping and blowing and our hair was whirling!

We were barely able to stand still much less have a good photo shoot!

These were the worst pictures EVER!

I hope Bridget doesn't kill me!

I'm going to show these pictures just to PROVE we really~ FOR REAL ~ were together! ;)

Bridget said she looks like she only has one eye!

I said I look like I weigh 500 lbs. in that black down~puffy coat and have no hair!

What can I say!

Southern Girls analyze what they look like in pictures!

We can't help ourselves. Self~critiquing is something we specialize in.

Pop over to Bridget's post on Seattle to see how utterly adorable she is!

Not to mention how handsome Mr. E and Kiddo are!

Having Bridget in our home for dinner was dreamy.

Kiddo assisted me in the kitchen prepping the Bainbridge Bruschetta and

Goat Cheese on Toast with Pine Nut Relish.

Doogan assisted Kiddo!

Doogan and Kiddo bonded ~BIG TIME!

We all did.

They took the last ferry back to Seattle that night.

It went by way too fast.

I'll never forget how it felt to have Bridget in my sewing studio looking at BLOOM bags and comparing Bobbi Brown makeup.

Bridget is everything I knew she'd be and so much more.

Bridget is the real~deal.

She's FUN~

she's FUNNY~

she's genuine~

she's beautiful.

One thing that warmed my heart sweeter than anything was her smile.

I knew Bridget had a sweet way about her~

I knew her SMILE was just as sweet~

I just had no idea HOW SWEET it was.

When Bridget smiles at you she means it. Her smile is mesmerizing. 

Truly.

You'll see.

You'll see if you ever have the pleasure of meeting BRIDGET~ 

"Bake at 350"~

in REAL LIFE!

If you're lucky she'll bring you a black plastic RAIN visor!

You know~

the ones like your mamaw used to have in her black patten leather purse and pull out when 

it started to drizzle.

Bridget and her boys came to Bainbridge Island~

we shared a meal in our home.

It was a night I'll hold close to my heart forever.

~xxooxx~