Friday Favorites- 28 Summers Edition

  

Happy Friday Friends!  It was a busy week in these parts and I am glad to see the weekend...a very good busy...work picked up for me...Eva had soccer camp and Diana continues to love her dance lessons PLUS Daddy is crazy at work and loving it...so woke up with a very grateful heart today....

First things first...Happy Birthday to my amazing Dad Pete- yeah!!  He is the original Clark W Griswold and we love him so much!  We will be seeing him tonight and celebrating with one of my mom's incredible Italian dinners!

Today my "Friday Favorites" is going to look a little different because I am dedicating it to my Book Club.  I hosted our club last night and we reviewed our latest read "28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand".

Due to the last 6 months being so difficult, I decided to dial it up for the night and went all out.  We truly celebrated the love of Mallory and Jake.

I made the meal that they ate every year on Friday night....and then added in a couple of extras....

Brie, Chutney and Water Crackers

Hamburgers (aka Sliders)

and because they ate lobster one year on a Saturday...I added in Lobster Sliders

Tomatoes with Balsamic Drizzle

Corn (aka Corn Salad)

and for dessert?  Well fortune cookies of course (the Sunday Night ritual) ;)

and I added another dessert- a surprise for my guests- custom cupcakes made by Love and Flour

We had what they drank too- Chardonnay from Russian River Valley

and hydrangeas on the table of course (these are from our yard- they are growing like wild this year!)

We had some great questions that we discussed

and our obligatory group photos thanks to Robby B

 

We call this group the "OGs" or "Originals" ....our club has grown but not everyone could make it...our friend Lisa even surprised us and made the treck up from Maryland- she moved there last year- we were shocked and she is so glad she made the journey!

A couple of friends decided to join us too via Zoom..

 

 

It was a great night of catching up after way too long...talking about the various school plans (in town, private and colleges) and chatting about 28 Summers and our love for Elin Hilderbrand.  Highly recommend this read- it has become our favorite of hers...yup even surpassed The Blue Bistro for Laura and me!

Enjoy :)

Linking up for Friday Favorites HERE

Meeting Elin Hilderbrand (Again!)

Yes AGAIN!  You can read about my first time meeting her HERE

Elin made her annual stop at The Hampshire House in Boston on Monday night and thanks to Lisa and her research we organized our little trip and this year included Cass too because she loves her books.

The event did not disappoint-beautiful venue, delicious apps and desserts and gorgeous holiday decor.

Elin did something different this year.  She talked more about how she writes and her life and did not read from the book.  I enjoyed that but really wished she had read a chapter to us as I felt that would get me more motivated to finish this one.  I usually do not need help with her novels but because the back drop of Winter in Paradise is St. John and not Nantucket, I am not as excited....anyway, I will finish it...this month...yes!

We enjoyed having her sign our books and take pictures with us and all agreed she is so inspirational and just so fun!

Here is what our night looked like

In the city early enough to grab an app and glass of wine downstairs at Cheers...had to snap a few pics of this famous place :)

and then inside The Hampshire House...so beautiful

There she is! :)

 

Cass and I got in line to have her sign our books and while Laura held our spot in the room, Lisa came with us to snap our pic!

Waiting in line...

and....yeah!!

and then it was time for the owner of The Hampshire House, Tom Kershaw, to introduce Elin

and she wow'd us again!

After her presentation, Lisa and Laura went to grab the book and we all got in line again for our group pic!

While waiting in line, we were served the cutest dessert :)

Yeah again!

Another wonderful night with Elin!  Have you met her?  Has she come to your city/town?  Would love to hear your stories too!

Meeting Elin Hilderbrand

Meeting Elin Hilderbrand

I know...I know...dream come true.  She is one of my favorite authors of all time.  Just reading her stories...all set in one of my favorite places in the world...Nantucket...just puts you in a calm state.  Her books also always inspire me to get back to the beach....enjoy it year round...take in the beauty and live like the locals do...eventually I will make my way there 100% of the time...but for now...her books...are a wonderful escape and full of inspirational material.

She has written over 20 novels...20.  I have tried to meet her before, however, her events always sell out so quickly.

I was excited recently when I saw on Facebook that she was coming to the public library in the nearby town of Methuen.  I thought ok...here is my chance...I went to get tickets and I was out of luck...all sold out.

A couple of my PTA friends noticed that I was interested in the event...and they were too...they struggled to get the tickets too and then our friend Lisa is really good at researching and not taking NO for an answer and she scored us tickets to her Boston event at the Hampshire House and BONUS...they were FREE...I kid you not!  Elin, herself, explained to us why a little later on...we will get back to that.

Lisa drove us in to the city (Boston) on Monday night and we hit no traffic until Storrow Drive which is pretty typical, but all in all we were in there in less than an hour.  Once we parked, we went in and realized we were super early so we decided to head downstairs to the famous Cheers for a quick drink.  We even grabbed a pedestrian to take our picture outside...like REAL tourists ;)

  

After a quick drink and some catching up, we headed back to the Hampshire House.  We were waiting in line, in the lobby, to buy her latest book, "Winter Soltice" (it is Book #4 in a 4 part series) when all of a sudden we got to the front of the line, to make our purchases and Elin sits down right in front of us and just starts signing.  I lost my breath...she was trying to fly under the radar but she gave us a heart attack doing so.  It was hysterical and surreal all at once.  She grabbed my book, signed it and promised we would get pictures together once she made her way upstairs to the main event.

I, of course, had to snap a couple of quick pics because it's me ;)

She was spicy, confidant, friendly and just amazing all around...and I could tell she was such a hoot...I was looking forward to hearing her speak and read!

We headed upstairs where we were treated to complimentary hors d'ouevres in the beautiful venue which was in a room that looked like a large library complete with beautiful and ornate chandeliers...thousands of books and floor to ceiling windows so customary of Beacon Hill- Boston.

We chatted for a bit and met another friend from town there.  Once Elin made her way upstairs, she headed straight to our table and said, "I promised you pictures...let's go!" She was so funny...

Check it out....

She actually gave her cell number to our friend Lisa and asked her to text her the picture of us- SO FUN!

She stayed with us and chatted for a bit and when we asked her how this amazing event could be free, she explained that she has known the owner, Thomas Kershaw for several years and he always hosts an event for her every year when her new book comes out.  She actually publishes two books/year.  He has owned the Hampshire House since 1969.

You may not be able to tell from the pictures but she was wearing a fabulous dress that is so perfect for this time of year...green silk with a black leather fringe overlay and the most beautiful and ornate spiked heels with snakes on them- the outfit?  To die for!  I told her so and she appreciated it :)

After she mingled a bit, Mr. Kershaw himself introduced her and she took the podium and regaled us with some funny tales and then read the first chapter from her new book.  We hung on every word...chuckled and truly enjoyed it...it is making me read the first three books in the series rather quickly so I can get to this finale! 

It was an amazing little event and I am so glad I was able to meet this literary legend.  Her books are so light...easy to read...and always put me in a happy place. 

Her novels include the following, in order of when they were published:

The Castaways

The Beach Club

Nantucket Nights

Summer People

The Blue Bistro

The Love Season

Barefoot

A Summer Affair

The Island

Silver Girl

Summerland

Beautiful Day

The Surfing Lesson

The Matchmaker

The Tailgate

Winter Street

The Rumor

Winter Stroll

Christmas on Nantucket

Here's To Us

Winter Storms

The Identicals and

Winter Soltice

Next up....The Perfect Couple (next year and it is a murder mystery!  How exciting!)