Yesterday...

by - November 04, 2011




Country Living Announces the First-Ever Blue Ribbon Blogger Award Honorees at countryliving.com/bloggerawards!

Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the very first, Country Living, Blue Ribbon Blogger Awards luncheon at the Hearst Tower.  Country Living awarded the honorees across seven categories which included lifestyle, pets, crafts, decorating, food, gardening and collecting. 

Editor in Chief Sarah Gray Miller kicked off the celebration by welcoming and congratulating the honorees; she also recognized the numerous blogs that have featured Country Living AND the tons of bloggers that have been spotlighted in the pages of the magazine.  According to Sarah Gray, “the inspiration is definitely mutual.”  

Cooper Boone, a longtime friend of Country Living and one of the judges, took the stage to present the awards to each blogger honoree.  Cooper won the room over with his charm, wit and especially his sincere, overwhelming affection and adoration for each of the 2011 Blue Ribbon Blogger Honorees.

Judges included: Cooper Boone of Cooper’s Kitchen, Eddie Ross of eddieross.com, Simply Sublime’s Jodi Kahn and Pink of Perfection’s Sarah McColl.

MEET THE WINNERS, who won an all expense paid trip to NYC for themselves and a guest...Nice.


LIFESTYLE: Aimee Carpenter; craftyfarmgirl.net
Crafty Farm Girl grew out of Aimee Carpenter’s desire to live in the country raising kids and having lots of animals. 

PETS: Melissa Caughey; tillysnest.com
Her desire for healthy, organic eating and teaching her children about where food comes from prompted her to act on a lifelong dream of owning a backyard flock of chickens.

CRAFTS: Rachel Garza; rhgarza.blogspot.com
Creativity is a way of life for Rachel Garza. She started her blog, Always a Project, in January 2011 to document the myriad of “practical pretties” she completes while balancing full-time jobs in marketing and motherhood. 

DECORATING: Wendy Hyde; shabbynest.blogspot.com
First and foremost, Wendy Hyde of Lehi, Utah, is a wife and the mother of four beautiful children. That said, she has loved interior design for as long as she can remember. 

FOOD: Sydney Kramer; crepesofwrath.net
Crepes of Wrath started in 2008 as a hobby for Sydney Kramer of Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband. 

GARDENING: Linda Ly; gardenbetty.com
A quintessential California girl, Linda Ly loves to be outside. Most days she’s playing in the dirt at her charmingly chaotic “farmlette,” tucked away in a coastal suburb of Los Angeles; 

COLLECTING: Beth Styles; secondhandwithstyle.blogspot.com
Chances are that no matter what Beth Styles is doing right now, she would rather be thrifting. A St. Louis–based freelance editor and writer by day—and a lover of vintage all the time—


Images from the day

 ...the menu...YUM!
 ...our table...beautiful
 paparazzi...of which I was one...smile.
 ...killer view...that's Central Park.  How do they get any work done in this office?
 ...no detail was overlooked...but, what else would you expect from Country Living...






 ...and what's a party without a goodie, swag bag?  LOVE!

It was a perfect way to spend a fall afternoon.  Surrounded by passionate, like minded people while being recognized for all the hard work that goes into maintaining a blog.  Well, it hasn't gone unnoticed by the folks over at Country Living Magazine.  At a time when most traditional magazines are not sure what to do with the blogesphere, Country Living Magazine is embracing it...Kudos to them.  Thank you so much Country Living Magazine for inviting me...Well done.  If you haven't read Country Living lately you really should. It's full of the best interior rooms, before and afters and decorating tips...
  I heart it.

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8 comments

  1. I would have LOVED to come to that omg! You looked pretty as usual! xoxo

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  2. Hi Donna! Your pictures turned out great! It was so nice to meet you yesterday, and now to put a blog with your face! Love what you're doing over here! :)

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  3. Loved this post and pictures. You looked fabulous.

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  4. Thank you, Donna, for such a great recap! You're ahead of me! It was lovely to meet and dine with you. I'm following you via BlogLovin'.

    rhgarza.blogspot.com

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  5. Looks like a great event!!! How fun, its so great that they take notice of the hard work bloggers do! :)

    Love the swag bag, looks like you had a blast!

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  6. Congrats on the invite! I attended my first annual Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH, and it was FAB (thanks to my Mom)! Spent the entire day there, and believe me when I say there were that many vendors to take up the entire day! I'm going to post pics on my blog....

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  7. This was seriously cool and I'm happy for you getting the invitation. Gorgeous pics. I am now needing to recreate the floral arrangement!

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