*** Warning – This post has nothing to do with ancestry***

I have some amazing friends.  They are talented in all sorts of manners.  A few of them have blogs.  This post has nothing to do about ancestry.  It is merely recognition of my friends who have neat blogs you might want to read.   The links to these blogs are also located under “Friend Blogs” over there….on the right.  See it?  Good.

(in no particular order – other than this is the order already listed on my page)

cottage revolution

Claire (C-Dogg in some circles) has been a friend of mine for well over a decade now.  We were co-workers in college, and every so often we still work together.  She is the craftiest person I know in real life.  I’m not talking decoupage.  I’m talking about making her own clothes, terrarium-building, slipper development, and sewing buttons back on my clothes (because I’m useless at such things).  She is my neighbor and we do neighborly things like walk the dog together, or borrow eggs.  It’s super cheese, but I love it.

Her blog is all about the things she creates.  Her photos are simple and amazing, sometimes with the help of her husband (who I’ve known even longer!).

Irvington Bungalow

Carmen is a friend of mine from grad school at Ball State.  Unfortunately we don’t see each other at ALL anymore which is not enough, especially since she lives like 12 minutes away.  Side note:  I know it’s exactly 12 minutes because we used to carpool, and it was fun. Luckily there is Facebook and her blog, which allows me to see what’s new in Carmen’s world.  For a long time much of her world revolved around fixing up their bungalow in a near-east side Indianapolis neighborhood called [amazon_link id=”0738552119″ target=”_blank” ]Irvington[/amazon_link].  I love Irvington, and I love their house.  I want most of their furnishings and want her husband (Chad) to plan a landscape for us.  This is the blog about the work they have done.  I have posted a few things on facebook about work we have done, but they are doing their best to maintain historic integrity.  I love it.  Carmen recently had her first baby and blogging has gotten sparse.  I’m hoping we’ll see some more when the little one gets a little older.  Speaking of the little one, I STILL need to go meet her.  I am a horrible friend.

The Sweetest Baker

I have had some great roommates throughout my past.  Kelly is one of them.  I only got to live with her one year in college at IU but we had an amazing time (at least I think so).  Months (and sometimes years) could go by without talking to my old roomie.  Once she moved back to Philly, communication was sparse…but then she got on Facebook.  My friend Kelly is alive!  Sometimes when people aren’t on Facebook it’s almost as if they have fallen off the earth.  I hate that I am so reliant on this stupid website to keep me up to date on friends, but I am.  I really am.  Kelly has finally gotten on Facebook and I found out what has been going on with her.  She is a pastry chef!  Well, now I might have to move to Philly soon.  Check out her blog, full of great information, pictures, and news on what she is doing.  It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

View From an Irish Backyard

I met Maryann through Claire.  They were co-workers and we all eventually were in a little book club together.  Unfortunately for all of us in Indy, Maryann met and fell in love with an Irish filmmaker (Frank Kelly).  She skipped town…and in fact the entire country…and moved to Drogheda, Ireland, just outside Dublin to be with Frank (and they have a baby girl, Evelyn, now).  We are all able to keep up with her crazy days and hilarious musings via her blog.  Many of her posts are about life in Ireland and how it can be SO different, challenging, enjoyable, and amazing.  If you are an ex-pat at all, or if you’ve been to Ireland, or if you just enjoy good writing then this is a great blog.

So those are some of my talented friends that I felt like I had to show off.  There will be more ancestry adventures coming up soon.  The weather is getting warmer!