Milestones & Memories

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”
Colossians 3:23-24

Hello sweet friends…and welcome to the post where we reminisce over the last three years, celebrating our blogiversary!  We are marking this special day with a giveaway that you will want to be sure and enter at the end of the post!  Today I want to take you on a little journey of the ever evolving lifestyle blog known as Everyday Living…

…starting with how and why I started blogging.  And the answer to that is simple – it was my Renaissance Man’s (aka Butch) idea that he tossed around for a couple of years.  When he never moved on it, I jumped in and decided I could do a blog.  I thought it would be simple since I enjoy so many different things…surely I could become a blogger with no problems whatsoever.  Little did I know what I was getting into…it only took a post or two for me to see that blogging was way more than snapping a few pretty pics and posting them with a nice caption.  And six hundred posts later, I am still learning!

But without you my sweet friends and readers who meet me here almost daily to read and comment, there would be no blog!  You have encouraged and inspired me as I have felt your warmth, kindness, and support to keep doing what I love!  From a special friend in Spain to all of you in the U.S., thank you would never be enough!

 Not only have you been supportive, but the blogging community has stretched out its arms to me and been so welcoming from the very start.  I have so many blogging friends that I have had the privilege to get to know…and even a couple that I have had the honor to have lunch and spend an afternoon…realizing just how much we have in common!  Bonnie (left) is a fellow Alabamian and is the author of Living With Thanksgiving where she shares her love of gardening, travel, decorating, photography, and entertaining.  She often shares her vast knowledge of the Southern garden and her lovely Southern luncheons…if only we lived closer!
  Shirley from Housepitality Designs blogs about the art of the hospitable home.  She shares her knowledge of decorating and creates beautiful living in her North Carolina home!  Both of these ladies are genuine with hearts of gold.  If you don’t follow them, I highly recommend their fabulous blogs!

 I have been able to make many virtual friends, and I even branched out and started a garden link party!

We’ve shared everything from recipes….

…to our travel adventures…

…to the progress of our garden…

       
 …to churches…

 …to what catches our eye in our Everyday Living…

…and of course, tablescapes galore…

…and memories I adore!

Of course the highlight of our three years was when our little princess entered the world 

   
Blogging has brought out in me the things I love and given me a way to share it with all of you!  Once a foodie, always a foodie…but through blogging, I suddenly became the “wait don’t eat that food until I snap a photo of it for the blog” kind of girl…

I post a food photo every week on Simple + Southern Sunday.  Many of them are taken from dinners in Birmingham at one of Frank Stitt’s four restaurants.  He is responsible for putting Birmingham on the culinary map.  You may remember when I blogged about him here and two of his restaurants here and here.  He has authored two fabulous cookbooks where he shares his stories and recipes.  I have them both and have used the recipes and techniques over and over.  To mark the milestone of our three years in the blog world, I am offering my sweet readers a chance to win Bottega Favorita, a Southern Chef’s Love Affair With Italian Food that he has signed!

 So how do you enter?  I am so glad you asked!  All you have to do is leave a comment below.  The winner will be chosen by a random drawing and announced on Tablescape Tuesday, August 15th.

 Linking with:
 Pieced Pastimes, Life on Lakeshore Drive,Coastal Charm, Dwellings-Heart of Your Home, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage, Stone Gable, Confessions of a Plate Addict, Worthing Court, Between Naps on the Porch, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, A Stroll Thru Life, The Charm of Home, Katherines Corner,Vintage Mama’s Cottage, Marilyn’s Treats, Peonies & Orange Blossoms, Eclectic Red Barn, Share Your Cup,21 Rosemary Lane,The Vintage Nest, The Essence Of Home, Feathering My Empty Nest, Kingsbury Brook Farm,  The Red Painted Cottage, Love Of Home,My Soulful Home, Celebrating Everyday Life, Little Farmstead, Starfish Cottage,  Rattlebridge Farm, Rustic & Refined,The Freckled Rose, Life and Linda, DIY 180, The Stonybrook House, Celebrate & Decorate, Sweet Sensations