Monday

Bake at 350

After the Christmas holidays, we got new next door neighbors.

Now, y'all know I'm an introvert. And neighboring doesn't come naturally to me. Just ask my two friends. 

I'm not exactly un-neighborly, I just need a little time or a gift.

Oh, I kid.

I met the new neighbors in passing. They have a little boy around my older kid's age and they all became fast friends. (My kids get their friendliness from their daddy. Good thing).

At the end of our  really bad week, the little neighbor boy showed up at our door with these: (His Mom made them)


I wanted to weep.  Because God gave me a deep love for The Cookie. 

I also tried to explain to my kids that such excellent cookie-baking skills were not the norm. (Not only were they beautiful, they were delicious!)

Well. My neighborly gene kicked in and I wanted to reciprocate. But before you panic, I knew baking was out of the question. The bar, it was high.

So. I packed a heart-shaped tin full of cherry sours and sent my hubby and toddler over to deliver the candy and to pick up my son from his playdate.

And that's when my hubby learned that my neighbor is a blogger. She has an adorable baking blog named Bake at 350.  My son saw her taking pictures of these (why, yes, those are homemade hostess cupcakes!!):


"Are you taking pictures for your blog? Because my Mom has a blog and she takes pictures of everything. Even when we have the flu." 

And then he said something like (he couldn't remember his exact wording), "I bet you think your blog is better than my Mom's blog."

Yeah. 

I think it was around that time (according to my hubby) that our toddler found the container of cherry sours and spilled them on the floor of her beautiful home. Of course, my children did not start eating them off our neighbor's floor because we are not THAT kind of family.

Ahem.

When my hubby turned to leave, he said something to the effect of, "Maybe my wife will tell you about her blog."

She responded, "Oh, your son told me. I've already bookmarked it in my favorites."

I'm pretty sure my new awesome neighbor didn't bat an eye when she heard the name of my blog. Considering my kids were eating her Valentine's treat from the floor.

Irony is a funny thing.

I went all the way to Blissdom to meet my first real life bloggers and it turns out there's one next door. A baking one at that!

I'm totally offering to sample her desserts. I'm nice like that. 

This weekend, they came over so we could visit and get to know each other better. I can't tell you how nervous I was to invite them. I mean, what was I going to serve? Dessert? Yes, please come for coffee and pretzels.

But then I had a genius moment: I served Girl Scout cookies.

Because who doesn't like the girls in brown? 

Plus, it turns out I'm a pro at opening those packages. Who knew?

{This is where you go visit my bloggy neighbor and new real life friend at Bake at 350. I think I can talk her into a baking giveaway. What would y'all think of that??)

66 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so wildly fun and crazy! And lucky for you because it means lots of baked goodies! I am off to visit her now :)

Oh and my neighbor is my best friend now and we still laugh at how it took me a year to say hi. I can be so stupidly shy.

Lindsay @ Makely said...

She's amazing!! Did you see the cookies she did for her dad's birthday?!? Wow! I'm totally subscribing to her just so I can dream (and drool).

Courtney@Booksnboys said...

Ha, ha, ha! She's probably going to be afraid to post any dessert pics on her blog now 'cause she'll know you'll read it and be at her door offering to help sample whatever she just made :)
How fun!

Anonymous said...

Just discovered your blog. It feels soooo good to laugh. Thank you!
Karen

ThriftyMommy said...

You're gonna have to stop making me laugh. I sit here reading these blogs just smiling and laughing and my husband looks at me like I'm a freak. I'm glad you have a neighbor that can bake. You've got skills too. :)

Suz said...

How cute! You're blogging neighbors :) Made me smile.. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Yum! I wish I lived by you now - LOL! How fun to have a blogging neighbor - very cool!! And it is quite generous of you to offer to sample her goodies - you are a trooper. :)

Robin said...

I'm drooling over your new friends blog. Can we arrange a tasting when I'm there?!

Anonymous said...

That's really cool!!

Thanks to your blog, one of my friends "found" me when I was featured on your Family Tree. We had been friends years ago, but both had moved. I FREAKED OUT when I realized who she was :-) Thank you!! I love the bloggy world.

Dorci said...

Sweet!

Unknown said...

My dream new neighbour - someone who "gets" blogging, bakes, and shares her baking with me!

The house next to us is for sale (hint, hint!). Any takers?

Unknown said...

Seriously how lucky are you. It could have been the husband bloggiing about car engines but no, delicious treats one your doorstep and hopefully a good friend too.

Andrea said...

When neighbors move in, I always bake them a loaf of banana bread. I can handle that, not the cookies or cupcakess -wow! Oh, and I served Girl Scout cookies too this past weekend to company!

Unknown said...

I NEED some Girl Scout Cookies - unfortunately they don't make it over the atlantic to Ireland! I read about them every year. What is your favourite?

Anonymous said...

I love how you basically told your son never to expect anything remotely similar to those baked goods from you! LOL

Heather said...

So maybe you can't bake like your neighbor, but I bet you could do a cute crafty project for her!

Jill said...

How fun that your neighbor blogs!! Forget food, when her traffic numbers skyrocket from a shout out on your blog, she will be thanked enough :)

PS. As someone who knows no girl scouts and didn't get any girl scout cookies this year, I can safely say, I would have eaten thin mints off your floor if given the opportunity.

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

NO WAY, NO WAY...that is unbelievable. Your sons comments were precious, and we're all jealous now because who wouldn't love a real life neighbor as a bloggy friend. I KNOW I don't have any around me.

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

I love how small this world is! And you need to have her giveaway some of those cupcakes. Oh my.

Steph

Bridget said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bridget said...

OK...my husband says I'm not allowed to cry reading your blog! :)

We LOVED those Girl Scout cookies! I came home from your house thinking, "Did I really just inhale SIX cookies in front of our neighbors?" Sorry.

We are so, so happy to have such wonderful and fun(!) neighbors...I don't think that happens very often!

And, yes, you are now an official taste-tester. :)

Missy said...

You are so funny! Its great you made a new friend!

Mandy said...

What a small world. I've been reading BOTH your blogs for awhile--both you ladies are uber-fabulous! You're lucky to have each other as neighbors!:)

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

Oh, I'm SO jealous. Why couldn't I move next door to a baking blogger?!

Love that you served Girl Scout cookies. I think it was very generous of you, actually. I'm kind of stingy with mine. Those boxes are so small, and the cookies go so fast! :-)

Musings of a Housewife said...

That is HILARIOUS!!! Who woulda thunk? I agree with Julia. I'm pretty stingy with my Girl Scout Cookies. I'm sure your neighbor was impressed with your generosity. ;-)

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

How funny!! That's great though, to have something in common like that. And bless her heart for being a foodie blogger. I tried that for over a year. It's TOUGH!!!!!

everydayMOM said...

No way! I can't believe you and your neighbor are both "serious" bloggers... I mean you take your blogging seriously... That is great!

It's hard to believe you are such an introvert. I would not have guessed.

350's treats look awesome!

Unknown said...

:I went all the way to Blissdom to meet my first real life bloggers and it turns out there's one next door. A baking one at that!"

Funny how live happens like that...

There are language barriers with my neighbors so there's no baking or sharing going on. Glad you have a good neighbor and one who bakes to boot!

Muthering Heights said...

Woah, she has some skills!!! Thanks for the blog tip, I may have to bookmark her in MY favorites!

Jaden Paige said...

I'm off to visit her now... Oh those homemade hostess' look SOO yummy! :)

Anonymous said...

WOW!! Excuse me for my whine, but why oh why can't I have a neighbor like her??? Those heart cookies are too cute, but when I saw the Christmas ornament ones, OH.MY.WORD! She has mad skillz!! I definitely think you need to convince her to do a little giveaway! :) Enjoy your new neighbors!

April said...

I'm getting new neighbors too. Now I'm sweating it. It is nice that you have something in common to start off. And her son is so cute. Thanks for the laugh.

Lynn said...

Great neighbors are truly a blessing. We have all good ones now, but we've had a bad one in the past.

It. is. not. fun.

I think a baking giveaway would be just delightful (especially if your neighbor is making the goods). ;o)

Anonymous said...

Found you through RIMD...loving your blog! This post was hilarious. I'm looking forward to reading more!

akawest said...

A blogging baker who shares, you couldn't have handpicked a more perfect neighbor.

Sandy said...

Oh, I love this story! I'm going to link to you tomorrow, ok? :)

Happy Mommy said...

I can't believe your neighbor is a blogger too! That's great!

Anonymous said...

I found you through RIMD when she passed WFMW over to you... I can see why she chose you - I absolutely love love love your blog! Your stories just "make my day." Your neighbors blog is amazing, but it's nice to have you to come back to for a little dose of MY World: "what was I going to serve? Dessert? Yes, please come for coffee and pretzels." That about says it all. :)

Bobbi said...

Wow..new to your blog and LOVING it! It feels so good to laugh!!

Jessica said...

That's great!! How exciting. I think it would be funny to find out that one of my favorite bloggers lived next door. What's your exact location? ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! Those cupcakes are amazing!!!

I'm going to have to make sure that when I have this baby, he/she never ever sees people who are that good at baking. Because that will really set them up for a significant disappointment when they see me ruin anything that comes within ten feet of an oven.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! Those cupcakes are amazing!!!

I'm going to have to make sure that when I have this baby, he/she never ever sees people who are that good at baking. Because that will really set them up for a significant disappointment when they see me ruin anything that comes within ten feet of an oven.

Mary @ Giving Up On Perfect said...

Oh good grief! Your neighbor is a baking magician! I went to her site, and WOW! I can't believe you now get to see (and hello? TASTE!) that stuff in real life! How fun! :)

Les & Sweetie Berry said...

How good you both are for sharing yourselves with us!

Anonymous said...

NO WAY!

I seriously used to read her blog about a year ago. I read about it somewhere else not blog related and really enjoyed it. It might even still be in my blogroll, I don't know. How funny she is your neighbor!

Sarah said...

This is so funny! This is what happens these days! We hull up and digitally remaster our lives online and then gasp when we find out other people also do that, so THAT is why there aren't people outside in our neighborhood! Guess we need to start planning blogging neighborhood parties! ;)

Unknown said...

Kristen,

That was hilarious. I'm going to check out her blog now. Thanks.

Deb

Anonymous said...

Our new neighbors actually made us homemade apple cider! I wish I had had some Girl Scout cookies to give them.

Mom to 5...Daughter of the King said...

How incredibly fun! My neighbors just think I'm the crazy lady with the 5 wild kiddos!

momstheword said...

What a sweet gesture! How funny that she blogs! My then-four year old met our new neighbor and the first thing he said to her was "You need to clean your house!"

I was mortified. She then told me that she had cleaned it before inviting us over!

Jane Anne said...

Seriously, you had me laughing out loud. I know, I am supposed to say LOL. But, really I don't LOL that much (it's usually a slight chuckle) so I had to write out for significance!!! I loved this. Now I am going to go check out your neighbor's blog.

My latest post: Monday Moment

Penny said...

My cookies NEVER turn out that pretty.

NEVER.

cotedetexas said...

I love the story about your bragging son - that is hysterical!!! omg - I am cracking up!!!!1 love your blog!

Joni

Thoughts of THAT mom said...

You're right. That's NOT normal. And oh how blessed you are to be living next door.

You DO realize that if you & your hubby ever decided to sell your house that all you have to do is mention the neighbors & it's sold? I'd buy it! You don't find neighbors that bake like that often. Seriously, I think she just single-handedly doubled the value of your property!

Amy

jr said...

I am so jealous of people who find great neighbors that become friends! Maybe someday...

::Traci:: said...

Oh goodness, funny stuff! I think I would die if my child had a convo w/ a neighbor about blogging. I don't know how I feel about my neighbors reading. Weird, huh?

Glad you foung a new friend!

TidyMom said...

What fun!!
and what your son said to her cracked me up!! Sounds like some thing my family would say to someone! LOL

~TidyMom

Vintage Dutch Girl said...

Um...those chocolate cupcakes are seriously derailing my diet plans - YUM.

Anonymous said...

I am so enjoying reading your blogs! You remind me of myself! ha ha

BusyMom said...

What a great post. I loved the part about "coffee and pretzels".

Innkeeper Seely said...

The last time we had new neighbors I went over with a housewarming gift of a cheese cake to introduce myself. That's what people did where I grew up. Upon mentioning this to others in the neighborhood it became clear that I was a total freak and had no business trespassing on a new neighbor's walk. It just isn't done here. Consequently I have avoided our last new neighbor for two months. I'm over there tomorrow! Thanks for the inspiration.

Anonymous said...

How fun!!! Where do ya'll live? I'd like to live near you. Your a trip and I love chocolate, so the 3 of us would get along fabulously! =)

Miss Mommy said...

Just stumbled across your blog from Rocks In My Dryer....I love it!! Oh and thanks for your new friends blog as well....I wish she was my neighbor too!! Those cookies look delish....lol lol

Unknown said...

Thank you for "introducing" me to your neighbor a couple months back! I'm the stalker she probably talks about from twitter world! I'd give anything to have some of her goodies show up with the post man!

Amanda said...

Shut up! Totally jealous. Bridget is the best best best!!

Blessings-
Amanda

Kate said...

You are absolutely delightful. I like you. Oh yeah... I want to live on your street...me, you and Bridget just hangin' out together.

And that concludes my creepy, boarder-line stalkerish comment.

Amen.