Hi everyone, I’m Jill and I write Everything Just So and I’m
excited to contribute a guest post for Bella! Can we talk about her for a
moment?
Last September when I found out that she was attending the
NYC IFB Conference and was literally staying around the corner from me in
Brooklyn (what are the odds?), I jumped at the chance to not only meet her but
to introduce her to the F train we’d have to take to the pre-IFB Con cocktail
party happening in Manhattan.
It was raining. I was nervous. I arrived at the corner we
agreed to meet on and when I saw her framed under her umbrella I thought: She
is tall. She is glamorous. She is gorgeous! It took me about two seconds to
learn she was something else—one of the most charming people you could ever
meet. I am normally shy when it comes to meeting someone new but Bella put me
at instant ease as we rode the train into the city and when we met up with all
the lovely bloggers at the Mandarin Oriental I watched her work her magic in
the room. It’s quite possible she met everybody there that night, each time I
looked around for her she was chatting with a different person (please teach me
this skill, Bella!); she’s so friendly and giving of herself that you can’t
help giving all that love right back to her.
This essay is supposed to be about place and this is
relevant when talking about Bella because what I learned about her when I met
her is that she is living her motto—she blooms where she’s planted. Come back
to Brooklyn anytime, Bella, we’d love to have you!
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| Crowded on the weekends, the path to Grand Army plaza is gloriously empty on a Monday afternoon. |
