Gourmet Magazine - 15 Romantic Restaurants

(photo of Pia-Maria at Pia's Trattoria - Courtesy of Tampa Bay Times formerly St. Petersburg Times)

As my 300th post on this blog (crazy!), I am excited to announce another great achievement. I received an e-mail from BlogHer and Gourmet magazine (online) over the weekend that my submission for a romantic restaurant in the Tampa Bay area was chosen for their Valentine's Day feature of the Top 15 Romantic Restaurants feature! I am so honored that they loved my review of one of my favorite places to eat, Pia's Trattoria in Gulfport, Florida! Be sure to check out the feature here on Gourmet, and definitely go to Pia's for a rustic Italian meal you won't forget!

Pia's Trattoria

3054 Beach Boulevard South

Gulfport, Florida 33707

727-327-2190

Believe

This morning, my neighbor flagged down my husband to let him know that they found one of my business cards, a highlighter, and a $10 calculator on their driveway this past weekend - all contents of the missing bag. I almost cried on my way to work thinking about the whole thing again.

At 3:30 this afternoon, approximately 2 1/2 days or 60 hours later, I received a phone call at work from a man named John. He told me that he had found folders and my bag on his front lawn Saturday morning, about 10 blocks from where I live, and wanted to return it to me. I couldn't get there fast enough, and with a quick glance, it appeared that everything was there.

I believe that miracles happen, and that good things happen to good people. God must have thought that my Type-A personality couldn't last for more than 3 days without the contents of my bag. And as I typed in my blog URL into Firefox to write this update, I accidentally superimposed two letters, and instead of my blog, a webpage with Bible verses appeared...

If that's not a sign from above, I don't know what is. And I am GRATEFUL.

Featured.... While on Vacation.

I checked my e-mail today while still enjoying my weekend away, excited to find that I am the featured blogger on BlogHer, a wonderful community of women bloggers that I am proud to be a part of. And what made my day is their view of me:

"This blog is bursting with tips and photos - recipes, decorations, flowers, celebrations and best of all, true passion. A superb hostess makes the world a more enjoyable place and here's proof."

You can check out the page that links to me here on the right hand column. A huge THANK YOU to Heather Clisby and the BlogHer Community for the recognition!!

And just to make you all a little jealous, here was the sunset and moon out our back door last night from our weekend away at Indian Rocks Beach:

And last but not least, Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother. She is my go-to for all good ideas and creativity. Thanks for being such an amazing and inspiring person, and I am lucky to be your daughter!

Happy Mother's Day!

Blushing....

I was highlighted as this week's Freshly Picked Rosebud from the fabulous Kristin and Megan, the Bon Bon Rose Girls.  I had the pleasure of finally meeting Kristin at the Bloggers Unite event last weekend, and she is just as delightful in person as she is on her blog! I absolutely love their daily posts, and really appreciate what they contribute to the blogosphere. They are a daily read for sure!

If you want to become a Rosebud like me, go here for more information about how you can become one too!

Kristin & Megan, thanks for truly making my week! Have a lovely weekend everyone!