Sisters Week!!

Hello Dear Friends. [ Okay. Three words and I'm already writing a tangent — but I do want to say that I adore the dear readers that visit this blog. Creating each post is a bright spot in my day and your kind emails and comments make me smile. I'm so glad to be back after a weekend break and truly feel like I'm surrounded by Dear Friends as I blog. So, thank you. Really, truly thank you. ] Tangent finished.

Something new this week! I've got my sisters here with me. Only virtually of course — but still, I'm pretty happy about it.

On the Blair side I'm lucky to be spoiled with sisters. Ben has 4 smart and talented sisters plus 3 smart and talented sister-in-laws. And because we're married they belong to me as well. On the Stanley side (my maiden name is Stanley), I am also spoiled with sisters — 3 sisters I grew up with and 3 sister-in-laws that have joined the clan since I've been married. That's 13 sisters in all. Could I be luckier? Some are a little younger, some are a little older, but all are friendly, easy to talk to and full of good advice and sound wisdom.

Thirteen Guest Bloggers is a lot for one week, so I'm splitting it up. I've just got the Stanley-side sisters here. All of them are active in the blog world and I knew they wouldn't mind experimenting with a Sisters Week. So here we go. I'll start with an introduction and then you'll see a couple of posts from each sister throughout the week. Too much fun!


Clockwise from top left, Erin, Rachel, Jordan, Liz, Sara & Megan. Click the image to see it larger.

Erin Kelly Stanley
Erin only lives a few blocks away from me, so I'll start with her and then work my way across the country. Erin is possibly too good to be true. She's smart and beautiful. She comes from one of my favorite families. And she cooks. Like really cooks, really well. And that's one of the reasons she's the sister that I live close to — she keeps me well stocked in gourmet treats. Also. Her educational and professional background is in music education which means playdates at her house are like watching Jack's Big Music Show live. Erin is married to my brother Josh and is the mother of 4 wonderful kids. Erin blogs at Lee Lou Ann.

Rachel Rodgers
Rachel is surprised to find herself living in East Texas. It's a fairly new move for her — up until a short while ago she was a military wife and lived with her family all over the world. (Just to be clear, she's still a wife to her champ of a husband Paul, just not a military wife.) After all those relocations, she is currently adjusting to settled life as a homeowner — and sometime chicken farmer. Hey. If Martha can do it, then so can Rachel. Rachel is a really good mom, raising a clan of hardworking, super-smart kids — both young children and teenagers — so she's especially good to go to for advice. And EVERYBODY loves talking to Rachel. Seriously. If you start a conversation with Rachel, you will not want to stop. Rachel blogs at R-eight.

Liz Ricks Stanley
Liz has recently moved to Salt Lake City after a few newlywed years in Hoboken, New Jersey. This was a big move for Liz because she grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City, and New York is really home for her. But my brother convinced her the mountains in Utah are really all that and since Liz is totally up for an adventure she said, sure why not, then quit her job, moved across the country, bought a house in the Avenues, completely remodeled it and had a baby (Hi Hank!) — all in like a week. Liz is a high school counselor by profession and a very thoughtful person and I'm sure she gets quite a kick out of analyzing the Stanley Family craziness. Liz is married to my brother Jared and she blogs at Say Yes to Hoboken.

Sara Stanley Urquhart
Sara is the only sibling still living in St. George — the town where I grew up. And the whole family is so happy she's there, because we love our ties to Utah's Dixie. I have not yet convinced her to start a blog, but her husband Steve's blog makes headlines all the time as one of the first transparent-blogs-by-a-politician. Speaking of her politician husband, Sara's life is more political than your average housewife and mother — she actively campaigns for the candidates she supports and is knowledgable — and has strong opinions — on every issue. She's smart and passionate about whatever she's working on. And she really, really wants a pool — St. George is hot.

Megan Czarneki Stanley
Megan lives in sunny southern California. Which is the perfect place for someone really athletic to live. Megan spends her free time coaching, playing or learning sports. And since she lives by the beach, her latest sport is surfing — because she's that cool. Plus, she's the sort of really nice person that remembers everybody's birthday and makes them a card. Or a blanket. Plus, plus she LOVES being a mom and it is so fun to watch her interact with her two delightful boys. Megan is married to my brother Salem — their kids are going to be twice as tall as mine and way better at football. Megan blogs at The Stanley Family Blog.

Jordan Anne Ferney
Jordan Anne-with-an-E lives with her artist husband Paul in San Francisco, where their life is really, truly as glamorous as it seems on her blog. Really. Truly. Jordan has enough talent in her little finger to have like 15 successful careers, but she would also be content to stare at her new baby all day long (Hi Moses!) and then plan a super-cool-event-for-500-people while he takes his afternoon nap. Alternatively, she would also be happy if she could stalk Kate Spade for a living. Jordan is a great supporter of all things creative and a great friend to her friends. Jordan blogs at Oh Happy Day.

Just in case you're curious:
The image at the top is by John Singer Sargent — he's my favorite portrait artist. It's entitled "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" and I've always liked it because I feel like my sisters match up perfectly with the ages of the daughters pictured. Basically, I like to pretend John Singer Sargent painted a portrait of me and my sisters. I'm the one at the left.