where it all began: maran

Exactly 1 year ago today, my newest best friend walked into my life. Well, she didn't exactly walk in... she came bolting in through the powers of social media.

Maran, who blogs at Hey Hawleywood, is one of my closest friends. We text just about daily, talk on the phone after scary doctors appointments and share the in's and out's of every aspect of our lives with each other. We make it a point to see each other regularly -- weekly is preferred. She is just the perfect person for me to have met here in North Carolina and I'm so thankful to have her friendship.

What no one really knows is how it all began. Our friendship has a very distinct jumping off point, of which happened on Feb 21st of last year. Maran's co-worker had told her about my blog, she took a look at it and sent me the below e-mail...

Hey Kate!! 

I stumbled on your blog literally 30 minutes ago while eating lunch at my desk and felt like I needed to be creepy and send you an email :) 

My husband and I recently bought a house in Hunterville and are adapting to Lake life much like yourself. We are 29 and have lived in Charlotte for 5 years. 

I love that I stumbled onto your blog! What made me send this email was the post about your hubby being away for 8 days... between you mentioning only a handful of girlfriends here combined with your insane love for your dog + the fact that you can take Jameson like a champion made me realize that we might be soulmates, haha. But seriously, all stalky-ness aside, we are the only married couple in our group and love to meet new people. So this is a super awkward invitation to grab coffee/wine/doggie date sometime when you aren't traveling. 

I have attached a picture to 1: prove I am not some 55 yr old man moonlighting as a 29 yr old woman AND 2: to show that I am also a whipped dog mommy and had my puppy at my wedding.... on the dancefloor.. yikes. 

PS- I am willing to overlook your love for the Steelers if you can put aside the fact that I am from Cleveland. 

 ~Maran

After recieving Maran's e-mail I dropped everything and immediately e-mailed her back. I mean, she had me at Jameson! 

I'm going to refrain from posting my e-mail, as I talk in detail about where exactly I live, etc. What I will leave you all with, is that true friendship can come from blogging. We have shared so much in just 1 year of knowing each other... She has quickly become my #1 confidant, my go-to person, my voice of reason, my doggy playdate buddy and my friend who just makes my life that much easier. With Maran, it doesn't take any work. She's the easiest person to have in your life, she's the first one to make a sarcastic comment and is my potty mouth equal. I can be me 100% when she's around and our time together mostly consists of us in pj's just hanging out at our houses. My point is... If you're open to it, meaningful friendships can form from out of no where!

Below is the last sentence that I wrote her in response to her e-mail above...

I would LOVE to meet up sometime, because who knows? I may just possibly meet my newest best friend in you!

And indeed, I did.

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To read Maran's take on our 1st day of meeting and how it all went down, check out her blog, Hey Hawleywood.