WELCOME to: The Din-HER Club

Greetings Everyone & WELCOME to my new blog:

 The Din-HER Club

Side Note: This blog is dedicated to my belated Grandmother Sarah Brown


Bon Appetit!

I have always wanted to do my own take on a food/dining blog, but I was a little afraid because I am not the best writer in the world, but from what I am told that is the beauty and essence of blogging because I get to speak MY own language. Besides, I have seen worse and you only live once so here I go...

I'm an average size woman, but I truly LOVE food and going out to dinner with my girlies 

(hence the name Din-HER). Unfortunately, that means I have to workout extra hard each week to keep my girlish figure.   So many people relate to food in various ways, especially emotionally/socially. The way I relate, is some of everything lol, but it's mainly to gather with my girls to eat, talk, laugh, drink, laugh again, cry then laugh harder.

The Din-HER Club blog is not only a way for me to rate and share my own cooking experiences and opinions on various restaurants I have visited; It's also about sharing a part of my life and Din-HER conversations about our joys, man-problems, kids, work issues and revelations. 

Your Table is Ready & Please Enjoy My Blog!

                                                                    Personal History                                                     

  As a little girl, I was raised in the kitchen by my Mother, but my Aunt and belated Grandmother were also a major influence in my life. As long as I can remember my Grandmother always loved to garden, cook and host all our family and church functions. Our roots stem from good ole Santee, South Carolina...home of  soul-food (yes, I said it), Myrtle Beach, the best golf courses, the infamous south of the border rest-stop and orange dirt roads. Although I grew up in Fairfield County CT, I was raised like a southern belle, where addressing adults as "No/yes Ma'am/Sir" was a must.  

All the women in my family from generation to generation knew how to cook well....It was actually MANDATORY!  My grandmother not only made sure her two daughters knew how to cook, but also made certain that her grand-daughters did too.  Ughhh, I remember I use to hate snapping green beans and grating cheese, while listening to the gospel music of Mahalia Jackson on my Grandmother's record player every Sunday after church. My first time learning how to clean a whole chicken, I was ready to faint (yuck). Seriously, by the age of 12 I knew how to make a full breakfast, simple dinner meals, set-up a formal dining table and make a mean pan of cornbread.

 Everyone loved my Grandma's southern hospitality, cooking and warm smile. Her faith in God and commitment to the church was so strong, it made us believe that the reason her cooking was so good and put people at peace after they ate it, is because God was guiding her hands and measurements.

                  

                      (My Grandmother..I miss her so dearly)

  My mother was into fashion and interior/exterior design and also loved to cook as well, but since she grew up around a more culturally diverse area (CT & NYC) than my grandmother did, she enjoyed trying and making foods of other cultures. Regarding food, she taught me that I had to try everything at least once. She use to yell and say " How do you know you don't like it, if you haven't tried it?" Outside of eventually loving Indian & African cuisine, calamari, alligator, caviar, duck etc., little did she know that force fed teaching (lol) has opened up so many doors for me and how I think about life on multiple levels. That's why I fell in love and became a professional Event, Meeting & Party Planner because it encompasses everything I grew up on (food, hospitality, art/design, people, music and fashion).

-(My Mom & I)                               
 -(My Mom, Aunt, Me and Cousin)

               

Din-HER Club History

The Din-HER Club actually started as The Dinner Club by my best friend (Bootsy), cousin (Tegan) and I. As young professionals trying to make our mark in the world, we attended networking events and shared the common love for dining out and cooking.  We made a deal that we would go out to a new restaurant every other week and rotate who picked up the bill. We would always joke that Tegan, would jump to pay for the pub/tavern like places because they were inexpensive. Anyway, little did we know that we would share so many stories, laughs, celebrations, meet new people and become closer in doing so. 

 

  The Original Dinner Club (Bootsy, Me & Tegan)

Over time my best friend (Bootsy) moved to PA so our Dinner Club meet-ups were short lived. Since I am somewhat of a social butterfly, I met two women my age (Terri-Ann & Shawniel) while volunteering at a charity event. From then, their friends plus my friends all-hit it off and started hanging out together... game nights, partying, vacations, road trips, BBQ's, charity events etc., but the one thing we are always bonded by is dining out to eat.  As a matter of fact, our first Din-HER was after a First Friday's event at this little diner, that made us pay for our meals before we could receive our food. 

#introductions #memories #good-times #friendship

      The Din-HER Club Ladies (minus a few)

 Please feel free to positively share your stories and thoughts by commenting on this and future
Din-HER Club blog posts.