Friend Friday – Meet Holly Burrell

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Meet Holly Burrell.

I’ve known Holly for about 10 years and love her oodles.

I want to invite you to a dinner party at her house. She’ll open the door and you’ll meet a pair of the kindest eyes you’re likely to see anytime soon. She’ll welcome you with open arms and a huge smile. You’ll find yourself laughing almost immediately.

She’ll be dressed simply but the details will reveal everything. She has a wide band, really cool watch her husband got her for her 30th birthday that is funky and sleek and oh so Holly. She’ll wear a shirt that has one subtle thing about it that is fabulous and totally unique. Her glasses are always the best. They’re like her signature and she looks great in glasses. She is incredibly elegant and totally down to earth.

When you take a look at her house, you’ll take a deep breath. The space is always beautiful. There’s a clarity to it, a spareness that makes any clutter junky want to beg for help on the spot. And there’s something simultaneously so homey. It feels good to be there.

And then, there’s the food. Holly studied at the French Culinary Institute (http://www NULL.frenchculinary NULL.com) in SOHO a few years ago. She studied all things pastry and bread and dessert. But ask her to cook anything and you will be in tears as you taste it. Holly is crazy smart, crazy talented and loves to experiment. You’ll often find her sitting by her fireplace with a pile of cookbooks from the library. She’ll spend all night there. And you will benefit from this obsession. Whatever she feeds you will be exquisite.

And not only that — she has a garden that, though I have yet to see it, is apparently gorgeous. And she CANS things. Holly is my only friend that actually CANS things. She made something like 25 jars of tomato jam last summer and another 25 of tomato sauce. Come on. I love that. I mean, have you ever even heard of tomato jam?

So, now let’s just say a few things about conversation during the dinner party. Holly knows how to draw you out. She will ask you about yourself as long as you are willing to talk. You have to work really hard to get a question in because she wants to know about you and wants to listen. She’s perceptive and funny and you’ll want to sit next to her on the couch most of the night.

And I’ll tell you a secret. She’ll be kind of embarrassed but you have to ask her to sing. She plays the guitar and she has the voice of an angel. And though she has a kind of mid-western humility, when she’s singing, she turns into this sexy, mesmerizing, soulful goddess. No kidding.

I also want to tell you some things she won’t tell you at the dinner party. Like, Holly is pretty much great at whatever she tries. She actually worked in the world of investments and real estate for a bunch of years just as a day job and they wanted her to stay and become a crazy wall street big shot. She also got the equivalent of straight A’s at cooking school which is pretty much impossible. And she understands money and how to organize it and stay smart about it in a way I never will.

A few more things. She loves her family like crazy. She loves all things french. She has a beautiful marriage and they care for one another exquisitely. And she’s a loyal and loving friend. And (huge smile) a new mom.

I hope you get to meet her someday if you haven’t already.

Huge love to you all.