You Gotta Have (Work) Friends

When I graduated from college, I remember feeling nervous about how I would make new friends now that my days of keg parties and all nighters were over. (NOTE: I never actually pulled an all nighter and first hosted a keg party after college had ended.) If only 26-year-old Emily could have been in touch with 22-year-old Emily to allay my fears. Not only did I meet some of my best friends during my first job after college (cue comments from Hillel friends here), but I made some really fantastic friends during my second job after college, too.

This is where Beth S. comes in. On my first day at the job I currently have, I remember meeting Beth and deciding we could possibly be friends. I was still unsure how I would survive without sharing cubicle walls with Reuben P., Julie F., and Abbey O. (who was then Abbey G.) and the prospect of a new work friend was very exciting and reassuring. On day three of the job, as we dined on Juice Joint wraps in our office conference room, I remember thinking to myself, "I am so lucky that Beth works here! And that skirt she is wearing is really fabulous. We are definitely going to be friends." I forget when we went from colleagues to colleagues AND friends (perhaps it was the time we were eating ice cream cones and some of my ice cream dripped inside my blackberry and I made her swear she wouldn't tell our IT person if/when the blackberry stopped working as a result)...

I feel confident in saying we are actually friends now (and no longer colleagues which makes me sad). Do you ever stop to think how much time you spend with your co-workers? It is your work friends who you need to reinforce good outfit choices (they see your full range of outfits so they are the best judges of your personal style) and help you navigate challenging or sometimes scary professional interactions. And if you, like me, have your Zappos.com purchases shipped to your office (remind me to tell you about how amazing Zappos is another time), you really need your work friends there as you open the box to share in the joy that is a new pair of shoes.

Not only are Beth and I now actually friends (ice cream in blackberry incident behind us), but Beth got married (I got to go to the wedding which was AMAZING--I'll never forget the cookie table) and her lovely husband is my friend too (hi Chris!). It gets better...As I got to know Beth and Chris, I had a feeling that they would get along really well with my sister. Their mutual love of Vermont (Chris is from Vermont and Rebecca's favorite state is Vermont), tartan (Chris wore a kilt with his family's tartan on it at his wedding, Rebecca aced the unit on tartans in 2nd grade), good beer (please note the "Drink Vermont Beer" bottle opener featured on Beth and Chris's fridge), local food (especially Shelburne Farms), and raw milk cheese were the first conversation topics I brainstormed.

When the four of us actually spent time together, the friendship blossomed immediately. And now the relationship has reached a place where Beth and Rebecca G. actually have plans to make cheese, independent of me (a time when all friendship match makers must step back and simply bask in the joy of their excellent work)! I will, however, happily sample the cheese.



Fast forward to December 2009. Beth, Chris, Rebecca G., and I have frequent dinners together! And at our last dinner, we dined on some delicious home made pasta with lamb and lots of garlic. Beth is a FANTASTIC cook and one of my favorite things about working with her was hearing about the delicious things she had cooked for dinner the night before--and now that we no longer work together, I am honored to experience her fantastic dinners on occasion. And when that is not possible and I need my Beth food fix, I just visit her blog (Miss Mango Hands)... Here is Beth's post about our meal together.

You may ask, "What does Miss Mango Hands have to do with delicious food and well-dressed Vermont loving friends?" Well, Beth and Chris are big Phish fans (they even followed the band on tour to several cities this fall) and the title of the blog is a quote from a Phish song (which we even listened to while dining)! I just made the roasted vegetable pizza that Beth featured on her blog for a dinner party I hosted last night and it was highly successful. When tomatoes are back in season, I will surely make it again.

So, thanks to Beth for proving that good friends can be made once college ends... and for correcting my grammatical errors in a kind but thorough way, being my shoe purchase cheerleader, fashion inspiration, and one of the most excellent cooks and food bloggers I know.

PS--Please note how cute Beth's yellow dress is in the beer photo! Apparently it is from Shake Your Booty on 18th Street and not even featured on the designer's website...just goes to show what an excellent shopper Beth is!