Love this post.  I was just telling a friend yesterday that the best part of the weekend was seeing Carmen in her hometown and meeting her family and friends -- all of which were exactly as Carmen, the consummate storyteller, had described.  All the nights of cocktails and opera in Manhattan could never tell me as much about who Carmen is as a weekend in Grand Rapids.  I love that you thought the same thing.

Also so happy to spend time with you and J.  It's hard to believe we've only really met a couple of times in real life. Ah, the magic of twitter.