Grand Rapids * Social Diary

January 26, 2010 - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I put a call out for bloggers this week on twitter and was suprised by the response. I know very little about Ms. Amanda VanLente-Hatter but when I read her short blog I thought she would be a nice addition for the Diary. This blog was written last December but is a good read.

Enjoy Tuesday, Grand Rapids!

Well the weather outside is frightful but the deal is so delightful By amandavlhatter

A "blizzard" predicted to hit on a December Wednesday morning threatened the hubs' Christmas present -- front row tickets for 'White Christmas' in Lansing. Being the responsible adult I am, I called and moved to Thursday. So of course, the snow hit Thursday, and we were driving in the thick of it. So much for being responsible. But a 50% off coupon in my inbox to selected Gilmore Collection restaurants made sure we still had a special date.

I've wanted to eat at -- well, all -- of the GC restaurants since we moved to GR. With about 20 restaurants to chose from, we have our pick of food type and ambiance -- but no matter where we went, I heard the food and service were great. Mangiamo is an Italian restaurant in an old mansion that we've passed a few times and each time I've thought "Oh, what a cool-looking place." Though I've been getting daily e-mail specials left and right, we didn't have a chance to take advantage of them. But on that Wednesday I got an e-mail offering 50% off the food bill at about 10 of their restaurants, and Mangiamo was on the list. We still wanted to do something special and this was a great way to try a new place without a huge investment. So we went.

I'm guessing they were probably expecting a dead night because of the weather, so if this e-mail brought in a few more people, cool. But when we got to the restaurant at 7, it was almost full and didn't slow down the entire time we were there. A small amount of effort for a huge reward -- because now we know their reputation was well deserved. And we're willing to pay full price for it.

Amanda is a writer who works in corporate marketing and communications, specializing in Web and digital content. She believes everyone has an awesome story hiding somewhere - finding it is the hard part. So she uses her journalism degree and her family as an excuse for being nosy. When your twin sister marries your husband's brother, your business is everyone's business. She loves to cook - and eat.

Find her on Twitter @amandavlhatter

"winter" ~ photography by Tim Motley, motleycatstudio.com

Yesterday's Blog: January 25, 2010 - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Blog: January 24, 2010 - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Blog: January 23, 2010 - Grand Rapids, Michigan