About five years ago around the time my dad passed away, I was scrolling on Instagram and saw a few photos of an adorable dog named Winkie the Welsh. I had always wanted a dog but didn’t believe I had the time for one since I had a long commute and children. But I had been feeling blue and this was the one thing during that time that made me truly smile. I knew the kids would probably be interested in getting a dog, but I was going to need to convince my husband John that it was a good idea.
We read up on Winkie’s breed, Welsh Terriers, and learned that they were not all that common and were one of the oldest breeds with records going back as long as 500 years ago! Originally known as the black and tan terrier, they were bred to hunt, chase, and kill badgers, fox, and vermin on farms in Wales. John was worried about our cat, Blue, but I pushed on. Intrigued, I started reading everything I could find and wondered about Winkie’s owner, a woman named Lidey Heuck.
You would think that given that I work in communications, I would have figured out I was seeing Winkie on my feed because I was following someone with a connection. It turned out that Lidey was Ina Garten’s assistant and the pictures I was seeing were all taken in the Hamptons, where Lidey served as her social media guru and apprentice chef.
Not sure where to start on my quest to find the dog, I reached out to Lidey who could not have been nicer, and she told me where she found Winkie. I reached out to the breeder only to learn she was no longer breeding Welshies, however, she pointed me in the direction of two people who were and encouraged me to reach out to them. I talked with two breeders – one in Virginia and one who was going to be passing through Maryland. Ultimately, I was able to obtain my Welsh Terrier, Murphy, after meeting with the Virginia breeder who introduced me to her partner who had a pregnant dog expecting five puppies.
Fast forward five years later and we are all in love with Murphy (John most of all!) who upended our lives in the most positive way. He gets us outside, exercising and meeting other people and he snuggles up with all of us and offers affection morning, noon, and night. He has been nothing short of amazing and we are so glad we found him.
Over the years, Lidey started to make her own mark writing for the New York Times Food section and providing her own recipes. She also got married and moved from Hampton’s to New York and then to the Hudson Valley. As if that was not enough, she also wrote her own cookbook, Cooking in Real Life, which is a love letter to her interest in healthy food that is not only easy to create, but beautiful as well. Lidey’s blog, LideyLikes is full of travel information, recipes, decorating advice and many other pieces of sage wisdom.
When I found out that Lidey was going to do a book tour for the new book, I eagerly signed up for the DC event which was being held at Bold Fork Books one of my favorite shops in the city.
The book signing was a wonderful event and Lidey was as lovely as I imagined she would be, as was her husband, Joe. I hugged them as if I had known them for years. In a way, I feel like I do. Lidey is the only reason we have our newest family member Murphy, and I am always going to be grateful!
I can’t recommend Lidey’s book enough. She is an outstanding young woman and will do wonderful things in the future. She is interested in opening a lifestyle store sometime in the future. I hope to be one of her customers and I have no doubt it will be fabulous!
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