The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Girls’ Club Autumn Teatime and Book Discussion

Cultivating female friendships is rewarding yet sometimes tricky. My friend, Kelli, and I have seen the difficulties that our teen girls can go through with making and keeping friends. We wanted to encourage and mentor our daughters in this area as they go about their high school activities with co-ops, sports, etc., and have been getting together every other Sunday for tea and sweets while discussing a book which covers the topic of friendship with meaningful and practical advice. Girls' Club: Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World is authored by mother and daughters, Sally, Sarah, and Joy Clarkson and is certainly not written to one age group but to all girls and women who desire ... Read more

Fall Camping 2022!

Hello, friends! Any campers out there? Our family has always loved camping and several years ago we started a tradition of a yearly fall camping trip with a couple of other families. This year we couldn't all get our schedules together for the same weekend, so we camped with just one family while the other family made arrangements with another group that they sometimes camp with (We missed you, Rivers!). This year was a little bittersweet as two of our girls are seniors in high school so we knew it might be their last fall camping trip together. Maybe not. Hopefully not! But we made the best of it just in case. I'm starting with the nighttime pictures first because they are some of my ... Read more

Cook by the Book: Between Seasons Luncheon

Welcome back! In my last post I began to share a little about a luncheon my daughter and I prepared for my mom and my mother-in-law for Grandparents Day. Today I'd like to share the recipes. And since we're between seasons right now I selected recipes that would blend summer and fall! Also, as I've mentioned before, I'm challenging myself to use my cookbooks more, so I planned my entire menu from cookbook recipes. It was true lady food! Between Seasons Menu Rosy Raspberry Soup Chicken Salad Croissants, Broccoli Salad, and Cheese Straws Apple Raspberry Iced Tea Hummingbird Cake & Coffee The first cookbook I want to feature is actually not even a true cookbook but a ... Read more

Between Seasons Luncheon

Good morning, sweet friends! I had a post about adoption in the works for this week but since an adoption post requires more thought than my usual posts about recipes or cleaning, I'll need a little longer to finish it. So instead, I'll go ahead and share some photos from a little "grandmother luncheon" my daughter and I hosted last Saturday. Each year, we like to have our children help with something special for Grandparent's Day! This year my daughter and I prepared a girly luncheon just for the grandmothers while my husband and son took my dad to a downtown restaurant overlooking the river which serves the ultimate "guy food"--burgers, wings, fries, etc. It can be hard to plan a ... Read more

Back-to-School Tea

Friday afternoon we had a few neighbor friends over for an after-school snack--a sort of "teatime" except I didn't call it that in front of my son and our tea was enjoyed iced rather than hot, perfect for our warm summer afternoon. This was really easy to throw together! When you have stuff in your stash to work with--tablecloths, paper goods, ribbon, baskets, trays, etc.--a simple table can come together without any prep or purchases. The chambray cloth was a hand-me-down from a friend. I made the red checked topper when my girls were little (I use that thing all the time). The green napkins were leftover in my party box, the ribbon and pencils were on hand, and I always keep apples ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: This and That

Hello, friends! I have a few snapshots to share this week but without any kind of theme like I sometimes do. Just some of this, some of that. I'm going to begin with the highlight of our week which was time with our small group! Graduation Fiesta Our small group met at our house this week to reconvene after our summer break and honor one of our sweet girls who's been a precious friend to my girls and graduated high school this past May! We celebrated with a belated graduation meal--a taco bar! Many in our group have been traveling this summer so it was so good to have the whole gang back together. I found some cute cactus paper goods, a pinata, and a cactus garland at Target, ... Read more

Elegant Woodsy Reception

Hello again and welcome back to wedding blog week! My apologies for dropping off for a couple of days after that first post. We've had a busy week! Anywho, Monday I began sharing about the wedding ceremony, flowers, and decor. Today's post is all about the food! As I mentioned before, my daughter's senior piano recital reception offered the perfect opportunity to try out some ideas before the wedding. Wedding Reception Menu Charcuterie Cups Cheese Straws Fresh Fruit Groom's Chocolates Bride's Southern Cream Cake Hot Tea: Scottish Caramel and Decaf Garden Blend Sweet Tea and Fruit Water Charcuterie Cups Salami/pepperoni/olive skewers ... Read more

Elegant Woodsy Wedding

My daughter is married! She married a wonderful guy in a lovely ceremony two weeks ago and it was such a happy day for all of us. Shortly after the proposal, my daughter began pinning photos and ideas for the big day, but it wasn't until she selected her wedding dress that a clear direction for the style of the wedding developed. Having an appreciation for the history, art, literature, and music of the Middle Ages, one particular dress with a subtle Medieval flare caught her eye! With additional nods to the groom's Scottish roots and the bride's Irish lineage (we actually have some of everything in our family--Irish, English, French, Cherokee, etc.--so she had her pick!), the wedding ... Read more