The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

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

Engagement Showers and Celebrations!

Good morning, friends! Well, I've promised wedding posts and this is the week. Over the last week, I've had a little time to rest and dig out of the post-wedding piles so this week I can blog--yay! I'm going to start with all the fun showers and celebrations that were thrown for my daughter and her now husband. Taco 'Bout Engaged! My brother and sister-in-law, along with their son (my nephew) and his girlfriend, and my SIL's mother hosted an engagement party for my daughter and her fiancé plus another nephew and his fiancé! The theme was a Mexican Fiesta and it was so much fun! They served a full Mexican spread of nachos, tacos, salad, and dessert. The flower arrangements were ... Read more

Simple Summer Table

Happy Monday, friends! I promise the wedding posts are coming this week, but while I'm working on those, I thought I'd quickly share about our Father's Day meal. Our family hosted this year, and it was also my sweet sister-in-law's birthday so I wanted to put together some tables that would be pretty for my SIL but not too frilly for the dads being honored. Having just had the wedding the weekend before, I didn't even have a plan for the tables except that I would probably use some patriotic papers goods I had on hand and do an "All American Dad" theme. But then the day before Father's Day I noticed the 10 potted rosemary plants on my porch that were left over from the wedding (details ... Read more

Senior Recital Reception

My oldest just graduated from college with a major in music and a minor in Bible! As a requirement for her music degree, she performed her senior recital--the BIG one--a week before graduation and did a superb job! I love listening to her play piano and will always enjoy her playing for us when she comes to visit. For the senior recital, it's customary for the student's family to offer a reception after the performance. We've known throughout my daughter's four years as a music major that this was coming and we would mention ideas for food or tables here and there, but we didn't expect that she'd be engaged and planning a wedding during her last semester. It's a busy time! However, I ... Read more

Easter Blessings ’22

Good morning, friends! We had a busy and fun Easter week, so I just want to quickly journal some blessings today. I haven't had have much time this spring to get too involved with my yard, but one morning last week I ran to Lowe's to pick up some flowers to get started on pots and beds. I'd just been gifted a Dunkin' Donuts gift card by Whitney from Come Home for Comfort for answering a Bible-related question on her Instagram story (@homeforcomfort), and since our DD is conveniently located next to Lowe's, it only made sense to swing through the drive-thru and grab a latte to accompany me on my plant shopping trip. This was such a little treasure in my busy week! I mean, flowers and ... Read more

Raspberry Sweetheart Pie

Today I'm concluding my Valentine's menu with the prettiest pink pie! The original recipe is simply called "Raspberry Cheesecake", but for Valentine's Day I'm calling it "Raspberry Sweetheart Pie". We ended our special lunch last year with this sweet, creamy, fruity pie along with an individually wrapped chocolate placed at each place setting. This is a dessert that truly speaks the language of LOVE! Raspberry Sweetheart Pie Crust: 3 c. graham cracker crumbs ½ c. sugar ¾ c. butter Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together and blend with melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish (deep). Bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. ... Read more

Valentine’s Day Pasta Dinner

Yesterday's post was all about my favorite love language: FOOD! As a follow up, I'm sharing some recipes from a Valentine's lunch we enjoyed last year with my mother-in-law and my daughter's boyfriend (now her fiancé! Talk about love!). This is a menu I've made for different occasions but found it to be perfect for Valentine's Day. I've not made these recipes in a year, and last night when I pulled the cookbook off the shelf to work on this post, I noticed something really special. The title of the cookbook is The Gathering of Friends, which I had remembered. But what I'd never noticed, was the very small subtitle which reads "Let's make food your love language"! This thrilled me since ... Read more