Happy 2024, everyone! On Christmas Eve Eve when everyone was home, Joel and I prepared a steak dinner for the six of us. On a whim, I set the table with blues, browns, cream, and a bit of orange. The cream dinner plates are Pioneer Woman and are getting old and chipped, but I still love them. The blue floral salad plates are from T.J.Maxx (4-ish years ago), the flatware is from Walmart, and the napkins are from Home Goods (2 years ago). The brown glasses are from Hobby Lobby's fall line which I got for 50% off in November and they have been a nice new addition to our kitchen. Winter wreaths, a frosty tree, oranges, and a gingerbread candle finish off the table for a ... Read more
A Merry Little Christmas Shower
In early December my daughter and I hosted a Christmas-themed bridal shower for a very sweet young lady. We've been friends with her and her mother, Missy, through years of homeschooling, tea parties, and even a trip to the Biltmore Estate together! My daughter will be one of her bridesmaids, so we wanted to throw a shower for our lovely bride-to-be. This shower was so much fun to plan and prep, thinking of goodies and details the bride would enjoy. She is so sweet and grateful for any little thing people do for her, that honestly, she would have appreciated peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! When I host a gathering, I try to finish preparations a few minutes before guests arrive so I ... Read more
Christmas Decor ’23
Good morning, friends! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I have truly enjoyed all of it this year! The baking, the shopping, the gatherings, the goodies, the movies, the music, the decorating, and the worship! I had to cut out a few things this year, like getting Christmas cards printed and mailed, but it's a balance, right! I always hesitate to share photos of Christmas decor because I never want to appear that I'm showing off (I just enjoy decorating!) but also because Christmas decor has become so controversial. Has anyone else noticed that? The right time to put up your tree, the right kind of tree, and the right color schemes for your tree. In fact, there are arguments about ... Read more
Christmas Advent ‘23
When my kids were little our Advent time was usually incorporated into our school day. Some years I worked with them on memorizing the account of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2 (tip: The Charlie Brown Christmas movie helped with that!) Some years I read through a children’s devotional book and we made a craft or did a service project to go along with that day’s message. Having older kids now ages 19 and 12 in the home, we’re enjoying a more mature type of Advent. I’ve mentioned before that our family has a Bible time after dinner. It’s nothing rigid and not even every night but just a few nights a week when everyone is home and we can read through a chapter of the Bible and discuss. So, during ... Read more
BING-HO-HO-HO!
For the last year and a half, my son and I have been calling BINGO at a local assisted living home on the third Monday of each month (used to be Wednesdays but changed to Mondays this year). My friend, Teresa, works there and makes everything magical for the residents! She is so creative and plans the best activities! So, when she put out a call for Bingo volunteers, I jumped at it. And it's been a BLAST! The regular Bingoers know us well now and we have fun joking around throughout the hour we're there. I was especially looking forward to going back this month for a little Christmas gaming with our spunky friends! Our sweet little neighbor girl joined us this time! Her mama, Rivers, is ... Read more
Mother’s Day Fancy
I'm continuing to catch up on my spring posts and today I'm covering Mother's Day. We hosted my husband's side of the family this year and while my sweet husband insisted that I not work too much on Mother's Day, I assured him that getting to set a feminine table for the ladies would not be work at all but, on the contrary, would bring me great pleasure! I set up the dining room for the ladies so we could have a frilly table and the men had the kitchen table set just for them so they wouldn't have to endure the pink and fluff, haha! I've had this April Cornell tablecloth for so many years and I've always called it my "Mother's Day tablecloth" because the floral pattern and soft ... Read more
Spring 2023
Good morning! Before I get too far into summer, I need to record our spring season. Today I'm going to quickly run through some spring highlights and then the rest of the week I'll go back and detail some of my daughter's graduation stuff a little more. I'll go ahead and apologize for the length of this post. It's a big one! In early March my daughter and I took a girls' trip out to Texas to visit my married daughter and son-in-law. We had such a fun visit, and they took us to Homestead Heritage, a self-sufficient Christian community which is also open to the public. It was amazing! We enjoyed shopping in their many shops including the quilting barn (below), general store, grocery ... Read more
Irish Tea Party
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Two years ago, I gifted my oldest daughter a subscription to Tea Time magazine and the first issue she received included recipes for an Irish tea. This magazine along with some newly thrifted green and gold teacups inspired her to host a St. Patrick's Day tea for our family and her then boyfriend, now husband (nothing like some good cooking to seal the deal, right!) As you'll see from the photos, she put on the loveliest tea time complete with a delightful menu served at a beautiful table! She cooked all afternoon and then set the table, pulling anything green from around the house. Each teacup held an Irish Breakfast teabag (except for my son's since he ... Read more
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