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
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
Friday Five
Happy Fri-YAY! This is not the post I’ve been working on for today. Last night I was too tired and achy to finish that one, yet I really wanted to put up a post this morning. So, I decided to do something fun and quick and just select 5 photos from my camera roll that I snapped this week. So here goes.... Princess Pumpercot I definitely have more than 5 photos of Pumpercot from the week, but this is my favorite. She sticks to a certain room or spot for a few days at a time and then relocates. For the past several days she could mostly be found on my daughter's bed, sleeping like a little kitty angel. Cooking with my girl I was starting dinner late Tuesday afternoon ... Read more
Wake Up and Smell the Roses
Waking up and smelling the roses is exactly what I did Sunday morning! It all began Saturday night when I brought this arrangement home from my nephew and new niece's wedding! If you read my post yesterday about their spring barn wedding, you might remember this arrangement from the arbor by the pond. Well, this was just one of the arrangements from that arbor. My sister graciously offered it to me, and of course I accepted. I brought it home and it filled up my entire kitchen table. A table covered in roses? Don't mind if I do! As tired as I was, I went right to work disassembling it, clipping each flower, and putting them in fresh water for the night. The flowers had been ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Homemade Viking Costume
Hello, friends! I told you yesterday that I’d be sharing more boy adventure posts this week. Well, what could be more adventurous than going back in time to sail with the Vikings?! Kids love to dress up! When my girls were growing up, we had a whole cabinet dedicated to their dress-up clothes, packed full of princess dresses, colonial and medieval gowns, native American apparel, jewels, crowns, hats--you name it. My son is still young enough to enjoy dressing up and has a tub in his closet for his hero costumes. Through the years, my kids have dressed up for everything. If they read a book, watched a movie, or learned something in history, they suddenly wanted to be their favorite ... Read more
“Make Sure You Add Some Sprinkles in 2022!”
Happy New Year! It's 2022!! I have a festive little New Year's party to share with you today, compliments of my niece! At the young age of 7, my niece is already the party planning extraordinaire!! Her mama (my sister) has taught her so well! She reminds me so much of my girls when they were growing up, throwing parties for baby dolls and family pets. So precious. One day recently, my sister mentioned that my niece would probably enjoy a day at my house "baking and making". Of course I said yes immediately, and we later decided to throw a cousins' New Year's celebration! It was a small affair due to so many of the cousins already committed to other holiday obligations, but, as ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Thumbprint Angels and a Christmas Story
Yesterday I mentioned a Christmas party we had with our homeschool friends. My friend, Kelli, hosted the event and did an amazing job planning and orchestrating a rotation of activities to accommodate our large number of kiddos! She arranged areas around her home for four stations: story, craft, cookie decorating, and games. She took care of the story time and asked three more of us mamas to take the other stations. I was assigned the craft station, so I planned a craft that would go along with the book Kelli would be reading in her station. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, by Gloria Houston, is a heartwarming story about a little girl, Ruthie, and her parents living in the ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Tips and Tidbits for Thanksgiving Prep
Good Friday morning! Fall has flashed by in a blur and Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm not hosting Thanksgiving but I did host our small group's annual "Friendsgiving" this week. Beside the usual weekly cleaning routine, here are a few extra preparations I worked into the week leading up to our little feast! Even though I'd put out a few fall-ish items at my front door early in the season, it was time to freshen things up a bit. My summer ferns were still looking too good for me to move so I left those, swept the concrete, added a fresh door mat and a couple more pumpkins from my son's pumpkin patch (more on his pumpkin patch soon!). I took one of my winter wreaths and added ... Read more