they're hitched!

photo snagged from Alan Garcia off of facebook

Driving home the night after my sister's wedding I was mesmerized by the tiniest sliver of a new waxing crescent moon that was on the horizon directly in front of us. Apparently, the spring is the only time that you can catch a glimpse of what they call the "newborn moon " before it sets... I just kept thinking about the new life, the new family that my sister and her husband have started. That moon looked so much like a little boat- a sliver of a canoe... I just imagined them riding off on the journey of their life together in that little moon boat.

The stars were so bright in the sky that night as we drove home...so clear, you could see them all. There was so much concern about rain over the wedding weekend as storm clouds moved in and out, threatening. A drop was felt here or there, but it held off for the ceremony and it was beautiful. Then, the rain came down as though celebrating during the sultry(sounds more romantic that humid right? ;) southern wedding.

The threat of the clouds made us realize what a gift that was-- that moment of time standing there with the wind blowing in from the ocean... with the weather holding so that we could all be out there on the spot that for the past fifteen years at least she had dreamed of having her wedding.

photo from my uncle Lindsay Holliday (I think?)

Kelley McRae who is not only their friend, but also an incredible musician and songwriter sang this song as they left the ceremony... So lovely!

 Anna and Elisha did a really great job as flower girl and ring bearer. Anna did, however, forget to throw the flowers until she got to the front and stood next to me... so I had a lovely little explosion of petals right in front of me... she also decided that she would rather stay at the front next to mama than go and sit with Big Mama (my mother). But the ceremony was a little long for one so small so she entertained herself (and the front rows of people) by turning her basket into a hat and she even started to do a little song about a bunny whose ears "go flop flop flop" just as they were saying their vows... luckily the breeze didn't carry the song very well and I don't think too many people noticed ;-)

 The stormy weather really brought out the intoxicating fragrances- there was jasmine blooming everywhere, magnolias, and gardenias... I love to think of the olfactory connection we will have to that special weekend when we smell those scents!

 The kids put up with all the photography after the wedding because of promises of wedding cake. So, of course they walk straight up to the cake table and camp out... when the cakes were finally cut they sat right in front of the table and went to town.

When I ask them what their favorite part of the wedding was... yep- cake.

Photo snagged from Laura Rogers off of facebook

Dancing came in a close second... and Elisha also enjoyed my lovely young cousin's company. She was the closest thing to a teenage girl there, and he has been telling us how much he likes teenage girls (HELP! What will I do when he is able to date those teenage girls!?!)

Andrew gets the super dad of the year award! I was completely unavailable for mothering pretty much the whole time. I did the centerpieces for the wedding and helped pull it together... I probably walked ten miles just carrying stuff back and forth, up and down. Andrew kept the kids out of the way and amazingly enough kept them from getting sunburned! He, however, didn't make it out so lucky...he really took one for the team ;-)

photo from my sis Betty Collins

Ah, here they are- aren't they darling? I think this will be what my children envision as the quintessential wedding cake for the rest of their lives... big impression! I will know that it is this wedding cake that I have to blame when I can no longer fit into any of my clothes and people no longer recognize me. We brought home half of one of those big tiers and I have been working hard to get it out of my house... my main strategy being-- eat it fast so that it will stop tempting me ;-) It is SO good it MUST be 99% butter!

* We are going to have a photo shoot soon with the kids in their wedding clothes. Anna got chocolate on her dress before I had a chance to document it properly... so stay tuned- I promise to get some well photographed detail shots of her dress!
**Speaking of photos... We didn't even take our nice camera out of the bag-- too busy making the wedding happen and enjoying it, so sorry for the poor quality phone pics and half of them I yanked off of facebook...

Wedding bustle

I am busily sewing up a storm in preparation for this wedding! I decided that I HAD to get their wedding quilt pieced... I know officially I have a year to get them their gift, but since I had SO much else I was sewing for the wedding I just had to work on the quilt too... Well, I am happy to say that it is ready to begin the hand quilting- hurray! And I will show off the flower girl dress completed and the ring pillow shortly;) I'm off to finish them!



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There is nothing like the smell of water after a long day of garden work!


Popsicles make pretty good fuel for said garden work;)

We had a full day - the morning was spent laboring in the community of our fellow garden members... Working in a garden together is such a great way to be 'with' other people. We don't all know each other that well, but there is a shared purpose and joy. It was really really nice.

Then we made our way over to a bigger community garden to benefit from their plant sale (we have lots of new varieties of tomatoes to try- and some old faves). This is the best part of gardening- all the anticipation and hope tucked in with each new seed or seedling. Don't get me wrong, I do thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction of fresh tomato still warm from ripening on the vine... But the flutter of hope and anticipation reverberating around the spring landscape... Mmmm!
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local gardeners take heed:

The Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur has a wonderful plant sale this weekend... and after this weekend you can buy what is left on the honor system... We will be there to buy our FAVORITE varieties of tomatoes: Cherokee Purple and Brandywine...  & Abe Lincoln and Super Sweet 100 are very good cherry tomatoes and we will get some of them as well...

Oh, Caprese Salad and Bread Salad here we come!!! I couldn't find a recipe for the bread salad I make to link to, but it is basically cubed garlic bread, pearls of mozzarella, halved cherry tomatoes, basil, pesto, and extra oil and balsamic vinegar--- mouth watering yet?

proud as a peacock...

...That is what my whole family will be next month when my cousin had her first baby. That isn't really why I put a peacock on her baby sling -- I just thought it would be so lovely... and that is certainly a good enough reason to do something, in my book;-)

 If you saw the flowers and wreath I made for her baby shower you will realize that I was pretty settled on a certain color scheme... coral, pink, orange, and turquoise are getting a lot of play these days.

 I love love love a linen ring sling! I am going to be sure this new mama knows the trick to wearing this comfortably so that she and that new baby girl will be fond of their ring sling days together ;-)

A little touch of hand sewing makes a project feel so exquisite don't you think?

Making a ring sling is not very complicated- there are tons of tutorials online and you can get the rings from slingrings.com. Here is a little glimpse behind the scenes of the applique process for the peacock:

inspiration

lots of feathers!

If you have missed some of my previous tutorials and want to more details on my applique process go here for a blossom and here for a cityscape.

hunting for eggs

Happy Easter!

one year ago...

 One year ago I was riding home from the feed and seed store with this box in my lap! We are so glad we decided to take the plunge!

'I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.'

{Quote by Emma Goldman}

We love to throw a party. We feel so blessed to have our home and love the opportunity to share it. We love that having a party is a good nudge to get projects done and get the house clean. But one of my favorite things about throwing a party is doing the flowers! I was SO inspired by this gorgeous bouquet on Pinterest that I based the flowers for the party and even used the same colors for the gift (which I will share here later).

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.  ~Chinese Proverb

 I start off with a trip to the flower store and splurge on a few really lovely things-- this time some peonies, orange ranunculus, ruffly peach roses and another orange flower(sorry- don't remember the name).

Then, I gather cuttings from our yard to fill in... Rosemary, Lamb's Ear, Azalea, Lady Banks Rose, Hosta, Fern, Succulent, Euphorbia, Dogwood, and Mahonia berries.

I never throw a jar away! Besides having free vases at home, they are great for giving away arrangements... My husband especially loves that part because otherwise we can start drowning in jars.

{I love my felco clippers!}

Then I make a really big mess. I go from vase to vase spreading out the flowers and then I do the sculptural work of weaving stems through, propping flower on flower... pinching off a leaf here and there when it blocks a flower from view.

As I worked on these flowers for my cousin's baby shower I felt the presence of her mother, my aunt. She passed away a few years ago after a battle with cancer. She was a true artist whose medium was flowers. She had the most wondrous flower garden (and was the president of her garden club) and she made beautiful arrangements. As I was making little groupings of threes (threes stems of rosemary etc) I remembered the little bits of design advice that I had absorbed from her over the years. My recent passion for turquoise brings up memories of marveling over her brilliantly vivid turquoise eye shadow... she knew that color was nothing to be afraid of, but a friend to be embraced and enjoyed. I knew that my cousin and uncle would have a deep appreciation for lovely flower arrangements; it felt a little bit like having her presence at an occasion that would've been so so dear to her.

a Pinterest success

 This is a cute cute idea I found on Pinterest and actually made ;-) Find the original tutorial here.

I made this as a centerpiece/ door prize for our church women's retreat... And have since made a few for birthday presents. The littles think that putting the pencils in the holes is a fun activity in and of itself ... makes me feel like a Montessori teacher ;-)

Tips:
*This is a project that requires a chain saw... in my world that means this is a project that requires my husband. Be warned ;-)
*Make sure your drill is as charged as it can possibly be, or use one that plugs in... it takes a lot of power to drill that many big holes.