Score!!!

So exciting! Lots of people are cleaning stuff out up here at school. Then they'll put out an e-mail saying something to the affect of "junk available upstairs by such and such storage room, come and take what you want". Well, I just scored a rug that Adrian and I can possibly use in our new home and a box of metal stand things that can hold table numbers, etc. at the wedding! There are also some glass vases that I'll have to look through and see if they'd be good for the wedding or if they are a little too cheapy/generic florist-like. Anyone with ideas of ways to spice up glass vases, please share! I'm so excited to take pictures and post them for you to see as well of my scores of the day!

repast

simple loveliness

a crystal vase given to me as a gift filled with carnations and greens given to me by the first grade teachers at my school for a job well done on the first grade musical and chocolate angel food cake - yum

A Lovely Weekend

Adrian and I had a wonderful weekend!  We road tripped to attend a wedding of a childhood friend and visit my alma mater.  We got to stay with my cousin and his wife, saw many longtime friends, enjoyed a white chocolate/espresso shake at my favorite coffee house in the world, saw some favorite professors, basked in the beauty and meaning of a wedding ceremony, looking forward to ours upcoming, and stayed with a set of "adopted grandparents" on their farm and enjoyed a home-cooked "farm dinner", wonderful visiting and a stroll along a country road.  Perfectly delightful.  

I'll leave you with one photo of the beautiful wedding but don't want to post anymore without securing the bride and groom's permission.  

Heart-warming Wedding Toast

I saw this wedding toast on Masterpiece Weddings' blog. It completely warmed my heart! I love it! Take a look here. What a neat tribute to their friend Amy on her wedding day! Especially if you like musical theater, you've gotta watch it! Have a good day everyone! Kelly

teacher appreciation week

Last week was teacher appreciation week.

I received this lovely rose from a second grade boy and it continues to bring me enjoyment.

God makes beautiful things, doesn't He?

Our PTO brought us these cupcakes with our pictures on top!

And they brought us a little breakfast treat one day with a water bottle with our pic on it, and a little crystal light to go packet, a yogurt and a muffin!

It was a nice week. Tonight is my first grade musical, I also got a strange urge to rearrange my classroom (which I did) and after this week there are only three weeks left of school! Here comes summer! Kelly

Ribbon, Ribbon Everywhere!

I ended up having a ribbon bonanza last weekend. I bought these pink hued ribbons at a booth in Canton (the world's largest flea market) for pretty presents and packages.

On Friday, after school, I had stopped in at Michael's to buy a birthday gift and per usual sorted through the dollar ribbon bin to see if there was anything good. Lately I haven't found that much but last Friday I hit the jackpot so to speak. I bought this brown gingham ribbon. I don't know if it will fit into the wedding in anyway (welcome bags?) since brown is a fall color but it's not really the wedding colors but brown gingham ribbon can be used in so many ways for packages, decorating, etc. that I snatched it up.

These are my wedding color ribbon finds of the weekend! Spools from Michael's dollar ribbon bin and striped ribbon in glass canister from Canton. Doesn't it look like ribbon candy? Yellow has not figured into the wedding colors before but I liked this color yellow and perhaps some little snatches of yellow will make an appearance in a few places or perhaps not. We'll see.

If you have ideas of what I can do with any of this lovely ribbon for the wedding, I'd love to hear them. Have a great day! Kelly

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I appreciate you so much and am so happy to call you mine, not only my mom but also my friend!  I am really enjoying sharing this time with you and also appreciate all your help!  I hope you have a very happy Mother's Day!  I love you!  Kelly

Meet me in St Louis

Two weekends ago I went to visit one of my college roommates, Jenny in St. Louis.  We had the best time!  

A mother/daughter brunch at her church that I had the pleasure of going to with she and her mom, getting gelato in St. Louis, vintage clothing shops, cooking dinner, a tour of her garden, sitting outside on Art Hill in Forest Park, talking weddings and catching up.  It was a great trip!  Thanks, Jenny!  

Sacred Threshold

Wow, that was a long gelato break!  Actually, since my last post I got another taste of gelato in St. Louis with my friend Jenny, went to Ben and Jerry's with Adrian and our friends Marla and Trey, made (and ate!) rocky road sundaes from the recipe in my cookbook from the Serendipity III restaurant in NYC, and have consumed not a small amount of ice cream from my own personal stash of Ben and Jerry's pints in my freezer!  Whew! 

But you didn't really come here to read about my ice cream eating habits, now did you?  :)  

I am excited to be back to blogging after my long break!  

I wanted to tell you about the best wedding related book!  Thank you, Mindy, for telling me about Sacred Threshold by Gertrud Mueller Nelson and Christopher Witt!  It is really, really good.  I got it from my library's inter-library loan program which I have now learned is ILL to all of the cool people out there who know how to ILL.  :)  

I have greatly enjoyed flipping through and reading many a bridal magazine, book or especially blog recently.  I have begun to notice though the "magazine mentality" that I thought I was so immune to.  I mean really, does anyone think real life turns out just like the photos in a magazine?  Well,  it's easy to want that "picture perfectness" and to even think it's "normal" and what "everybody" has.  

This book, Sacred Threshold is a breath of fresh air!  It explains the history and significance behind so many of the customs that surround weddings and just gives you a chance to decide if it will really bring meaning to you and your fiance and your wedding together!  

I want to say so much about it to recommend it to any and all of you readers who may be planning weddings but not feeling able to adequately sum it up at the moment, I will leave you with words from the book itself.  

"Wedding celebrations "work" when everyone present feels brought together - even bound together - in an active, holy, and deeply satisfying undertaking."

"We wrote this book convinced that it is possible to plan and celebrate a wedding in a way that both reflects and enriches your love." 

"You do deserve the best - which has little to do with what money can buy.  You deserve the fondest support, the dearest expressions of love that family and friends can provide.  You deserve the blessings of God.  It is your special day - a special day for you both - but it is also a special day in the lives of everyone who loves you.  And it can be perfect - not flawless, but perfectly wonderful, right, true, joyful - as perfect as our less-than-perfect world allows.  And its perfection is nothing you pay for but exists because of who you are as a couple and because of the Spirit you invite to the wedding."  

Wow!  Isn't that good stuff?  I'd love to know your thoughts!  Kelly

gelato break

Mom and I had time to kill before I took her to the airport last week so we *needed* to stop in at Paciugos for some gelato! This is their gelato smothered in hot chocolate drink that I tried for the first time. Needless to say, it was amazing.

And hey, this was wedding research as well as I hope to have them as one of the caterers at our wedding!

I am off for the weekend to visit a college roommate. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'd still love to hear your opinions on the previous post about incorporating friends and family in your wedding in ways other than being a bridesmaid, wearing a prescribed dress, standing up front with a bouquet . . .

I'm not trying to be a scrooge just looking for options. Thanks! Kelly

flower girl

you may recognize this little miss from the photos on the wedding colors post
she is one of my favorite paper dolls from my childhood
I found the whole box of them while helping my parents do some cleaning out last year

she could be a sweet little flower girl, don't you think?

In reality, I am leaning towards not having any child attendants or any bridesmaids and groomsmen for that matter. I feel a little "un-mainstream" but I am okay with that. There are just so many people I could pick. Has anyone else gone this route? Any suggestions on incorporating people you love in a different way than having a parade of people in matching clothes? Kelly

dress inspiration book

I decided that I wanted to contain all the pics of wedding dresses I'd torn out of magazines in one place along with the articles about what sorts of questions to ask when ordering a dress, etc. so that when I went shopping I could just take them with me easily. While waiting for the clock to finally tick to time to leave to pick my mom up from the airport (I was so excited to go get here and time was dragging.) I distracted myself by putting together this little book with some 11x17 cardstock, a few scrapbook paper scraps leftover from a project I did to decorate my classroom, some felt ribbon I bought at the one and only time I have stood outside The Container Store early in the morning on the day after Christmas, a tag, what I thought was one of those rub on quotes but ended up actually just being wording on vellum that I rubbed and rubbed and wondered why it wasn't transferring :), a silk flower embellishment and a scrap of ribbon. It must have done the trick because I HAVE A DRESS! It's beautiful and presently being made in Spain! For some reason, I really like that fun fact. :)

update - pantry progress

Remember the great pantry organization? It's still pretty organized, thankfully! Not the fridge as much but the pantry and shelving. Anyway, just wanted to show these vintage labels I found. They are self adhesive and came in a little book. A lot of the labels were torn out (showing someone used this!) but there were several left. I made color photocopies and labeled my big jars. I like the way they look and also that it's easier than ever to tell the flour and the confectioner's sugar apart at a glance! :)

DIY Wedding - birdcage

One of the neat things about visiting different venues to choose one for our wedding and reception was that we learned at least one thing from each place, even the ones that we didn't choose for our wedding. The take away from a downtown venue that we liked was that many people are using birdcages to hold the cards on the gift table these days. I liked the idea and began keeping an eye out for one.

I had actually been keeping an eye out for birdcages for over a year now because they're rather "in" but that means they can also be "more than Kelly wants to pay". As my mom and I were shopping last weekend she was great at spotting them and calling my attention to them. We saw ones priced in the $20s, $30s and even over $100 (it did have a cool stand but really!?). Then there was this one!! Ten dollars and it even has a heart! I think I'll probably paint it robin's egg blue and tie a nice orange bow on top. Adrian's also going to cut a few of the bars for me so cards will fit in. What do you think? Kelly

wedding colors

Wanna see the wedding colors?

photo: items in wedding colors displayed on two chairs. large chair belongs to Adrian - a gift from a lady at his church in Missouri, small chair from a set of table and chairs that my grandpa made for me when I was one or two, picture frame on floor holds photo of my brother and mom dancing at my brother and sister-in-law's wedding

Robin's egg blue

&

Pomegranate orange

this chair holds an orange metal sap bucket, robin's egg blue ribbon that I took off of a gift or something and kept in my ribbon stash, pomegranate ribbon that my future mother-in-law bought for me at Costco in Pittsburgh way back in July (which by the way, if anyone sees this great ribbon at a Costco near them I might need some more so let me know if you see it, thanks!), robin's egg blue corner shelf that I bought while antique shopping with my mom last weekend after deciding on wedding colors. I think it might go on the coffee service table with flowers, sugar cubes, etc. on it. We'll see. Any suggestions for it are welcomed. One of three robin's nests I bought last weekend as well for wedding serving table decor. An R for soon I will be Miss G no longer and will be Mrs. R! Creamer, teacup and saucer from my tea set, milk glass compote with slips of paper that represented my "hope to do" list on my day off last Monday which I would draw out and then do :), two paper dolls from my childhood, don't worry, I'm not actually planning to wear Stephie's (she's the blond) outfit to the wedding or anything, but she fit the color scheme. :) oh and there are also a couple of ceramic robin's eggs peeking from beneath the orange ribbon

I like them. I think they will be great for the fall and will work well in our space. Oh yes, I don't suppose I've mentioned that we know where we're going to get married! It was so very exciting to find it! We both really like it and it's very "us". It is an historic building and unique.

small chair holds: blue book I picked up last weekend called "How to Make Something From Nothing". Not only was it the right color and the right price but the title just reminded me of how God is making something (a new marriage) out of nothing, not truly nothing I suppose but just the idea of Him creating something new in our lives from what wasn't there before. another of the robin's nests, more orange ribbon from costco, one of my cake pedestals (I have a small collection of these but would love more for serving at the reception if anyone has tips on where to find some cheap. I like this simple and plain style.) Antique mason jars that my friend Marcella gave me filled with flowers for my birthday last year. Antique saucers and a silver spoon.

I don't think this color combination is very often used and I like the individuality of it and also that I like both colors! I like that both colors can be used within a range of related shades.

When my mom was here last weekend I took several objects including some ribbon from my apt. to hold up in the actual space where the wedding will be to test out colors and I think these will do quite nicely! If you have any ideas for how I can use these colors I'd love to hear them. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Kelly

it's fun being engaged

It's just a fun thing being engaged. I thought I'd share this pic of the "announcement" on the dry erase board at my school. Fun, huh?

Sweetie's bread recipe and dress shopping

I am happy to give you Sweetie's bread recipe since there were requests. I hope you enjoy it!
I wanted you to get to see Sweetie herself so I'm including this picture of my first foray into dress shopping. She is the beautiful lady seated next to me. The other beautiful ladies are my sister-in-law standing to my right and my mom standing on the other side of Sweetie. We had such fun shopping together. This pic was taken two days after I got engaged when we went dress shopping in Houston. The company was great, the dress shop wasn't my fave.

Yesterday though, my mom and I went to the Bridal Boutique
in downtown Lewisville. It was the most wonderful dress shopping experience.
The room was filled with the froth of beautiful dresses and our helper,
Hannah, was amazing! She helped us so, so very much!

Oh yeah, back to the recipe which is the reason I
sat down here at the computer to write this post.

Sweetie's Bread

1 cup milk
1 heaping Tablespoon sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tablespoons shortening, margarine or butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast in 1/4 cup warm water
Flour - start with 3 cups, adding a little at a time and then add more if needed until the dough is not sticky

Bring milk to a boil. Add sugar, salt and melted butter. Cool. Add yeast mixture and beaten eggs. Add flour. Let rise for about 2 hours or until dough doubles in bulk. Knead dough on floured board. Divide and place in greased pans. Let rise for about an hour. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes! Easy as pie!

Note: When you knead the bread and divide it to put in the pans, you can roll it out and put grated cheese or cinnamon, sugar and butter or any type of filling that strikes your fancy and then roll it up and place it in the pan.

Let me know if you make it! Thanks! Kelly

planning weekend with Mom

Budgets are fun!

My mom came this weekend for a fun time of wedding planning!

It was so good to have her here! We had so much fun!

Things really are going well with the planning!

Photographers?

This one's for all of you local bloggers. We're in the process of choosing a photographer for our wedding. Have any suggestions? We like someone creative . . . with a photojournalistic style . . . within our budget(!) . . . a huge plus is for us to be able to own all the digital negatives AND we prefer someone who we will really WANT to be around all day long on our wedding day and not someone we'd be annoyed by. So, what do you think? Thanks! Kelly

Sweetie's bread

I got inspired Saturday morning to do a little bread baking. We call my grandma Sweetie and her bread recipe is my standby for loaf bread. I made one loaf with cheese in it to go with our dinner and this loaf with cinnamon/sugar and butter in it for breakfast! YUM! Thank you for the recipe, Sweetie and thanks for being a technologically savy grandma and always reading my blog. I love you! Kelly