Fall Decor

I finished decorating for Fall today…Ha…I’m not sure if I finished but lets just say I finished for today.
I did a couple of crafty things that were so easy.
My first project was an autumn platter. I found a green platter at a garage sale on Saturday for $1.00. I kept picking it up and putting it down. I just wasn’t sure what I would do with it but decided to bring it home anyway. When I got home I remembered that I had picked up some letters at Hobby Lobby with the intentions of doing something with them but what, I did not know. Anyway I threw them on the platter thus, an autumn platter was born. Love it!


My other project was an autumn banner! Lots of fun! I’m already working on another. Banners seem to be the craze right now in vintage decorating. I love words, so anything with words on it attracts my attention.



A friend picked me up this week to take me on a belated birthday outing. She paid me a great compliment, she said, “Your porch is so inviting it makes me want to come and visit.” I have always wanted my porch to lure people… well meaning people of course. Have you ever passed someone’s home and just wanted to know who lived there because of the warmth of the porch? I have, and sometimes I have to stop myself from walking right up to the door and saying hello. I want the first thing my guests see when they approach my home to be a message of warmth and welcome. I have even thought about my mail carrier and how boring his or her job must be. Why not leave something of interest to add a bit of joy to their day?
Remember the chalk, and dry erase board I got for “The Jewel”, at the garage sale, the day of B’s wedding? Well I found use for it, until she gets old enough to use it. I decided to leave quotes on it on my porch. I figure I will change it’s décor with the seasons.

Well I know your lives are busy, mainly because I’m not hearing from many of you. If you have time let me know you’re out there. I would love to hear from you.

A Random Act

As many of you no I am an avid reader. After spending the last five months planning a wedding I decided it was time to pick up the books again. I went to the library this week and picked up four books. I typically will have about five books going at a time. Lately since I have been reading blogs I don't have the time I use to have to read. I will say that I am a fast reader and I can jump from one topic to another quite easily. I rarely pick up a book and read it all the way through without putting it aside to read another, promising myself, of course, to finish it later. The book I just read was an exceptions.It was titled "A Random Act" by Cindi Broaddus with Kimberly Lohman Suiters.

If you think your life is bad and you feel like a victim this is a must read for you. It was so encouraging and amazing to read about this woman's fight for life. It was equally encouraging to witness her path of forgiveness. I also really appreciated the fact that I was able to read it in one day. I started on my way to church on Sunday morning and finished it in the late afternoon. No, I didn't read through the sermon but I did pick it up after church and read all the way home. I even took a nap in between chapters. Needless to say it's a really quick read that's hard to put down. If you find yourself needing a bit of inspiration this book could do it for you.

Why not find a comfy spot grab a good book and have a great day? Send me a comment and tell me about one of your good reads, I love hearing form you.

Projects

Thought I would share a few projects the Hubby and I did over the past few months. If you would like any details just email me for them.

Hubby found the little picnic table at a garage sale for $l.00 and the screen was left behind by the previous owners of our home. When I decided to have a beach theme in the back yard everything took on a layer of paint. My inspiration was a beach ball that had the colors, red, aqua blue, and yellow. My yard project isn't completely finished but here is a sneak preview.


This project was an old dresser that I found for $5.00. I had it for years and finally got around to sprucing it up. It now serves as an island in my freshly painted kitchen. I really enjoy the chalk board on each side for leaving messages and for the drawings of my little guest.



Speaking of fresh paint. When we moved into this house a year ago we had to paint and move in rather quickly, so my Hubby painted the kitchen gold because I didn't have time to decide what color I really wanted. After living here several months I went back to the red that I have loved for many years.

Here is a before with the gold walls and after with red walls.



We also decided to resurface the kitchen cabinets but didn't want to invest too much money at this time. I found a roll of paintable wallpaper that looks like beaded board at Lowes for $6.00 and resurfaced all the cabinets with it. I really like it a lot and so far it seems to be holding up well. I can't wait to find another project for the remainder of the roll.
Before

After


One last thing! This was an old trunk that Hubby picked up for me one Saturday morning when he went without me to shop garage sales. I have wanted to do something with it for a long time but never did.

Now that I have a grand-child I decided to turn it into a trunk for books. I love it when the " Little Jewel" comes over to play and goes straight to it. She already knows what it's for. I used the same red paint from the kitchen redo. I also covered parts of it with fabric I picked up at Wal-mart on clearance.

I wonder if anyone can guess what my favorite color is now that you have witnessed my most recent projects?
Leave me a comment before next Friday telling of your most recent project and the one I like the best will receive a nice little surprise "Happy" in their mailbox!

Main Street Boerne, TX

When I went down to Corpus last weekend I took a little detour and spent the night in the San Antonio area. I did a little shopping and thought some of you might enjoy hearing about a few places I visited. For those of you who don’t know, Boerne is a quaint little town west of San Antonio. One of my daughters used to live there so when I visited her I would frequent some of the shops. Unfortunately the shop I enjoyed the most closed down due to the owner retiring. I will say that on this particular visit I definitely found a new favorite. “Vintage Bliss & Co.” They have a great mix of new traditional home decor along with the always changing old shabby, chippy, vintage junk! They have fun jewelry, tees and stationary. They also have great kid’s gifts and decor. They work hard at finding merchandise you won't see in all the other stores in Boerne. Their customers love their uncommon selection of gift items like frames, signs, cards, candles, bath salts and soaps. If you want to step into the world of vintage be sure to stop by and visit them the next time you are passing through. You can also visit their website at vintagebliss.com.

I also browsed “The Landmark Antiques and Collectables.” This is a neat shop that houses several different vendors and no matter whom you are shopping for you will surely find something to suit anyone’s taste. Be sure to visit them at 404 S. Main St. in Boerne.

And last but definitely not the least is the sweetest little children’s shop called “Topsy Turvy” located at 346 S. Main St. If you are looking for a special gift for a little person in your life this is the store for you. It would be an understatement to say their shop is unique. The shop keeper was so friendly I could have stayed and visited all afternoon. Be sure to check them out the next time you are in Boerne, TX.



Hope you enjoyed the info! If there is a special place you like to visit why not leave me a comment?

Ice Cream Social

This should wrap up my wedding post. The last of the wedding events happened this weekend in Corpus. JR’s parents hosted a reception for all the family and friends that weren’t able to attend the wedding. There was a great turnout and it was so nice to get to meet all the wonderful people that B will be sharing her life with. Paula, JR’s mom did a wonderful job pulling everything together. The reception was an ice cream social, so as guest arrived they were invited to go through the line and make up their own creation and the topping options were endless. It was really fun to watch so many people who might normally feel that all the sugar was taboo, have the time of their lives. We got to choose between a myriad of waffle bowls. They were dipped in chocolate and coated in a variety of coatings ranging from nuts, to sprinkles, or coconut. I chose the conservative options so my treat consisted of a waffle bowl dipped in chocolate; coated in nuts; filled with two large scoops of chocolate Bluebell ice cream on top of a chocolate chip brownie, sprinkled with chocolate morsels, covered in hot chocolate syrup; sprayed with whipped topping, and topped with a cherry. Yes, I did say conservative! Needless to say it was a wonderful evening! Visiting and making new friends was quite enjoyable. We came home from a weekend spent with the newlyweds blessed by how good God has been to them, and how grateful they are.

The Wedding Reception

Off to the Hotel we went. It was B and JR’s desire that their guest begin eating as soon as they arrived at the reception. The Bride and Groom stopped at an undisclosed location on the way to the reception to take a few pictures with the rest of the bridal party and didn’t want anyone waiting on them. The food was amazing! When we first started planning the wedding B and JR had some special wishes but we weren’t sure if we could pull it off. Their request was that we would have four stations of food, two representing JR’s favorite cuisines, French and German and two for B’s favorite cuisines, Italian and Cajun. It was a wonderful idea but I wasn’t sure we could make it happen until we talked with my friend Dana Boles. Oh, how we love Dana! I cannot even begin to tell you the work this woman and her family did to make this happen. B and I sat down with her one afternoon and she totally caught the vision. She got so excited and assured us this could happen. With our input Dana came up with an amazing menu and here it is:
German Table:
Char grilled Bratwurst with onions, sauerkraut and red cabbage
Stone ground mustard
Rye and Pumpernickel breads
French Table:
Cheese service including
Brie
Roquefort
Camembert
Gruyere
French Goat Cheese
Baguettes
Italian Table:
Tortellini Salad with roasted red bell peppers and kalamata olives
Pesto Cheese Torta (Blend of cheeses, peppers, pesto and lots of garlic)
Assortment of crackers
Chicken Parmesan (Bite size breaded chicken over penne pasta coated in semi-homemade marinara sauce. Shards of parmesan and mozzarella melted over the top)
Italian fig cookies-Made by T’s Mom, Tena
Cajun Table:
Crawfish Etoufee served as a dip with crackers-made by Joanie Jarreau
Jambalaya made in the biggest black iron pot I have ever seen-made by Mike Russo
Fruit and Vegetable Tower
Garden Dill dip
Cinnamon Sugar Dip
Caesar Salad with homemade croutons
Marinated olives







The food turned out amazing! We are so grateful to Dana, her mom, Gwyn, and sister-in-law Ronnie, along with their husbands for being such wonderful friends and working themselves to death to make it all happen so beautifully! We are forever indebted to them. I know your reward will be great in heaven!

By the time everyone had eaten the Bride and Groom appeared, and had their first dance. As soon as they were finished she was handed over to her Dad for their special dance. Now, what many people don’t know is that B and her Dad had been practicing their dancing for several weeks. Because T has been a musician most of his life, well, lets just say he hasn’t perfected his dancing. Anyway they practiced to a particular song and all the while B thought that this would be the song they would dance to at the wedding, but as they got out on the floor and began to dance the song faded out and another song came on. It wasn’t just any song, but one that her Dad had written for her and surprised her with. It was a very special moment that I don’t think either of them will ever forget.

The bride and grooms cake were cut just in time for everyone to have a piece and then the dance party started. Let’s just say that I was amazed at the energy of those out on the floor. I think the last time my body was that agile was when I was two years old. Oh, my how they cut the rug! It was a great time of celebration for both young and old! The party ended with everyone taking a noise maker to the lobby and making lots of noise as two of the most precious young people traveled through to their awaiting getaway car.
I have to say that this evening ranked very high on my list of favorites. There is nothing quite as joyful as knowing that your daughter just married the man of her dreams and that by the grace of God he will take wonderful care of her.

The Wedding Ceremony

At 4: pm the wedding began with the parents and grandparents entering the sanctuary to the song Zephaniah 3:17 sung by Charlie Boyd written by Steven Manuel. JR chose to escort his mom down which was really sweet. After we were all seated we viewed a video presentation that B and JR recorded ahead of time. The message was profound.

The Minister, groom and groomsmen entered from the left as Katie Curry and Charlie Boyd began singing “He Loves Us” written by John Mark McMillan. The song continued as the bridesmaids entered, and reached a crescendo as B and her Dad entered. It was a beautiful depiction of Christ and His Bride, the Church. The love and joy they felt beamed from both of their faces.


Both sets of parents joined them at the front for a time of prayer, along with the Minister, David, and his wife, Sarah. Everything from this point on was pretty usual, you know, the vows, communion, until it was time for “the kiss.” Just before David pronounced them husband and wife T came up and presented JR with a sword. The sword represented a changing of the guard so to speak. It is symbolism for the transfer of responsibility for her care from T to JR. JR received the sword and quickly handed it off as he joyfully anticipated “the kiss.” You see this wasn’t just any kiss it was “the kiss.” The reason this kiss was so special is that B and JR had waited their entire lives for it. Both of them by the grace of God had kept themselves pure for each other. They had each made the decision when they were very young that they would keep themselves only for the person they would marry. Now I know neither of them would want any credit for this because they know that it was only by God’s grace and strength that they were able to wait. I share it with you as encouragement to those who choose to wait, because I think it gives God glory and because as a parent I am very proud of both of them. Well, the rest is history, they were married in the eyes of God and more witnesses than I ever imagined would be there. We then headed off to the reception…

The Wedding Jambalaya

Now before I tell you about the wedding I must tell of something else that was going on the day of the wedding. T’s brother, Mike and sister-in-law, Suzanne, came to town on Thursday to help us out. On the day of the wedding they cooked a huge pot of jambalaya. It was amazing! It was quite a bit of work and I’m sure they were worn out by the time they got home on Sunday. Here are a few pics of this major event going on behind the scenes. I don’t know much about what went on because I wasn’t there but I do know that they cooked over thirty pounds of rice and we had to get two extra men to haul the big pot to the Hotel. It literally took all day just to cook it, not including all the time they spent preparing the meat and seasoning. All I can say is “What a great brother to haul that big ole pot seven hundred miles just to cook for his niece’s wedding.” Amazing!!!! Thank you Mike and Suzanne for making us feel so loved!