The Wedding Gift ~ A Keepsake

     We are about to become mother-in-law and father-in-law to a wonderful girl from Alabama.  Chris and Erin will marry in September.  They started dating about 5 years ago, and I never had a daughter of my own, so we consider her very special.  Of course, we wanted to get something useful for her wedding gift, but a keepsake also. We found an antique cedar chest and we gave it to Erin the other day.  I think she likes it.

                                                        It is well made and smells good.

                                               Oh, and there is something sentimental inside...

       When I was pregnant with Chris, I received a lovely gift at my baby shower. It is a baby bonnet that eventually turns into a handkerchief for his bride to carry in her wedding.  He wore it on his sweet little baby head and now she can carry it with her bouquet down the aisle.

A Keepsake
Beginnings are always beautiful
They touch the tender heart
For both babies and weddings
Promise a brand new start.
Little bonnets and christening caps
Are keepsakes, you will agree
Snap the threads, a hanky it makes
For that special bride to be.
So give me the joy of sharing
The high points of your life
The day your precious baby arrives
And takes or becomes a wife.

                                  A Keepsake for a much loved daughter-in -law to be.

What kind of flower are you?

I am a Daffodil     What Flower Are You?

Going to Jackson

                                  ♫ ♪ We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout, ♫
                                   We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out. ♪ ♪

          Just like the man in black, Big G and I headed to Jackson for a wedding this past weekend. 
We attended a wedding for a lovely young couple at Alta Woods Baptist Church, with a reception at the Old Capital Inn immediately after.  It was a terrific celebration.  My husband said it was the first wedding he ever attended where the men cried more than the women. The groom got choked up and emotional.  It was just too sweet for words.When we arrived at The Old Capital Inn, we were staying in the "Shubuta Room"-apparently all the rooms have names, and we were next door to the "ELVIS sleeps" room.  There was a sweet little balcony overlooking a courtyard with goldfish, and a welcome basket filled with Mississippi snacks on the comfy bed.

  It was a lovely celebration with a handsome couple, bridesmaids in the palest pink imported french silk, peonies and lambs ears in the bouquets and a vintage getaway car.

  The band was Coupe De Ville, rocking our night away with tunes from all our favorites.
                                          (Didn't hear any gangsta rap, thank goodness!)
  The food was really good, and the cakes were both yummy buttercreams.

  Did we drink too much wine? Probably.  Traditionally, that is the only way to get white people to dance.

White Gardenias

White Gardenias, summer scent,
as coolness comes, the day is spent.
We sit on porch swings, as we sway~
the crickets chirp, it makes my day.

My Gardenias are blooming, and I pick fresh ones everyday.  They are my favorite summer flower.  My mama doesn't like them, so my husband always takes her a "bouquet" of Gardenia LEAVES every summer.  No blossoms allowed.  She says they remind her of funerals from back in the days when the wake and the viewing were in the home.  I don't care.  Bring me some dead or alive.

Being Happy for Others

 
    Back in the day, as the story goes, I was in beauty pageants. All of my friends were.  I never won of course, but it was a lot of fun and I always had a good time.  Girls just wanna have fun, ya know.  Everyone cannot win, and I grew up with a very healthy realization of that. It probably helped me in my journey on learning to be happy for others. 
    I do a pretty good job of being happy for others and keeping a balanced perspective, but every once in awhile I am hit by the achievement of someone, and I am not as happy for them as I should be.  I don't think bad thoughts about that person, but it  makes me feel the need to be more useful or something like that.
I constantly have to make lists, have goals. Not being useful is somewhat detrimental to my creativity and overall contentment.  It is amazing how much better I feel when I am genuinely happy for others. Instead of  trying to figure out what I think about someone's situation and have an opinion about it, I can just say, "Thank you Lord for their blessings."   And then I am done. I can move on. I don't need to figure out what it means for me, for them, or if I need to do anything with that information, because it does not matter. I do not always need an opinion about everything, and not everything is relative to what I accomplish.
    There is always enough.  God made sure of that.  Enough creativity, success, achievement, accolades, attention, for everyone. The achievement of any one person doesn't take away the potential or realized achievements of anyone else. There is no comparison—it has no bearing on what I do. Or what I choose not to do.



 

Pink and Painting Inspiration

I used to paint often, then I took an aversion to linseed oil and the smell of oil paint in general when I was pregnant with the first son. If you have ever had morning sickness all day, you know exactly what I speak of. I still feel a little sick when certain songs from the 80's come on the radio. 

I found a lovely painter from France today, I like looking at the pastel colors she uses to paint flowers.  She also paints tutus, perfect for a little girl's room.
Can you get any better than Pink paint for inspiration?  I think not.

Amelie Laurence

Lipton Sun Tea

Lipton Sun Tea

After Hurricaine Katrina, I made a lot of Sun Tea, because we had no electricity. My family said it was the best I had ever made.  So today I made some and once again, the Big Sun Tea Jar did the magic out in the hot Mississippi Sunshine. Add Real sugar = Refreshingly delicious.