Some of the Prep*

Fresh paint on the windowsills.

Constant brewing of PG Tips in the biggest pot.

Endless dishes to wash.

Christmas beauty.

One of our beloved crew (and the most introverted).

Flowers to arrange. Thank goodness the mud room was freezing--it made a nice walk-in fridge for the bouquets.

Best man, freshly trimmed.

Giles and Tia, home!!

What's a wedding compared to the Stone House baby?

A garland for getting married under--first tiny brass bells, then flowers and greenery and a glass bird or two, then we hoisted it up above the windows.

Typical bridezilla (not).

*These beautiful photos are courtesy of Emma at the Stone House who knows what she's doing!!

Christmas Wedding (Part Two)

These are just a few phone photos--we haven't seen the real ones yet.

We cleared out the living room and set up white chairs.

After the ceremony we struck all the chairs and set up tables for forty-five. We were blessed with lots of help to get this done, and had table settings and flowers waiting in another room.

We sent the bride and groom outside for a few pictures before we sat down to eat the *most* luscious shrimp and grits, fruit, biscuits, ham, greens, and cake.

Bella and Arthur!!

Christmas Wedding (Part One)

Just checking in with a preview peek of the bride and groom dashing out through a shower of rice. The wedding was gorgeous, Christmas was lovely, then the flu hit hard. Beautiful photos to come!

Inexpensive Wedding Napkins

I bought a few yards of bleached muslin, washed and dried it, and used pinking shears to cut it into 18" squares. We starched and pressed each napkin (it was awesome, mixing up a big basin of starch, dipping each napkin in and wringing it out--so vintage), then folded it into the squares you see. On wedding morning, each side will be pulled out so that each napkin will be a dimensional flower. In 100% cotton, which you cannot get at the rental store around here.

Head Above Water, Barely, Again

Whew. This is just a busy, busy season. Travel, wedding, giant party, whole-house renovation, work. My idea is that all of it will be finished by January, and then I will sit down with Sister in my arms.

*****

I posted this last fall. I am reposting it again as my current truth, although I have finished my travel, am working more, and am only renovating a garage apartment. Besides those changes, I'm right back where I was last year!!

Bella Has a Ring to Show You

A Year for Giles and Tia

In honor of their one-year anniversary, Giles and Tia!

And these two . . .

 . . . met a year ago.

This is the Lord's Doing; It Is Marvelous in Our Eyes

A first taste of wedding photos!

The cake triumphant. 

Gingerbread baked at home, iced with citrus-cream cheese buttercream, decorated on the spot with extra flowers, and consumed to the last crumb.

The men! Felix front and center.

That's right, I wore the same dress to both my boys' weddings! It's my traditional dress now. I'll wear it to the girls' weddings too, Lord willing.

Breathtaking ladies.

 I proudly lay claim to FIVE of these young women. From the left: Bella, Daisy, Tia, and Molly, then Clara second from the right.

Molly's flowers.

They didn't see each other until the ceremony.

And then it snowed afterward.

The Best, Most Random Present

Because of the wedding, our Christmas was somewhat catawampus. The boys' contingent stayed in the northeast for the holiday, since the rest of us were heading there right after Christmas, and there was much to do in preparation for the wedding. MUCH to do. 

Felix had an outstanding cadre of friends and relations who pitched in at full throttle to realize the winter wonderland visions that had danced in his head regarding his nuptials. I've touched on the prep (pictures will come, I promise), but for now I'll leave it at literal *miles* of twinkle lights and a forest of fir trees.

All that to say, we didn't get around to giving Giles and Tia their Christmas presents from home until the morning after. And that's when we found that Grandpa had sent up a bullhorn. Best ever. Just a day late.

Fireworks

Rehearsal Evening

We are in a winter wonderland for Felix's wedding. I stepped out to run this morning and there was snow everywhere!

 

Everyone here worked so hard today, transforming the church sanctuary into an evergreen forest with eight fir trees (bless the Christmas tree farm that cut them down and gave them to Felix for free!)

 

A second crew was busy in the reception space, turning a big blah room into a twinkly enchanted land.

Meanwhile my mother, my cousin Sal, and I prepared the rehearsal dinner. Yesterday I had cooked at Sal's house--a giant vat of beef stew and another of creamed chicken. Those got finished today, and a mountain of cream biscuits got baked, and vast quantities of salad with citrus got prepped.

 

Just like last time, I forgot that I had to actually go to the rehearsal, and leave my dinner preparations right at the crucial time! Next time I will get it right.

Unbelievable, these precious young men lined up for this occasion.

 

Oh my, here she comes on her father's arm. She walked down this aisle with Felix in June when they were bridesmaid and groomsman at Giles' wedding. Who could have known?

 

Stepping up.

The view from the evergreens.

 

These two!

 

Tomorrow is it!

Clara Presses Forward on Her Bridesmaid's Dress

Closing in on the end of the bridesmaid's dress--just the charmeuse sash and the hem are left, and the hook and eye.

A Wedding Cake for Felix

Felix asked if we could provide his wedding cake--and I agreed, flattered that he apparently thinks I can do anything. Clara and I started baking the layers up to freeze. There are nine.

 She went to the kitchen and produced a test cake last week.

"This looks great!" I said. "Where did you get the recipe?"

"Cupboard door," she replied.

It's our beloved gingerbread, which will be trimmed, stacked, frosted, and decked out for the celebration.