Gardenias and Bootens

I can't believe our daughter's wedding has come and gone; it was a wonderful weekend. The facility was gorgeous and has a great story behind it. The property houses a beautiful mansion along with some amazing gardens. The man who owned it has long passed but requested of his best friend to open a school for mentally challenged children and adults, since his friend had a child that was mentally challenged also. His friend fulfilled his wishes. There is a school on the grounds along with these beautiful gardens. It's non-profit so most of what you pay goes right back into the school - pretty nice feeling.
The night of the rehearsal when it was still relatively calm and a good opportunity to take pictures.

I happen to love the flowers that bloom in May so the gardens were perfect for my taste!

Foxglove being one of my favorite.

This is a path that winds around the back which the bride walks on to get to the back of the gardens.

I loved this area with the statue - still the same path.

All set ready to go and no raindrops, not a single one!

And now for the Gardenia story - you know there's always a story. Jill wore one in her hair and also presented me with one to wear. When my kids were little and we would visit my mom in Florida, one of the bedrooms had a Gardenia bush right outside. It must have loved the spot because it was monsterously big with hundreds of blooms. It was amazing; you would wake up to the wonderful fragrance of Gardenias. My mom also put them around the house. My kids can't smell a Gardenia without thinking of my mom, so this was a tribute to her.

And here comes the Bride..

Okay, so as a mom, I went through a check list of important things to bring and comfortable shoes were at the top. Her wedding shoes were beautiful but didn't look too user friendly so I said "just in case" have some comfortable shoes along - no one will notice if you change. Well I remember as a toddler one of Jill's favorite things were her boots which she called bootens because they had to rhyme with mittens.

So was I surprised when she whipped out her pair of cowboy boots? - not a bit and she had a great time dancing all night - Moms know best!

It was a great weekend and think we'll be floating for a long time.

Hello Again...It's official, I'm now a Mother in Law!

Hello again, it's been quite a while I know. It gets harder and harder to bounce back, even from wonderful weekends! The wedding was amazing - 3 days of great fun, many hugs, a few tears, tons of smiles, reunions with family members and old friends and making wonderful memories. It couldn't have been more perfect. We were all a little nervous with the weather as it was an outside affair. The hourly report was 10% chance of rain until it reached 5:00 when it changed to 30% chance. Guess what time the wedding was - 5:00 but luck was with us and although very hot, we had beautiful clear blue skies. I've been dragging this week and only have the 1 picture to share. I will share more later in the week. The bride was gorgeous, the groom very handsome, the gardens amazing, food yummy and so on and so on.
In the meantime, I did go to my fiber group in SC. I haven't seen these gals in so long and it was such a great day. I wanted to share some of the fabulous yard art from hostess - Barbara Tennysons' beautiful gardens. I love the heads on these poppies. I think I want to throw this into photoshop and make it into a line drawing and perhaps a silk screen - the shape is great.

This might be a better candidate for a screen.

Wow, I know things grow big in the warm climate of SC but really now! I love this metal sculpture of a rose

which is right next to this structure of an old window standing upright with a sitting area in front.

I've always wanted a bottle bush, they add so much color.

And what to do with some big logs - make it a haven for some lazy frogs. How cute is this!

Promise to return soon with more wedding photos - thanks for joining me.

The Count Down is on!

Well after 365 days of planning, dreaming and scheming, the Wedding is here - finally - it's here. We are all so excited, we can hardly contain ourselves. I have lists upon lists, stuff all over the Dining room table, half filled suitcases, things hanging here and there, but I know it will all come together. I'm even bringing some blue thread (and a needle) because that's the color of the bridesmaid's dresses - for the "just in case" (all the "Be Prepared" Girlscout stuff must have sunk in). All in all, the Excitement is abounding! And of course I have the essentials that every Mother of the Bride needs like WATERPROOF mascara
and tissues.

My neighbor called before and said NO TISSUES, you must have a pretty hanky. I'm not a hanky type of person but I have many vintage hankies from my mom, so I rummaged through her beautiful hankies and found one with her initial on it - A for Alice. She will be with me in spirit.

Everytime the phone rings with good wishes or I get an email, I get teary. I will not cry, I will not cry, but then I think of my sweet baby girl and it seems like yesterday I brought her home in my arms. Here we are walking down the aisle - where did the years go. My mama always said "enjoy your children, they grow up too fast" and as usual, she was right!

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for sunshine.

Signing off for now with happy tears and smiles.