Just Peachy

Daughter Samantha shares her first guest post as a married lady.

I'm sure that many of you already know this, but married life is fantastic...


What's not so fantastic is sitting at home waiting for my hubby to come home from work.  As I don't have a job yet, I have become domestic goddess... or I was for about 2 days and then I got incredibly tired of cleaning our apartment.  I was ready to turn on some bad TV and zonk out for the day when I realized that I had about 10 peaches sitting on my kitchen table.

Hubby picked these (and about 8 more!) at a farm last week and brought them home for me. I love peaches, but there was only so many I could eat before these babies started getting mushy.  So what's a domestic goddess to do?  Make peach bread of course!

So I threw open the windows, invited in the breeze, and played some official summer music.  My definition of "official summer music" varies from Top 40 to rock anthems, but when a light breeze is coming through the windows and you are making peach bread, folk is the best way to go; like this little ditty from The Civil Wars...

I used this recipe here in case you are interested in trying it yourself.  I love getting peach bread from the Amish market every once in a while.  Spread it with some butter, pop it in the toaster, and you have a very special treat for breakfast, midday, or midnight!

My own bread turned out a little less sweet but a little more peachy than the Amish loaf, and I have to say it is so good...  "Even better than watching bad TV in your underwear all day?" you may ask.
Yes, even better than that.

Happy weekend!

Samantha

A Little Encouragement for Today

Well folks, our interweb has been down at home since Tuesday... and we don't know when it will be back. I'm sitting at church right now, using the internet there trying to get some stuff done. So just a quick post for today, which I saw at my friend Brenda's blog. I teared up, this made me feel better after a not-so-great morning. Hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it. Have a great day.

Click here to watch: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0BEB0MNU

Flowers and Things

One of my favorite, favorite things about this time of year is how green and lush the gardens are. This year, I did not put much effort into the garden- there is still a lot of weeding and mulching that needs to be done (which, in all honesty, may have to wait till fall, or maybe even next spring.) But the perennials and herbs in the garden have done their jobs splendidly with absolutely no help from me this year. All summer, I keep an assortment of bottles, jars, and small pitchers on the window sill above my kitchen window. Once a week or so, I go outside and snip a variety of samples from my yard. It makes standing at the sink doing dishes much, much more enjoyable!

My specimens, from left to right: Butterfly Bush, Baby's Breath (leftover from the wedding- everything else is from my own garden), Rosemary, Lavender, Daisy, Hydrangea, Blue Salvia, Hydrangea and Yarrow, Oregano.

You can do this too- just go through your cabinets and collect any small containers you can find- the more they vary in size, shape, and color, the more charming your arrangement will be. Then take some scissors into the yard and start snipping- little sprigs of just about anything will look cute in your little containers. You don't need to have a flower or herb garden either- Boxwood, Ivy, Maple Leaves, even Dandelion flowers will look cute and fresh. Place just 1 or 2 cuttings in each container, and arrange on a window sill, or on a pretty tray on your coffee table or side table. Your home will look like a vignette straight out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine!

This week, my house was also beautified by the many flower arrangements we had left over from the wedding. I put the bouquets in vases and lined them up with some of the table arrangements.

The flowers were beautiful while they lasted. But we went to the beach for a few days, and unfortunately when we came back the flowers had died and the whole house smelled like a stuffy funeral parlor. Oh well, we really enjoyed them for a little while. Even once they were dead, I hated to throw them out- I love flowers. Especially romantic flowers like these- David Austin Roses, Peonies, Stock, Snapdragon, Lamb's Ear, Scabiosa, Hydrangea, etc.

Visit my Pinterest pages Flowers and Things and Weddings for more Floral Inspiration.

More Wedding Candid Shots

I hope you are not tired of wedding photos yet- so many people said "I want to see lots of pictures!" so I am just obliging, ha ha. These were taken by friends and family, we are still waiting for the "official" photos to come in.

At the church, getting ready to walk down the aisle.

Her dad walks her down the aisle. 

The church was beautiful- we had the florist put a baby's breath garland along all of the pews.

After the ceremony, the groom helps the bride with her train.

The wedding party outside the reception venue.

 The married couple's first dance. Their song was 

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons

This photo was taken during the first dance also. 

I'm pretty sure that's Jeff's (the groom) head in the foreground.

The bride dances with her dad. Their song was "Your Smiling Face" by James Taylor 

(which JT wrote for his daughter, Sally).

That's all of the photos for now, until the photographer's pictures come in and then we'll do this all again... but with better photos. Also, eventually I will get some work done in the studio and have something to show you. But don't hold your breath on that, I'm still trying to get my bearings. Not much seems to be getting done these days. I'm still trying to settle back in. And the house and yard are a mess, and I feel like I should be getting them in order, doing all of the things I said I would get to "after the wedding." So it's after the wedding and I haven't done them yet. Sigh.

That " What Was I Thinking???" Moment...

So..... this is what happens when your daughter gets married and leaves home and leaves you with a bit of emptiness and an identity crisis, and you were needing a new car anyway...

We bought this 2 days before the wedding. We needed a new car, and thought, "Hey, what the heck?" I remember waking up the very next morning after we bought it, jumping up in bed and thinking- "Did we really BUY that car last night????" You know, like when your boyfriend dumps you, so the first thing you do is cut your hair really short and dye it platinum blonde, or run out and get a big tattoo and a few piercings. Yeah, that's kind of how I was feeling. That morning-after "What was I thinking???" moment.

It wasn't exactly an impulse buy- hubby and I had talked about it, and I've always wanted a MINI, and we looked around and I really didn't see any other cars that I liked nearly as much. So we test drove one, talked about it, and went back a few days later. See- not totally an impulse buy.

After years of driving minivans and large 4 door sedans (need them for carting around kiddos), this car hardly seems practical. It's very... small. But it's also very RED and very cute and very British. And once I drove it (I got the S version- as in Super Sporty and Souped-up).... VROOM! I love it, it's lots of fun.

So now that my daughter is married, I'm not sure if I'm growing up, or becoming a kid again. Younger daughter is still home, of course. But she will be a high school senior next year. She doesn't need me to drive her around anymore (she got my old car- hence the need for a new car for me.) I seriously thought about just  continuing to drive her back and forth to school and to all of her activities next year when she's a Senior, just to have an excuse to spend more time with her, but I think that would go over like a lead balloon.

So what do I do with all of my "spare time" that used to be spent caring for and driving around kids?? I have work, of course, which I love. But I feel the need for a new hobby. Or a new adventure. Something fun and exciting, but not TOO exciting. No skydiving in my future. And no tattoos or piercings, I promise. ('Cause no one wants to see that....)

Does anyone have any suggestions? Before I go out and do something silly????

Some Wedding Photos

Today I am going to show you some photos that hubby took with his iPhone. We won't have the official photos from the photographer for another week or so.

The rehearsal on Thursday night. The church was beautiful. 

The groom and groomsmen patiently waiting outside the church before the ceremony on Friday evening. The weather was perfect.

The bridesmaids after the ceremony.

Samantha and Jeffrey with the ringbearer, junior bridesmaid, and junior usher.

Mr. and Mrs. Schultz at the reception.

Phew!

The bride has walked down the aisle, the "I Do's" have been said, the happy couple is on their honeymoon.... and hubby, younger daughter and I are going to take some much needed time off.... We are headed to the beach for a few days for a little R and R. In the meantime, stop by Kiki's blog to see what she's been up to with my Oh Holy Night fabric.... It is in stores now, and you know summer is a great time to start on holiday projects because you have lots of time to "play" (no oh-my-gosh-it's-Christmas-Eve-and-I-still-have-27-tablerunners-to-make-for-gifts panic.)

More wedding photos to come....

Wedding Inspiration

The big day is finally here.... Daughter is doing a guest post today...

Well, hello there!
Today is June 8, 2012, which is a very special day for me. I am getting married today.  I am so very excited that not only do I get to start a life with my best friend, but I get to see a lot of hard work pay off and many things I've only seen in my mind come to life.
So today, I'd like to share with you some of my inspirations for my wedding.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Samantha on Pinterest

I have loved this cake for a long time!  I am having different flowers, but I love the simplicity of the white piping and the burst of color with the flowers.  I also really like the different shapes of the tiers; it's such a simple change, but really makes for an interesting piece of art!

Source: elizabethannedesigns.com via Samantha on Pinterest

We ordered a bunch of glass bottles from Bella Luna Bazaar to do this kind of favor for the wedding.  We also went a step further and made luggage tags for the necks of the bottles; part favor, part escort card!  Putting the two together saves time and money.

Source: blog.hairandmakeupbysteph.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Lastly, I am in love with this hair and makeup.  It is timeless and timely and I just want to be this girl.  I always wished that I was better with hair and makeup, and seeing this makes me wish that even more, because then I could do this every day.


I can't wait to share pictures from the wedding with you all in a few weeks.  My fiance and I are off to San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow, and then we will be on a ship to the southern Carribean!  It's all such an exciting and promising journey, and I can't wait to begin!

Happy pinning, and happy weekend!

Samantha

In The Studio This Week...

......Lots going on! But actually most of it is not in my studio....

We are working on last minute details for Daughter's wedding this weekend. Picked up everyone's dresses (including the gown), last appointment with florist, seating arrangements, favors, etc. I will show you the favors (so cute! and pretty easy) when we get good photos of them at the wedding.

I am hoping that we can get everything done and then my 2 daughters and I can "sneak" away for a mother/daughters' day tomorrow.... I don't know if it will happen, we'll have to see what we get done today. Youngest daughter actually placed out of all of her finals (smart girl- she takes after her dad) so she finished school last week. So nice that she has this whole week off to enjoy with her older sister....

Last week we also starting moving soon-to-be-married Daughter into her new apartment. Many trips up and down the stairs and an entire bottle of Advil later, she is almost moved in. It's going to be a great apartment once she and her new husband finish getting it all set up. This is the living room:

The building was built in the 1920's and has many of the original doors and fixtures and hardwood floors, so it is quite charming. Lots of character!

Believe it or not, I actually did get a little work done in the studio last week. I managed to do some sketches and work on a palette for my next collection of art. Aren't the colors pretty? Any guesses what the sketch might be??

Next time I pop in, my oldest daughter will be married, I will be a mother-in-law to a wonderful young man. I feel the need to sing "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof.....

The Best Policy

My daughter, Samantha, is doing a guest post today, as she does every Friday.

Well, I was going to write a fantastic post about this delicious gnocchi I made... and it was going to look like this...

Source: designsponge.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Doesn't that look delectable? Don't you want to know how it turned out?
The truth is, not so great.  Gnocchi is hard to make, and unless you have an old Italian grandmother to teach you the secret, it takes a lot of tries to get it right.  This being my first try... well, I think you can imagine.  (PS- Mad props to my finace, who wanted so badly for me to be happy that he asked for seconds. Bless his heart.  And his iron stomach.)

You know what I love about blogs? Honesty.  They weren't kidding (whoever they are) when they said, "Honesty is the best policy."  It's absolutely true, especially with blogs.  Some of my very favorite blogs are incredibly honest in their posts, from fretting about cankles, getting ready to send your baby to kindergarden, or failures in business prospects.  This blog even has had its moments of poignant honesty, which make me particularly proud.

So, in all honesty?  I want to treat all of you dear readers to something a little better than my first-try at gnocchi.  So I'm going to be puttering around my kitchen, the sewing machine, and the antiques market to bring you the very best.  Is that alright with y'all?

(I felt this picture went appropriately with my use of the word "y'all."  I just had to break the seriousness for a moment.  Forgive me.)

Next Friday, I'll have a very special Pinterest pick on weddings because, guess what; next Friday, I'm getting married.  It's hard to believe that it's here already, but so it is.

Happy weekend, and happing pinning (and cooking, and crafting, and sewing, and writing)!

Samantha