How Sweet It Is

Today is my future husband's birthday, and I feel bad with all the wedding planning celebrating another year of his beautiful life has been swept under the rug. I have promised him that next year will be amazing, and all about him. We are both getting married in our 30's which by some society standards would be considered late, but for us it is perfect. Everyone used to ask me that dreaded question that singles always get "So when are you getting married?" And I would always respond "When I find someone I can not live without." Well I could not imagine living my life without Britt he truly is my soul mate that I waited so patiently to find. Well, I waited patiently most of the time other times I thought God had forgotten my address. So cheers to another wonderful year with you, cheers to being your wife in 8 days!!!!! I can not freakin wait to marry you!!!!

So back to the wedding planning. The past few days have been fun because we started working on the candy bar that will serve as party favors for our guest to take home. I love candy and have a big sweet tooth so this little planning detail was a blast. It's coming along great and I thought I would share some of my inspiration for our sweet little project.

The blog post will be scarce for the next few weeks. But I will be back to my old ideas, inspiration, and projects after I get settled into being a MRS.

Scenes From The Underbelly

I love baby bumps!!! Last week I shot some pictures for my dear friend about to have her second little girl. Their is just something so magical and beautiful about pregnancy. These are some of my favorite pictures from our day together.....

I am tickled pink to have another little girl in our group!!!!

Update: Little Miss Ella Claire was born July 22nd. Mom and baby are both happy and healthy!!!!

Guest Are Welcome

Less than a month till the wedding has made me a bad blogger. I am completely pre-nuptially preoccupied but no fear I will direct you to my ever so cool fellow blogger who has a little more time on her hands. Consider this my very first guest blogger and its all about me and my Mr. Perfect!!!!!

CLICK HERE - Goodbye 20's.... Hello, Botox!!!

And a little spoiler before you go........

Nature Calls

We spent a good part of our long weekend working on a stone pebble pathway in the courtyard. We are almost finished and I am dreaming of the day when the flowers are overflowing onto the pathway like the pictures below from HGTV.

Table For Four

You better believe I am having tons of fun with some of our wonderful wedding gifts. I love dishes, and I love using them even more. I channeled my inner Eddie Ross last night and made the dinner table look all fancy and romantic. With our dinnertime being mostly in front of the TV it was nice to have fresh flowers and sit face to face with soft jazz music in the background.

I used an old discontinued Maya pattern by Noritake China for the accent dishes and mixed them with some new aqua/blue napkins from World Market. I got a fresh spring bouquet at the grocery store and put some pops of yellow mini roses for the centerpiece. We ate roasted chicken with a vegetable medley and parmesan risotto. Yummy!!

Who would have thought saving money and eating at home could be so much fun!!!

A Single Rose

I wanted to introduce you to my newest member of my flower family. It's called the Peggy Martin Rose, also know as the rose that survived Hurricane Katrina. Anyone who can survive 10 feet of salt water for 2 weeks has a special place in my garden.

My little antique rose bush is very special to me because we both survived that horrid storm. Today I saw the first little bud about to bloom, it made my heart happy, it reminded me to always be hopeful. I can not wait to post beautiful pictures of my own like the ones below.

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise" -Oscar Wilde

Image via Southern Living click here to read the entire story.

And thanks Carolyn - truly the perfect gift!!!

Deviled Eggos

I made a trip to the antique store on my way home yesterday and pickup an old milk glass devil egg tray. My man loves deviled eggs so last night we put my $10 purchase to good use right away. I wanted to share my recipe with you guys. It's from Tyler Florence but I like to add a little relish and substitute a little paprika for the salmon caviar for garnish.

Curried Deviled Eggs

6 eggs

3 tablespoon mayo

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon relish

salt and pepper to taste

Paprika and chives for garnish

Boil eggs, let sit in hot water for 15 minutes then run under cold water. Peal egg shells and cut eggs in half lengthwise. Take out egg yolks and mix in a processor with mayo, mustard, curry, lemon juice, and relish. Salt and pepper to taste and fill the eggs with mixture. Garnish with paprika and chives.

Easy peasy and a favorite around my house!!!! We went to the farmers market on Saturday and I got two dozen fresh organic eggs. I love how yellow the egg yolks are!!!

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I love this pillow from Zoeppritz (it's made of Lamb's fur). We had a parade of homes in our area and I fell in love with one of the homes they decorated. In the master bedroom they had a chocolate brown version of the fuzzy pillow below. After my search to find the pillow ended with its outrageous price, I was happy to find a copy cat version at Pier One and West Elm.

Zoeppritz - Explode Pillow $230

West Elm - Mongolian Lamb Pillow Cover $59.00

Pier One - Cream Monogolian Wool Pillow $39.95

Lamb's fur or wool - big difference I know but just as cute!!!! Don't you agree??

One Kings Lane

The many faces of One King Lane!!! I love all the emails I get with the latest home decor on sale, but I also love the sweet little doggies and outdoor pictures that have graced the login pages.

I grew up with a yellow lab, and she was a real part of the family. My dad let me name her "Candy" I would paint her toenails and put bows in her ears. She would sit at the front porch every afternoon just like this and wait for me to get off the school bus. I miss that dog!!

Cool Find

For the most part try to stay clear of Walmart, nothing personal I just rarely have a nice experience shopping in the store. But these $16.00 beach towels were well worth my trip today!!! I love geometric shapes, I love baby blue, and I love big towels. They are made of 100% cotton and measure 40 in x 72" - that's a nice size. My only complaint is that I wish they were a little thicker, but they are great for wrapping around your body.

You would never guess these came from Wally World. They are not yet available online so check out your local Walmart. I came home with the aqua quatrefoil design but might need to make a trip for another one.

Peonies on a Monday

I bought some fresh flowers at the grocery store today, they are my all time favorite - Pink Peonies!!!!

They are making my Monday a little more bearable.

I finally got my shelf up on the wall this weekend. I found an old 60" wooden board in the garage, had it cut right down the middle, and slapped some leftover white paint on the wood. I found these iron brackets at Hobby Lobby at 50% off, and for a grand total of $17.22 we have two new shelves in the kitchen.

Dear Old Dad

Sunday was the annual Acadiana Hibiscus Chapter plant show and sale. The chapter was created in 1999 by my father and after his death the name was changed to honor him. It is a non-profit organization of individuals sharing a common interest in cultivating and growing varieties of Hibiscus.

They had around 500 incredible blooms on display, and I can only imagine the smile on my dad's face. He was what you would call a hibiscus expert, and an avid grower. He had a huge greenhouse and would graft and crossbreed the flowers. It was quite amazing, and quite a passion my dad enjoyed in his spare time. It was good to see his old friends and to be surrounded by the blooms he found so entertaining.

This is the beauty I came home with, her name is Moonlight Madness!!!!

Let's hope I can keep her alive.

These beautiful flowers make me miss my father. It broke my heart the day he died, he was only 51 years old. He was my pillar, my biggest fan, the first man I ever loved, and the man I measured all men against. I miss calling him with questions and concerns. I miss sharing in our latest projects or obsessions. I miss his wisdom and advise. I miss the way he smelled after smoking his pipe. I miss the sound of his voice. I just miss him. I will always miss him.

The flower he created

Image of the Day

Relaxed.

(via Anita Clark Design)

Around the House

Just some randomness around our house!!!

Living room windows

Dresser I found in the garage and re-painted

Old Westinghouse fan

New faucet (that I installed myself)!!

Antique wire basket for magazines

Bella Bride

Well it all started when I ordered some samples of some expensive letterpress invitations and I have fallen in love and have to have them. They are so beautiful words really do not do them justice, and nothing else I have looked at compares. I love and adore all things Bella Figura. A bold statement I know but they are first class all the way.

Here is your history lesson for the day:

Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive reight-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the west from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th centry until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century (found on wikipedia).

Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering. A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner" (found on wikipedia).

Calligraphy first appeared around 600 BC in Rome, and I won't bore you with all the juicy details of the history and preservation of this fascinating art form.

Our beautiful, lovely, amazing wedding invitations have arrived. We only have two months left till the big day and I can not wait to drop these little babies in the mail.