Tea Time

I have such wonderful friends!  This past weekend my matron of honor, Heather, and her mother threw me a bridal luncheon/tea.  It was picture perfect!  Down to the beautiful mixed matched china, chicken salad, and sugar cubes!

THANK YOU LADIES FOR ALL YOU DID! 

Heather with her mother and grandmother. 

The table settings were beautiful, and I loved all the hydrangeas! 

My bridesmaids and I before the tea, aren't they all so beautiful? 

We all got in on taking pictures under the pretty arbor

 My mom and I are pictured below.

Our lunch included turkey salad, crescent rolls, fresh mixed fruit, fruit dip, and pasta salad.  And sweet tea!

After lunch we enjoyed some delicious desserts...

Cake and mini strawberry cheesecakes...

and lemon bars and wedding cookies.

We also enjoyed some hot tea with our desserts!

Afterwards I opened all the sweet gifts everyone gave me.  I LOVED that people got me "antique" themed gifts.  Exactly the kind of stuff I like!

Haley found these antique state plates at a local antique store.  Guess what the only two states they had in the store were?  North Carolina and Illinois!  It was meant to be. :)

My mom got me a milk glass plate and two milk glass spice jars.  I've been eyeing those spice jars for quite some time, and she didn't even know it!  She knows what I like.

Tracy and Katalyn gave me this unique little serving platter.  Don't you just love that little curve on the left side?  I just love white dishes and was very excited to be able to add a few pieces to my collection.



Heather painted this beautiful teapot for me at a pottery place!  What a great and personal gift!  And a perfect reminder of our tea party.

I loved the tray and pillow that my Maw Maw gave me.

After I opened my gifts, I gave the bridesmaids (and flower girl) a couple of gifts just to say thank you for all their help over the past year and for being my bridesmaids!

I gave them their personalized hanger that they will use at the wedding to hang up their bridesmaids dresses

As well as a tote bag that I monogrammed

I love you girls!  Thank you for making this such a special day for me!

Summer Pillows

Last week I made some new pillows for summer.  I used images I found from The Graphics Fairy and imprinted them onto the fabric.

I was inspired by all the summery pillows Pottery Barn has out this season- I loved all the shell, coral, and beachy designs they had. 

I just used a simple muslin fabric that was $2 a yard at our local Wal-Mart.  One yard got me two pillows, so not bad for $1 each (plus stuffing).

I'm linking up to:

Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy

Countdown to Summer Party at Domestically Speaking

Baby's Breath Bouquets

My bridesmaids are going to be carrying baby's breath bouquets at the wedding.  I showed you some inspiration photos here. 

I did a trial run of the bouquets yesterday.  I just picked up a couple of packages of baby's breath at Bi-Lo and as soon as I got home I set off working on it! I separated all the stems, including taking off the sprigs that were lower on the stems. 

I laid them out on the table so I could see all the stems shapes and sizes.  I started with the tallest in the middle and then added the shorter pieces to the outside.  I wanted to make sure I had a "bouquet shape".  I used two packs of baby's breath (a total of 6 stems) to make the bouquet.  I then used a rubber band to secure them all together (on the day of the wedding I'm going to use floral tape) and wrapped a ribbon around the stems. 

I wasn't sure about the size so I took a picture of myself holding it using the camera's timer (first time I had ever used it, so I was pretty excited about that)

I think it seems to be about the right size.  What do you think?  For the wedding should I make them smaller, larger, or are they just right?

The good thing is that it took me only about 5 minutes to throw this thing together.  So to make 5 of them I should be able to get them all done in less than 30 minutes the day before the wedding.  Another great thing

I love the romantic and wispy look of the baby's breath bouquets.  I love the price tag even more!  I only spent $8 for the trial run bouquet and my florist if getting several bunches for me at wholesale price for the wedding so they'll only be around $5 a bouquet!  You can't beat that! 

UPDATE: If you'd like to see how my bridesmaids bouquets turned out for our wedding, click here.

I Must Make

I saw this photo on pintrest the other day and have decided that I must recreate it.  I have a piece of molding that just so happens to be the same color as the wood in the picture that I picked up at our local Habitat Restore a week or so ago.  I didn't know what I would do with it when I bought it, but it was only$1 and I knew it would come in handy eventually. :)

 I'll have to wait until after the wedding though because I'm using my blue mason jars at the reception.  But soon after, I'll be creating this cutie. 

The Art of Homemaking

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As the wedding inches closer and closer, I'm beginning to think less and less about the wedding plans and more and more about getting to live with my husband-to-be!  I can't wait to get our apartment  (hopefully in Lynchburg, but we'll have to wait till this weekend to find out), and begin to create a home for the two of us.

I've been reading the book "Dwelling: Living Fully in the Space you Call Home" over the past few days and it has been a sweet reminder to me of the importance of home and has refueled my passion for homemaking.  It's what I want to do.  I can't imagine anything more important than creating a home for my family, being a wife, and someday being a mommy.  I want to be a homemaker.  It doesn't matter what degree I earn, or what jobs I may have, my first passion will always be my family and my home.

Homemaking isn't just decorating, cleaning, or cooking.  Those things are part of it, but homemaking is so much more.  It is about creating a space for your family to feel free to be themselves, creating a refuge from the world for the people whom you love, a place for love to be shared, for wounds to be healed, for ideas to be encouraged, and for generations to be molded.  What could be more exciting?

I view homemaking as an art.  The home is a place where I can be creative, a canvas on which I and my family can create our own unique work of art.  It is graced with our personal fingerprints, a reflection of who we are and what we enjoy.  It is a place where we share beauty, and in turn, share a reflection of our Creator.  No one is more creative than our God, just take a look at the flowers, trees, birds, and skies.  We are created in the image of such a creative God, and in our homes we are able to reflect that creativity in our own unique ways.  Instead of just decorating, we are creating a space of beauty that inspires our family. 

Home doesn't need to be a place that is picture perfect all the time, it needs to be a place where our families are free to live and enjoy.  We are creating memories in our home- good or bad.  The memories are more important that the mess that may be created in the process.  The mess is temporary, the impact of allowing your family to truly live in and enjoy your home is long lasting.  When there are messes to be cleaned, view cleaning them as a service to your family, not as an annoyance.  It is a privilege to share in their lives and to clean our home so our family will have a place to rest, relax, and be comfortable.  It is an act of love.

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My passion for homemaking is why I love blogs so much.  Blogs inspire me to build beautiful spaces.   Just be careful to not fall into the trap of comparisons.  Remember its not about perfection, its about family.  Be more concerned with making a lasting impact than having a pretty living room.  Embrace the joy and importance of being a homemaker, taking your brush in hand and creating your own work of art.





*Note: Dwelling- Living Fully in the Space You Call Home is available used on Amazon for only a penny, if you are interested in reading more about the importance of homemaking, I'd highly suggest this book to you! 


I'm linking up to Raising Homemakers here

Ring Bearer Pillow

Jeremy’s and (my soon to be) nephew is going to be our ring bearer.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted for the ring bearer’s pillow until my grandmother said she had made one for someone before.  I asked if she would make me one as well.  She brought it over yesterday and I think it is beautiful!  It means so much more because she made it.  It will be a memento I’ll be able to keep for years to come.

She embroidered the inner circle and wrote “With this ring I thee wed” in the middle.  I love it!  I like that it has that vintage look to it. Sweet and romantic with its frilly lace!

Pottery Barn Looks for Less

 

 

I love Pottery Barn.  I don’t know if there is one thing in their store or catalog that I wouldn’t want in my house.  It’s all so beautiful!  But let’s be honest, ITS EXPENSIVE!  As newlyweds we just can’t afford the prices but I still want for our home to have that Pottery Barn “look”.

I think the key to finding that look for less is first of all knowing the look.  I love looking through Pottery Barn magazines, and I rarely throw them away when I get them.  The styling in their rooms is amazing, and interestingly enough, most of the time the things I love the most in the rooms aren’t even things that they sell- just what they’ve styled with!  Because I know what I love, I know when I see it for less!

I had been eyeing this tiered stand at Pottery Barn for months. 

It is perfect for filling with fruit, cupcakes, plants, you name it.  I wanted it. Bad.  But, it cost $69!  So imagine my delight when I spotted this little beauty during my shopping trip to Homegoods yesterday.

For $14.99, I got the look for much less!

 

I love the wire baskets that Pottery Barn has right now.  They cost $39 each.

While I was at an antique store last week I saw these metal baskets.  I purchased 3 of them for a total of $4. 

 

I also found some other great Pottery Barn look-a-likes at Homegoods that I didn’t purchase. 

Pottery Barn sells these lampshades for $69 each.  (They are on sale right now for $39 though)

  

I saw these lampshades that INCLUDED the lamp for $39 at Homegoods.  (click on photo for source)

Homegoods also had tons of lamps with burlap shades for $29.  Pottery Barn’s burlap shades are $39- $69 each.

You can also make Pottery Barn knock offs yourself!  For example, I’ve always loved the nest pillow from Pottery Barn.

I could easily recreate that look using the Citrasolv Transfer!

You can even make furniture that looks like Pottery Barn!  Ana White’s blog is full of easy do it yourself plans for building furniture, including lots of plans that are Pottery Barn knock offs. 

Remember when I told you I fell in love with this bed?  It is the Farmhouse bed from Pottery Barn.  It cost $1,199 for a queen size bed. 

Ana White has a knock-off plan for this bed.

My grandparents are actually having someone build the headboard for Jeremy and I right now.  And it only cost around $125 for the building materials!  We will stain our headboard an espresso color and we will be getting the same look for about $1,000 less! 

 

There are many ways to get the Pottery Barn look for less, you just have to get creative and be on the lookout.  Know what you love, and think outside the box to find what you love for a much more reasonable price. 

The Best is Yet to Come

This post gave me some encouragement this morning and I thought you might enjoy it as well.  Just click on the image below to read about “holding on to your fork” in view of eternity.

I’m So Proud

Today was Jeremy’s graduation from Liberty University.  He is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Religion with a specialization in Biblical Studies.  He also earned a minor in Theology.  I’m so proud of him and loved watching him walk across the stage today! 

I enjoyed coming back up to Lynchburg for the weekend and getting to see Jeremy’s mom and dad as well.  His parents as well as my parents came for the ceremony.  Below is a picture of Jeremy and his parents.

Pictured below with Dr. Don Fowler.  Jeremy took 3 classes with him- Old Testament Backgrounds, Hebrew I and Hebrew II.   I took the same Old Testament Backgrounds class with Dr. Fowler and took New Testament Life and Literature with him as well.  He is one of our favorite professors and we have both learned so much from him.

Pictured below with Dr. Craig Hinkson. Jeremy worked for Dr. Hinkson as his TA (teacher’s assistant) for a semester.  Dr. Hinkson is a theology professor at LU.  Jeremy really enjoyed working for him and learning from him.

I’m so glad that I had the privilege of seeing Jeremy through most of his college career and to learn with him along the way.  He is so smart and has challenged me in many ways!  I have loved our discussions on theology, our classes, and the meaning of Scriptures. Jeremy has taught me so much about thinking for myself and not just accepting something because it’s what the professor says or what I’ve always heard.  He’s taught me how to look to Scripture first and to form my theology and beliefs from the truths I find there.  He is such a deep thinker and never settles for a shallow understanding of foundations of our faith- he always wants to understand as much as he can and learn all he can.  I know that the Lord is going to use him in such amazing ways and use his passion for learning and teaching others to spread the Gospel.  I’m blessed to get to be along for the whole ride and see God has in store. 

Congratulations Jeremy.  I love you so much and am so very proud of you.