Genesis 2:18

Jonathan is the first grandkid on our side to get married; he’s also the only boy.  I’m sure Thanksgiving, Christmas and Master’s weren’t much fun for him as a child: Lauren and I would always buddy up and Susie would play with us between naps and when Brittany came along, it was fun to play house with a real baby. But poor Jonathan had to entertain himself.  With no boy cousins, he had to either make conversation with the adults or find something boyish to do.

As a child, I remember being terrified of Jonathan. On one particular visit to Grandmama and Papa Dan’s house, he found a whip in the toy closet and chased me and Lauren with it. We sought retreat in the blue bedroom and waited in fear for him to go away. He was so different from the boys I played with at home, they could all be bossed around. Jonathan would skulk around the house with his poufy Dwight Shrutesque haircut showing off his card and magic tricks. I didn’t understand him.

It wasn’t until we were much older that I began to appreciate Jonathan’s heart and sense of humor. I actually began to look forward to spending time with the whole Morgan family. It’s been incredible to see Jonathan morph from a rambunctious boy into a Godly man over the last 2+ decades and it was a complete honor to bear witness to his wedding on Saturday to Meagan.

Jonathan’s face was the happiest one I’ve ever witnessed on a groom as Meagan made her way down the aisle. He was grinning from ear to ear and it was impossible to contain his joy. I am so thankful that such a Godly, beautiful and kindhearted person has made my beloved cousin so happy! Now he won’t have to entertain himself at family functions – he finally has somebody to play with! :)

As was evident by the mini speeches at their rehearsal dinner, these two are perfectly suited for one another. Each one complements the other in every possible way. What a testament to God’s faithfulness and perfect plan! Their wedding was beautiful and so worshipful and I’m so excited to see God’s plan further revealed for their lives!

*I’m no Annie Leibovitz so please pardon my pictures.

 

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Mr. and Mrs. Morgan

Tomorrow, I’m headed to Tampa, FL for a very joyous ocassion.  My brilliant and hilarious cousin, Jonathan, is marrying the very beautiful and very sweet Meagan Van Ost.

I met Meagan last Spring and was instantly impressed by her sweet spirit and servant’s heart. Spend 5 minutes with the two of them and you’ll need no convincing that they belong together.

They support each other in their endeavors

They share similar interests (Meagan doesn’t mind sharing Jonathan with his other love, Alabama football)

They work through their differences in a godly manner

They appreciate the other’s sense of humor

They clean up pretty well

And most importantly, they seek to honor the Lord in their relationship

I am so pleased to welcome Meagan into our family and I’m so excited for their future! I’ll be sure to post some pictures of what is sure to be a stunning wedding upon my return.

Congratulations and Best Wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan!

Happenings in Augusta

Congratulations to Phil Mickelson on his 3rd Green Jacket!! 

In other news, I took a spin through the local Salvation Army this week and uncovered a few treasures.  I found some cute cut-glass dessert bowls, a few candle sticks, some pretty Reader’s Digest condensed books (just for looks), a few “silver” bowls and two side tables. One side table was for me, one was for Susie.

I did have a cheap old tv stand covered with a round table top and hidden by a tablecloth between my sofa and leather chair. It looked like this:   Yuck.  To replace it, I picked up this little gem for only $14.99.

After a good wipe down, a little light sanding, a few coats of spray paint and new hardware, she looks like this:

MUCH better!! The pop of turquoise was just what that room needed. And the doors remind me of a turquoise bracelet.

I haven’t settled on just what to do on top (I think that lamp is a little too big for this table) but you can sort of see the Reader’s Digest books. Maybe someday I’ll get around to recovering Grandmama’s sofa.

Also, I just found these pictures on my camera and realized I’d never blogged about it.  A few weeks ago, Susie, Mama and I hosted an organizing shower (guests brought organizational items) for Susie’s friend Lyndsie who is getting married this month. Her wedding colors are hot pink and lime green (very Lyndsieish) so she’s had hot pink and lime green coming out of her ears. We decided to use those colors but also add in yellow and orange for a citrusy twist.

I ran tulle and various ribbons in our color scheme down the center of the white tablecloth. We kept the serving platters, bowls, etc simple by just using white and cut-glass. The centerpiece was a snap. We just placed one of Mama’s African Violets in the center of a vase and stuffed tulle around it.

 Adorable cupcake papers from here.

 The lovely bride opening her gifts.

After the shower, we put the leftover tulle to good use.

Engaged is the New Black

Every time I get on Facebook or check my phone, I have a message, feed update or text letting me know that somebody else I know is engaged.  Most of these people are acquaintances but some are good friends.  With the quickly approaching nuptials come wedding showers.  While not exactly my style, many brides register for everything they could ever possibly need in married life and then friends give 3, 4, 5 or even more showers! With that many showers, it’s fun as the hostess to come up with something completely different and unexpected than the typical afternoon tea with all the frills.

Monograms & Mimosas

Danielle hosted a shower like this and I think it’s darling! If your bride doesn’t drink or you’re hosting an afternoon or evening shower, you could change the mimosas to mochas or margaritas.  Have guests bring the bride a monogrammed something (towels, pillowcases, lucite tray, wine glasses, shower curtain, silver, etc) and serve the drinks while she unwraps.

Date Night

Have guests bring a pre-packaged date for the couple. Examples include gift certificate to Fandango or the local theater and microwave popcorn, reservations at a fancy restaurant, a picnic basket and nice bottle of wine, gift certificate for a spa or two pairs of bowling gloves with certificates for the local bowling alley. Set the party up like a romantic date. Serve wine, have candles and let guests munch on oysters and chocolates. This works well as a couples shower.

Round the Clock

Assign each guest with a time of day and have them bring a gift of something you might be doing at that time of day.  For example, 8:00 a.m. could bring a waffle iron or juice glasses, 10:00 a.m. could bring gardening tools, Noon could bring a panini press or placemats, 2:00 p.m. could bring a lemonade pitcher and glasses, 6:00 p.m. could bring a bottle of wine or a casserole dish, 8:00 p.m. could bring ice cream bowls, 10:00 p.m. could bring bed linens, etc. Present the bride with a beautiful clock at the end of the shower.  The party could have a sort of vintage feel with pinks and mint greens and favors, invitations and decorations could revolve around the time theme.

The Alphabet Game

Assign each guest with a letter of the alphabet.  Reach into a bag of Scrabble tiles and give out random letters or if you’d like, assign letters that spell a word out like “Best Wishes” or the bride’s new last name.  Have the guests bring gifts that start with that letter.  For example, the letter B could bring bathmats or E could bring an egg tray. Have the guests mark their gifts with the letter so that they spell out the word or have the bride guess what the word is. This works well for baby showers too.

Paper Shower

Give the bride stationery, wrapping paper, drawer liners, etc. Get creative with your paper gifts. Serve paper-thin crackers, use all paper plates/napkins/cups, decorate using only paper.

Organizational Shower

Give the bride storage bins, labels, drawer organizers, matching hangers, etc. Visit organize.com for creative and cute storage solutions.  This works especially well for two people who’ve had their own lives for quite some time and are having difficulty meshing their things. This would be great if it was held at the couple’s new home and guests could help her organize things with her new tools.

Around the House Shower

Assign each guest a room in the house and have them bring a gift for that room. Ex: bedroom- sheets, bathroom- towels, kitchen- measuring cups, etc.

Other ideas aka things I”m too lazy to make a collage for include a Stock the Bar/Cellar Shower, Tool Shower (for the groom), Gardening Shower, Cooking Shower (have a chef teach the group a dish that’s perfect for 2 and have the guests bring a favorite cookbook and/or recipe ) and  Stock the Pantry Shower

What’s the most clever and different shower you’ve ever been to?

Well, How Do?

Warning: This is a random mishmash of things.

I’m working on a new batch of articles for the quarterly VeryVera newsletter but in the meantime, please check out the FABULOUS newly designed website. While you’re at it, order a Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake.  I’m having to use a great deal of restraint to not drive over to the bakery and cram my face full of it right now.

Speaking of fabulous websites, I’m probably late to the game but I’ve been really enjoying Kendi Everyday.  She’s a fashionable marketing specialist whose photographer husband documents her adorable outfits everyday. What fun!

Poor sweet Tater had surgery yesterday to repair a ruptured ACL.  She’s supposed to take it easy for a month while she heals.  That shouldn’t be a problem. :)

And finally, I finished the last of Beau & Brittany’s wedding suite this past weekend. It was so much fun (and some hard work too) to put together their Save the Dates, Engagement Party Invites, Shower Invites, Wedding Invites, Rehearsal Dinner Invites, Placecards and Programs.  It seems like just yesterday we were meeting for the first time to discuss colors and preferences and now their wedding is finally here! I’ll put together a little collage of their suite to post soon. Also, I’d like to thank Lenka, Rachel & Sarah for helping me stuff, glue, cut, tie, sticker and assemble a few of these projects.

Be Back Soon

I’m trying to keep from vomiting my feelings all over the place since friends and acquaintances read this. So while I collect my thoughts and emotions (and work on 275 wedding programs) and come up with something clever, enjoy this prettiness from Green Wedding Shoes.

More of Annie

If you enjoyed pictures of Annie and Greg’s wedding day, you’re in for a treat! Rebecca Ruth Photography just posted more pictures! Click here to eat up all the gorgeous images on her blog.

What an A-Maizing weeked!

I know I said I’d round out my fantasy travels but that’ll just have to wait.

Fall is officially upon us! You can’t swing a jack-o-lantern without hitting Halloween decorations and changing leaves! This weekend, since I couldn’t make it to Annie’s wedding in Lexington, I visited another friend in Loganville.  (not quite the same scenery)

We took in a corn maze called Corn Dawgs. It was hilariously good fun and we got some fun pictures out of the “mildly amusing crudly painted folk art” (please tell me you know what this is referencing.)

Jen even managed to make a love connection on the hayride.

Unfortunately, we were misinformed and quickly learned that the “pick a pumpkin patch” didn’t mean said pumpkin was free.

Meanwhile, in Lexington, Annie and Greg were uniting in Holy Matrimony!

***All photos from here below belong to her***

Annie and her sister/matron of honor Maggie.

I meant to post weeks ago about Annie’s 2 fabulous showers but never got around to it… maybe tomorrow?

Shower, etc.

Why is it that I get so much more work done after hours? I have probably gotten  more things done in the last half hour than I have all day.  Maybe it’s because the phone isn’t ringing and people aren’t popping over to my desk to ask me to do something “real quick.”  I wonder if they’d let me show up after 5 everyday?

Next topic: Glee.  Have you been watching? I certainly hope so. If not, click here and watch immediately.  It’s adorable and hilarious and so much fun I can’t even stand it. The cheerleading coach kills me.

And finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.  You don’t need to sit in front of your computer checking my blog every half hour anymore… it’s finally here… the shower report.

Everything went so smoothly and everybody seemed to have a great time!

For the occasion, I painted my living room a warm shade of yellow (Valspar Sisal to be exact)

Please be so kind as to ignore the fingerprint smudges and lack of mat on that print. Thank you.

Then I painted my office area and powder room a beautiful oceanic blue (Valspar Secluded Garden)

And my dear, sweet Mama made a Roman shade for the back door.

Since the shower was on a Friday night, we served slightly heavier fare than we would have normally. It’s nothing fancy.

Emily’s Shower Menu

Pimento Cheese, Curried Chicken Salad and Hot Onion Dip with Crackers

Meatballs

Mini cheese and broccoli quiches

Disgusting Pre-made pinwheel thingies from Sam’s

White Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ice water, Sweet tea and Decaf Coffee (we’re not a young as we used to be- regular would have kept us up all night!)

All the food’s not on the table yet…

Adorable cupcake papers from here.

Lenka and I gave Emily a very Emilyish apron from here monogrammed with her new initials

and the darling Martha recipe box she registered for.  Each guest was sent a recipe card and asked to fill it out with one of their favorite recipes so Emily could get her collection started.

Once the guests arrived, we all ate and chatted for a bit.  Then we started on our first activity.  Emily loves hot tea and she particularly likes this recipe for easy hot spiced tea. We set out the ingredients and a large copy of the recipe and had the guests fill their jars (we used pint sized jars so I cut the recipe in half) and then finish them off with some cute fabric and ribbons.

After the guests finished their jars (that was also their favor… I guess that’s kind of cheating that we made them make their own…) we played Wedding Scattergories! Emily loves to play Scattergories and she’s quite good at it so Lenka and I made up a custom version (we just made up wedding and kitchen related topics.) Every age guest enjoyed themselves and there were some hilarious answers.

Did I mention that everybody wore their aprons to really get into the kitcheny spirit?

Emily’s future MIL and her mom concentrating hard…

Jennifer is always good for a clever answer (she suggested that Emily play “Every Woman” by Whitney Houston as her first dance song)

Cooking up some unique responses no doubt. Ps. Isn’t my book artwork lovely? Susie painted it for me.

Emily, her sister-in-law Melissa and Melissa’s sister Kelly ended up with the most points and Emily and Kelly took home fun little kitchen gadgets (a vegetable peeler and a mini grater for nuts and spices.)

After opening her fabulous gifts (of which I have no pictures. If it hadn’t been for Lenka, I would have none at all!) we surveyed the aftermath and called it a night.

Oh… one last thing.  I bought a hideous tv armoire from a used furniture store in town and painted it the same color as the walls (the inside is painted the same color as the office/bathroom) and changed out the hardware.  It’s not perfect but I think it turned out quite lovely.  Of course I have no before pictures because I’m just not that patient.

 

Shower Day!

It’s shower day!! The house looks SO CUTE thanks to Mama and Lenka who came over last night to clean, hang pictures, hang the Roman shade Mama made and get everything prepped.  It looks like a real adult lives in my house! I’ve got fresh batteries in my camera and I’ll post pictures of the cuteness as soon as I wake up tomorrow (so don’t expect anything before 4 in the afternoon, haha.)

In the meantime, enjoy these lovely photos of Martha showers. Click any image to view it larger.