Ciao Lunedi

Good Monday morning everyone. I hope you had a nice weekend and are ready for the week to come. Ours will consist of a lot of trucks, a lot of dirt, more big rock, and a little bit of wallpapering too. Not by the same people of course. 

We had a fun weekend. I co-hosted a bridal shower in the Atlanta suburbs with two friends and we had the best time planning and executing this event. We are all long time friends of the bride's parents (we all went to uni together) so we've known the bride her whole life, and it was fun making the day special for her. 

For her momma too, because let's be honest, weddings are a lot about the bride and also a little bit about her momma. 

The bride's family has some Sicilian roots so we went with an Italian coastal theme and the colors were so pretty. We may have gotten a little carried away with all the bells and whistles, but once we started it was hard to stop. 

Hubs and I loaded the car early Friday morning and when I say loaded I mean loaded. We had a table, our own overnight bag, 6 tablecloths on hangers, several boxes of assorted whatnots including the guest book, the recipe binder, a glass jar filled with lemon drops for a game we were playing, a banner, the dog! (he got dropped off at the kennel en route) and 32 bottles of homemade limoncello, favors for our guests to take home. 

When we lived overseas hubs had an Italian co-worker whose wife would gift us a bottle of her homemade limoncello every Christmas. As we prepared to move back stateside hubs told him how much he was going to miss that and she shared her recipe with him. 

Delizioso! 

The shower was in the home of one of the co-hosts and it was the perfect backdrop to our theme. We planned to have lunch around the pool but of course it was 8000 degrees so a tent was borrowed from another friend, complete with two little a.c. units to go inside, and that helped. 

Still it was a really hot day, so we set up everything but the lunch portion of the shower indoors. 

We had some big balloons and a monogram floating in the pool. I volunteered hubs to get in at 8 am that morning to set the weights. 

Everyone had an opinion about where that monogram should be lol. 

It mostly stayed put. 

There were close to 30 people attending the shower. I didn't take any great pictures of the food because we were busy, but the food was wonderful. We knew we had a couple of gluten free diners on the guest list, and at least two vegetarians so we offered two entrees. There was Chicken Toscano and then a spinach and sun dried tortellini dish for the non-meat eaters, along with a Caesar salad and fresh bread. We had a separate salad for the gf folks because we aim to please. 

I feel like I want to tell you that big metal bowl was washed and put away at party time. Carry on. 

We made the tortellini dish, but ordered the Tuscan chicken from an Italian deli so it just needed heating. We put together Italian style charcuterie cups with mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, and salami as an appetizer, and we had desserts courtesy of that same Italian deli. 

This cake y'all..mamma mia! Molto bene! It's a lemon blueberry cake with a lemon buttercream icing, and I am here to tell you that icing was one of the best sweet treats I've eaten in along time. We also had tiramisu which was super scrumptious. 

We decorated with hydrangeas and lemons. Lots and lots of lemons. Jars of lemons, baskets of lemons, bowls of lemons...so pretty! And I loved using some of my Italian pottery purchased several years ago on a trip to the Amalfi Coast.

Actually it was more than several because it was our 20th and we just celebrated 40, but whatever, this isn't about me and how time goes by in the blink of an eye and babies you knew as babies are now somehow brides. 

There was a Prosecco bar because every shower needs one, right? 

Instead of a traditional guestbook we bought the bride an Italian cookbook and had all the guests sign a page. We also asked everyone to bring a recipe and had a binder for those. 

Because it was a large group we opted not to do a lot of group games. There were two things the guests could do during the appetizer hour including 'guess how many lemon drops are in the jar' and 'guess the bride's age' in a series of photos. 

We did have one fun guessing game as a group. One letter from the bride's soon-to-be new name was attached to each bag. Inside the bag was a kitchen item starting with that letter. Everyone guessed the item then the bride unwrapped and will keep the gadget. It's a fun way to gift some of the smaller kitchen items a couple has on their registry. 

The toughest letter was O which nobody guessed. 

Onion goggles. 

Every cook needs a pair. 

The groom's momma flew in from out of town for the shower and it was fun for the southern friends to meet her in person. I think she enjoyed the day and she even won a prize in one of the games. We had reserved seats for the moms to watch the gift opening. 

The host whose home we were in had her daughter-in-law coming to town for the shower, and she created our balloon arch extraordinaire. 

After she got to town at 9:30 PM!! the night before the shower. She's a trooper though and dove right in. And thankfully we had inflated all the balloons earlier in the day. 

I helped a little bit with the assembly so I could learn her technique, but I guess it's tedious no matter how you go about it. I think it's worth the trouble though, because balloons definitely add an element of fun to the day. 

This is the bride's chair. We rented the chair because like I said it was hard to say no to all the pretties.

Now,  do I have a picture of all of us with the bride? No I do not. There was a guest who volunteered to take pictures with a 'real' camera and she took bunches, so we'll have some soon. I might add one later, but in the meantime it's just the details. 

Also, being a bride is so special and I love celebrating them. Now it's onward to the wedding! 

This post is linked with the Hello Monday party hosted every week by Holly and Sarah.  

Monday Mornin' You Sure Look Fine

June rolled in over the weekend and what's not to love about that? Linking with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday today and the weekend recap. Ours was fun and of course involved a short road trip, because there's always a road trip when you're us. 

Friday hubs played golf and I had a mani/pedi which was lovely. OPI Dutch Tulips which is one of my favorite colors. Personally I don't enjoy seeing pics of feet on the internet so I won't be posting one, but trust me, it's a good color. Hubs grilled salmon for dinner and we watched a couple of episodes of our recent show-Tracker. Who else is watching? 

Saturday morning we dropped the little brown dog at the kennel then headed to the ATL. Atlanta traffic is not for sissies and I'm so glad for a little app called Waze which will scoot you around all the many city snafus as best it can. Somehow it made sense (to Waze) to exit us off the highway, circle us around to the south even though we were going north, bring us into the heart of downtown!! which then required about six quick turns until voila! we were on I-75 without losing even a minute of our ETA. 

Technology! Whoohoo! 

Later this summer I'm helping host a bridal shower with two friends for another friend's daughter, and we needed to have an in-person meet up to get everyone on the same page. Hubs and I rolled into town and met up first thing with our friends for lunch at Jekyll Brewing. 

I had a butter lettuce salad topped with grilled shrimp and it was so good. No picture because I'm a mediocre blogger. After lunch we girls left the guys to hang out while we headed to the house to talk details, make lists, divvy up responsibilities, and create a menu, rental order and timeline for the day of. We did not include the bride's mom in our planning because we think it will be fun to surprise her with all the pretties on the day too. 

The bride's parents did join us for dinner at the house later and we had a wonderful meal and relaxed evening together. We've been friends for decades and never run out of things to talk about. Our host made a yummy rosemary lemonade cocktail that was just the right amount of citrus and not too sweet.

Been friends with this guy since we were eighteen years old which is a while now-ha! 

He grilled steaks and his Mrs. made a delicious appetizer with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, chopped egg, and red onion which I will definitely be recreating all summer long. 

It was scrumptious. 

After dinner we played Dominos, told stories, and laughed til we cried. 

Like yesteryear...

...like always. 

The Sweetness of Autumn

I think in the age of Corona and conflict and crazy political ranting we have to really look for life's sweetness. It's still there, but you have to step over a lot of dooty to find it. 

Question-does anyone above the age of three use the term dooty? 

My girls will say no. 

Anyhoo here we are on this sunshiny Monday morning where the air is cool and the sky is blue and the leaves are tinged with gold and that right there is pretty sweet. Embrace it. There is a sense of melancholy that rolls in this time of year but I don't hate it. Cozy follows close behind. 

This is cozy and also super sweet.

And NO, the pup is not allowed on the furniture ahem.

My grandson yelling 'Hey Nana!' when we're on Facetime is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. I literally feel my heart dissolve into a puddle inside my chest. 

Baby brother (who still needs a blog name) turns one this month and he is handsome and loud and walking and throwing and clapping with delight and is just the sweetest little almost one year old I know. 

The geographical distance between us is not so sweet, but we see what we choose to see and today I'm looking for silver linings. 

Want to know what else is really sweet?

This beautiful bride who was celebrated on Saturday by some of the groom's family and friends. 

The shower was small because that's the world we live in currently, and was in a private room with plenty of space for the same reason, and everyone turned up wearing a mask because again weird times, but still it was completely lovely.  

We enjoyed every minute including the almost three hour drive there and back because my sister and niece (who is also a bride-to-be) rode with us and we were long overdue for an in -person catch up. 

The weather could not have been more fabulous and there was a delicious lunch, yummy mimosas, fun gifts, marriage advice, and a beaming bride who is loved far more than words can say. 

Everyday we have a choice. Look at this not that. Think about this not that. Focus on this not that. Wedding planning in a season where the rules change on what feels like an almost daily basis is not a simple thing. But love is in the air and all around too and we are keeping our eyes and our minds on this not that. 

Life is sweet and sure it's salty too, but on this gorgeous Monday in October I choose sweet.

Showered With Love

Y'all. This weather. Ugh. 

I just needed to get that out of the way so we can discuss all things bridal shower. 

Last weekend the bride's bestest friend aka her sister planned and hosted the loveliest shower for the soon-to-be Mrs. In true Daughter1 fashion she thought of every little detail, except perhaps exactly how long it would take to assemble this fabulous balloon arch. 

Yowza. 

You should know Daughter1 is very particular about her diy and the balloons needed to be placed just exactly precisely so. The instructions said it would take anywhere from 45 minutes to 160 minutes depending on the size arch you ordered, and of course ours was ginormous (definitely the way to go!) so took every minute of the 160. Thankful for sisters-in-law who are also diy-ers and helped us get it all put together. 

The shower was held in our neighborhood clubhouse which is a really lovely neutral space with loads of room, comfy seating, and plenty of tables and chairs available. 

There wasn't a theme per se,  just lots of pretty pastels and florals to match the gorgeous invitation. Minted never lets us down when it comes to printed products. I have never ever been disappointed with anything I've ordered from this company and I highly recommend. Their customer service is also fantastic. 

Our menu was brunch and along with egg and veggie casseroles and an assortment of salads we had a crockpot of homemade tomato basil soup and a tray of pimento cheese sandwiches which were perfect for a gray day. 

Did I tell you the weather has been abysmal? 

We had a yummy mimosa bar (neglected to snap a picture) and I ordered three flavors of scrumptious cupcakes from a local baker (neglected to snap a picture). Daughter1 provided these darling little favors -

Yay! a picture!, and  I had floral arrangements made for the tables. We snapped lots of photos under the balloon arch, which was worth every minute of labor! 

Lots (and lots) of family came to town to celebrate our girl and she was absolutely beaming the whole day long.

So special to have her grandmas here to share the love. I have to say I hope I look like this when I'm a great-grandmother...

Daughter2 is gaining a wonderful mother-in-law and we loved having the groom's parents in town for the weekend.

Her soon to be mother-in-law gifted Daughter2 some beautiful Italian linen napkins and table runner which would go perfectly in my dining room. Ha! 

Lots of Daughter2's teacher friends were in attendance, and a very special young lady also joined the party. While in college and a few years beyond, the bride babysat for this sweet girl and her brother too. Her mama has been so kind to my girl and I loved finally getting to meet them both. And I did snap a picture but I don't want to post it without asking. 

My daughter watched hers go from toddler to tween and she watched my daughter go from a brand new college student far from home to grown up woman 'goin to the chapel'.

There are things in this world that make me so happy. 

The bride loved being surrounded by so many of her favorite people, and she received so many nice things. Some from her registry and a few surprises too, which are always fun.

This girl loves to bake and has wanted a Kitchen Aid for a long time now. This one is adorable! My momma who also shares the baking gene gave her a special edition Kitchen Aid in matte blue with a white hobnail bowl. 

I think she likes it.  

This is the cheese tray Daughter1's mother-in-law made for Daughter2. Shh...don't tell, but I plan to stash it in my cabinet when she's not looking. It's gorgeous! Daughter1's mother-in-law turns bowls and also gave the bride a beautiful salad bowl she had made. 

A full fun day all the way around, but my favorite part was this-

photo credit: my sister-in-law

My girls side by each.

In photos like this one I catch a glimpse of the little girls they once were. The smiles, the arms wrapped tight. The way they lift each other up.

They live miles and miles in geography from one another, but are still thick as thieves. Peas in a pod. Kindred spirits. Confidants. From the moment daughter2 entered this world her big sister has loved her to bits. And that love has been returned to her 100fold.

This past weekend was a wonderful prelude to the big day.
Can't wait!!