A+R's Big Fat Greek Wedding

This past Saturday we donned our finery and headed into the city to celebrate the wedding of Bestie A and her Fiancé R. From start to finish, the day was picture perfect and brought my heart so much joy. I was privileged enough to be on bride duty (primping & fluffing her gorgeous gown before she headed down the aisle) but was able to catch quick glimpse of Peanut proudly making his way down the aisle.

He lived up to his ring security position and not only carried the rings down, but also the stephana (crowns) used during the ceremony. #mymommyheartburst

Ceremony

 Bridal Party Photos

 Hard to believe that this little man was running a fever a little over 24 hours earlier.

Reception Time 

 Decor

Family Photos 

Piano Serenade

Introductions & Speeches

 Dancing, Dancing, & More Dancing

The newlyweds are now relaxing under the rays of the warm Maui sun, while we're still working on catching up on our sleep around here. Wishing A+R a lifetime of all God's blessings…love you!!!

Ring Bearer Rehearsal Wear

It's here! Bestie A's wedding weekend. I can not put into words how ecstatic I am to celebrate the union of A & R.  Even Peanut is getting more and more pumped for his big role as the ring bearer. I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to make something special for him to wear at the rehearsal tonight. 

And this is what I came up with.

Creating this shirt was super simple. I took a white polo from Tar-jey.



Added iron on letters from Amazon (they have these cheaper in the stores but I didn't mind paying a bit more to have them delivered to my door)



And I've got one cutie-pie tee. I can not wait to see JJB rock this one.



As an added bonus, there were quite a few letters left over for future crafting. While I was fixing Peanut's shirt I went ahead and monogrammed his library tote.

And with that, I'm off to prepare for the weekend…. Let the Party Begin!!!! 

ETA: Here is the shirt in action.

The Garden of Lazarus

If you recall our 2013 Home Goals, two of them were garden related. The first was to plant a vegetable garden. It might be tiny, but seeing as it was our first garden ever in this home, we figured we were better off not biting off more than we could chew. 

The second gardening goal, and perhaps far more important than the first, was to not kill the garden. Like all new things, we attentively cared for our new garden. Watering and feeding as needed. And our plants loved us back with bountiful goodies. 

But then the summer rain came & drowned our poor little plot. With all the commotion of back to school and a leisurely visit to the lake, our dainty garden was written off. I figured our minimal harvest was a success for our rookie year. 

Last week when we were camped out in the backyard watching the roofing action, Peanut happily announced that our garden was brimming with tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers. 

We are back to nurturing our plants and looking forward to tasting our own fall harvest. And since the kiddies took such a liking to the garden, plans are in the works for a much larger garden plot next spring. I'll be back next week with more details.

As for you guys' gardens, are they still producing away or did you lose plants this year? Am I tooting our horn for nothing; maybe it is traditional for plants to produce a second time in the early fall? Do tell, I am clearly not a gardening expert.

Knobbing It Up {Kids' Bath Progress}

Ever have one if those projects where you wonder if it's worth the effort? Well the kids' bath is turning out to that way. Energized by the encouraging comments you all left on my last bathroom update, I headed out to look for mercury glass knobs for the vanity. 

I managed to scout out some luminescent lovelies on an end cap at HomeGoods. I happily scooped them up, brought them home and ran upstairs to try them out.  

They were proportion perfection. The chunky nobs anchored the vanities and elevated them from shabby to chic (see you all know your stuff). I was thrilled. 

Until this happened. 




YoU'vE. GoT. tO. Be. KiDdInG!!!! 

I stood there for a moment giving serious consideration to making the drawer on the right inoperable. After all it is just the baby's drawer and he doesn't have all that much stuff. 

Once I came back to reality and accepted that the aforementioned slacker solution isn't viable, I started to brainstorm. Into my mind popped this image. 



Hello mudroom cabinets! A quick swap and we are back in business. And I still can not believe that at HomeGoods I was able to locate the same knobs I purchased nearly one year ago.





I'm taking it as a sign that this project is meant to be. I'm looking forward to smooth sailing from here on out. (And for all you wondering, the paint has been removed from hinges and thanks for tolerating these subpar iPhone pics. My camera has been acting up lately.)

Fall in the Front

Despite the warmer temps forecasted for the week, it is officially fall and I'm wasting no time welcoming my favorite season.

On the front door I've hung our fall wreath; the first to hang since the door had its update earlier in the year. A pair of urns from the deck shed their summer floral and now sport DIY pumpkin topiaries. While a double swag of fall foliage & beaded gourd garland tops it all off. 

The pumpkins in the topiaries I've had since Hubby & I got married. I would display them individually along the mantel in our old home. After 5 minutes with a glue gun, I reinvented them into something more fitting to my current needs. I opted not to fill the bottom of the urn with greenery/leaves in favor of a more tailored and clean appearance. (FYI: I ran a wooden stake out of the bottom pumpkin & into the urn to avoid losing them on a blustery fall day.)

I couldn't let the front entrance have all the fun. The addition of two more faux pumpkins (these will be swapped out with real ones once we visit the pumpkin patch) and a large wooden pumpkin cut out dress up the seating area next to the driveway. I've got a few pillow ideas for the chair, I just need to find the time to sew.

And it just won't be an accurate depiction of our home in the fall without the mighty Bear's flag rippling in the wind. Isn't it so kind of Hubby to be a fan of a team whose colors coordinate so swimmingly with the autumnal hues!?!

The front yard won't stay this way for long, the littles are chomping at the bit to hang the halloween ghosts we made together last year. They"ll have to wait a bit longer though, no halloween decorations until after October 1st.  Even then, it is pushing my fill of ghoulish decorating.