Hello Monday ~ June 15, 2026/Wedding Weekend

 Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend?  Mine was a busy and fun one!

After work on Friday, I packed up and drove a little over an hour for my destination for the weekend.  One of my best friend's daughter got married!  I was able to spend the weekend there to be her right hand man and a help to the bridesmaids.  Speaking of the bridesmaids, my daughter was maid of honor!  She and the bride met in 1st grade at church and have been best friends.  She had gone down there earlier in the morning for a luncheon. I arrived to my cabin and had this lovely basket of snacks and drinks.

I went to the rehearsal and then headed over to the rehearsal dinner.

There were delicious appetizers at the rehearsal dinner!  I laughed when I saw the bacon wrapped shrimp because it reminded me of the episode of Parks & Rec when Ron Swanson mentions that is his 3rd favorite food wrapped in his 1st favorite food!  I don't disagree.

The wedding day was beautiful weather, thankfully. It was sandwiched in between a lot of rain. This is the chapel where the wedding was.

It is in a cute little Seaside type town, minus the beach!

It was a full morning of getting ready and doing so many little things.

We were in Mississippi, my home state!

My oldest daughter came into town for the wedding as well, so it was fun to be together again for less than 24 hours!

My crew...love these people

The stunning mother of the bride and one of my dearest friends!

And her lovely daughter, the bride!

So the band was amazing!  The female lead singer was a contestant on American Idol, season 8 and was top 11.  The male lead singer is Kortland Whalum.  Per google, he is a singer, songwriter, and Off-Broadway actor, & carries on the legacy of one of Memphis' most iconic musical families. We were well acquainted with his family as they are very popular and known in Memphis as musicians.  His uncle is Kirk Whalum (Grammy-winning saxophonist) and one of his brothers is Kameron Whalum (trombonist for Bruno Mars and tours with Bruno).  We moved our way up to the front of the dance floor!

Isabella brought one of her friends with her to the wedding and we all had fun dancing.  I don't think we left the dance floor for more than a minute to get a drink.  Even when the band went on a break, they had great music playing so the dance floor stayed full.

At some point during the night, I gave Kortland my boa and we may have been his back up singers from the dance floor, ha!

After the band finished, we loved getting this picture with Kortland.  It was a fun way to end the reception.

Sunday morning, we slept in and then we all grabbed a coffee before going our separate ways.  We also helped mom of the bride do a little packing up as well.  After unpacking when I got home, I basically rested while watching tv and doing a little laundry because this momma's legs were so tired.  But goodness, was my heart full!

Wedding ceremonies are still hard honestly, but I am so thankful we can laugh and have fun and I was able to re-connect with some people I haven't seen in a while.   

Hope you have a good start to your week!

Hello Monday ~ July 15, 2024

 Good morning!  I am joining up with Holly & Sarah for a little weekend recap.

Last Friday, I worked until noon and then did my citizen duty and early voted for a local election here.  Friday evening, Brook and I went to a friend's house for dinner.  The family has 3 kids, so it was a busy, fun night!

Saturday morning, we tried a new restaurant/coffee shop that specializes in different flavors of cinammon rolls.  They were delcious!  (P.S.  We ate some protein and fruit at home to balance this out for our morning!).  Yes, they were delicious!

Cinammon butter cream icing

Dark chocolate drizzle

Original cream cheese icing

We went to a wedding about an hour and a half away later that afternoon.  My older daughter was in the wedding, so I was so thankful to see her for at least a few hours, even though she wasn't able to come home.  The wedding venue was so pretty, but unexpectedly, during the reception, the power went out!  Y'all, this is Mississippi on a Saturday night in July.  It got hot.  The band couldn't play, but people were dancing to a playlist and certainly made the best of an unfortunate situation.  It was really refreshing to see how well people handled it, other than saying to one another, "It's so hot!".  Here are some pictures from the night.

The food was all Southern themed and was probably some of the best I have had at a wedding.

This lady with Brook is an angel on earth for our family. She has worked with my girls as a youth director and as a college minister.  She is pure gold and I could not have survived these past 2 years without her encouragement.  We have been at all the same weddings this year, but we finally got a picture tonight. I am so thankful for wise, Godly people who speak into my girls' lives and encourages me too.

Sunday, we went to church, had leftovers at home, then went to my parents house.  My brother and sister-in-law were in town, so it was nice to visit with them and my sister and brother-in-law were there too.  I stayed late and visited with my sister-in-law then came home to watch a little Colombian soccer and went to bed. Here is my brother and I.

I hope your day starts and finishes well and you are able to enjoy this summer day.

Lots of love!

Tuesday Talk - July 2, 2024/Weekend Recap

 Good morning!  It is another hot week, however yesterday was cooler and we have a cooler than average morning. Today I am sharing highlights of the weekend, with more photos to come tomorrow!

Friday was work, a little bit of rest, and a late night wedding and recption!  There was a beautiful sunset, the reception venue was beautiful and we enjoyed the food.  A trend at weddings now is to bring out a late night food.  Around 10pm, the wait staff came and served everyone hamburger sliders and milkshakes.  It was fun and a delicious treat!

Saturday morning, we started the day with Chick-fil-A chicken minis.  I had free coupons which expired today, so Brook and I got breakfast and headed to an estate sale & a yard sale.  Look at this cute board, which I plan on painting, that I got for $1!  

Our neighborhood always has their 4th of July festivities the Saturday before the holiday.  There was a fishing rodeo and door prizes at the lake Saturday morning.  We just went for the door prizes and I won some movie passes and snacks!

Our neighborhood also has a mailbox decorating contest and a boat parade contest.  This was one of the mailboxes we saw in the neighborhood that caught our eye.

Saturday afternoon, I stayed inside and watched Sweet Home Alabama, which I mentioned on the blog last week.  Brook and I also started a project on the kitchen table.  I just saw this brand advertised online and bought this small kit from Retique.  This brand is a liquid wood and we grained the table after painting it.  The original table...

After 2 coats of primer and 1 coat of stain...

This was after the first "graining" of the table....

The table work continued through Monday, but here is the finished look.

 Sunday was church, baking sourdough, laziness at home, & then a dinner with friends at church that night.  It was a social weekend, which made it fun, yet there are hard parts to that sometimes as well.  I am thankful for friends who hug me along the way. Makes me think of the quote Clarence wrote to George in the movie It's A Wonderful Life..."No man is a failure who has friends".  

Today is a busy day, but hoping for a good one and same to you as well!

Talking About it Tuesday/Weekend Wrap-Up ~ May 28, 2024

 I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend!  I feel like it is officially summer now, although summer looks so much different now that my kids are a little older.  But I still welcome summer and the different schedule it brings and less traffic on days I drive to work :). Here is a recap of the weekend.

Friday, my youngest flew home for the weekend!  It was perfect timing to have her home.  Saturday morning was a perfect leisure morning.  I found an episode of The Love Boat on Pluto TV and showed it to Brook.  We made it through about half the episode as it wasn't maybe one the best.  I use to watch this show every Saturday night as a kid.  

We went to lunch and then to Ulta, TJ Maxx and Trader Joe's.  I bought some of the body butter for me and my girls, along with a candle. I also saw this Enchanted Jangle, which I think must be the summertime version of Jingle Jangle.  I didn't buy any, but I think I the Jingle Jangle is still my favorite.

I picked some flowers from the yard, made some sourdough bread and wore my new neck fan.

Saturday evening, Brook cut some layers around my face and this was her first time to cut hair.  I really trust my daughter.

Sunday morning, I went to church, my oldest came home that afternoon and my heart was full.  It had been over 3 months since I had seen both of my girls at the same time!  

We went to a wedding that afternoon of a dear friend.  This friend has been one my oldest daughter's good guy friends since 6th grade.  His parents are great friends of mine and we just love their family.

The mother of the groom and I

My girls and I

Sister of the groom and my Brook

This is Isabella and her small group friends and leaders from high school.  I love that this group has been so close since 6th grade and going strong 5 years post high school graduation, even though they all went to different schools.

My heart was just so full having these 2 together, even for a afternoon.

As of yesterday afternoon, they are both back in their respective cities.  

But before Isabella left, we went to lunch together, went to a few stores and got frozen yogurt.  We went to a newer restaruant to our area where you can build your own salad.  I had also gone here last week and it is one of my favorite places now.  I was thankful for the one on one time with her.

I added several types of lettuce, zuchinni noodles, veggies, chicken and hummus instead of dressing.  It was delicious. 

Have a great day!