Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday all!

I hope you had as nice a weekend as I did.

Started off Saturday with a little coffee out on my deck.  I absolutely adore sitting out there in the early morning when there are no lawnmowers going, no dogs barking, and no kids yelling.  

It's just peaceful solitude.

(but its a challenge to keep my little early risers quiet for anyone else who may want to enjoy it too.)

 

Later on we had a wedding to attend for a friend of mine.

They say rain on your wedding day is supposed to bring good luck.  I felt bad for them because it was absolutely downpouring.  Thankfully it didn't last long and it cleared up soon after.

I wore my "go-to" dress.  

It's really the only dressy dress I have and has gotten many miles over 

the past few months that I've had it but I still love it.

Of course I had to throw together a new pair of earrings to wear to mix it up a bit though :)

Hubsy and I had a great time.  We so rarely get out without the boys and always have a good time when we get to focus on each other.  Not to mention weddings always bring out the memories of our own and we get to re-live the feelings of that special day.

 We had gorgeous weather on Sunday and decided to take full advantage of it and have a great family day outside with the boys at a local park.  One of our goals this summer was to teach L to ride a bike without training wheels.  Most kids probably learn earlier but for some reason we just don't seem to get him much practice.  Well we decided to take him out to try it and just when I thought he would never get it, within 2 minutes he was riding on his own like a champ.  It's always such an awesome moment as a parent when your child all the sudden masters a new skill.  So proud of him.

And not to let E out, he had some success of his own.  This was the longest distance he had ever ridden his bike and he hardly needed any help from em at all in terms of getting going.  He did have a little crash though but little man was a trooper bounced up and got right back on.  Had to keep up with big brother after all ;)

We also went for a hike which is one of my favorite things to do.  I wore a bandana since I hadn't exactly done anything to my hair.  Well, the boys decided they wanted to be "pirates" too.  Maybe it was the bandana paired with the hoops that made me look like a pirate...I don't know.

His lordship Sir Seamus got the royal treatment of being carried on the hike because just walking around while the boys biked wore him out.  Poor poochie could barely keep his eyes open on the ride home.  He wasn't the only one, L and E passed out pretty quick too. 

Wear 'em out and put 'em to bed...that's our motto ;)

It was one of those rare weekends where we got to enjoy a lot of relaxed "together" time, 

those are the best ones in my book.

Linking up with Carissa....

How was your weekend?

Wedded Bliss

I love weddings.  

I love LOVE.  

And weddings celebrate love at its finest and mark a wonderful new beginning.  

The commitment, the journey, the excitement of life to come.  

That feeling can't be beat.  If your not married yet, you can be inspired and dream about your own big day.  Or if your like me, it reminds you of your own wedding and all those great feelings come alive again.

My most prominent memory of my wedding day is how I felt as I walked down the aisle with my Dad.  The church we got married in is sort of dim where lighting is concerned but I swear as I walked down the aisle 

the entire church was bathed in light.  

Everyone looked like they were guilded in gold.  And my husband-to-be was waiting at the end with a stunning smile.  It truly was a holy experience.  I had been wanting to get married long before we actually did but God was telling me that this was exactly where he wanted me to be.  He planned it for this day, in his time.   

The absolute rightness I felt was almost 

breathtaking and I will never forget it.

A few weeks ago my cousin Ashley had her turn and married her love Joey.  The ceremony was held at the St. Joseph's.  Most of my Dad's side of the family has belonged to this church at some point.  We have a lot of history there.  I'm sure there are some great architectural terms to describe this church but I don't know them.  To me it's simply...BEAUTIFUL.

The Church

Then it was off to the reception that was held at an awesome old pump station that was converted into an event hall.  Had I known about this venue when I was getting married I may have insisted we have ours there as well.  It was THAT fabulous!

 The architectural detail of this place was what attracted me.  The industrial beams were made all the more lovely with some white lanterns and ferns suspended from them.  And she did such a beautiful job decorating (with a little help from some family of course).

The centerpieces

The cake - Classic and beautiful, just like the bride herself.

 

My beautiful Grandmother aka GIGI

Sweet flower girls

The bridal party

 

First Dance - Ashley and Joey were so relaxed.  My husband and I were so stiff and uncomfortable having everyone look at us we couldn't wait for the song to end!  We look back and laugh at it now.

Dress details - I loved the beadwork on Ashley's dress and the beautiful accent in her hair that stayed in even after the veil came off.

Party People - They did a really cute game for the dinner buffet.  You had to "Name that Tune" for your table to be able to go up to the buffet and get served.  It was a lot of fun but unfortunately our table was musically challenged I guess and we were the second to last table to eat, but we had a blast playing though!

It was a great wedding and I'm so happy for these two lovebirds!

What are some of your favorite memories from your wedding day?