Preliminary Wedding Prep

Dress courtesy of a lovely WNY lady that knows my love for old clothes. Some people are just so nice.

Saturday afternoon found me seated in an empty, and very sunny, airport headed back to the coast after a long visit to Western New York. Less than two months from now, I'll make the journey back to WNY to say "I do."

This trip was a productive one, during which my beau and I chose our forest ceremony site:

Odin, the wonder dog, at our site

And decided where we should celebrate:

just beyond the pond

I also got a chance to spend some time with my best gal and decide on a dress for her to wear on the big day (a Shabby Apple frock!). Here we are at the celebration site toasting finally being able to get together and plan.

Also on this trip, I climbed a tree at the celebration site,

had an encounter with a few snakes during ceremony site clean up,

painted a few things,

trunk for wedding gifts and cards

my "paper" moon for wedding photo ops

caught up with some childhood friends,

my Ellie, and my beau's Ernie

discovered this gem,

turns out, I've always been odd

and watched Spring envelop the rural New York countryside.

I've returned to the coast sunburned and tired but with a renewed enthusiasm for our wedding.

 In just a few days I will receive the final printing of our invitations, which will be sent out next week, and then we shall wait, with great anticipation, for the response cards to start rolling in.

This is really happening!

x

Happy Sailing

May Baskets

Yesterday, with flower filled paper cones, the press of a door bell and some swift, albeit awkward, running, I briefly traveled back to the May Days of my childhood.

Filled with the variety of blooms from my mother's garden, these baskets made their way to the door knobs of my grandmothers, just as they did when I was a kid. 

Running away from each house, after depositing my basket and ringing the bell,  I grasped a sliver of pure simple joy which I thought I'd left in childhood. With bright sunshine of the first May morning, and the knowledge that I'd made someone's day, the first day of May was truly a lovely one.

Perhaps I should travel home to Western New York every May Day.

To read more about May Day, and my May Day traditions, click here.

x

Happy Sailing

Back of the Closet

It seems that there are always one or two garments that get pushed to the back of my closet, doomed to never get the wear they deserve; this dress is one of them.

I remember buying this, about six years ago, insisting I'd wear it. Since then, it has hung in four closets, in four different houses, in two different states and finally, on Friday night, it got worn.

My beau and I traveled back to our apartment in Western NY (hence the crazy wallpaper) for the wedding reception of his childhood friend. The couple was married in Cancun, Mexico, and returned, tan and happy, to celebrate their nuptials with friends and family at an Elks lodge banquet hall. 

Even though this dress matched the table linens, and the bride's maids dresses (oops!), we showed it a pretty good time.

My beau and I are loving this photo booth trend at weddings; we always have such fun messing around in front of the camera. We don't take a ton of photos together (though we can and should), so it's nice to have a few fun snaps of us all dressed up and having a good time. 

I'm looking forward to another five days here in WNY- frolicking in the woods and wedding planning, but my beau, great guy that he is, has returned to North Carolina, to pet our kitties, water the plants, and man the Etsy shop. I'm a pretty lucky gal :)

x

Happy Sailing 

Azalea Tourist

This weekend was the Azalea Festival in Wilmington so we spent some time downtown taking in the festivities. At first we traveled the crowded streets but made a point to wander off the beaten path and on to the shady streets lined with lovely old houses. For our day out I wore this dress and sweater of Mrs. Bolton's, I thought the pink would look nice with the azaleas.

Ever since I visited the city of Savannah, Georgia, in 2009, I have been absolutely enchanted with Spanish moss. I never imagined that I'd live in a place that, like Savannah, is absolutely dripping with moss and historic southern charm.

 

 

 

Sometimes it is nice to play the part of the tourist, even in a town you're already acquainted with. Spring, when the world is in bloom, is the perfect time to slow down, to appreciate, and to stand in the street with a camera gawking at pretty houses :) 

 

 

 

x

Happy Sailing

Spring Spritz

In my last post I took you on a brief tour of an estate sale and showed you my prized find: a spritz cookie maker.

I also mentioned that I wanted to get a batch of cookies made this week, and you know what? For once I followed through! 

Thanks to Mom2fur over at 1000 Points of Creativity , I had a wonderful recipe to follow for my cookies. She was kind enough to email the recipe to me, but it is also, along with other lovely things, posted on her blog.

If you have no idea what a spritz cookie maker is, it's much like something one would have used as a child when playing with play dough. Simply pull the plunger back, load the tube with dough, cap it all off with the design of your choice and tighten the ring.

I chose some spring designs: flowers, and butterflies and whatnot, and added some pink food coloring and orange extract to the dough in lieu of the almond extract the recipe called for.

Spritzing is so easy, once your tube is prepared, simply place your tube on the cookie sheet, depress the plunger, and lift when finished. Finding the right amount of dough to push out is a bit of trial and error, but eventually I found that less dough made prettier cookies.

These might be my go to cookies from now on. Quick, easy, fun to make and absolutely delicious, they are the perfect little nibble to have with a cup of tea! Plus, they're pretty!

Looking forward to the next few days filled with obligatory junk seeking, sunshine, and the annual Azalea Festival in Wilmington. Should be a wonderful time! 

Here's to the weekend! 

Happy Sailing!