Springtime hearts, flowers and love

Stopping along the way to look up

smell the blossoms

breath deeply

celebrate love

and

be joyful

♥

Our oldest daughter, Amanda,

is getting married this summer.

This past Saturday, the women in our family

and her closest friends had the best time ever.

Can you tell we had a "beach" theme!

The memory jar was a joy to create.

Each flower girl chose a special stone to put inside.

Rachael and I added seashells, sea glass, sand dollars and her favorite

east and west coast photos.

A really big hit were the Lightly Lemon Cupcakes {in the collage}

A super easy recipe from Bisquick.

They are sooo light and lemony!

These chocolate / almond cupcakes and Nutter Butter flip-flop cookies were fun too!

    What a snapshot is to your life, 

your life is to eternity, 

so wouldn’t it be nice if eternity captured you smiling?
    Robert Brault

~    ~    ~Wishing you springtime joy!

God bless you always,

Maria

Anniversary ♥ wishes

Every moment

is a once in a lifetime

moment.

♥

Happy First Anniversary Rachael and Juan! 

 ♥

“There is no feeling more comforting and consoling

than knowing you are right next to the one you love.”

~
“Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench

when there is plenty of room at both ends”
 

~
“To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven”- Karen Sunde
 

~
“Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence”
 -Vincent van Gogh
 

~
“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because 

reality is finally better than your dreams.”- Dr. Seuss quotes  

 Wishing you Joy

Always and Forever,

♥ Mom

Beautiful Veils

There is a soft, cool breeze flowing through voile curtains

Another veil is also flowing through my mind.

Never before seen photos of my mother were recently sent to my brother.
They are are a treasure to us.

~

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

{Matthew 6:21}

Wishing you joy and treasures of the heart

♥

curtains

 hanging in living room of Rachael and Juan's apt.
They were hand made by Dominga

{the beautiful mother of my son-in-law, Juan}

Instant Postcards from Barcelona!

~*♥*~*♥*~*♥*~

The Newlyweds are in Barcelona!

How fun it is to receive

INSTANT POSTCARDS!

via picture texting!

{taken from a paddle-boat}

{taken in Barcelona and a nearby vineyard}

Happy Sky Watching from Barcelona, Spain

by 

♥ Juan and Rachael ♥

{Composed by Maria}

Thank you to our Sky Watch Friday hosts: 

Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Effervescent Joy

They smiled ear to ear

heart to heart

and it

was

effervescent

They jumped for joy

because it was a contagious joy.

We had the time of our lives!

Thank you all, so much,

for your sweet thoughts and prayers for a

wonderful day!

♥

 It all came true.

Mommy ~ Daddy, "I'm getting married!"

Where did the time go!

Wasn't this yesterday?

♥

This WAS yesterday!

I'll tell you all about it this week!
 
God Bless 

Rachael & Juan 

always,

~Mom & Dad~

Mother of the Bride!

I love to dance!

...and I want to dance at my daughter's wedding...

Rachael found this dress for me!

It's perfect for dancing the night away!

She also found the cute flower purse at
White House/Black Market.

{luckily it was on sale!}

...I needed to accessorize with gold to brighten things up...

so I found the gold wrap at TJ Max.

{Don't you love that place for bargains? They couldn't find the price so they just said, "How's $4)

That made my day!

It's the little things sometimes :o)

 Wearing it proudly!

Tiny Little Purses

Such pretty favors

Filled With

Chocolate

♥ Folding and Filling Tonight ♥

. . . I would rate this kit from Brides. . .

Easy as

one

two

three!

 They take a little time,

but chatting with my daughter made time fly!

{Brides kit from Michael's Craft store ~ don't forget your coupon!}

*

Dear Family & Friends,

Enjoy a Very Sweet Week!

Sweet Lilies of the Valley

"The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers."

~ Bashō

How delicate and lovely are these beautiful bells!

This bouquet was my third from the garden.

They start to brown in a handful of days...

But

oooooooooo

the fragrance is heaven

Botanically known as Convallaria, 

but also known as

May lily,

May bells,

Our Lady's tears,

Convall-lily,

Lily Constancy,

Ladder-to-Heaven,

Jacob's Ladder,

Muguet

The Lily of the Valley

signifies a

"return to happiness"

They were first on Rachael's list for a bridal bouquet.

BUT

Rachael's flower budget is very modest, so she ordered a simpler bouquet of mixed flowers.
You see, our florist, Fran,

{a lovely woman that has know our children for years}

told us that a bouquet the size of the one above, from my garden,

would cost hundreds of dollars. 

They are $60 for 10 stems!

{Here's a link I found online.}

I'm so happy that they were blooming for Rachael's wedding shower.
~ These were free ~

"The flowers of late winter and early spring 

occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size." 

~Gertrude S. Wister

 *

 Dear Family and Friends,

~ I hope you have a wonderfully sweet week ~

Wedding Shower Tablescaping

Rachael's wedding shower

...was a gift for her...

but

it was also a gift for me!

*

I enjoyed the preparations for this so much.

So much was learned from all of you.

~ thank you ~

I saw these pink dishes in my new favorite consignment shop

several weeks ago.

"Something Olde ~ Something New"

Service for 10

in pink.

...from the '50's...

Could I just leave them there knowing how sweet they'd look on our buffet table?

When they were reduced to $30 for the whole set...

I knew they were meant to be on our table!
We had disposable plates as well, but our first guests loved using 'real' plates.

I bought the vintage napkins on eBay ~ 9 matching linen napkins for $6.95!

I took Friday off from school and it was wonderful!

I got so much done.

We took out all our serving dishes ~ especially the vintage ones!
platters from my grandmother's set and two pink glass Mikasa dishes from my sister.

Saturday morning, I frosted the cupcakes...

Amanda frosted the angel food cake and we assembled the hors d'oeuvres.

Amanda was my right arm that day!
 *

The sands of the hour glass seem to disappear as we approached noon.

Everyone would be here by 1pm.

My nieces, sister and sister-in-law were awesome helpers that last hour!
It was like conducting an orchestra!

We had a dessert table with the cupcakes, angel food cake and cookies.

I went with pink and green flowers
and love baby's breath.

My favorite things were our "homemade" cupcake stand

and the pretty Martha Stewart paper dahlia favors

Later this week, I'll post some of the food pics.
This was a gift for Rachael, but I feel all the richer for it.
 *

It's Tablescape Thursday too!

Blessings to you all,

Love in Bloom

Yesterday was Magical

After two months of day dreams and plans

{Amanda and I had lots of both!}

and right up to the last hour
...when closest family and friends helped with last minute needs...

...I must say that...
~

The wedding shower was so much FUN!

~

...Rachael was smiling ear to ear...

She was overwhelmed with joy and love

♥

~ which is what it's all about ~

 ~ family & friends ~

Today

I'm posting a

thank you

to all the wonderful women in my daughter's life

...You are kind, generous and so very loving...

~ Blessings from Heaven ~

and

to all of my dear blog friends,

who inspire me

...to think beautiful thoughts...

that ring so true

 "In a soulmate we find not company but a completed solitude."

♥

"Marriage is a multiplication of whatever you bring to it."

*Robert Brault* 

and

...to have adventures in tablescaping, cooking and cupcakes...

 cupcakes by Maria!

*Inspired by my cupcake loving blog friends*

{stand= 3 vintage trays $9 + two $1 glasses ~ Thanks Myrna}
{ribbon idea from husband :o}

A fun time was had by all.

We are now enjoying the afterglow of
*another awesome girls' weekend*
♥
AND

...to all who practice the fine art of mothering...

*More on food and party ideas later this week*