Long lasting flowers

As I mentioned in an earlier post this summer, I was able to find some fabric flowers and butterflies for some of the reception decorations at a great FANTASTIC price last summer when living with my parents between my moves from NC and to OH.

I fell in love with the simplicity yet colorful pop of the flowers that with my Mom's encouragement, I made the leap and opted to create hand made bouquets for each of the gals and moms.  I figured if they wanted, they could keep them as souvineers and even sprayed them with each of their favorite Bath and Body Works scents.  Then, the individual sprays were placed in their Survival Kit Bags that we presented to each member of the wedding part at the Rehearsal Dinner two months ago from tonight!  The men also sported hand made boutineers and Mason, the flower girl, loved that she had a matching bouquet similar to mine.  Our photographer captured a beautiful moment between the two of us just before I walked down the aisle comparing our bouquets side by side.

My sister-in-law, Alisha's bouquet really stood out against her pretty light purple sheer dress & to the right is the flower girl's bouquet.

Adam's sister's bouquet was inspired by an Easter picture I saw of their family in 2014.  Both her boys wore light blue summery long sleeve blue button down shirts to Easter Mass which made for a very beautiful family photo (one that we had displayed in our Memories photo frame at the reception).  Wendy wore a beautiful light green dress that reminded me of a Greek goddess with the neckline!

My parents' living room floor last summer was the scene of lots of glitter, some petals, and a lot of twisting, trimming, and rearranging of flowers!  Nowadays my living room floor is covered with wrassling pups...my oh my what a difference a year makes!  ; )

This was how I envisioned the centerpiece of the sweetheart table looking upon our arrival by sticking my bouquet in the blue mason jar and we used the wine bottle as our Unity Candle.  On our wedding day, however, the key on the sparkly ribbon never made it due to the fact that it was lost at the church.  It had been carried up by the younger ring bearer, Jacob, but after mass was lost in the shuffle.  Fortunately, the church recovered it in the days following the wedding and they returned it to us.  We also forgot to ask the staff to leave a book of matches on our table to light the candle.  This is why, if you watch our highlights video, you will see us "pretending" to light the candle just before we sat down to eat dinner.  The wine bottle complete with the candle and key have found a spot in our bedroom.  The wine bottle was a gift I had created for Adam in Denver, Colorado to commemorate our trip.  However, it became our celebratory bottle of wine the night he proposed!  The key ribbon also holds my Jeremiah 29:11 ring.  Ironically, the candle is from California, purchased on a girls' getaway trip to San Francisco the summer before I met Adam.  Who would have thought that something I purchased on the Pier in San Fran would be used at my wedding to a CA boy?!

I was so proud of this boutineer I made for Adam.  To show him that night I displayed it on a headband so he could see what it looked like.  Of all the guys' boutineers, I liked this one the most since it contained a little bit of all the colors of the wedding:  purple, green, pink, ivory.

My older brother's boutineer matched Brian's light purple tie and pocket scarf as well as his eggplant socks.  The men were able to keep their socks and pocket scarves as gifts.  Who knows..maybe the scarves will come in handy as rags and the socks can be worn to bed or at night....they seemed to be less than thrilled by the color choices but this bride was colored happy by all the bright colors that day.  LOL!

Mom Sue's bouquet and Dad Tom's boutineer!  This boutineer wound up being worn upside down at the wedding but it still looked great!  ; )  Mom Sue's light pastel pink dress had beautiful layers and sheer fabric similar to my Mom's dress.  Both moms were so stylish and beautiful that day but then again they are each and every day anyhow!

Matron of Honor Heather's bouquet and my little brother's boutineer; Heather wore a striking bright pink dress and matched Patrick who wore an equally bright pink tie, pocket square, and socks (although they look red in the picture?) probably much to his chagrin!!  He returned the scarf that I now use as a vase marker doily type piece of material on our dining room table.  We currently have beautiful pink and purple flowers on display that beautifully go with the pink scarf.  Even better, the flowers were only $4.99 from our local grocer!

Adam's brother, Mark, was the best man and he wore this sunshiney boutineer while his lovely wife, Alicia, carried this bouquet that complemented her gorgeous flowy light purple dress.

Liz, my twin's wife, opted to wear a light lime green one shoulder dress that reminded me of grass blowing in a field with the ripples and waves on her dress.  Mark wore my second favorite boutineer and rocked the light green look!

Here is Wendy's bouquet again flanked by her husband's boutineer at the top right.  Tim wore a light green tie that matched his wife's dress in addition to the lime green socks and pocket square.  The butterfly boutineer was meant for Dustin who was the older ring bearer but this boutineer was quickly turned into my Dad's boutineer when we misplaced his on the way to the church.  We removed the butterfly and refashioned Dad's boutineer only to find his lost one in the car.  So, just before we all walked down the aisle, Dustin was able to quickly pin my Dad's boutineer on his shirt.  Ironically Dad's new boutineer better matched my dress and my Mom's beautiful navy blue sheer and sparkly dress so it all worked out in the end!

 Here are my Mom's and my bouquets combined just before the First Dance at the reception.  You can also catch a glimpse of the peacock feathers that were added to each of the bouquets as well.  Don't my parents look spectacular?!

After numerous comparisons of other flowers, as soon as I saw this pairing, I knew these would be the flowers we would order for the tables at the reception!  The mini carnations in varying colors of purple looked gorgeous next to the jade green tea roses.  We ordered these flowers from the local supermarket near the reception venue and saved a lot of money by going through them instead of going to a florist.  I am talking hundreds of dollars were saved....!

My bouquet contained a little of all of the girls' bouquets combined together!

These tiny vases were ordered to place the mini carnations and the roses in at the reception.  Some tables had just one color, some had two, and some even had three different colors of vases!  They added small pops of color amidst the tall clear vases that contained light up twigs in them.  My Aunt Maureen created the centerpieces and we are very grateful for her help in creating and carrying out the ideas regarding our centerpieces that really added a touch of elegance to the reception tables.

These are the colors we used from David's Bridal as guides in picking out the light green and purple to go with the bright pink.  I loved all the dresses the girls chose and the colors looked so pretty put together!!  I hope each gal will be able to wear her dress to another fun function soon!!

These were the actual flowers we used for the wedding reception.  It's crazy to think that this photo was taken two months ago on this date.  It seemed like time inched forward second by second in the days leading up to May 23rd but since then time has flown by and I can't believe tomorrow will be July 23rd already!!

Now, two months later, the vases and twigs are packed up and being used in Boston at other celebratory events my Aunt hosts.  The roses and mini carnations are long ago dried up and disposed of save for one lone green rose that accompanied us on our honeymoon and now is in our guest bedroom.  The mason jar decorations are placed throughout our house as decor and my bouquet proudly sits in the blue mason jar on our hutch in the living room while Adam's boutineer sits in our "bistro" area in the dining room.  Yes, I'm glad we invested in these long lasting flowers that will forever remind us of the joy of May 23rd!

A Gift for Every Day!

A friend from North Carolina arrived this afternoon.  He will be staying with us for a few days while he attends a conference at my work.  He immediately recognized the Old Salem village on display in our hutch and it was great catching up over our pizza dinner before he went off to register and attend Dr. Hahn's talk tonight.

He also bore gifts.  The house plant is a terrific addition to our living room and will hopefully thrive in spite of my lack of a green thumb and ability to kill flowers.  I was also touched by the gift from Glenn's Mom and Dad for it reminded me of something Adam and I had read last week!  We read an article called, "Three Daily Rituals that Stop Spouses from Taking Each Other for Granted".  In it, there was helpful advice that culminated in these three simple steps:

01.)  Create a habit of reunion every day.

02.)  Set aside two minutes of undistracted communication every day.

03.)  Practice an appreciation ritual every day.  

The gift sent by Glenn's parents makes me think of point # 2.

Each page has a good deed to perform for each day followed by a small space to journal about that deed.  Adam and I have decided we will each perform the good deed a day as we go about our days and then we'll journal about them together at the end of the day when we set aside two minutes of undistracted communication every day.  We used to do this every day when skyping long distance but some of our communication has fallen to the wayside now that we're together under one roof every day.  It's so easy to get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of everyday life that sometimes we forget to really carve out the time to talk to one another without distractions so I'm really looking forward to putting this little journal to use!

A Haven

During the last couple of "Meals as a Mrs." blog postings, I forgot to conclude with a reflection or a thought related to marriage.  I guess I got so wrapped up in trying to catch up with a couple recipes from dinners past that I forgot to conclude with the prayer or reflection when penning those particular posts.  I guess in a way this is kind of like when you just want to dive into a delicious meal that you might forget to first stop and be thankful for all your blessings and not say grace until a few minutes into the meal --- oops!  In the spirit of trying to be more mindful and appreciative, especially of this new life of ours, here is a Roman Missal Nuptial Blessing I read the other day: 

In happiness may they praise you, O Lord, in sorrow may they seek you out; may they have the joy of your presence to assist them in their toil, and know that you are near to comfort them in need; let them pray to you in the holy assembly and bear witness to you in the world, and after a happy old age, together with the circle of friends that surrounds them, may they come to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Through Christ our Lord.

I also came across this terrific article on CatholicMatch too.  I loved what the author had to say about God being a matchmaker especially in relation to points # 6 and # 7.  Reading these two statements reminded me of the three part prayer that I wrote about in this posting and how important it is to trust in God's will and to have hope and faith that He knows what's best for us.  Even, if at times, it seems bittersweet to go through changes in an effort to accept God's will rather than try to bend it to what you want, it will be so worth it.  I remember well the feeling of excitement, nerves, and anticipation as I closed the door at the old house and made the trip to Pennsylvania before the wedding knowing that upon my return I would be opening a new door at the new house.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to my housemates and to close that door but was also exciting to realize that my path is now taking me to a different house and to finally have the chance to move in and stay here with Adam! 

Now with the completion of the major home improvements with the first change having started way back in January, the house feels more and more like a home for our little family!  I know many of you have asked for pictures of the house over the last several months and I thank you so much for your patience.  Although the house will most likely never be a completed work (ah the joys of homeownership and all that it entails) I feel ready to post before/after pictures soon!  I suppose this analogy could also extend to marriage.  The home is constantly evolving to suit our needs.  In a similar way, the husband and wife should work to evolve as individuals and continue to grow in themselves and work on the marriage in an effort to be the best versions of not only themselves alone but also in who they are together as a team.  I have a feeling this will be a neverending process much like trying to beautify a home.  Tomorrow marks the two month anniversary of our wedding (already?!) and thinking of all that has happened in the last two months I can't wait to see what's in store for the next two.

 I close with a beautiful prayer sent to us by a treasured friend.  She prayed it in the Episcopal church in North Carolina in which she grew up that honored wedding anniversaries and wrote it out by hand in her wedding card to us that we received in the mail in Ohio.  It is one of my favorite gifts since it was so thoughtful.

Oh God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual unity between Christ and his church; send therefore your blessing upon your servants Meg and Adam, that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Meals as a Mrs. ~ Stuffed Pork Chops with Cheddar Potato Casserole

The other weekend, after taking a quick day trip out to Cleveland and back, I served an oldie but goodie to a friend who was visiting us from Pennsylvania.  In our early 20s, I used to live with my twin who was dating his now wife at the time.  After one visit with her he shared the leftovers of a dinner they had made with me in our little apartment in Harrisburg.  I remember loving the dinner then and still do now! 

It has been Y-E-A-R-S since I made this little number but was easy to throw together on Friday night so that it could be stored in the fridge and all we would have to do is stick it in the oven for a few minutes on Saturday after a whirlwind of a day of day tripping.

Below you'll see the old recipe for the Cheddar Potato Casserole and the Stuffed Pork Chops that had been printed from an email from Mark way back when that I hung on to all these years in my trusty old cookbook.

When making the Cheddar Potato Casserole, I use instant potatoes rather than the "real thing".  It still tastes good and saves a bit of time if you're pressed for it.  I also usually just sprinkle a handful of cheddar cheese on top rather than measure out a half cup.

Here is a plate with the "plain" cheddar potato casserole on it...

....and this one shows what the cheddar potato casserole with the fixins on it looks like!  Mmm!

We ate dinner on the patio that night.  Dusty was practically under our feet in case there were any scraps dropped to the floor but Hershey watched from one of his favorite spots over by the flowers (he likes to eat).  ; - )

A visit from my favorite 7 and 6 year olds!

The month of July has been a crazy busy one for us.  From quick day trips to overnight visitors to running off to Chicago for a few days, the month has flown by and I can hardly believe we’re coming up on the two month anniversary since the wedding.  Today’s date means I have exactly one month until the 2015-2016 school year starts and I am not even close to being ready for a new semester.  Rather than focusing on all that has yet to be done, I am taking tonight to look back at all that has been done instead.  Let’s see:

Get married.  

Go on honeymoon.  

Move to new house and empty out storage unit in Pennsylvania.  

Start the name change/address change process everywhere (this, I’m learning, is a never ending process!).  

Move offices at work.  

Work two University Days at work. 

Get a new puppy (in hindsight, I didn’t realize how much WORK this would be…why must the concept of house training be so difficult for our new little guy?!)  

As the unofficial representative of the EDU Dept., work on organizing and distributing the wealth of donated materials our department received at work.  

Looking back, I suppose this list is not too shabby as for what was able to be done over the last two months.  I’m so glad I still have a month to work on prepping for the four classes this fall.  Fortunately, on the way back from Chicago I was able to make a small dent in the course calendars for each of the courses.  Maybe I will even get to do a little research before August 20^th rolls around eh?

Something else that was on the to-do list was to have some of our niece & nephews visit and we were able to do that with the two older ones on my side of the family.  Mason and Clark were here for a couple days the other week!!  As luck would have it, they were able to ride back with the pups and me as Adam drove the moving truck that contained the items from storage.  The kids loved holding Hershey in the back seat as Dusty enjoyed the front seat all to himself.  Due to an early pick up time, we made it back to Ohio by noon so that Adam could get right to work (he works on California time) from home.  For lunch, I introduced the kiddos to a favorite of ours:  peanut butter and marshmallow cracker sandwiches but they still like their peanut butter surprise (peanut butter and Nutella) sandwiches better).  Later that day, the kids were entertained as Adam and I worked to unload the moving truck.  When crushing boxes to throw away, Mason and Clark secured one for themselves to make a “tunnel”.  They set to work drawing, coloring, and taping it.  Who needs expensive toys when a cardbox will do??!  

When not being creative, they spent hours playing with the pups, and enjoyed taking over the guest room.  The first night they were here, Adam and I took them to our weekly Adoration hour (9-10pm) where they worked on coloring in their shamrocks we had used earlier to talk about St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity.  Once home, it was time to play with left over sparklers from the wedding before bedtime.

We had some laughs at breakfast when Mason acquired a blue mustache from the juice she was drinking and the kids “watched TV” using the gift Mason had brought with her.  She had made a TV set for Adam and me that we proudly displayed in the living room while the kids were here.  In an effort to get out some of their energy, we piled into the car and headed on over to school where the kids joined some friends and co-workers for Jazzercise.  They danced one song with us then found more fun in playing with the cones while us grown-ups danced (or in my case, attempted to dance)!  The kids were the stars and my colleagues enjoyed having them join us.  They also got a peek at my new office where we snatched up some books and props that go with one of my all time favorite children’s stories.  Once back at the house, we scooped up the pups and walked over to the playground where we played in spite of a couple stray summer raindrops.  We enjoyed burgers from the grill and patio that night followed by s’mores!  

Throughout the day Clark helped me unpack boxes from the moving truck while Mason couldn’t put Hershey down for a second.  Clark was a huge help since he loves crushing boxes so much and spraying the furniture polish as we wiped down the hutch.  One of the treasures we found as we unpacked was the “Look Who’s Listening!” game I used when teaching.  This educational game that reviews auditory memory and recall skills, created by speech language pathologists, was a favorite with my former students and I had a feeling Mason and Clark would enjoy it too.  We blew off the dust as we pulled the game out of the box and played it before bed that night.  The kids had a fantastic time even when Uncle Adam won.  ; )  Our night time story that evening was the Princess and the Pea, a childhood favorite!  Using the mattresses we had brought home from the office, we acted out the story before it was time for bed.  Even Hershey got into the act.  

Our last full day in Ohio found us adding to our arts and crafts that had already been completed (shamrocks, keys to the kingdom, Celtic crosses) by decorating miters!  In case you haven’t been able to figure it out yet, yes, these were extra crafts from this summer’s Vacation Bible School at our church.  I’m really glad I had thought to ask for extras when teaching because they sure did come in handy with Mason and Clark during this visit!  

By late morning, we were on our way headed to West Virginia to the Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley.  The children enjoyed themselves during the couple hours we were there and loved being able to take their crafts home with them.  Mason made a maraca that had a couple other uses and Clark created a beautiful masterpiece that was frame-worthy.  Later in the afternoon, before a quick rain shower arrived, Clark colored in the driveway and on the sidewalk with chalk as Mason continued working on her craft on the front porch.  Catching this glimpse of Clark watching the cars go by reminded me of the days when his Dad did the same from our Grandma’s front porch.  Like father like son I suppose!

The kids even accompanied Hershey and me to the vet for a check-up.  It was their first time going to the vet and I think they enjoyed seeing the other animals while there.  They showed Hershey some extra TLC back at the house by throwing in all the doggie toys in the pen.  Poor Dusty!  After dinner it was time to make some cookies that were wildly popular at our wedding reception.  The kids delighted in the no-bake oatmeal chocolate peanut butter cookies (“What do you mean, they’re cookies but they don’t have to be baked?!”).  Other highlights of the visit include catching lightning bugs, putting rainbow Jamberries on Mason’s fingers (she loves glitter and color…hmm, sounds like someone else I know), feeding the birdies in the yard, and just being together with each other. 

The last two fun things we enjoyed were to watch the reception DVD where the kids got a kick out of seeing themselves on the “big TV!” and to go see Shrek Forever After at the movie theatre before making the trip back to Pennsylvania to meet Mom, their little brothers, and Grandma.  It was a noisy trip back but I missed seeing their little faces in my rearview mirror on the way back to Ohio.  I already can’t wait until the next time!

Peeking out the back window to watch the dogs play in the yard!

Naptime for the pups

Love this picture Clark took of his sister!

 

 

Clark really liked taking photos...

 

Again, Clark, with the camera....!

Clark not paying attention to what we were talking about as he took pictures...ha!

Interesting photo taken by Clark yet again.

Sparklers seconds before the pouring rain came and fell on us!

Hershey did not feel the pea.  ; )

 

Mason sporting her new shoes and playing with the ball some man gave us at the mall!

Watching cars go by in the rain

Dusty hoped that crumbs would fall to the ground as we made our cookies!

Clark was tired of the noisy maraca sounds halfway through the trip (as was the driver)!!

Mason and Clark were the first overnight visitors to stay in the guest bedroom!

Clark not drinking his drink.  ; )

Making huge bubbles!!

Hershey was in doggie heaven having these two (and all Dusty's and his toys) around for several days!