Pink Roses

she said yes {to the dress}...

We bought her wedding dress on Saturday.  In 2 hours!  Our first visit...the 6th dress she tried on.  She looked GORGEOUS!  She burst into tears.  I took off my pearls and put them on her. She said " I never understood why people cry when they try on a wedding dress, but now I get it". It was a moment, and she just knew.  My mother flew into town for 5 days to go to the dress appointment with us...maybe she was our good luck charm :) We went to Bridals by Lori, the Say Yes to the Dress-Atlanta store, and everyone there was amazing.  It was just us 3 girls: Mother, Daughter, Granddaughter.  The most very special girl time ever!  We didn't want to be filmed, but they all said, we would have made a great episode... 

snow stories...

We've been snowed in for 4 days here in Atlanta.  5 inches of snow and ice wouldn't shut down most cities, but when your city owns NO snow removal equipment (why would we?), you shut down until it warms up and nature does its thing.  Schools are still closed, but work is slowly resuming.  Elizabeth went to work today...as I type this I am waiting for her phone call to let me know she arrived safely.  (she did!)

I've worked on a few projects, including this bracelet kit I bought several months ago from French General.  It was a good snow day activity. Along with massive cooking.

Did I mention I was snowed in with Christopher and 3 of his best friends?  No peace and quiet for me! They decided to get snowed in together and picked my house. They didn't tell me the plan, so I didn't go to the grocery store and prepare.  Luckily for me, these are the three I would pick to be my own sons, so it was fine. It takes a lot to keep these big guys fed, but we managed quite well.

 

Yeah...so much for my whining about him going back to school and me missing him!  He is still here but the boys were able to go home last night.  Now to get him packed and on the road, and life will go back to normal...although I'm starting to wonder how "normal" this year will be!

600...{and snow}...

This is my 600th post.  Hard to believe, and yet easy.  We are snowbound here in Atlanta, but safe and warm.  Hope you are too.  Rebecca has a photo collage on her blog of past projects, and that seemed a fitting thing for me to do today.  So much unexpected pleasure has come from this little blog.  Friends, inspiration, people who "get" me.  Such a joy.  Thanks for being my blog friend and stopping by now and then.  Wishing you all the best...xo suzanne

finding balance...

I have always felt blessed to have a daughter and a son.  I knew Christopher was sent to balance out my life, to blend in some dirt and sweat with the ribbons and perfume, but it has never been more obvious than this past week.  When our lives became focused on wedding plans, he was there to distract, to relieve stress, to make us laugh, and give us a guys point of view.  He participated with sincerity, and not one ounce of jealousy at the time and attention that was being directed towards his sister.  Yesterday he and I spent the day together...we had lunch and went Thrift store shopping, then stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and he cooked with me.  He is so easy to be with.  In the grocery, we ran into a neighbor we have known for years, and she stopped to give us Congratulations, as she had heard about Elizabeth's engagement.  Christopher stood next to me and smiled, used ALL the manners he had ever been taught (he can be CHARMING when he wants to be), and as I looked at him, wearing the brown shirt he looks so handsome in, I have never loved him more.  I felt so proud to be his mother.  It was one of those moments that made everything I have done for him in the past 20 years seem worthwhile.  In the midst of his sister's moment, he was the one shining. I thought about all the wedding plans we have been making, plans to make things perfect for just ONE day...and I thought how his very existence makes my life perfect EVERY DAY.  He has been home from college for one month.  He goes back tomorrow.  I miss him already.

promises...

I promise I'm not going to let this turn into a wedding blog, and that someday I will create or craft or garden or decorate or bake cupcakes, or whatever it was I did...and I will have something else to blog about...please forgive me for having tunnel vision for the moment...

let the games begin...

Did you know that there are FOUR magazines just for weddings in Atlanta?  I didn't.  I am not one of those gals who just reads bridal magazines for the heck of it.  I never wanted to "go there" and somehow start a wedding frenzy with my daughter.  So now that she's engaged (and he wants to get married in August or September!), I am on a steep learning curve. I bought 8 wedding magazines at Borders on Monday. All of the lists that say..."here's what to do a year in advance"...have me panicked because we only have 8 months.  It's stinks to feel behind before you even start!  Yesterday she had the day off, and we planned for 8 hours!  We decided on a date, time, theme, colors, made appointments to visit reception sites, and visited 3 churches.  She made spread sheets of guest lists.  And we looked at those magazines 100 times.  Katie is here, and she is helping too.  Christopher wants to disappear.  All of those New Years resolutions I made about organizing and creating have been put on hold.  The one about losing 10 pounds has now been edited to losing 20 :) Let the games begin...

ENGAGED!!!

It has been the HAPPIEST of New Year's around here...my daughter Elizabeth got engaged on New Year's Eve...it was romantic and perfect and just like a dream.  We are all thrilled that Paul will be the newest member of our family...he is everything I could possibly wish for my daughter...a really wonderful man.  She has never been happier!  Paul's parents had our whole family over for brunch today, and we celebrated and toasted their engagement.  So many wonderful things to look forward to...so much to plan...I guess I know what I'm doing this year!!! xo