Mom's first Pedicure. Thanks Heather.
Lunch at Noodles per Rachael's request. 
Could she be talking with her hands, like her Mother? Nah!
The end result, pretty feet. This picture is suppose to be horizontal, but must be too big. We almost fell over trying to pose this. Dad was holding me up on the end. That would've been a funnier picture, from behind.
The girls shared a Frosty at Wendy's on Thursday before we got to work on Rehearsal Dinner decorations.
Friday afternoon before the Rehearsal Dinner, we relaxed with a game of Clue. It was a nice diversion. Good idea DD2.
At the reception my girls had a good time dancing and being silly. At this point I can only show photos that I took. The REAL pictures won't be ready for about 6 weeks. The wedding was beautiful and went very smoothly. Any glitches were minor and we were able to blow them off or laugh about it. That was good.
Since we're heading into the week of our first daughter's wedding, I thought I'd reflect a little. Here we are at our wedding in May of 1980. There were tornadoes and torrential rains all around. The wedding started 30 minutes late because no one was there yet. All the surrounding towns had no electricity. We didn't really care. Weddings weren't nearly as complicated in 1980. There was a lot less stress. But, it was by no means uneventful and without problems. I'm just praying that DD1 has as wonderful of a wedding and life together as we have had. 
This adorable little girl is getting married a week from tomorrow! This was the first day of Kindergarten in Nashville, TN in 1989. Yes, I sewed and smocked the little outfit. I did a lot of that in those days. What happened?
This wooden bowl holds lots of treasures. I usually take out the flower frogs for the Fall/Winter and add pine cones. The pine cones are still up high on a shelf. They are Midwest pine cones because we don't live in pine cone country anymore. Not even basically tree country unless you go way up into the mountains. It has Papaw's fishing weight on top. He would probably laugh at that. It holds 2 oil cans, wooden printers letters and a ceramic ball used in some kind water filtration back when. If you click on the picture you can see the ensy weensy flower frogs in the little box. The little basket was my first attempt at basket making. I was thinking that maybe this needed to start holding some beautiful yarn, but then what would hold my treasures?
So, I spent the evening making some hair pins while I watched The Biggest Loser and House. These silicone pans have to be good for something.
I'm a rookie, but this is what I came up with. I think they're pretty. They are really tiny and should look good in the MOH's hair. We'll see. 
This is my notsoperfect mantle display. It needs some work. The photo is an enlargement from a trip to New Hampshire in the Fall many, many moons ago. The daughter in blue is getting married on the 27th! The daughter in pink is the MOH and the hunky guy in plaid is still hunky.
I played with these yesterday. I'm not completely satisfied, but I had fun. My apothecary jars are full of dried treasures and some silver, a book and a porcelain figurine. The pictures are of me and my husband when we were very little.
I tell everyone that my chin and thighs are still the same as when I was 4. Actually, my haircut isn't too different either.
We also watched movies, although Buddy watched Rachael do Math homework. I think he was really watching the Goldfish bag on her left.
We enjoyed the Lifetime Network's three hour biography of Coco Chanel. She was ingenious. Did you know she began by designing hats? I definitely want to read more. Oh to be so talented, or just to wear some of the clothes! Yeah, that would do.
Maynards Chocolate Chip Cookies
This photograph is from the Country Home website. Aren't these heirloom tomatoes beautiful? I'm headed to the Farmer's Market tomorrow. I think I'll pick up a couple of these goodies, maybe more. If only I wasn't the only one in my family who would eat them. Do you suppose it's awful to buy these beautiful fruit just to make a pretty centerpiece? Several blogs have been posting Fall nesting photos. I haven't had the chance to work on that yet, but I think this weekend may be the time. I also want some gourds so I can do this.
It might be a weekend of baking, movies and knitting like Yarnstorm described today. Sounds good to me! Have a great weekend!
If you quilt, knit, bake, read, love art or just the simple pleasures of homemaking this book is a delight! Jane Brocket is from Yarnstorm blog fame which led to this beautiful book with gorgeous photography. It is newly released in the U.S. I found it the night we returned from New York City. She has great resources in the back for places to visit in New York, London and Paris among many others. Love this book, Jane!
We had lunch next to Purl at Once Upon a Tart. We didn't even realize there are two different doors with two different specialities. We had yummy sandwiches with tomato, fresh mozzarella, arugula (my favorite) and artichoke spread on foccacia bread. The other section is all about the desserts. It was seriously tempting, but we moved on. There was a very nice man out front that told us about it, but he was sitting there reading his newspaper, drinking his diet coke and eating his weekly Milky Way bar. He was in front of the window that was filled with strawberry tarts and other yummy things. I teased him a little. He said he had a craving. Which I totally understand.
One of the main stops on my itinerary was the famous ABC Carpet and Home. It is 6 floors of loveliness. Very high end antiques and reproductions, beautiful linens, lighting and accessories. We didn't have nearly enough time or money to do this store any justice. It's probably just as well.
Try to look closely at this picture. There are several beautiful chandeliers outside the doors. Very fun. I was too intimidated to take pictures inside. The place has crazy slow elevators and a narrow staircase, which we opted for.
We realized that we needed to get back and couldn't get to Tinsel Trading Company. I was disappointed, but it was unavoidable. Our many backtracks and turn arounds didn't help at all. We got back to the hotel at 4 and our event started at 5. We made it just in time and the evening was wonderful. We heard Jerry Seinfeld, Alicia Keyes and Stevie Wonder. It was all very, very nice indeed. Looks like I'll need to go back again!
This is Rowan Scottish Tweed, most of which I bought at John Lewis in London last Fall. I found 3 more balls of it at Purl. I never felt like I'd gotten enough of it. So, three balls will help. They are a different color run, but they match perfectly in the sunlight. Yeah!
Then I just HAD to go home with this awesome Ozark Handspun. This was the only skein of this colorway and it's the one that reached out and tugged at my heart. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I'll think of something! They had a hat made out of it which was beautiful, but not practical for Southern California. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
This was my initial destination, Purl. It's a tiny, but fabulous knitting store. Lots of beautiful inspiration and courteous help.
One of our accidental finds on the streets of SoHo was DEAN & DELUCA. I've heard of them but never been in one. It's a fabulous grocery store. I only got pictures of the wonderful olive bar and breads. There was SO MUCH to take in, beautiful vegetables and flowers, cheeses, pastries, seafood, meat market and on and on. It was obviously a very popular place among the locals. 
Wedding dress display.
All paper flowers.
Our business trip is a very quick trip to New York City. We finally arrived around 6:00 at our hotel, the London NYC on W 54th Street. It was very fancy. We cleaned up and headed to a reception at MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art which was within walking distance. There was lots of people and food and a little art. There were 3 exhibits open for us, we only managed to see one. The Dali exhibit closed before we got to it. We saw the exhibit on Architecture and Interiors. I think that's what it was called. I absolutely loved this exhibit. It was very interesting and definitely my cup-of-tea. 
I'm headed to NYC for the next 3 days. Not nearly enough time, but I'll hopefully have some great pictures to share when I return. 
Buddy's wondering what you're doing for Labor Day? Would you like to join him in a little R&R? Maybe get a little sun. 
Or take a little nap?
Whatever you do, we hope you have a wonderful Labor Day! 
