ONE more THING!! Hey...my daughter is having a give-a-way through "The Vintage Pearl" she is offering up one of her creations in photography..."HOPE"...something we can all use on any given day! Go to my daughters site to enter for your chance to win the HOPE print! Go to my daughters site on my sidebar..."The Wonderful World of Jackie OR www.jackieland.blogspot.com enter for your chance to win the HOPE print to enter through my daughters site..Do you think it's OK if mom enters her daughters give-a-way!!

Good luck...and enjoy!!!

See ya, in California!!!

Moving Day

The day has finally arrived and the moving company is here...packing and getting us ready for our move West to California...today they pack everything...tomorrow they load it...we then close on our house Thursday @ 8:30 a.m. and head west sometime after lunch! WOW! It's kind of surreal...I've been anticipating it for so long...but in the meantime we have been so busy that I think the time has actually just flown by these last 2 weeks! So I will be without my computer for the next couple of days...once we are on the road we will take our laptops and be able to communicate from our road trip...hotels...we are taking a leisurely route to get to Sacramento...we start off with the LONG drive across Texas...then from there we head to Flagstaff, AZ. we'll detour to see the Grand Canyon and Sedonna?...then keep heading west for a stop in Las Vegas (I've never been)...we're catching a couple of shows while the dogs will be pampered at the doggie day care SPA! Then it's off to Yosemite and Mammoth Mountains for a night and day. We arrive in Sacramento on July 1st...unload our life on July 2nd/3rd...and we start a whole new "chapter" from there.

I haven't had time to download pictures from the wedding on Friday...but I will do that once we are settled in Cali...plus I have more exciting news that should be coming our way in the next couple of weeks...so stay tuned for THAT!

Wish us luck, prayers please for our travel safety...and that I don't loose it when we pull away from our home of 20 years...not to mention living in Texas for 52 years! This is going to be an adventure...and we are excited.

Wedding l..."check"...Wedding ll...this weekend!!

WOW! WHAT a weekend...the wedding was Friday evening...and it turned out great...beautiful bride, wonderful family and an overall great event. One snag...the weather turned ominous about 30 minutes before the "outdoor" event was to take place...not to worry...we had an alternate plan...have the wedding indoors where the reception was being held. It was different and not exactly what the bride had envisioned...but all in all it went very well...and she could not have been more gracious about the whole thing. She told us she was a bit bummed...but that she was getting married to her dream guy...and it really didn't matter where. What a great attitude...I know tons of gals and guys that would have not taken the news so well.

Following are a few photos my daughter-in-law who just happened to be the matron-of-honor took before and during the wedding...Hope you enjoy...

Close up of the bridal bouquet with bride's grandmother's brooch...stunning...I just love using personnel items when creating memories...


















I love attention to details...I like to have the bridal bouquets set up in the bride's room before she arrives...that way she can take it all in. This is her bridal bouquet and the bridesmaid's, mother's and grandmother's smaller bouquets set up in the brides room...don't you just love how the rosary of her grandmothers picks up the blues/purples from the other flowers??














one more of the bridal bouquet...it turned out better than I could imagine...












Grandmother's rosary...such a beautiful touch and memory!!













Aren't these purple throated calla lilies GORGEOUS??...they added just a subtle amount of the blues/ purples to the brides bouquet w/o overpowering the whites and creams...I have never used these types of calla's before...they may be one of my new favs...








This is a shot of the photo table at the very end of the evening (everything tends to get dumped on one table as the night progresses)...the larger arrangement was moved here b/c of fear it MAY be knocked over...lots of people. It was originally suppose to go outside during the ceremony at the front where the ceremony was to take place, INSTEAD we used it inside along with it's twin at the front of the facility during the ceremony. We then moved one to the cake table...and this one was suppose to sit on a pedestal by the entry...we were concerned it may be knocked over...so we improvised (as I've found usually happens at these events) and put it at the photo table. There you will also see the brides bouquet (again)...in the vase to keep it fresh; so her mom could take it home and enjoy it for the entire weekend.














Here is a picture of my sweet son and his beautiful wife at the very end of the night...these two were saints in helping me take down and load up...along with my wonderful lovin' hubbin'(he actually helped me ALL day, setting up, carrying, moving from outside to inside, and tearing down and packing)...I could NOT have done this without them. Thank you...guys!!

WHY is it that these young-uns still look like they have energy left after a very long weekend...hmmmm?? If my aches and pains hadn't made me feel so old and out of shape...this picture would have!!










OK....now THIS is more like it...just how I felt by nights end!! I love the dress the bride picked for her girls to wear...not a lot of brides think to use florals...these were great...they were comfortable, pretty and well worth wearing again...unlike many bridesmaids dresses I've seen...I like how brides are starting to think about "use after" the wedding...just makes a lot more sense to be able to get your monies worth out of something.

Now...on to wedding II...this one will be my last wedding before leaving Texas...and it is a very special bride indeed...she is the daughter of my best friend...my co-Hort in wedding coordination and designs...my friend for life...Toni...she is pulling out all the stops for this one...it's going to be all about family and friends with the reception at their lovely country home...I can't wait for this one...I love "the bride" like a child of my own...I love her family & all her friends...I know this will be a wedding to remember...always. This one will probably make me cry...for a while...geez...pray that I don't...it's not something I care to do at weddings...and the "look" of a red blotchy face and runny nose is just NOT the look I'm going for...prayers...please!!

Flowers...abundant flowers...

Week one...of wedding one...YES! it's that time again...but I must say this time I've really got wedding overload...2 weddings...in 2 weeks...WOW! Just a preview of the flowers I'll be using for wedding one...until the weekend has past...I will be up to my elbows in beautiful flowers...I LOVE it that way!


Enjoy the beauty and colors. Purples/dark blues/whites/creams with touches of a celery green...should be gorgeous. Some of the flowers I'm using are hydrangea, vendala roses, white/cream freesia, lavender freesia, lisianthus-deep blue/purple, stock white, bells of Ireland, lemon leaf, and touches of misty blue...I'll try to get some good pics to post later...but this is going to be the one wedding where I'm pretty much on my own...so my time may be limited. OH! and did I tell you that I am getting bids from moving companies in the midst of all this AND getting bids to replace the roof, along with dealing with our insurance company to pay for the hail damage as they are SUPPOSE to AND trying to get a few personnel things packed up...AND help with another wedding (which is the fun part) AND finishing up loose ends here and in California, not to mention sneaking in some blood work, a mammogram and a bone density test in the midst! Did I mention to you I like to wait till the last minute...yea, less than 3 weeks out and we are out of here.

In closing I am asking for prayers for our sweet neighbor, PLEASE she is in the hospital again, got a call late last night to retrieve their sweet puppy from their home...I am so thankful Annie (the pup) is so adaptable and loves our home...she always livens things up around here! Please pray for Betty and Mark, she had another seizure, we're praying it's only b/c of a med. change...I'll keep you posted.

Flowers...to be used this weekend!
White Stock...














Beautiful Bella Donna Dark Blue Delphinium...love it!!























Bells of Ireland...another favorite...















Dark blue/purple lisianthus...minus the teddy bear of course.













Purple stock...









And finally...a mock up of the bridesmaids bouquets...I will be adding some dark blue/purple hydrangeas to this...the charm will not be added...just ribbon. The brides bouquet will be done in all creams and whites...w/a touch of very light blue/lavender...just a hint of color...mostly whites/creams...with her grandmothers hankie, brooch and rosary added for sentimentality.

WHY????

A possible rant here...I'll try to keep it short and sweet...TELL me WHY in the world anyone would need to ride their motorcycle down the highway, traveling at speeds well over the posted limit, while weaving in and out of traffic as if it were standing still AND passing cars in the center...all the while driving it like THIS
.... SERIOUSLY these folks are adrenaline junkies or just have a death wish...I was out yesterday...driving along the interstate and in my rear view mirror I caught sight of something very weird approaching me at an extremely high rate of speed. At first I wasn't able to determine exactly what that thing was...until he came zipping by me and I saw that it was a motorcycle and the rider was driving for quite a length of highway while he was doing a wheelie! A WHEELIE at 70+ mph. Then to make matters even more treacherous he comes upon a car in the left lane that was going at a much slower speed than he...so what does he do, does he put the bike back down on all two's...NO! heaven's NO...he whips his bike while still in full wheelie mode right in front of me. GEEESSHH...I just knew he was going to bounce that thing right of the asphalt...oh! but not to worry he had a helmet on...so his head filled w/outlandish ideas might be cushioned but the rest of him was going to be ground up like a piece of pork at a sausage factory. He finally dropped it down...but never once did he stop speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. I actually saw him pop another wheelie one more time and travel quite a distance...before I actually exited the highway. WHY??? People...why? If he wants some kicks...go find a dirt bike trail and have at it...but don't endanger yourself and all those around you by playing like you are Evil Knievel...sorry...this just really had me a tad un-nerved yesterday...don't know why it did...it's his life, his bike...but he was driving on a public highway, along w/many other sane folks and risking all of our lives. I have to admit he seemed very talented at keeping the bike on one wheel (maybe he could put those talents to something a little more constructive, such as entertaining crowds at motor cross or something)...but honestly the mom in me just wanted to chase him down...make him stop...so I could jump out of my car and smack him upside the head! You know...for being so STUPID!!...but I wouldn't because then I would have to break the law to catch him at such a high rate of speed...and I try NEVER to break too many laws!! RANT OVER WHEW!! Thanks for letting me vent!

Inspection Day...

Today is inspection day on our home in Texas...for those of you that have been keeping up OR not...our home sold last week...so we are stoked. Asking all my prayer warriors to please pray that no unforeseen boo-boo's pop up during the inspection and that it will go without a hitch! Thanks so much! I'll keep you ALL posted...in the meantime...I have to leave for 3 hours with our pups...so the owners and inspector can "check" things out! My fingers are crossed, I've said many a prayer and I am believing things will go well.

Update...

I've been hesitant to say anything...b/c I like for things to be a "sure" thing before I start talking too much about it...BUT...in my last post I mentioned we had a contract offered on our home in Texas the first week it was listed...however, the couple who wanted the house had to sell their home first and we weren't really ready to accept an offer with a contingency....WELL...guess what??? They sold their house 4 days after they put the offer in on ours...so they re-submitted their offer w/o the contingency...so I suppose when everything works out...like their getting funding and close on their current home, inspections are complete and ALL goes well...we will be closing on June 25th. You can not believe how PERFECT this is...my prayer was that our home sell quickly and that we could stay in our home till at least the last couple of weeks of June...because I am currently working on 2 weddings for that month...one on the 12th and the other on the 19th...I wanted to be able to be in my own home surrounded by family until all the weddings were done! Looks like my prayers have been answered!! We still have folks coming and looking at our home, in fact we have an appointment tomorrow for a realtor to show it! We will continue to do so until we know for sure all has gone right with this current contract...but from what I understand the couple who wrote the contract want our home very badly, so I DO hope if it's meant to be...it works out for all of us. Thanks to all of you who have joined me in my prayers...I am relieved to have most of this behind me...so now I can concentrate on these 2 spectacular weddings AND getting packed and ready to head west.

In the meantime...I will share with you some gorgeous pictures my daughter and daughter in law took of our property in California while we were all there over the Mothers Day Weekend...ENJOY!!




An old bench that sits in the back portion of our property...I love it and wonder just how it came to be there...and who used to sit on this lovely and dream the day away....







One of three lovely peony shrubs in the front portion of my gardens...they are just about the most lovely flower I can imagine growing...now if I can just learn about Freesia and if it grows in northern Cali...I will be one HAPPY gal!










One of many beautiful rose bushes in our front garden...this is one of my favorites...it varies from very pale pink to white...so gorgeous...and the sweet smell is heavenly!






I believe these are native to California...in fact I think they are the state flower...the California poppy...don't quote me on this...I'm still learning...but isn't it GORGEOUS...I feel so blessed that the previous owners loved flowers as much as I do...and man what a green thumb they had...I'm going to have to really read up to manage them as well as they did.






Another lovely rose bush...this one looks as though it is some sort of antique rose...the color variations are just unbelievable...I love it, too!



I hope to have pictures of our home in California to post, soon...I took some while there...but I fear I may have already packed away the cord that goes to the camera to download pictures...WHATEVER that thing-a-ma-jiggy is called!!