Around the house

If you haven't guessed already...I love Pinterest!  I saw this flower display and pinned it without question.  My mother had given me the dressmaker dummy to use in my craft/dressing room but I thought it was perfect for my petunia display.  Petunias remind me of my childhood...pink and white are my favorites.

Don't know what these are called, but I ♥ them.  They open up during the day in a blaze of color.
Chad has numerous containers with succulents all around the back deck, too.

My little garden isn't much and it's being taken over by an aggressive basil plant.  So I might need to cut it back this weekend. 

I've planed carrots (the bunnies have suddenly discovered their tops), okra, summer squash, rosemary, chives and oregano.  The bush in the back is a raspberry bush that came with the house.  Because I was so busy with work and the wedding, I didn't get a chance to do anything with them this year.  Matter of fact, we didn't even know what it was until the berries turned red!

The fork and spoon are from my Grandmother's house on the farm.  She moved into town last month and gave me many things from the farm.  Should I paint them?  Thought they were perfect hanging in the garden.

The mosaic came from a garage sale last year and it hung in the Lawrence High School Hall for many years. It's signed on the back by the student who made it back in the 1970's.

Coal bucket from Grandma's house.

Hydrangea bush on the east side of the house.  Sadly, no one can see it from the street.  The bush by our front picket fence didn't bloom this year.  

Chad and I picked up the whiskey barrel on sale when we were in Nebraska over Memorial Day weekend. And my mom suggested we buy flowers from Kaw Valley Greenhouses.  

They are out of Manhattan, KS, but have roadside shops in Lawrence and Lincoln.  Glad I took her suggestion!  They were perfect when we bought them and they have grown really well!

While at Grandma's farm, she let me take my dollhouse from my childhood.  Grandpa Charley made it and furnished it for me one Christmas many years ago.  I've looked forward to the day when I could bring it home as an adult.  I'll post photos when I decide to redecorate it.  The plan is to make it a special Christmas dollhouse.

Linda (my mother-in-law) gave us this printers drawer awhile back.  With my dollhouse came some of the items that were in it way back then.  So I added them to my printers drawer.  Here's a few photos:

I can't decide which piece I like best.  Maybe the eggs in the basket...

Here's a neat idea for anyone with a printers drawer:

Tutorial here from Say Chez

Oh, the possibilities!

I'm off to read my new book we found in the car last night:

Love it so far!

The Wedding!
Travis and Sami met in Uganda during their service in the Peace Corps.  She moved to Kansas from Oregon last fall and Travis proposed marriage shortly before Thanksgiving.  She said yes!
Sami's family came to Kansas from far and wide for the big event and they are all kind and generous people.  We're lucky to have new extended family.  ♥

The bride and groom made fans for the wedding guests.  The front listed the wedding party and the back had a word search with words special for them like Kansas, Oregon, Uganda, etc...

Sami loved Billy Balls as soon as she saw them on Pinterest while planning the wedding.  Karen with Pendelton's Country Market arranged the flowers and they were so beautiful.  She made bridesmaid's bouquets with the Billy Balls and the boutonnieres were, as well.

Here is the bride's bouquet:

So pretty!  The Bells of Ireland were perfect.  Sami had a rosary she had  brought back from Uganda and attached it to the bouquet. 

Instead of having a Bouquet Toss after the wedding, they asked guests to raise their hands for the number of years they have been married.

2 years...5 years...10 years...15 years...25 years...40 years...50 years...

The woman married the longest was the winner of the bouquet.  Nearly 55 years of marriage!!

I thought this was the sweetest way to engage guests and honor marriage.

Sami's "something borrowed" was a pearl necklace from her mother.  It was perfect with her vintage-style gown.

Since I was IN the wedding, I didn't get to hide behind the camera the way I prefer...lol.  So here are some shots by the pro.  Log into facebook and like his page!  Grant Watkins Photography.

And a few from the non-pros...

The forks used to eat the cake were engraved with "I Do" and "Me Too".

  They were a gift from a family friend.

Now that the wedding is over, the happy couple is in Puerto Vallarta for their honeymoon.

My house and car are filled with their wedding gifts.  I offered to open them all for them.  Lol!

They will be back this coming weekend and I can't wait to see them!!