Watermelon, Mache, and Pecan Salad

We had the usual hamburgers and potato salad last night for 6 guests. But the hit was this watermelon salad I tried from Southern Living. It was delicious and light, not a drop was left. I obviously couldn't find Mache so I used organic Bibb lettuce. 3/4 C chopped pecans
5 C seeded and cubed watermelon
1 6 oz package mache or bibb lettuce
Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
1/2 C crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Toast pecan for 5-7 min
Make Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette:
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
3 T lime juice
1/2 C Red Pepper Jelly
1/4 C olive oil
Whisk all ingredients

Combine watermelon, lettuce and vinaigrette in large bowl. Toss to coat.
Transfer lettuce and watermelon on large platter,
Sprinkle on Gorgonzola and toasted pecans.

I also tried the Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss from the same Southern Living article a few days ago. It was wonderful also.

Wedding Pictures

We finally got to view about 1000 or so proofs from the wedding. There were 3 separate photographers, all shooting including Mark Eric. There are so many great pictures. So many are fun, so many are touching, so many show the beautiful Nuptial Mass with Monsignor officiating but this is my ultimate FAVORITE. .....This is my baby, so happy, so confidant, so beautiful, so sure of starting a wonderful life of wedded bliss... yes, this is my favorite!

YOU MAKE MY DAY AWARD

Thank you to Belle in Bloom for awarding me the "You Make My Day award". I am truly honored. You are such a good friend, wife, and Mommy. You make it all seem so easy! You are beautiful. I love your precious boys and handsome hubby! You have this wonderful way that makes me feel good about myself, I can only imagine how you do this for your 3 men!My awards go to my favorite, witty, creative, upbeat friends that no matter what life throws at them, they always have comforting thoughts for other. They all live their lives to the fullest and inspire me. These are my awards bestowed upon the following lovely people:

To Gracious Southern Living...a true sweet friend that is so busy yet so attentive to everyone. Your creativity amazes me. We'll meet one day soon and realize we truly are sisters that were seperated at birth!

To One Fabulous Mom...the amazing young wife & mommy with a fabulous life. If I could start all over again, I would be you. Keep motivating us all with your FABULOUS adventures!

To LadyLawdawg..the Lilly-loving lawyer that constantly commutes between two households, enjoys UGA football & parties with hubby & her college age children, and looks like she is in her 20's. Please don't close your blog....you have too many adventures I want to read about. I promise I'll be a better and stay in touch with you. You are inspiring!

To Mom On The Run...the world-traveling blogger that keeps us all laughing. Four kids and a hubby that wants to stay forever ON THE RUN ...need I say more? Don't ever slow down! You are indefatigable! Thank you for giving me this award a while back, before I caught up with the blog world. My lack of response was not intentional....just a decompressed state that fogged me up for 2 weeks. Love you!

To Quintessential Procrastinator....the mediator with a wide age-span of children that always has a fun adventure or quip about a misadventure. You graciously sacrificed for all of us to enjoy our freedom while DR hubby served. We thank you and your family for that.

To Life At Home.... the amazing woman with an exquisite home and lifestyle. Your faith in God, your strength through adversity, and your warmth & love for family, friends, and fellow bloggers are exemplary. You are truly inspirational!

To Pearls to Hide My Neck....the sweet Mom that adores all children. I've enjoyed getting to know you and was so touched by your post wondering where I disappeared to.

To So Tired....the Mom that loves to make us all laugh. You are SO FUNNY! I hope you are not "so tired"now and are enjoying your children and summer vacay. Looking forward to your return from sabbatical. We miss you.

To Southern Prep...the newlywed! I'm so grateful for our friendship and bond that will last forever. Daughters are such cherished commodities and I have a precious jewel in you. I'm the luckiest Mom ever to have you!

This award is for theses great blogs that I just can't live without. They really "make my day".

So here are the rules: Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and makes you feel so happy about blogland! Leave them a comment on their blog to let them know they received this award. Remember that people can be tagged more than once!!!

The newly painted dining room

A while back I decided to lighten all my rooms just to cheer me up! Actually, each room needs a lot of sanding due to a bad floating job of the newly installed sheet rock after Katrina. So what better time to change wall colors. This new shade is Sherwin Williams Celery SW 6421. The new color that I've chosen to replace the Dromedary Camel (a lovely dark, rich gold color) is SW 6113 Interactive Cream. It is still in the gold family but about 4 values lighter.

Banished are the gold dupioni silk drapes....I'm studying up on ever so slight touches of British Colonial influences that I can add. One of my ideas to infuse the tropical British Colonial into the living room and dinning room is sewing white linen slipcovers for a few chairs. More on that later.

In picture below, you can see the older, darker shade of green in the entry hall that I've loved for years.

Below are a few of the samples I've collected so far for either new "mistreatments" as Nester would say, seat cushions or dining chair slip covers. I've got a bolt of white linen material, trying to decide where to use it.

Well, back to sanding and painting. I plan to do one room at a time. Should take me a year!!!

WEDDING

markeric

the wedding

MISSING MILLER

I babysat Miller for 2 weeks while kids honeymooned. Now he's gone back home and once again, I've got the "empty-nest" blues. I got used to his "race-tracking" around my house, despite the tiny claw marks on my wood floors, every time he put his brakes on, picking up poop, his indecision to go in or out of house, his jumping up on our laps because he really thinks he is a baby, his doggy hair everywhere, and his slurping water. He really is a sweetheart and can make one melt. He won my husband over months ago, when husband first met him. Every night husband and I took Miller for ride in the golf cart. He loved sitting between the two of us thinking he is a person. Hope to see you in two weeks, Miller! We all plan to meet in Oxford for son's 21st birthday.

Where I've been....

I have not spent any time online, haven't caught up with anyone, or even answered. After my week of sleeping and moping right after the wedding, I have....

1. been babysitting Miller, the newlyweds dachshund while they are on their honeymoon

2. started at my house.... redoing Katrina-screw ups. there are many things that we have to have redone from the shady, incompetent, "we-threatened-to-take-to-court-but-could-not-emotionally-handle-that-extra-stress-at-the-time" subcontractors. did not get any where with these bad people, so we just need to pay once again, and get things right. seems like Katrina issues will haunt us for a long time.

3. painted the dinning room a brighter lighter shade of green. my master plan requires that i repaint every room a little lighter. i decided i need lighter colors for my emotional state of happiness. not sure if i like, need to change the drapes and the rug, of course in order to get full effect!

4. ordered above chest from Horchow. i had put all my purchases on hold until wedding was over and paid for. yes, we went way over wedding budget, like everyone predicts. Horchow having 20% off, so i got the chest basically with free shipping. PS Horchow has extended their 20% off entire stock sale.

5. once again praying for all the folks in our country that are having to deal with major catastrophes, due to Mother Nature. she seems to be relentless this year.

6. after refusing numerous paying interior decorating jobs (due to Katrina related issues) I've taken on my first job! BIG STEP! it is my neighbors beautiful home that is finally under construction. their house was completely Katrina-flooded and had to be demolished. i'll get some pictures of this lovely, raised Southern home.

7. still waiting for wedding pics....he seems to be weeks behind. that's OK as he is worth it!

8. paying off wedding!

9. thinking of all of you....

10. waiting for hubby to come home, he'll be off for the next 2 weeks

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST!

It has taken me all week to decompress from months of running at full speed wedding mode. A little sad as the wedding fun and excitement is over, daughter and son-in-law have had a series of bad luck issues (Life sure came at them fast!), and my life is about to change. We may be living in 2 places, traveling back and forth on a weekly basis. At first it sounded exciting and exotic, but now the reality of the upkeep of 2 residences seems overwhelming. More to come about this.

We had a trip planned to the Cape in 2 weeks, looks like we'll have to postpone it. Hubby has missed numerous medical appointments because of his new work schedule. He needs to keep that week off that we would have been on the Cape and reschedule all his appointments. Health is the most important and precious gift we have.

So today, I'm enjoying some heavy duty, long-awaited house cleaning. And thinking of some fun decorating projects that I can immerse myself in.

But all is good and my home is beginning to sparkle once again!

Pictures

While we wait for the pictures, I thought I'd share some info. The awesome photographer that we had, Mark Eric, was one of the original creative minds behind the Trash the Dress concept. He started it in New York City, not sure of the date. Wikipedia.... Daughter may do a Trash the Dress photo shoot... she's trying to work out time and logistics.


I took a few pictures, but they are terrible, and I didn't have anything to drink. Rather then post some bad images, I'll wait for the professional's version of the evening.

Still catching up on sleep.

Explanation below is from Wikipedia:

****Trash the dress is a term used for a type of photography that contrasts elegant clothing with an environment in which it is completely out of place. It is generally shot in the style of glossy beauty and glamour photography.
The term is alleged to have been coined and the idea started in America, by photographer Mark Eric, after he shot his first Trash The Dress session in New York.****

The Knot Has Been Tied

I hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Bride and Groom said it was the best night of their lives. Bridal party, groomsmens were awesome! Everyone that I talked to loved the entire night. More to come! Wow, we are tired!