I'm still here....

Sorry I've been absent. I have not read about any of you, my favorite bloggers. I'll catch up with ya'll shortly. Been busy making list, after list, after list for various wedding details. Our upcoming meeting with Bobbi Rice is all about scheduling. We get to submit details to her, then she complies a lovely wedding schedule package for each of us....bride, groom, bridesmaids, grooms men, MOB, DOB, MOG, DOG, and even relatives that will help out with the driving to and from the various events. This is to prevent chaos and confusion, all 4 days will be smooth, tranquil, perfectly planned and executed! (I hope!!!!) The RSVPs are coming in....more lists to compile. Just received big package of items I ordered for daughter's shower. Can't post unwrapped. Did find this above for daughter. Who wouldn't like an extra Lily with all the upcoming festivities.

The other consuming pursuit in my life has been vamping up my exercise program and following South Beach faithfully. I've lost 6.2 lbs since last Monday and feel energetic, happy, and motivated. I've all ways known that I am a sugar carb addict, the only way I feel good is stay off the sugar carbs. So here's to a Beachy lifestyle....

Getting ready for a bridal shower

Daughter is being honored at the French Tart with a bridal shower in 2 weeks. I've got a few more things ordered and these are ready to go. Daughter's new in-laws are hosting this event. Can't wait.

Wedding Reception Menu

This is our menu for the wedding reception at the Petroleum Club. We are having this printed in a different font and placed in ....

this is the lovely monogrammed picture frame that I ordered. .... click on it to enlarge. It will be on the table with the place cards for table seating's.

Meet & Greet at the Red River Board Room

My biggest issue for the last 3 months has been how to handle the "Meet & Greet" for all our Out of Towns Guests on Thursday night when most will arrive in Shreveport. Daughter and I have looked at and considered so many different venues, catering services, restaurants, etc. Not any one combination made me ecstatic. And I have to be ecstatic to commit to something. I am finally ECSTATIC, but it requires a whole lot of additional money. This is a picture of the Shreveport Convention Center. See that lovely circular room? That is the Red River Board Room and it is breathtaking! It overlooks the river and city views, when I first walked in, my socks were knocked off. Being a Board Room, I thought surely it was beyond my financial reach, or they would not allow food and beverage in it.
Well, since my group is small compared to the Convention Center's capacity, they steered me toward this lovely Board Room. I wish I had better pictures for you, will after event is over. THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THIS IS....it is connected to the Shreveport Hilton where we are all staying. So my tired guests, who have driven or flown many hours (6-8 hours for most people) can check into their luxurious room...brand new Hilton, walk to lobby, and into the Convention Center without going out of doors, they are connected. You can see the upper level walkway in the picture below. I'm happy with this, my guests will love me, it is way too expensive....so many charges, fees, and I have to use their food service. I told myself...time to bite the bullet.

One of their stipulations is a million dollar insurance policy, many public venues require this. My insurance company does not do this, so I have to buy it from the Convention Center, 19% gratuity, 8.65 % state tax, $500 room fee, bartender fees, food costs, drinks..... etc . Does it ever end? Hopefully, some day! But for now, I'm ecstatic that I've got this lovely venue, my guests will be happy that they don't have to drive somewhere else. I'll post the menu once it is finalized. PS ... I have at a minimum of 10 pages of contracts to sign, initial, and witness sign for this Baby!!!
What do you think? Did I do the right thing? Hubby says " I don't want to know, just do it!"

FATHER OF THE BRIDE'S CONTRIBUTION

What every Mother of the Bride wants to see.... her beautiful daughter with a big cigar butt hanging out of her mouth... Have I told you about my husband's #1 vice?....he is a cigar aficionado! He hoards them in his 3 humidors, and then some other places as his humidors are not big enough. You think I'm an online shopper? HA! You don't know my husband. He loves his cigars, smokes 3+ on his 3 day weekends while golfing or sitting at the pond.

These just came today. He ordered them for daughters wedding...actually they will be given out at the rehearsal dinner. At Jayne Marie on Cross Lake, we have the 2nd story function room, complete with it's own bar and beautiful outdoor deck. Perfect for cigar smoking. I don't dare take off the plastic wrap least I disturb the karma...hhmmm...humidity of these babies. Husband likes good, really good cigars and is constantly trying new ones. He has been working very hard on wedding planning...this is what he has contributed....

(Other then all the money to pay for everything, got to give him that credit...he says he doesn't want to know what it all costs, he just wants to show up, play golf, have a blast and a good cigar and a few martinis) Don Tomas Corojo 660 is a new robust, gorda-sized smoke wrapped in a coarse, naturally fermented Maduro Corojo-seed wrapper is a unique blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran long-leaf fillers that are full of flavor.

Size: 6 x 60

Oh yea, he just placed another online order last night.

The past 3 days...

5 hours on Saturday, 6 hours on Sunday, 5 hours on Monday equal 18 bags of Lawn & Leaf trash bags full of garden material.

My 17 year old palmetto palms needed huge

cutting back from winter freeze damage:

Between the 3 palms...

I cut off over 100 fronds. Each frond has to be cut into 3 segments to put in trash bags.

Onto my Asian Jasmine. 17 years ago I bought 3 little pots of Asian Jasmine. Thought I was being smart by taking cuttings from these 3 plants, and replanting in my multiple beds. What a nightmare I caused for myself. Asian Jasmine grows like crazy and has to be trimmed weekly from April til December. First, my angel was engulfed and the brick wall was covered. Below is the after picture. Angel can pray again and her little toes are showing.

Below is a before picture showing the Jasmine growing into the grass. Husband thinks one can take a weed eater or a machete and butchered it all away.

Nope, not if one wants this beautiful crisp line and separation between the grass and the Jasmine.

This can only be achieved one way that I know of.

My paths had about 2 inches of walk space before I cut the Jasmine.

Very manicured!

How does one achieve this lovely look, you might ask?

A garden scooter, a pair of hands in work gloves, and a Fiskar's garden scissors. Oh, and R2D2...he's my shop vac that follows me everywhere in the yard and swallows up garden waste.
The late blooming azaleas....

They are a double rose variety, no clue what the name is. That was 17 years ago...

The above represents maybe 1/3 of my yard. 2/3's still need dire attention!

Lamp Tramp is a little sore, the rest will have to wait!

OOT Bags, Nautical & Knot things

Daughter & I are working on the OOT bags. She designed this monogram that can be used for so many things such as the welcome/thank you for coming letter, a tag to hang on the bag, or a sticker monogram.

There may be 25-30 rooms with OOT guests. There are so many great things out there. Difficult to choose and of course, depends on how much one wants to spend. I love the Palm Leaf shoulder bag below....on sale right now for $7.49 each... Palm Leaf handle bag: $19.99...

Canvas tote bag: $5.49 ...

And of course, the paper bag: less than $1.00 ...

Then we need to fill them. Standard item: bottled water, from Sam's...

Muffins, individually wrapped in cellophane. I found an online source for cellophane bags, very cheap. We're getting the flats of muffins from Sam's....

Here is where it gets fun & expensive. I want to include a Mississippi item and a Louisiana item. The Mississippi Trailer Trash would be nice ...

or the Mississippi Mud Puppies...

Still looking for a Louisiana item.





Fruit would be nice...

Definitely need this, expect there will be a lot of partying ...

Below is daughter's guest book for the reception. This was daughter's idea and so practical since her apartment has so many nautical touches. These can be used in her guest room after the wedding. Our wedding planner, Bobbi Rice, found an old pair and had them stripped and painted with a white paint that will take a Sharpie. Very fun!

Bobbi found an anchor cookie cutter and we'll have these at the reception with daughter's Koozies. Forgot to get a picture of them...they are on her blog. Navy blue of course. Cookie below is NOT the color our cookies will be. I don't think we have decided on the color yet.

So here is my rope, 20 feet from Lowes that I'm taking with me next week to Shreveport. We'll be meeting with Bobbi at the church. Need to determine how many feet of rope for each pew and how many pews we'll be putting these on. Bobbi is doing all the flowers. They are all in white and green.

My husband got home from West Palm Beach and saw this rope sitting on the kitchen table. He was either nervous or excited. When I explained what it was for, I think he was disappointed!!!

Sorry, hubby, the rope is for below...

I'm dreaming of a beautiful church....

Originally, daughter did not want but a few simple flower arrangements in the church. She thinks it is a waste of money and not necessary. I wanted to waste MY money on exquisite flowers at the church. At our last meeting with the wedding coordinator, daughter agreed to let us put some type of flower arrangement on the pews. In keeping with her lovely KNOT theme, she found this: I love it's simplicity and the rope (which we are using at the reception) carries her theme to the church. In fact, since inside the church is so breathtakingly ornate but beautiful, I think the rope's simplicity is perfect.

Below are pictures of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. It has a fascinating history.
The main altar is Romanesque, imported from Italy, of solid Carrara marble. The Romanesque architecture is enhanced by the art design. The 55 foot dome above the altar is lit by more than 200 light bulbs.
There are over 60 stained glass windows in the church. The windows in the dome area depict scriptural messages. On the east nave of the church are five matching windows with the message from the Sermon on the Mount. The windows on the west nave are dedicated to the five priests who lost their lives in the 1873 Yellow Fever Epidemic.

The exterior evolved from from the early 1800's, the building that exists now was started after that time.

The most amazing thing to me is, the city of Shreveport, with it's numerous skyscrapers, engulf and dwarf this beautiful building. No skyscrapers in this picture below, but they are there. The Mid South Tower is one lovely Art Deco skyscraper. The Petroleum Club, where our reception will be, occupies the 14th - 16th floors of the Mid South Towers.

The first time I walked inside Holy Trinity, my breath was taken away. It may have been Our Lord's presence, or it may have been the beauty of this exquisite church.

I have found these lovely pictures of weddings at Holy Trinity.

So, thinking about the simple flower/rope arrangements, prompted me to find these pictures. I couldn't remember what the pews looked like on the aisles. Going next week, got my white rope, we'll see how it will work.

My Kids

As I'm working on my photo albums from a previous post, I'm overwhelmed with memories from the past. Sometimes it makes me sad, as they are all grown up now. Mostly it makes me happy as they are all grown up now!!! I thought I'd share a few pictures of their early years. Don't laugh at me....it was the 80's and I've always been a sucker for the latest trends....frizzy hair, shoulder pads, and pouffy stuff! OMG, what was I thinking? At least both daughter and I had our pearls on. Soon after, dear daughter turned into the Fashion Police and kept us all straight! Son had lots of broken bones thru out childhood.