Sonnet 73

a State College park, last fall

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
   This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
   To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

                                                               - William Shakespeare

Walker Honey Farm

On Saturday Abigail and I went to the Fall Festival Farmers Market at the Walker Honey Farm! It was much closer than expected, and it was an awesome fest! There were a lot of local vendors and sampling opportunities, including delicious jalapeno jellies, herbs and veggies, lotions (lavender rosemary- the most wonderful smelling lotion on the planet), wine ice cream (yes), jerky, and of course the wine tasting. For 6$ you could sample five wines of your choice, and the seasonal wine. Plus you got to keep the cute little wine glass! There was live music and everyone was nice and friendly. I left with a few of the jalapeno jelly varieties, some local made olive oils, and a couple other things- getting Christmas shopping started early! I'm not a big honey person, but the wines were very tasty and everything looked so nice. The weather was wonderful and windy. Oh, and there were pumpkins. Lots of pumpkins. :)

Abigail taking a picture of the Obama sign across the street, haha.

- Mrs. M

pups

I almost came home from Austin yesterday with one of these:

Instead I got some hot sauce. Maybe next time, Austin. 

- Mrs. M

Home

I love my husband our kitties, and the little home we've made here in central Texas. He's out in the field doing Army things for ten days and I miss him. I'm reminded of this song my friend Allie introduced to me a while ago, and I believe it was played at our wedding (I can't be expected to remember every detail from that day, right?!). :)




- Mrs. M

Table Talk

Today we're taking tables! I decided for linens I wanted simple white tablecloths, with a burlap runner. I knew there would be colorful flowers in aqua jars on each table as well, and the wood burned table numbers that Christy made! Otherwise- I kept it simple. We put several candles on each table (cream and green, in mini mason jars), and each had a mason jar full of special wedding cake pops, made by my mother's friend. The florist also added some extra buds and flowers here and there. I designed the menus and placed two at each table. To provide additional marking for the tables, I put a stamped label on wine bottles (stamps from Michael's, labels from Office Depot), with the table number on it (and nifty lace tape lining the bottom of the bottles- from Etsy). I also put these "Eat Drink and be Merry" postcards from the Calm Gallery on each table (I guess that was the unofficial theme of the night!).

In the basement of the farm we found these great chalkboard panels that we used to write table assignments on. I wrote labels for each guest and they were tied around a mason jar, and we arranged the jars by table number to make it easier for guests to find during cocktail hour. I also ordered lots of fun straws (from Etsy), because what's a mason jar without a fun straw? ;) To decorate the table I scattered about some doilies that I spray painted with gold or silver glitter. Cocktail hour was held in the basement and outside (where there was cornhole and an ice cream truck that came rolling up- more on that later!), which worked well as the reception was held upstairs and the night flowed pretty naturally.

dot strands and postcard stands from BHLDN

Here's a look at the reception tables!

This was our sweetheart table. I didn't particularly want to be separated from the rest of the guests, but with the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen we had, the numbers fit really well for having eight to a table, so that's really the only reason I decided on the sweetheart table. I decorated it with some extra leftover touches from decorating- some vases, glittery flags, and a lovely burlap banner that I thought would fill the table space well. We liked it just spread across the table as opposed to pinning it up somewhere.

all photos by Jana Scott Photography

Many more fun details to come! :)

- Mrs. M