A couple of patriotic finishes and a magical wedding!

Good morning, all! At least I think it's morning... We've been back from my youngest son's wedding for over a week now and my body and mind still haven't recovered from the effects of jet lag. Just when I think I'm back to normal, a wave of exhaustion hits me at random times during the day. That's what happens when you travel to a time zone six hours ahead of the one you live in! So, where were we? I'll share my stitching finishes with you and then move on to the wedding...

As soon as I saw this sweet design, I knew I had to stitch it! This is "She Stitched the Stars" by Needle Treasures Nook and it is stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen with the suggested colors. I did make a few changes, though. I aligned the stars in the arc to be symmetrical, stitched the dates using a smaller font, and added another little shoe instead of the draped fabric that was charted. 

"She Stitched the Stars" 

This stitched up very quickly and it was nice to have just two colors to keep track of! I debated as to what color of trim to add, but ended up with a simple ecru color cording tied in the corner with a rusty star glued on top of the hanging strands. Simple and sweet, don't you think? And a perfect way to commemorate America's 250th birthday coming up in July.

My second finish is one that has been a long time coming... I'm not quite sure when I actually finished the stitching on this one, but it's been a while. I came across it after we returned from the wedding and decided it was high time I fully finish it. "Grand Olde Flag" by With Thy Needle and Thread is stitched "over" one on 28 ct. black Monaco fabric with the suggested threads. I just love how tiny it came out! The stitched portion is only about 4 inches square. I debated about how to finish it and was leaning toward a pillow with ruched ribbon trim, but decided I would frame it instead.

"Grand Olde Flag" by With Thy Needle and Thread

This is a thrifted frame that I've used for two previous finishes--I just pop out the back checkered board and insert another. A great money saver... And another money saver is how often I repurpose my sons' old flannel shirts for backing a finish. That's what I used behind the stitched portion in this piece. Having had three sons who grew up in the '80s and '90s (when flannel and plaid shirts worn unbuttoned over a white t-shirt was so popular), I have a never ending supply of flannel. In fact I have a whole cupboard full of their old cut-up shirts just waiting to be used for future finishes!

How about my fellow Americans? Are you stitching anything patriotic for the 250th birthday this year? I have a few more tiny things I hope to have all finished up to share with you in July. After that, I'm moving on to fall and Christmas stitching.

   ♥ On to the wedding! ♥

A most special weekend... I had so many of you hoping to see wedding photos that I put together this little recap  for you. The wedding of my youngest son and new daughter-in-law was held in a fairytale setting at a castle in the beautiful hills of Tuscany.

Yes, their wedding took place in Italy!

Oh, my... I don't think any of us have come back down to earth yet. Every little detail was so well done--just perfect, really. I'll share some photos to give you a better idea of what this enchanting weekend entailed... 

Castello Banfi il Borgo was the perfect setting for my youngest son's wedding on June 6th. Some of the interior rooms have been renovated to act as hotel rooms and we were lucky enough to stay in a beautiful suite.

 

What a view! Our room was down on the bottom left of this steep slope--right across from an outdoor breakfast/lunch area.

 

Everywhere you look, the countryside provided picture-perfect views.

 

Me relaxing before the wedding on Saturday. I was, surprisingly, not nervous at all! By then, my attitude was, "What will be, will be."

 

The festivities began with the rehearsal dinner on Friday night which all 80+ guests were invited to. It was a fun pizza party with yummy salads, cheeses, and tiramisu for dessert. There was a three piece jazz ensemble playing background music and, of course, speeches were made toasting the soon-to-be-married couple.

This rustic courtyard was the setting for the rehearsal dinner.

 

The red checkered tablecloths lent a casual, cheerful atmosphere to the party.

 

The fresh tomatoes and white candles were such a fun, quick, and easy centerpiece. My little grandsons loved reaching over and plucking off the juicy tomatoes and popping them into their mouths!

 

The party went on into the evening accompanied by music from a jazz trio and speeches by family and friends. 

 

The wedding day... More perfect weather couldn't have been scheduled for the actual wedding day--puffy white clouds dotted the sunny, blue skies with temperatures in the mid to high-70s.

The bride and groom couldn't have asked for a more idyllic setting in which to exchange their vows 

 

A close-up of the aisle and seating area. Pretty parasols were even provided for sun coverage. Honestly, there were so many thoughtful details sprinkled throughout the day.

 

The newlyweds! What a handsome couple--even with their faces blurred (at their request). And her dress--absolutely stunning! I loved the burgundy calla lilies adorning her bouquet and his boutonniere, too. My husband and I walked our son down the aisle and it wasn't until we kissed him at the end of it that I shed a few tears. 

 

My husband and I were all smiles after the ceremony. I think we clean up pretty well for two 71 year olds :) And almost 6-year-old  Mister B, my oldest grandson, was beaming as the proud ring bearer. After all my agonizing over buying a dress, I ended up with this simple black knit one with a pearl and rhinestone embellished neckline that I found at Nordstrom. (You can see some close-up views of it on their website right here). It was SO comfortable and the only dress of the ten that I tried on that felt like me. Most were either too matronly or too prom-like. This one traveled perfectly and had a simple, but elegant look that I thought suited a black-tie (optional) wedding.

The reception... After the wedding ceremony took place and the photographers finished with the family and bridal party photos, the reception was held in the courtyard of the castle. It began with "aperitivo,"  a traditional Italian pre-dinner cocktail hour with drinks and small bites.  Aperitivo is intended to "open your stomach and stimulate your appetite before the main meal." I don't think I had a single appetizer--I was too busy talking and catching up with family members I hadn't seen in years! We then moved on to the stunningly set dinner table for a feast of veal, eggplant parmesan, or turbot. 

 

One of the most charming scenes of the day was the shape of the table for the reception dinner--so soft and lovely. Can you spot my son and daughter-in-law checking to make sure all the place settings are perfect?

 

Beautiful crystal chandeliers, floral centerpieces, and personalized menus (with our names inscribed on the burgundy ribbons!) added an elegant touch to the table.

 

The meal was delicious and it was so enjoyable just chatting and relaxing as the sun set over the castle.

After the delicious dinner, complete with speeches by the matron of honor and the two best men (my two older sons shared that honor), we moved to a grassy area for cake and a big surprise!

 

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, an Italian Millefoglie cake was served. Oh, my! So scrumptious... My husband actually ate four (yes, four!) pieces of it. It was fun because my son and daughter-in-law got to help make it themselves! The cake consisted of two layers of vanilla cream custard layered between three layers of delicate puff pastry. That part of the cake was waiting for them on the table and then they smothered the top of the cake with fresh berries and sifted powdered sugar over the whole thing. I may just have to try making this at home! 

 

Surprise! Surprise! No one knew fireworks were coming except for the newlyweds and their wedding planner. As the cork popped on the celebratory bottle of champagne, the fireworks began lighting up the sky in the valley below. And yes... I actually gasped (and I wasn't the only one!) It truly felt like something out of a movie!

 

I have to admit, I teared up when the fireworks began. The surprise of them was simply breathtaking!

And finally, the celebration concluded with lots of joyful dancing on the black and white checkered dance floor as my oldest grandson, Mister B, showed us his (very impressive!) moves. A fun trio including a trumpet player, a saxaphonist, and a drummer played along to music chosen by the couple. Baby N missed out on the festivities--he was with two wonderful Italian babysitters who cared for him during the wedding and reception. 

  

Mister B showing all the grown ups how it's done! I think the videographers got more footage of him on the dance floor than anyone else. 

The band, the fireworks, and the entire weekend left us with huge smiles on our faces.

We left the party close to 1:00 AM tired, but fulfilled... The whole weekend couldn't have gone more perfectly. It still amazes me at the amount of planning and decision-making that goes into a wedding and, suddenly, it's all over in 8 or 9 short hours. My son and daughter-in-law went through a lot of ups and downs working with the Italian wedding planner over the past year... There was the time difference to contend with, the language barrier now and then, and different expectations on both sides. Would they do a destination wedding again? I don't know... but, for those of us lucky enough to attend, it was truly a magical experience to remember forever! ♥ I am so happy to have a new daughter-in-law in the family and I wish them many years of love and laughter ahead! ♥

I'm a small-town girl having grown up in a village with just one traffic light in southwestern New York. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined having a son who would some day get married at a castle in Italy. There is something so peaceful and calming about the Tuscany region... My husband and I were blessed to be able to stay on for another week after the wedding and explore many of the small hill towns in the area. I'll be sharing more photos in future posts of our post-wedding travels so I hope you'll come back soon!

 

Until then, I'll leave you with a few final photos taken at the wonderful Castello Banfi il Borgo. Tuscany has captured my heart and I truly hope to return some day!

 

This was the view from our bedroom window at the castle.

The castle: enchanting from every angle

 

 

Thank you, Tuscany, for providing the perfect setting for a magical wedding weekend for all!

Thank you so much for visiting me today! After two weeks away, I'm doing my best to catch up on reading your blogs and seeing what you all have been up to. Enjoy this last bit of June, my friends--another year is passing by way too quickly! Take care of yourselves. Bye for now...

An Autumn Of Memories

It's been a while, hasn't it? I've missed you! Two and a half weeks away from home for my son's wedding in California and our 40th anniversary Hawaii trip--the longest I have ever been away. Eight plane rides + nearly 11,000 miles flown = one bad head cold. I hadn't had a cold in nearly two years, but, thankfully, this one reared its ugly head after our trip! And at least now that I'm retired, I can rest here at home, drink lots of water and eat my chicken noodle soup... Anyway, I've been asked by many of you if I could share some wedding photos so I'll do just that after I show you my latest finish...

I blame this one on the squirrels--the trio of gray squirrels romping around the lower left border reminded me so much of those in our yard this time of year that I just had to stitch this one!  I'm sure you'll recognize it as a Prairie Schooler--it is from "Autumn Samplers" (Book No. 66) which has three gorgeous fall-themed beauties. I'd love to stitch the others some day, too. 

Prairie Schooler "Autumn Sampler" finish

This one is stitched on 40 ct. country mocha Newcastle linen using the suggested DMC threads.

Just love those squirrels!

I have to admit that those leaves were starting to get to me after a while, however I just kept plugging away! But, I loved the saying and the fallish colors, too. Oh, how I wish Prairie Schooler designs were still creating new charts--they are so timeless!

Aren't the fall colors perfect?

Being away for 2 1/2 weeks, I missed most of the really good autumn color here in Pennsylvania. When we left on October 18th, the leaves were still green--very unusual for that time of year. But, when we returned many had turned color and fallen, although there are still a fair number remaining. After the frigid weather that is moving in this weekend, though, I doubt many will hang on too long! Anyway, I hope to frame this one (famous last words!)...

Another Prairie Schooler checked off my "must-stitch" list!

When I got back from my travels, I was thrilled to find two little gift packages waiting in my accumulated mail.  My long-time blogging friend, Cindy, sent me two beautiful gifts to help me celebrate my retirement. Just look at this gorgeous needleminder and needlecase--and in blue, my favorite color! I love that pretty sunflower card, too... Thank you so much, Cindy--you  have been a special stitching friend through all these years!

Retirement gifts sent from Cindy

And Tawny (in New Jersey) sent me two cute charts to thank me for sending her a chart that she couldn't find. Thank you, Tawny--I look forward to stitching them!

Thank you gifts sent from Tawny

In other stitching news, I did get a new Christmas ornament stitched while in Hawaii, but I'll wait until it's finished off to share it with you. 

♥♥♥ So, the wedding ♥♥♥... It was such a beautiful day--in every way... I'm sure every parent of a bride or groom feels that way, but my husband and I were just beaming the entire day as we watched our oldest son and our now daughter-in-law start their life together...

The wedding was held at a lovely old mission style church in Oceanside, California on a day that couldn't have been nicer--sunshine and blue skies abounded! I loved the simple style of this church much more than the grand cathedrals I've seen in my travels. The ceremony was bilingual... since my new daughter-in-law is of Mexican American heritage, the priest spoke in both English and Spanish.

St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Oceanside, CA

I'll just share a few more photos...

The new couple made their way to the reception in this vintage auto.

Relaxing at the reception

My youngest and middle sons congratulate the happy couple and welcome their new sister! They were co-best men and did an outstanding job on their speech at the dinner. The middle gave it in English and the youngest in Spanish so that all of the guests could understand their words.

Blue and orange flowers complemented the bridesmaids' royal blue dresses

I just love this photo of my son and the three sweet flower girls. Although they didn't know each other previously, the little girls bonded and held hands and danced together throughout the evening. Just adorable!

The groom's proud parents--we clean up pretty well (although it looks like a vine is growing out of my head!). It's hard to tell in this photo, but my dress was a beautiful dark amethyst color.

The reception was held at Green Gables Wedding Estate in nearby San Marcos, CA. It had such great backdrops for photo taking with the old schoolhouse, chandeliers hanging from trees, a gazebo, and a turquoise vintage truck

The dessert table included traditional cakes, cupcakes, and an assortment of Mexican candy!

One of my favorite photos taken by a co-worker of the bride's

People asked me if I cried--oh, I got a bit teary eyed, but I honestly didn't cry. Well, that day, anyway! The day before the wedding I saw the following post on Instagram and it just set me off... Tears and so many memories swelled up in me as I read these words that were originally written by Tabitha Studer on her blog way back in 2011 in a post called "25 Rules For Mothers of Sons." This is her Rule Number 25: 

And my sweet new daughter-in-law understands this so well. The morning of the wedding she gave me a gift bag filled with a framed photo of herself and my son, some charms (one of which read "Thank you for raising the man of my dreams"), chocolates, a lovely blue and white handkerchief, and most meaningful of all--a beautifully handwritten note about her love for my oldest son and assuring me that I "wasn't losing a son, but gaining a daughter!" How blessed I feel to have this wonderful young woman in our family!

I am out of time today--my poor head is aching from this cold.  I need to go through my Hawaii photos before I can share them with you... so until next time, my friends! Thank you all for taking the time to visit and maybe even taking the time to leave a comment... Each and every one means so very much to me! Bye for now...

A Month of Changes!

It's here, it's here!! My oldest son's wedding month, that is! When he and his lovely fiancée announced their engagement a year ago, it seemed like it would take forever for the wedding day to arrive... But, the months have just sped by at seemingly warp speed and, all of a sudden, it's time. The next time you read a post from me I will have a daughter in the family--after all these years of being the lone female (even our cat was a boy!), I will have someone who may actually think a bit more like I do and see my side of things more easily. Because, no matter how much they may love each other, men and women think totally differently, don't you agree? (Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, her wedding dress finally arrived and the final fitting is Tuesday--thank goodness!!)

Before I go any further, I want to thank you for all of your thoughtful and heartfelt comments on my previous post about my retirement and my sleeping issues. I truly appreciate your well-wishes and your suggestions on how to get a better night's sleep so thank you for taking the time to leave a comment... Anyway, more about those two topics later. After all, you're here to see some stitching, right?

I try to add at least one little pillow to my Halloween collection each year and this one came from a chart I found in the October 2017 issue of Just Cross Stitching Magazine. It is designed by Teresa Murgida and is called "Boo Birdhouse." If you have seen the design in the magazine, you'll notice that I made a number of changes. I changed the color of the birdhouse roof and opening to gray (from purple), changed the color of the ghost's hat from black to orange, stitched a smaller bat and moved him down, omitted a white swirly thing under the bat, added some more green vines to the left of the pumpkin. Whew! And my biggest change--I added a teeny baby ghost peeking out of the birdhouse!

"Boo Birdhouse" finish from October 2017 JCS Magazine

And here is my finished ghostly pillow--I'm so pleased with it! The orange and black polka dot fabric is wool flannel (love that stuff!) and the backing is the fabric pictured. A bit of ric rak and a gingham yo-yo and black button finish it off. The fibers are all DMC and it is stitched on 40 ct. country mocha Newcastle linen. Every time I look at that baby ghost, I just smile :) This was my most "liked" photo on my Instagram account (if you'd like to follow me, please click here... It brought lots of wonderful comments and one of them said I was so "brave" to change colors and design elements. I replied that that is something I would never have done when I was younger, but now I'm more comfortable with color and I simply know what I like. I hope the designers never take offense--it is just my way of making the design more "me." And, after all, if I hadn't truly loved the original design, I wouldn't have chosen to stitch it, right? How about you--do most of you make changes?

How do you like the wee baby ghost?

Still plugging away on  stitching my monthly Christmas ornaments, but I am very concerned that I'll not be able to finish all twelve for the first time since I began blogging... Hopefully, there will be stitching time on my upcoming travels, although I am not the best at stitching on airplanes! But, I do have a new Prairie Schooler Santa to share with you... This handsome guy is the annual Santa chart from the year 2000 and is stitched with the suggested DMC colors on 40 ct. burch Newcastle linen. I did change the suggested ecru on his beard, book, and candy canes to DMC 3865, though.

Prairie Schooler Santa 2000

I have to say, that this one has special meaning as it brings back fond memories of when my boys would ask what I wanted for Christmas and I would reply, "All I want is good little boys!" I can't say that any longer so I do supply them with (usually stitch-related!) wish lists. I like to keep my PS Santa finishes pretty simple as they are such classics so I stitched a small pillow, added homemade cording, and tied on a pair of rusty bells in the corner. This is my monthly Christmas ornament for July (I told you I was behind!)...

My July ornament finally finished!

I had several entries for the pair of autumn charts that I was giving away in my last post and the name drawn from the proverbial hat was...  ROSE HECK!   Rose, please email me with your mailing address and I will get this charts off to you this week.  Congratulations and, if you weren't the lucky winner, please check back--I'll be having more old chart giveaways in the future!

Giveaway winner... Rose Heck!

Retirement update... Today marks the beginning of my third week as a "lady of leisure"--ha! Whoever said retirement brought more hours of free time? I spent the first week up in New York helping out my mom who continues to have health problems (prayers, good thoughts, positive vibes, etc. would all be very much appreciated!) and the second week packing and cleaning the house so I can leave it "spic and span" for our travels. Does anyone else do that? I just have to clean the whole place before I leave on a trip--can't stand coming back to a cluttered house!

My retirement farewell brought recollections of many fond stories and quite a few tears as I said goodbye to my wonderful co-workers at the library. I was treated to some beautiful gifts, a farewell lunch, a lovely cake, and lots of goodbye hugs and well wishes. My sweet co-workers know me well because just look at these lovely gifts they bought for me...

Yes, it's a personalized stitching pouch!! And the fabric is made to look like old library date due cards--how perfect for a librarian! The pouch was filled with a Michael's gift card, needles, floss tags, and threads. Absolutely loved this!

My second gift from my coworkers was equally special--a basket filled with baking goodies, a cute pie-themed apron, and a gift card to King Arthur's Flour Baking catalog. How very thoughtful!

And look at this giant cake--so pretty in shades of teal, pink, yellow, and green.

My lovely chocolate retirement cake was scrumptious!

To thank them all, I made these little thank you cards--only a librarian will truly appreciate them. They are made to look like old library catalog cards and you can generate your own personalized (and free!) card at this site. I added the Dewey Decimal number 179.9 which is for "thankfulness/gratitude" and the name of the library (which I have blocked out) along with a little note saying my "wonderful co-workers will forever be in my heart. Thank you for all you have done to make my 29 years at the library so memorable." And a personal note was written to each of my fellow librarians inside the cards... As many of you mentioned, I was so fortunate to have a job that I loved all those years; not many can say that!

Thank you note cards I made for my co-workers

Other retirement treats were received as well from my oldest son and his fiancee, my two sisters and brother, and previously retired coworkers... Even a couple of patrons brought candy and flowers! I felt very much appreciated and loved!

From my oldest son and his fiancée: a lovely pouch (will use it for my stitching, of course!)  and an action figure of Nancy Perl--America's best known librarian. She "shushes you" when you push the button on her back--too cute!)

Also from my oldest son and fiancée--these beautiful fall flowers and a box of delicious chocolates. They really spoiled me--do you think they are angling for a nice wedding gift?! (Just kidding!)

Beautiful roses from my youngest sister! The fall colors were stunning!

And a host of gift cards, flowers, retirement cards and other small gifts from various family members, friends, and library patrons.

Here is a photo of me on my last day with my lovely cake. Yes, that is a big smile on my face because I was pretty much cried out at that stage... The decision to leave now wasn't easy, but I felt the timing was right. To just be able to fly to my son's wedding and then on to our 40th wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii, and then not have to return to work--it just all made sense! I'll be 63 in January, a bit young to retire perhaps, but, for me, it works! Thank you all so much for your well-wishes--I know I'll never be bored in retirement! And if I do miss the library, I can always go volunteer on a weekly basis!

Still smiling 'til the end--I was so blessed to have had a job I truly loved for all these years!

Sleeping update... Wow! I am obviously not alone in my sleeping problems. Based on your comments, a lot of you are having issues--either falling asleep or staying asleep (my problem). Things seem to be a bit better since I retired, but are still not great. Interestingly, there was just an article in the Wall Street Journal this weekend that was titled, "The Older You Are, the Worse You Sleep." Great...  Apparently, the older we get, the more our capacity for deep, restorative sleep disappears so that by the time we are age 70, 80-90% of our "youthful, restorative deep sleep is gone." Sad...  And that lack of sleep can really affect our health as we age. I loved reading your tips about overcoming (or at least accepting) sleep problems and plan to try some of them soon. Right now, the best thing for me is to get my Kindle out and simply start reading, but I worry about waking up my husband so I don't resort to that very often. 

Okay--I have babbled on for far too long. There is just so much going on in my life right now... Thank you, as always for your sweet comments--I read and appreciate each one. Can't always get back to you as some of you are "no reply bloggers," but if you leave your email address, I will certainly try to answer your questions. Happy rest of October, everyone... see you in November! Bye for now...