Lovely May Shower- #2

Welcome to our second bridal shower this month!

This past weekend I attended the 2nd Bridal Shower

for my son and his Fiance' Angela.

They will be married in Pennsylvania

so my family decided to have a 2nd

Bridal Shower in Michigan so we could

introduce the bride-to-be to more family and friends.

These are my sisters, Sherry, Donna, and Jen 

and niece Jessica.  Sherry hosted the party

here at her home and they all pitched in with

food and decorating. Jess is in culinary school

and made these lovely Lemon Tartlets...

These Lemon Tartlets were topped with a raspberry and

a piece of mint on each one.

They were so good!  Of course I am a lemon nut

so I might not be a fair judge!

The luncheon included a salad famous to those

of us who know what J.L. Hudsons

 was in Michigan.  

They had a lunch room that we all enjoyed

going to and the Maurice Salad was a favorite.

They duplicated the ingredients here.

There were strips of ham, turkey and cheese,

shredded lettuce and sweet relish (which I didn't use)

and the famous Maurice dressing! We also had

homemade muffins, bread rolls and fruit!

 Behind this area is an island that had a terrific

punch flavored with strawberries...it was very good!

The tables were all set with decorative plates,

silverware and a wine glass...the little baskets

were something I found up here in Traverse City

and they added Cherry flavored candies to them

since Cherries are a huge industry here, and it

makes a connection to our son's hometown.

Each table had a centerpiece with a real bottle of wine

from a local vineyard here in Traverse City and a 

faux bottle of wine with labels my sister created.

Later we played a few games and the faux wine 

bottle was a gift that was won by a few people.  

Inside them were these wine related items.

 Here is a closeup of one of the bottles...Angela's family

is 100% Italian so my sister Jen made the connection

to her heritage with this label.

 My husband's family were Dairy Farmers and raised

Holstein cows for milk.  Again my sister made a 

connection to his family heritage.

Many gifts were given and I have to say that

nearly everything on their wedding registry 

has been purchased!

Do you remember these cakes from back in the

1960's maybe early 1970's?  I got a kick out of

seeing one of these again.  This frosting had to

be kept refrigerated so I snuck a picture of it in the

fridge.

Here she sits at the table.

Ryan (our son) and Angela's father along

with my husband had returned to help with

loading gifts into cars.  We had

Ryan stand in for a quick photo op!

 The nuptials will take place in about one month

 We are in the countdown now!

Memorial Day Weekend- Planting so I can Relax!

Today, May 27th I planted my window boxes.

 I've been itching to plant my flowers but we keep

getting frost warnings.  Last night it dipped to 36

but I had covered everything up just in case. Today

it warmed up beautifully and the forecast looks

fine for the future.

Lobelia, Impatiens, Vinca Vine and Begonias

in the window box at my kitchen window.

These two are on the side of the garage. This picture 

got a little burned out from the bright sun, but

there is salvia lined up in the back, vinca vine 

and a plant called diamond frost that spreads out.

One of the tulips that are blooming.

Last year I played around with some perennials

and added some coral bells and more hostas.

On the right side is my Jack Frost, Brunnera

that has been blooming for 3 weeks...the purple

leaved coral bells are about to bloom.

Today was also about getting these impatiens

planted around the fountain area. 

144 plants to be exact...here I am staging

them.

About 2 hours later I had them all planted. This

picture isn't very flattering but soon the flowers

will fill in and make a good showing.

A quick shot of the backyard...we've come 

a long way since that last snow storm

in April!  Thank goodness!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend 

and a great

Memorial Day.

Planting, planting, planting

Well I finally got the boxwoods planted.

I put the alyssum along side them,

but they don't show up much just yet.

 I lost two shrubs from damage by voles this winter and

then I decided to try a new shrub rather than

repeating what I had.  So I went for these

Dwarf English Boxwoods.  They are supposed

to be very slow growing and easy to take

care of. 

The sundial my sister gave me seems to work rather

well set in this area.

My Coral Bells and hostas are rapidly growing!

You can see the Jack Frost, Brunnera in the background.

I do love that plant.  It's been blooming for two weeks and

still going strong.

Out back behind the water fountain area I have these large rocks

setting about.  I planted some Japanese Forest Grass (Hakone) next to 

a couple of rocks this year.  The Sweet Woodruff is blooming

right now..it has a nice smell.

Sunday morning was pretty and I enjoyed watching

the sun making it's way through the woods

to the back yard.

Mother nature has it together!  You can't 

compete with the beauty she provides! A

little heavenly sunshine and you've got a

perfect mix!

A Lovely May Shower

On May 1st I attended the Bridal Shower for my soon to 

be daughter-in-law Angela.

We drove to Pennsylvania for the event. 

They have a large family and lots of friends so this lovely

little mansion on the grounds of a private school 

was used for the shower!

As I approached the room I started taking

pictures. On the left was a guest book.

As I came in the room,

this grand fireplace caught my attention.

 Of course I loved all the round tables with 

full length tablecloths- which dress things

up nicely.

Each table had it's own centerpiece

made with a cake stand that had desserts

on the top and a ring below with fresh

flowers! 

There was a handmade bar of soap, by a company

from Michigan where I come from as a small

gift for each guest.

I loved that they used real china, glassware

and flatware.  It all added up to a lovely

table setting.  

We were treated to a wonderful buffet

of food with delightful desserts that followed!

 These are pastry shaped swans with a

custard filling in them, and next to the swan

is one of the Peach cookies...they are a cake like

cookie with a custard like filling and a

little piece of mint leaf added to make

them look like real peaches!

I don't know all the names of these desserts,

but they were wonderful.  Some of the

guests made the desserts!

The bride to be and some bridesmaids helping 

her open gifts and keep record.

My son Ryan and Angela!

I'm linking up with Susan at

Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursday
and
Marty at 
A Stroll Thru Life: 66th Table Top Tuesday

Getting in the groove again!

Well I found some Dwarf English Boxwoods to go in this area

that borders the sidewalk and the walkway by the garage.  

 I think these little boxwoods will be

easy enough to take care of...

 I've got to find one more, but so far I'm

not doing well. 

This will look better once I've got them planted.

 I almost forgot to take a picture of my magnolia...

it bloomed so beautifully this year...

The frangrance is great, even at a distance you

can smell it!

 I adore this Jack Frost, Brunnera...in part because

the color of the flower is sensational!

My little girl statue looks like she's checking them

out...I think she likes them too!

Today was about planting annuals. Every year I

get out my Gardenway cart and start loading

it with the annuals as I collect them.  We

have to be careful of frosts for so long here

it's always a gamble as to when to plant them.

So I stack them on the cart, move them in and

out of the garage until I feel it's safe!

I always think if Liza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and the

flower carts they used when I load up my cart!

 I started with these flower pots that I potted

 white Apple Blossom begonias.

Our son is getting married in July and I

decided on all white this year because of it.

These will look gorgeous as they get larger.

I added some of these Etain Violas in a couple of spots.

They have a lovely soft fragrance!

I've planted Cordyline in these cement pots

with some lime colored Coleus.

 I went with these Royal Purple Salvia and more

Violas

This crackled pot caught my attention

at T.J. Maxx's....as these flowers

develop it will be cheery and colorful!

My daffodils have been blooming for a 

few days..the tulips are close

to blooming!  So much

is happening so quickly! 

I truly love

spring!

It's a little hard getting going every spring

but I'm getting in the groove again!