my second wedding...

If I had the chance to have another wedding, I would just as easily choose this one as I would my original own.

Our friends Brendo and Jess married on December 3, 2011. A wedding in the park, riverside in our beachside town and a reception at a nearby organic tea-tree and vegie farm set next to a serene water scene with amazing birdlife and horses wandering by in the background.. A wonderful atmosphere with family and friends for a couple truely in love.  The vintage and personal touches that they placed around their ceremony and reception venue were so lovely and all of my favourite things.  Jess is a girl after my own heart!

Hydrangeas and garden flowers,  old chairs from our church for the signing (which I envy every time I see them and think they'd look so inviting in a corner of my home!) doilies her girlfriends and grandmas collected (and made!), herb and vegie pots for the guests, dress-up and photo booth, my favourite - the guest libs and instead of a signature book or board they had a fingerprint tree to remember the guests at their wedding. There were even more touches that I missed capturing but oh it was such a lovely evening you wanted to sit back and enjoy it rather then miss it by being caught up behind the camera.

As I'd say to anyone getting married soon or in the future, a lot of effort is involved but it is so special to make the day your own, a day that speaks of your relationship, interests and things you want to share and remember - and it is all worth it.  Weddings have become more special to me as I reminisce at every one I attend, since my own, of the specialness of our day and what my marriage means to me everyday since. It is the start of a beautiful, yes challenging, but always rewarding journey.

Blessings to you both, Brendo and Jess.

may days

a rural drive, learning guitar from my old hymnal, flowers and fruit - my favourite table toppers, and a glorious morning at the beach.

welcome to the start of my may days. :)

rose drying

been lucky enough to receive a bunch of roses recently? or are you talented enough to have roses from your own garden you could keep? let the bliss last long by drying them and vasing them up for a dried arrangement somewhere around your home.

this is my sis-in-law's wedding bouquet we're drying at her mum's house to preserve for the future. :)

take your bunch (or bouquet) and tie them with string or rubber band to a coat hanger.

then hang them in a dark, dry cupboard and leave for a few weeks.

i have a bunch of white roses that my mum got me for our engagement in 2008 that i dried and vased. they've survived 5 moves and 3 years but are looking a little sad. might have to buy myself a new bunch to replace them! :)

any suggestions for other flowers that may survive drying? lisianthas are my favourite flower of the moment. would these work? hmmm...

free living challenge - catch up... day 34-13!!

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

joy from past days...

got a lot to summarise in today's free living post.

have to confess... i visited my mum a couple of weekends ago and our favourite thing to do is op shop together. so we went to 1 store... only 1!  i'm now 27 and she still treats me with 'just coz' spending money to make me feel special. love you mum.

so what have i been up to?

i organised up my sewing space...

love watching the weather out the side door...

the space is about 2.5ms sq... have all ready decided this is not enough space! i've already filled 3 lots of shelving with materials i've had around the house.

have had a play making my own pattern for some of my own softie creations... hmmm... need more practice for consistency!!

and started making some quiltes... discovered i love sewing much more than hand needlework!

 

and made some practical things like bread bags from old linen tea-towels. very impressed with these. we go through a home-made loaf of bread in 2-4days. it stays moist in these bags for that time. they would dry out and be only good for toast after 2days using our old recycled plastic bag method. definately an improvement.
(yes yes, i'm a queenslander through and through!! squeezing a bit of QLD love into our very NSW dominant family!!)

have enjoyed the growth of my peppermint plant being able to pick a few fresh leaves and make my own peppermint tea. so lovely.

and of course there have been many bike rides to the beach...

the other most fun adventure was my sister-in-law's wedding where i got to play with flowers and decorating... could do it every weekend!  as i said in my flower joy post a few days ago, so lovely being able to go to the farm where the flowers were growing, pick them with a group of great girls and play with them the night before the wedding for bouquets and vases for the reception. here are some more pics for you...

such a lovely location. yamba shores tavern.  if you're ever in the area, i recommend a look-see. its a lovely spot on the river.  we were there at sunrise (yes ohmygoodness) on the day of the wedding and then there at night for the reception. just as good feel at night.

phew!  great to be able to share my adventures with you. 

would love to hear of some of your free-living adventures.  we can't always achieve it but i think there is a greater sense of fulfillment when we are able to fill our day with nature, with family and friends, with simplicity and free joy. i challenge you to look for a way to simplify your adventures this week. then share it with others and maybe you'll inspire another one or two. blessings, nais.

free living challenge - day 21... flower joy

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy...

being the stand in florist for my sis-in-law's wedding!

sorry i've been missing in action... internet issues. should be back online soon!

got to stretch my creative wings this weekend by putting together the bouquets and reception flowers for my sis-in-law. such fun. 

i'm proud of her resourcefulness... we gathered a range (over 33!!) of cute vases from family and friends, cut flowers from a church families paddock of flowers.... roses, dahlias and lisianthas... and put them together ourselves the night before the wedding.  such a rewarding and special feeling to have loved ones contribute in all sorts of ways to a special day.

they had pictures at the cane fields on her pa's farm and round the bales where she grew up helping feed the horses, working with cattle and killing cane toads! special memories. here's the top pic of the photo's from her photographer. such a lovely weekend all round.

so future career options suggested this weekend? florist and wedding planner!!

wishing you joy this week. nais. x.