Hostess Gifts for a Shower

Callie and I have been on the lookout for great ideas for hostess gifts for her shower.  If you google that, you get a variety of ideas ranging from boring to absolutely absurd!  I mean, who really gives $100-150 gifts to each hostess giving a shower?!?!?!   We wanted to find something pretty that they would actually use and an idea Valine sent me several months ago seemed to fit the bill.

Ron helped me by cutting a 2x8 board into 7 1/2 " lengths and then even sanded them for me!  (yep, he's a keeper)   I sprayed them all white as a base coat and then added other colors and patterns to the front and sides before distressing them a bit with sandpaper.

Here they are, all ready to go!   Callie added a personal thank you note clipped to the front of each bag.

Showering "baby Dean"

Sunday afternoon was Callie's baby shower. Several of my friends were hostesses for the event and everything was so pretty --- and tasty, too.

It was wonderful having great friends and family with us.

Carmelle and the girls were able to come.

This is Callie with my mama's best friend, Mrs. Willis!  (I know that Momo/my mama is enjoying all of this up in Heaven).

Callie was showered with all sorts of wonderful baby gadgets.  

And had a little helper, as well.

Of course, a girl has got to take a break from all that work to do a little twirling---and Pam's dining room was the perfect place for that.

I made a new little white gown and crocheted a special "outfit" (of which I have no photos) to go with the newborn photography package from here that Ron and I gave them.

It was a wonderful time to be with family and friends and to anticipate little Luke's arrival. 

It is kind of hard to believe that very soon my baby will be having a baby!

Wedding in Jackson

One of Callie's oldest friends ---- been buddies since 3 year old preschool--- got married this weekend in Jackson and Callie was a bridesmaid.  Knowing that she would be eight months pregnant at the time of the wedding posed a challenge for ordering and altering her dress, but we made our best guess as to size back in March.  This past week, she tried on the dress and discovered that we'd done well in that regard---it fit around her baby belly just right.   The bodice, however was quite another story (as we knew it would be).  While her belly was a size 12, her bodice was still a size 2---okay, maybe a 4 since she is pregnant.   However, some reconstruction fixed that problem and she was ready for the wedding.

Since Jordan began his new job this week, there was no way he was going to be able to take a day off to drive over with Callie, so I was thrilled to be able to drive her over and spend that time with her.  The wedding venue was so beautiful and unique--a recently renovated Ice House.  The ceremony room included pews, stained glass windows and even an altar.

The original freight elevators, hinges, windows and staircase added to the ambiance.

Roxie, the bride, is one of those wonderfully unique people that makes you smile with her enthusiasm for life.  She is a "theatre girl" and never met a stranger, and she and Callie as such opposites in so many ways, but they have the same heart for others and brilliant minds that keep them grounded to each other for a lifetime.

Just before the last "bridal photos" were to be taken prior to the ceremony, her mother, Lynda, came and asked me to "fix her".  As I attempted to fluff her hair and fix the lapel of her jacket, she noticed that one of her brand new crystal earrings had fallen out of her ear.  Distressed, we all searched for it frantically.

Knowing the crunch for time, she remembered that she'd packed an alternative set of jewelry in her bag and quickly changed to the pearl necklace and earrings, fixed her bolero jacket and looked beautiful.

As the music for the ceremony began, I was seated and waited for the attendants to walk down the aisle.  I suddenly felt something tickling my left arm and attempted to flick it away.  Until I noticed that the offender was the missing earring, stuck to the Velcro on my wrist splint!!!   HA-HA  When I showed it to Lynda later, she laughed and said that it must have been God's way of telling her to "wear pearls".

Roxie was beautiful and so happy!

These four girls have known each other from kindergarten--and 3 of them from preschool.

As we drove back to Shreveport that evening, Callie and I were both pretty tired, but I was so glad to have been able to share in Roxie and David's special day.

Cruising

Upon waking up the first morning on the ship, Ron was soon out on the balcony with binoculars in hand.

After breakfast, I joined him outdoors with cups of hot chocolate.  While he kept his eyes peeled for any ocean life, I perused the Princess Patter to see what was happening on the ship that day. 

I know that I keep saying it over and over, and there is no way that pictures will ever do it justice, but everything was just beautiful!  In the afternoon, Ron caught sight of the water spout of a whale or two.  They were pretty far from the ship, but there were several of them and that was enough to keep us watching for more.

Then along came some harbour seals.  Cute and playful in the water, they were really fun to watch.

The naturalist on board suggested that we try to view the upcoming Hubbard Glacier from one of the lower decks so that we could get an idea of the magnitude of its size, so we bundled up the best we could and headed to front of deck 7.  

However, with a bit of sleet coming in and strong winds, it became unbearable and we retreated to our own balcony.  As we neared the glacier

we began seeing ice bits and icebergs floating in the water.

We also began seeing more and more seals. 

In fact, many of them were perched on top of the icebergs!

Just look how cute this mama and baby are?!!

Getting to see Hubbard Glacier up close was just amazing!  

The color of it was almost unbelievable---such a beautiful, clear aqua!

I loved the striations of color created from picking up dirt along its path.

It was almost addicting to listen for the "crack" and then the echoing BOOM, as large pieces of the glacier calved into the water.  In fact, while we were visiting the glacier, we witnessed the largest calving in quite some time.

After about an hour, we had to leave Hubbard Glacier.

Ron and I turned our attention to getting ready for the first "formal night".  It's hard to feel very dressy with a big old cast around your arm, but we made the best of it and headed to the Michaelangelo restaurant for dinner.  The food was wonderful!

After dinner, we joined the rest of the passengers for the champagne reception mid-ship, the string quartet and having photos taken (the first of many---seems like they were always taking our picture for this or that)!

When we returned to our room, I had a phone message to return to the gift shop.  There, Nancy, the sales clerk from Mexico who had tried to help me find a covering for my cast, was waiting for me.  On her breaks that day, she had crocheted a black, wool cover for my cast.  I was overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness!!!   It fit perfectly, and in the days to come, it was priceless for keeping me warm!!!