Outtakes from a Wedding

 Our girl has a college friend who is a photographer that lives in California and she asked our girl to 'PLEASE let me shoot your wedding' and the memories she captured are magic.

She also took the engagement photos 

and will be at the reception next week as well. I've decided we're just going to adopt her. Not only is she a talented photographer, but she's just a delightful girl. She even slept on an air mattress and got up at 1 a.m. after the wedding, and drove 3 hours to the airport to catch a flight to take surprise engagement pictures of her best friend on a boat off the California coast. She's a gem and once you see the photos (she took those two above) you'll want her contact information so here it is

                                                           Shelby-Caitlin Photography

She's done a beautiful job and those photos will be forthcoming. In January, our girl and her fiancé decided they just wanted a very small ceremony in the middle of the forest here in May.

For our part, we just pulled everything else together. Just 20 for this weekend. We rented a VRBO for 10, the newlyweds got their own little spot, and everyone else had individual accommodations because they chose to stay longer as this little mountain community is a popular getaway.

                                         

I've been making lists about lists for some time. DH is always helpful, but I think he's been a little surprised at all of the preparations and it's not even a big, elaborate wedding. She didn't want a venue and 'no stress' was at the top of the list, but it still takes some planning. I'm sure DH was trying to process the fact that his little girl was really getting married.

I spent Thursday and Friday packing and cooking. I took a double batch of Cowboy Cookies, made Italian Wedding Salad (Kenny's mom made Chicken Salad, Jalapeno Pimento Cheese and wine) and gathered fresh veggies, cheeses, and various sundries to fill in. I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls and took ingredients for Breakfast Pizza one morning and Breakfast Burritos another morning rounding it all out with fruit and yogurt. Everyone else brought drinks and chips and snacks.

We all gathered at a restaurant (Texas Club) on Saturday evening

Our granddaughter and the maid-of-honor's daughter bonded instantly

They were just precious together

And we had a caterer come to the VRBO for Sunday's supper, after the wedding

All hands on deck to haul the arch (borrowed from a friend)

Yes, that's the bride wielding the screwdriver 😉 

And the rugs

 and chairs (borrowed from my in-laws), 

and floral arrangements to the ceremony site.

It was a group effort 

And once everything was set up, we caravanned  back to the house and changed into wedding attire

Wedding photos up next!

Italian Wedding Salad With a History

 Our girl was married this weekend - photos coming soon! They drove to the ranch on Friday, we headed to the mountains on Saturday, they were married on Sunday, we came back home on Monday. Plus, we're branding this week (Tuesday-Saturday) so I'm in the kitchen and my mornings are starting at 3 a.m. 

I made my menu after serving the crew breakfast and after dinner (lunch) on Tuesday I spent the afternoon in town getting groceries for 12 men for the rest of the week. We came back from the wedding exhausted, but no time to recuperate so we're running on auto pilot and Jesus this week. 5 days. We can do this. 

But I thought I'd share an old family recipe today. It's probably the oldest recipe I have and my Omi (my daddy's mom) made it when my folks were married. My daddy was German (from Ulm) and my mom was from Vienna, Austria so I have no idea why this is known as ITALIAN Wedding Salad, but there you go. 

And this is a very different kind of salad. The ingredients are odd and don't seem like they should go together, but this is a famous salad in my family. Growing up, I remember my mom making it and then rolling big spoonfuls up in rectangular ham slices. Then she would pipe a mayonnaise flower on one corner and top it with a radish flower she carved, pop in a sprig of parsley and serve them all up on big mirrored platters for all sorts of gatherings. She made hundreds of those platters. But our favorite way to eat this salad was always with her homemade Schnitzel. Our kids practically fell into the bowl when my mom made this. 

However, we're not that fancy and this is how I served it last week with lunch before our daughter's wedding

I saw a similar photo years ago  - before the Internet - and never forgot it. And it's even more fitting because her new husband, Kenny, raises pigs and fits for lots of kids who show through 4-H and FFA

So, today you get this salad along with the story of how it fits into our life and those are always my favorite kinds of recipes. And warning. My mom was an amazing cook, but she rarely used an actual recipe. She just made it until it looked and tasted right. 

4 Generation Italian Wedding Salad 

4 cans of peas and carrots, well drained (I only ever buy this for this salad because we don't care for them otherwise)

1 large package of thick-sliced bologna chopped fine (about the same size as the carrots - (mom said it didn't taste right if it was chopped too large. Once she tried to substitute ham, but it just wasn't the same) P.S. We don't care for bologna either, but it is transformed in this salad. LOL.

3 medium potatoes, boiled, cooled, peeled, and chopped (again - as small as the carrots) 

3 medium dill pickles, chopped...yep...small

3 boiled eggs, chopped...again - you know the drill. 

salt and pepper to taste

Enough mayonnaise to make it all come together

A dab or two of mustard.

*Mix everything together and refrigerate

*When I take the first bite, I close my eyes and it tastes like home and memories and I'm posting it here for our chiddlers who are the 4th generation of Italian Wedding Salad fans. I wish I had asked my Omi where SHE got it from.

Americana Progress

 I've been making good progress on my Americana Hourglass quilt - the blocks finish 5" in the quilt and I'm thinking of making it 85 x 95 so I'll need 323 blocks. Some of them are traditional hourglass blocks and some of them are scrappy

Sometimes I use the Easy Angle ruler and strips to cut the pieces, but this time I was working with chunks and yardage - 1/2 yards, fat quarters and a variety of cuts from my stash so I drew lines.

I should try some of that seam tape, but I don't mind drawing lines. I'll listen to a podcast or audio book and sew in between. I've built a well-rounded stash through the years and I love shopping my stash - riffling through my bins and pulling fabrics for projects. I REALLY wanted to include this print, but it's just too white for the look I'm after

So I figured I'd give it a good soak in some tea

And now it's absolutely perfect!

I was tempted to soak all of it, but I know I'll want a true blue and white down the line, but now I've got 2 different colorways

I needed some more tans and creams and dug a little deeper - yes, these will do beautifully 

I also made a batch of Quilter's Moonshine. A friend told me about it. There are all kinds of recipes online but I just bought a bottle of cheap vodka and mixed 4 oz with 24 oz of distilled water and maybe 4 drops of essential oil. It's much less expensive than Best Press and I still use regular starch when I press a quilt top, but I like this for pressing fabrics and quilt blocks. I read a debate about whether your vodka should be grain or potato based. Makes sense since potatoes are starchy, but I haven't looked for a potato based vodka to see if it makes a difference. The lady at the store said  the one I bought was nasty vodka and that I should buy something better, but I told her I wasn't going to be drinking it, I was going to make starch. She got tickled and she probably told her co-workers some crazy lady came in and bought Vodka for starch. Those crazy quilters! 😂

I'm excited to get this one together, but there's a Wedding on the horizon and then 5 days of Cow Works immediately following so all sewing will temporarily cease while I soak up God's daily blessings and remind myself to breath. 😉

I Spy Quilt

 Last year I made an I Spy quilt for my coworker's cousin. I'd been collecting novelty fabrics for a while, knowing there were more I Spy quilts in my future

I so enjoyed selecting fun prints

And I put 110 different ones in this special quilt. Edited to add a better photo here 2 years later. This quilt has been washed often and loved well

                           

Sandy added the perfect quilting patterns called Jigsaw and it finishes at 60 x65

I added this fun stripe for the binding and the blue dot, both from my stash.

This was a birthday gift for our granddaughter and it was a hit

She was captivated

As was I, watching her discover each square

At one point she saw a square with Santa and she piped up enthusiastically, "Ho Ho"! 😂

Last week I took a huge stack of squares to work to share with another coworker. She wants to make 2 for her granddaughters and another friend wants to make 4. I have enough fabric to fill all their needs. 😂

I think it's safe to say, this quilt will be well-loved

It was made with love with prayers stitched into every seam for this special little nugget