Winter Wedding in California

The "big event" of our trip to California was a wedding! We came to help out with the last wedding preparations and share in the joy! Plus, Felicity was a bridesmaid!

The wedding, although just a few days before Christmas, was to have a "winter" theme and look about it, but not a Christmas one. And from the decor to the colors, it was just perfect! Her mom, my dear friend, is a wedding coordinator, and her dad has done set designing for theater, and between the two of them, they completely transformed a horse barn into a beautiful reception venue that just exuded wintery rustic-elegance! I was thrilled to be part of the crew to finish getting the reception barn ready. This is what it looked like when we arrived.

So much fun getting all the tables ready! Got to practice my Carson skills! Just beautiful!

We finished with plenty of time to get cleaned up, change clothes, and drive over to the wedding venue (sources listed at the end of this posting). I loved how the wedding colors echoed the blue-ish winter mountains in the background and harmonized so nicely with the leafless oak trees.

I cannot tell you how my heart ached with gratitude to the Lord that our little granddaughter's health was stable, so that Felicity was able to leave her and travel west to be in this wedding! It had been so long anticipated, and her ability to travel so in doubt for so long...to see her walk down this aisle...well, the tears did flow behind this camera lens.

The cuteness of the flower girl helped to distract my mind. She remembered, at the very last moment that her job was to drop petals. So, she paused at the front and slowly and methodically emptied every last petal from her basket. All there. In one spot. Too cute!

The bride and her father arrived by horse-drawn carriage! (If this seems slightly familiar, this young lady's cousin got married at the same location and also arrived by carriage, just last summer. I shared pictures from that wedding here.) Their uncle piped each of them down the aisle. Nothing beats bagpipes at a wedding!

The sun came out from behind the clouds just as the ceremony was starting, and it just made everything sparkle...simply magical! The bride's gown was made by her talented mom.

Reception time!

Enjoying a delicious dinner with the parents of the bride.

Awww. This girl is just precious to me!

And her whole extended family are among our most treasured friends! What a joy to celebrate this day with them!

Wedding Coordination - Cherie Riley Weddings

Ceremony Venue - Rileys at Los Rios Rancho

California in December

Off we went, the four of us plus Felicity and her littlest one, to California to celebrate Christmas with my family and to help with and attend a friend's wedding. (More on the wedding in the next posting!) December in California still finds the sun shining, palm trees waving in the breeze, green grass, and leaves just starting to turn. But, thankfully, the temperatures were in the 50s and 60s, which really wasn't too different from the unseasonably warm temperatures we'd been having in New Hampshire.

First stop, after picking up the rental car, was In-n-Out for burgers. Priorities! As former Californians, we do miss our In-n-Out. We would visit two or three more times before we came home.

The first few days of our trip was spent with my parents. Colette helped my mom decorate their Christmas tree.

Of all the times we've been back to California since we left in 2008, I don't think we've ever been back for citrus season. I was thrilled to see the orange trees heavy with fruit! The only thing better would've been if they'd been loaded with blossoms, because the sweet aroma of orange blossoms is one of the best smells in the world!

I packed some of my Etsy merchandise, so customers could still order from me at the peak of the Christmas season. And on one of my trips to the post office to ship orders, I saw this old brick building...a classic, early-19th century California brick building. And all those metal stars you see on its facade are the end bolts of long metal rods that run through the building and serve as an earthquake support system. If you are very observant, you can even sometimes spot those on older buildings on the east coast.

Then we moved on to stay with my brother, sister-in-law, and precocious niece and nephew. At their home, I enjoy taking early morning power walks in their neighborhood...studying all the charming California bungalow- and cottage-style homes and noting the landscaping differences between their climate and ours. THIS is certainly something you would NEVER see in New Hampshire!

Loved this home with all its original charm and pride of ownership! And just look at all those iceberg roses! They're such a bright and pretty spot in any California landscaping.

The day we celebrated Christmas (quite early) with my family was just fun from beginning to end! We started the day by a few of us picking up pastries and mousses at Porto's in Burbank for dessert that evening. These cousins are happy because they are together AND they are surrounded by dessert!

Then we all went out for breakfast pastries, coffee, hot chocolate, etc. at Le Pain Quotidien in Old Town Pasadena. Yum! I had a hazelnut log and hot chocolate. They give you a steaming cup of milk and a little pitcher of melted chocolate, and you get to blend it yourself. Delicious!

Cousin love!

And later that evening, we celebrated Christmas! Love my family!

Then it was on to the wedding! Next posting!

Christmas Front Doors of New England

We are back from California, and I'll have to share some pictures with you soon. We've been catching up on laundry and getting ready for Christmas. And of course, as always happens when you travel, we all came home with head colds. Groan. And the day after Christmas, Colette and I are headed to New York City, at a friend's generous invitation, for a couple of days!

For now, I thought you'd enjoy seeing some Christmas front doors here in New England...pictures I snapped last winter. Enjoy!

Decking the Halls and a Christmas Party

First, for an update on our little granddaughter! She had a couple of brief setbacks, two trips to the ER, and one overnight stay for observation, but I'm happy to report that her latest MRI looked, in her doctor's words, "Fabulous!" So blessed!

So, we quickly (very quickly) switched gears entirely at our home and went into full-blown Christmas mode. Every year for decades, we have had a Christmas party. And since the news was so good about our little one and everyone so looks forward to our annual party, we just plunged into preparations. First up is decking the halls!

Holly, fresh pine boughs cut from the woods, mercury glass, swags of greenery, wreaths, simple antique touches, treasured pieces...all blended together to make everything festive.

Finally, everything was in readiness! Colette had made a candlelit, European Christmas village as her gingerbread masterpiece for the year!

And the menu was as follows:

Meatballs in Raspberry-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Spicy Chicken Firecrackers

Assorted Cheeses

Crackers

Hummus

Dried and Fresh Fruit

Antipasto Platter

Gingerbread Men, Women, and Moose

Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

Chocolate-Cranberry Brownies

Orange-Macadamia Cookies

Chocolate-Mint Parfait Bars

Guinness Gingerbread

Lindt Truffles

Christmas Candy

Wassail

Coffee

Water Infused with Oranges and Cranberries

I love our Christmas party! Such a happy mix of generations! People in small groups chatting. A group of kids engrossed in a game of chess at the chess table. Someone playing carols on the piano. A small child feeding a gingerbread man to the dog (uh-oh). It's a joy to create these memories for our friends!

And no sooner was the party over, then we switched gears again to be completely ready to celebrate Christmas, on both coasts, by tomorrow night. We are California-bound on Friday...to celebrate Christmas with family and to attend a wedding. We'll return just in time to celebrate Christmas at home!

If you want to follow along on our California journey, follow me on Instagram! My username is goodwifeh.

JOY!

Yesterday, this sweet little girl went home from the hospital! Most beautiful sight EVER! Words cannot express our gratitude for your prayers and kind messages! Love you all! Praises be to God!