Spring flowers

Last year and this year, we've had a special treat that we haven't seen in the yard before. I guess the cold winters have made the amaryllis bulbs "reactivate" and flower. They only last for a few days, but they are really pretty.

We also had a surprise pineapple appear. I've been planting the tops of all the pineapples we eat in hopes of getting a few to sprout. Well, we finally have one and it's fascinating to watch it develop. It even has little flowers on it. Who knew?

Emily and Eric's wedding

Yesterday Scott's sister Emily and Eric Risner got married. We had so much fun at the beautiful wedding. It was a good chance for me to meet a lot of my future family. It was great to spend time with everyone.

They got married at the Burroughs Home, a historic house in downtown Fort Myers on the river.  Here's a video of Emily's father-daughter dance with Jim.





And here's the photos I took. I didn't shoot much, because I didn't want to get in the wedding photographers' way.

Emily and Eric make such a great couple, and we can't wait to visit them in Puerto Rico after their big move.

Corn from the garden

Just after Kylie and Amanda's visit, Scott and I checked the corn plants to see if they were ready. To our surprise, they were! So that night we cooked up the two largest ears and I photographed them. But the next day at work, I accidentally formatted the card they were on and deleted them. Fortunately we harvested two more ears and ate them a few days later. Sadly the ants got the other two ears before they matured. So here's a photo of part of our first ever corn crop.

Pardon the bad light. i was using the point-and-shoot under our stove light.

I'd say it was a partial success. The corn tasted really great straight from the garden. We just need to figure out how to plant more next year. We learned that lesson with the carrots last year, and we are about to start harvesting our second round of carrots. We just planted a third round, so we'll see if they make it in the hot days of spring.

Two months and one day away.....

The wedding is rapidly approaching, and I have very few days off left to get everything done. I had my first fitting for my wedding dress yesterday. So exciting!

Over the past two weeks, I've been creating the invitations with the help of Scott.

I got the Martha Stewart invitation kit at Home Goods for $4.99, which included the paper and enveloped. We inserted envelope liners made from craft paper to class them up a bit. For the invitation design, I used this free customizable design from the Wedding Chicks blog, and added a tree in Photoshop. I think they turned out pretty nice. The postage cost me about 18 bucks, so that was the most expensive part. I'm so glad I opted to make my own and save a lot of money. I would have paid at least $150 or more if I had ordered them.

Yes, we added the President and Mrs. Obama to the guest list last minute. Molly told me that if you send them an invitation, you'll receive a nice letter back from them. Apparently you can invite the queen of England, too, but only British citizens will receive a reply. Who knows? Maybe the Obamas will be in North Carolina and decide to swing by for some fun.

Ta Da! The bathroom is complete!

Well pretty much. We still need a new door, robe hooks and some bath mats, but we sure do love it!

We finished it Monday night after an absolutely fabulous weekend with my best friends, Kylie and Amanda! They surprised me for a girls weekend to celebrate our upcoming wedding. And Scott was kind and brave enough to babysit for Mattie Jane so we could go out.

Here's Amanda's post about the weekend with photos. I didn't take any photos at all for some reason. Thanks for a great time ladies! And thanks for enduring the drive!

Bathroom remodel - almost complete!

On Saturday, I was finally able to do laundry for the first time in two weeks -- in our new bathroom! We still don't have a mirror, and we're going to return the light and get a new one that points up. So far so good, huh? I'm hoping to have the final photos by this weekend.

 It still needs some cleaning and polishing. The faucets came in the mail today, so we should have those in and running by the end of the week. I love waking up and gazing at the new vanity and backsplash. And I love doing laundry in the new washer and dryer. We're also eventually going to replace the exterior door and the shower door. Here's another look at the before pics. Is this even the same bathroom? I have to keep pinching myself.

Bathroom remodel - full speed ahead

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for our bathroom remodel. The grout was completed tonight, so I'm hoping to spend the weekend doing laundry even if everything else isn't complete. Here's some photos of the journey since January 15 - the Saturday after I got back from NYC and before the DC trip.

Here's the before pictures again....

And after the demo....

Yep, you can see outside

new plumbing for the washer, so we can stack them. Yay!

 Supplies...

backsplash tile

tolet. yes tolet

 After we got home from NC.....

 A farewell to the old washer and dryer....

old washer

old dryer

I'll update in the morning with a photo of the completed tile floor.