Wedding Cake

This past weekend was my daughter's wedding. It was, of course, of the DIY variety! Things started to spin out of control the morning of the wedding, but eventually everything came together. I will have lots to post in order to show you all of the wedding - but let me just start with the cake!!

Here it is, start to finish:

I started off with 4 square pans and made 2 layers of each - one chocolate and one white.

 Next came the buttercream. The buttercream on the sides and tops was basic vanilla, but in between the layers was either strawberry or caramel. Once the buttercream was on, the dowels were inserted for support.

 Then came the fondant...lots and lots of fondant! It's really a lot easier than you would think!

 Several dozen daisies made out of gum paste...I bought a powdered base, mixed it with water, rolled it out and cut it out with daisy-shaped cutters.

After stacking, I added a little ribbon and "glued" on the daisies (with powdered sugar & water "glue").

 

Head on over to Whipperberry for more great DIY projects!!!

One of my favorite things is to...

...open my front door and look outside on a fall afternoon...

What's On My Nightstand

I LOVE to see what other people are reading!!

I LOVE to read!!

It's been awhile since I've linked to 5 Minutes for Books, but I always enjoy checking out their site.

Right now, I'm working through this stack of books:

The top book is a book that I just brought home from the library today - Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman. It is the story of a mother who is a Holocaust survivor. After a lifetime of hiding her secrets, she takes her daughter with her back to Germany to face her past. I'm anxious to read it.
Rooftops of Tehran - by Mahbod Serji. I have read a lot about this book and I enjoyed The Kite Runner so I thought I'd check this one out as well. I'm finding that I don't always enjoy vocabulary choices even though story lines may be well written. (Enough said about that, for now.)
A New Kind of Normal - by Carol Kent. I am nearly finished with this book. I also just finished her book: When I Lay My Isaac Down. Both books are about a major change in the life of her family. I would highly recommend these books, so I don't want to give too much away. Let me just say that her life changed to a "new normal" overnight. She came to a crossroads of trusting God or walking away. She found hope when she felt like giving up.
While We're Far Apart - by Lynn Austin. This is another book that I brought home from the library today. I always enjoy reading Lynn Austin. This is a new one from her; I haven't heard much about it but I'm looking forward to reading it!

Finally, Authentic Faith - by Gary Thomas is on my stack to read this month. Gary Thomas is by far my favorite author (non-fiction). He has such a great ability to take lots of material and condense it into one thought provoking line. I have read and re-read all of his books. I'd encourage you to check him out. The sub title for this book is: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life. Then, the question "What if life isn't meant to be perfect but we are meant to trust the One who is?" is written across the bottom. I chose this book for a new book discussion group that I am forming with some friends. So far there are 4 or 5 of us who will be reading and discussing this book. The plan is to read a book every month or two and get together for some disccussion.

So, that's enough to keep me busy for awhile!!

Connecticut Trip

On June 8th, my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

I'm not sure where the time went, it sure doesn't seem like that long.

It's been a great 25 years...looking forward to 25 more!!

The last week of August we took a trip to CT to celebrate!!

We took in some great scenery, viewed several historic sites and enjoyed some relaxation.

Mystic Pizza!

Mystic Seaport Museum

Looking out onto Long Island Sound.

The USS Nautilus

(My husband's favorite part of the trip!)

We spent quite a bit of time at the Mystic Noank Library (taking advantage of their free wireless!!) It was a great old library with lots of character.

(I work at a library, so just humor me here.)

The pictures of the library are not the greatest...did you ever walk through a library and try to take pictures inconspicuously?

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough - enjoying the clams and mussels...

but the lobster was much better!!

Lots of fun, lots of great memories!

Basement Renovation

Today I’m linking up to Today’s Creative Blog – Get Your Craft On. There are so many crafty ideas there. I never have time to make it through all the links, but it's a great place for inspiration!!

I’ll take care of the “crafty” part right away in this post. The rest is a reveal! We’ve been working on our basement all summer. I call it a “faux” finish, because it’s not a total finish…(not doing the ceilings and a few other things, yet). It started with these materials for curtains (LOTS of curtains):

The leftover material became a pillow for the crib (for when grandson visits!). I copied a picture onto transfer paper and ironed it onto the white. I’ve wanted to make something with a picture on it and was pleased with how easy it was to work with the transfer paper! I purchased mine at Wal-Mart. The main area of the basement, BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

*ignore the pink pillow...I'm not sure what it's doing there!The bathroom area had been framed in for about 4 or 5 years… Finally getting it finished!!
This last picture is for a special friend!

Thanks for the box!!! :)

There’s still some work to do…painting the stairway, putting a few things up on the walls, repainting and redoing the bedroom and putting in the kitchenette area. It’s getting there and I’m loving it!!!