Just a few days later, Lux n' U had a wedding out at my beloved Boone Hall so Brett and I scampered out to that local heaven where we (he) hung lanterns from the ceiling and filled that old cedar barn with potted succulents and sparkly candles.
Engineer by day. Wedding decor specialist by weekend.
But a few days later, I traveled up to northern Virginia with the Eisenhauer family to attend a wedding in a barn in the middle of nowhere. I was cleverly referring to ole northern Virginia as 'NOVA' because it makes a lot of sense as a nickname. I couldn't believe no one had thought of this before and it only reassured me about my creative genius.
Turns out locals call the place Nova.
Anyways, the Eisenhauer family has their version of The Honbarriers and their names are The Ramsey's. The Nova wedding was for the middle Ramsey child so we barreled up the road and hopped off the highway in the most beautiful place. Though I do feel our location was dangerously close to Yankee territory, Brett and I agreed that if we ever move, it will be to the great state of Virginia.
The wedding was a long catholic dance in a church whose glulam beams distracted Brett for a large portion of the ceremony. "That's glulam." he whispered to me, pointing at the ceiling. I have since learned that glulam (that's glued laminated timber) is, pound for pound, stronger than steel.
The reception was in a great old barn that also sported some impressive timber beams, however these were impressive for their age and size and Brett wasn't certain we should be dancing underneath them. We ate and drank and danced and laughed. T'was a great time indeed. The best part of the weekend was having Brett's brother around. I get a big kick out of Jeff. He is difficult to read because his sarcasm runs deep so you often aren't sure whether to laugh or express your condolences. This was the first time I've hung out with Jeff without any toddlers around, making him much more present than usual and therefore even more Jeffy.
Brett and Jeff stop for mid-wedding ice cream.
This is Mama Ramsey. She's a tiny, classy woman with a secret devilish sense of humor.
-Second mama to Bubba Brett since he was a wee little guy.
Now I will whisk you back to balmy James Island where I made up for missing Mothers Day by throwing Mom a private tea party, complete with a cheese board and homemade scones. Unbeknownst to me, the royal wedding was the following weekend so I had to visit four different grocery stores to find lemon curd (Mom's favorite) to glob atop her scones. When I asked why they were sold out, a store clerk said, "That ole, uh, that royal wedding is this weekend so everyone's pretending they're involved. Buying up British foods and tea."
Suddenly I felt all too trendy and I assured her that my mother loves lemon curd year-round, not just for British occasions.
While we're talking about Mom, I'm delighted to tell you that she ran into my mailbox with a U-haul. This is wonderful to me because she wiped out her own mailbox with a boat trailer a few years ago during a Honbon visit and causally informed us about it over dinner. I very much enjoy the notion that mailboxes should shudder in their foundations should NannyU get behind the wheel of anything larger than an SUV.
Then we moved to a week of paperwork, monthly taxes, gallery requests, follow-up emails, and a nasty cold I picked up in NOVA. Admittedly I slugged around and watched a movie in the middle of the day once because I really felt crummy. Since I was up, I did watch part of that Royal Wedding and thought it and she was lovely and that Mama Markle has the prettiest, sweetest face I've ever seen. In honor of missing Mother's Day on his side, we went on a classic Charleston carriage ride with Mama Eise and I found myself with a snobbish attitude about it because our tour guide, Mike, was from California and since Charleston is my home, I doubted he could impress me.
You don't know this place. You think you love it like I do?
I was being a real jerk about it (in my mind) and sat back waiting to confirm or deny the fun facts thrown our way (in my mind.) (A true southerner would never express her negative opinions to strangers.) (Shows what you know. Mike.)
I don't know where my elitist attitude came from but I wound up loving the tour, learning a lot, and was charmed by Mike in under two minutes. What a great sense of humor! I have since read a little Charleston history on my own time, for fun, because I wanted to. Isn't that strange? I'm enjoying ... learning. Don't tell Dad.
Sprinkled throughout this month I've had lots of get-togethers at my house. This delights me because I'm proud of and excited about my home but even more so because I've wanted my house to feel like a place people can come to anytime. I rarely had people over to the condo. There was no space, parking was weird, I couldn't be in the kitchen and talk to people at the same time. So it was always very tidy and quiet and I remember one day just standing in my living room wishing there were pairs of shoes scattered around or a baseball cap that someone left behind. I wished it was really lived in.
My new home has already sported three dinner parties, four wine and cheese nights, at least a dozen dinners on the porch, and one fiesta birthday party with a candy-filled piñata hung from an oak tree out back.
I've loved every second of having people in my home. For now, I love the pile of dishes in the sink and napkins scattered around after everyone goes home. I love seeing my sofa in disarray and finding people's nicknacks and hats when I tidy up the next day. I know the dishes and mess won't excite me forever but right now, it makes me feel warm and loved. I like using my kitchen and feeding people. The best part though, are the shoes. My friends kick their shoes off and curl their feet up into my sofa. They skip across my dirty floors barefoot or in socks and help themselves to whatever I have in the pantry.
On fiesta night, I came in from outside and found Erik in the kitchen with crackers, beef jerky, cookie butter, and trail mix out on the counter. He was building his own snack platter because he was still hungry post-supper.
"Help yourself." I said sarcastically, secretly loving every bit of it. We were celebrating Jenny's birthday. I haven't really introduced you to Jenny yet. She's Hayden's girlfriend. They've been going strong since November or so and I love her so much that I'll just never forgive Hayden if he blows it. Jenny is sweet and classy and lovely and one of the first things she ever told me is that she loves a fiesta. Brett and I set up a tiny surprise fiesta birthday party for her this past weekend and as it turns out, it was her first ever piñata experience.
"What!" We were all shocked. "You've made it into your thirties and never done a piñata?"
We blindfolded her, spun her around, and sent her out into the night with a broomstick and a mission.
My little heart is so full.
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