Before I get into today’s post, let me pass on a quick message from Nathan and Meagan, the Royal Couple, (Well, they’re royal to us at least.)
I talked with them on the phone last night and they said that they’ve gotten wedding gifts from several of you that they weren’t expecting; they were so excited about receiving them and are thankful to have their upcoming Big Day celebrated by the Smithellaneous Family! (And Steve and I are grateful to you, as well.)
They mentioned that a few of the gifts didn’t include a return address and since they would love to send you a personal thank you note, they asked me to request that anyone who sent a gift without an address, please email your address to me (Becky) at smithellaneousATyahoo.com. I’ll pass the info on to them.
Also, they said that for anyone who is still planning to send a gift, you can just include your address in the message area of the form, if you’re getting something from Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Target—the two places where they are registered.
Once again, thanks for being so kind to “our kids.”
And speaking of “our kids” here’s the soon-to-married kid with the soon-to-be-a-bridesmaid kid. Is it just me, or does time go by way too fast?
Speaking of our Bridesmaid Gal, last week Sarah had a friend stay over who she met back in Smithfield three years ago. They have kept in touch with each other since we moved away and try to spend a few days together several times a year. (And by the way, their nicknames are Hop and Suri—don’t ask me why.)
Hope is a delightful and funny young lady who is home schooled, enjoys books, writing, and words and also loves Sarah’s favorite singer, Owl City. They always have so much fun together and I just love seeing their young friendship continue to thrive.
When I told them I wanted to take a few pictures, they sat very nicely by the tree for a few moments.
And then at some mysterious signal (that moms are obviously not privy to) they suddenly leapt up and began to fling themselves about the front yard. I was taken aback for one half of one second and then I thought, “Oh! Flinging around the yard pictures! I must capture some!”
And I did.
As it turns out, the reason for all the flinging was to accomplish this cute pose.
And all too soon, the visit was over and I drove Hop and Suri back to Smithfield so that we could meet up with Hope’s very sweet mom, Melody.
Hope, thanks for coming and being an honorary Smith for a week; we enjoyed you!
A Few Comments/Questions
Lisa said, “I don't do thrift stores, so I appreciated your thoughts on the dressing rooms. Makes me glad I don't shop in them. It's not a "Lovey, I don't DO thrift stores" thing. It's just that being a plus sized gal means there's not much there for me and it always turns out to be a waste of my time.”
Oh dear me! I feel like I have been disloyal to my beloved thrift stores and painted them in a bad light. Let me just say that the majority of thrift/consignment stores have adequate to lovely dressing rooms—I was just commenting on some of the “memorable ones” for dramatic effect.
Also, I am finding more and more of the stores that are carrying a good selection of plus sizes.
I don’t know there—there’s just something about the rush you get when you find something for next to nothing that you could never afford in real life. This past week, I found a darling blouse with the tags still on. It was $68 from Coldwater Creek, which is one of my favorite stores. I got it for $3.39 and I was a happy woman.
So please, please don’t give up!
(By the way, Lisa writes one of my favorite blogs, The Pennington Point. Whenever I see that she has a new post up, I always do my happiest of Happy Dances.)
Concerning my post on criticism, Denise said, “As a writer, this is one page I visit now and again. It has a collection of famous rejection letters. Reading them makes me remember that a critic is only one person, and that their opinion isn't the end-all.”
Denise, thanks so much for pointing me in the direction of that site; it’s wonderful. I now have it bookmarked.
http://www.examiner.com/book-in-national/30-famous-authors-whose-works-were-rejected-repeatedly-and-sometimes-rudely-by-publishers
Commenting on the fruit dessert I posted pictures of, Margie contributed a recipe of her own for making the same type of dessert.
She said, “I have a similar recipe that was featured at Publix last week. It was so good I made it twice.”
2 (5.3) containers nonfat Greek yogurt with honey
3 cups fresh mixed berries
1 prepared shortbread (used graham cracker second time) pie crust
1 big tablespoon confectioners sugar
Stir yogurt to blend honey, spread 1 container over crust place 1/2 berries over yogurt
Repeat
Top with confectioners sugar
Thanks, Denise. It sounds wonderful!
Sue G said, “ What??? No photos of the two dresses??? You seriously aren't going to leave us out of the voting, are you????
And, as long as I'm already being bossy, please get the recipe for the fruit dessert. You know it's only a matter of minutes before everyone is begging you for it!
Okay, my work here is done. For now.”
Sue, as always your comments make me either think or smile. This time I’m smilin’.
First of all, I’m afraid the whole dresscapade thing is going to have to remain highly secret until the day of the wedding. Not even Snowy is allowed to see the finalists!
As for the fruit dessert, I actually do not have that exact recipe (it was purchased from Harris Teeter)but I’ve made a dessert in the past that’s similar and uses a sugar cookie crust. It looks similar to this.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to put my hands on that recipe. However, if anyone would enjoy making this type of dessert, you can Google sugar cookie crust+fruit dessert and follow some of the links that come up. It really is a fabulous dessert, especially in the summer.
Plus it’s really colorful and I’m all about color in cooking!