Some wedding pics!!!

(Click on any image to enlarge it in a new page)

You may remember that we had to move the wedding ceremony from the park to the reception venue at the last moment due to rain.  Below, Michelle, sits in the limo feeling sad after hearing the news ( a few tears were shed), apprehensive at how the wedding will be now that plans had changed and, of course, happy to be soon marrying the man of her dreams.

It was such an honour for me to be walking my beautiful daughter down the aisle.
It wasn't planned for me to make the dress but, due to an unforeseen circumstance, the job landed squarely in my lap. I made the dress in just two weeks...thank heavens, Michelle's style is simple and elegant! Mind you, I had to design and draft patterns plus there were three layers to work with - the lining with black train and a Princess Satin overlaid with Chiffon. The black contrasts including the train were Princess Satin and each pearl bead was hand-sewn into place. Michelle helped with the beads.  Michelle also had a V-cut out with corset style ribbon ties lacing at the back of the dress...it was a lovely touch.

The reception venue set up a nice, little area undercover on very short notice for the ceremony.

The hand-fasting ceremony following Celtic traditions

The bridal party - Melissa (Matron of Honour), Aaron (Ring-bearer), Michelle and Alex, and Josh, Alex's younger brother and Best Man.

The happy couple

Mothers of the Bride and Groom

They took a drive down to Jacobs Well for some wedding pics while their guests remained at the reception for nibblies and drinks.

In the limo

And now we all look forward to the arrival of their baby girl due December 24th!

I'll post more pics over the coming days.

~ Love, light and peace ~

It's Blog Lovin' Time

Inspired by Eden, I have decided to include a weekly spot on my blog to highlight FIVE other Bloggers and interests they may be currently into at the time.  It may be a particular post I think you might like or it may be to introduce a new blog I have found and want to share with you all.  

ENJOY!

Carmelina's blog is packed full of inspiration and, if you enjoy sewing, you may want to check out the gorgeous laptop cover she made recently.  I love the blues and greens!

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Jane is another creative soul who is busy at her sewing machine this month as she prepares for an upcoming show. I LOVE Jane's colourful pin-cushions!  Jane is pretty handy with a paintbrush too and recycles gorgeous pieces of furniture and accents for the home.

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In a recent post, Em writes that she is becoming obsessed with quilting and shows us the lovely quilt that she made.  Em even gives a link for her amazingly easy-to-follow instructions too. I may well be tempted to sew my very first quilt too. I have the perfect excuse with Michelle and Alex's baby due in a couple of months.

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Eden has been busy creating some eye-catching bookmarks in fabulous colours. Eden's blog is chock full of bright, happy art and her word art is FANTASTIC!

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And, last but not least, my IRL (in real life) friend, Judy, who is reasonably new to blogging but has been painting for many years. Judy and I first met online back in 2002 through a Yahoo painting list and we've been good friends ever since. In recent years, Judy has taken up a very keen interest in Scratchboard Art and her finished pieces just blow me away. They are SO realistic and well worth a look-see! Check out her latest piece - a majestic lion - here. Another lion here. And one of my favourites here.

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I hope you enjoy their posts as much as I did.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Rain, rain, go away!

We've been getting A LOT of rain this past week and I'm over it!  It's been torrential at times and has been constant to the point of flooding in some suburbs.....thankfully, not our area.  The good news is that the drainage installation in the backyard has been doing a great job....normally, the backyard would have been a swimming pool by now.  Unfortunately, it's been a wet honeymoon for Michelle and Alex but, while they haven't been able to go to the beaches, they have still been enjoying themselves at the motels along the way.  They are due home tomorrow. YAY!

They sent me a beautiful flower arrangement as a 'thank you' for all my help with their wedding.  Of course, I just had to sketch it in my journal.

Drawn directly with Pigma Micron pen and coloured in with Derwent coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook.

I did this quick sketch while we waited for Brad when he had his MRI scan

Drawn directly with Pigma Micron pen in my small Moleskine Watercolour notebook.

I later used watercolours and coloured pencils for colouring.

We weren't happy with the Neurologist at all when we went back for Brad's MRI scan results.  Basically, he said there was something going on with the grey matter of Brad's brain yet couldn't tell me what.  He immediately started writing a script for Tegretol without even talking about it with us.  Naturally, I asked questions which he clearly resented and we still came away without any clear answers. I had no intention of putting my son on a medication used for epilepsy and bi-polar conditions when Brad has had no seizures, does not have epilepsy nor has he ever shown any signs of being bi-polar.   I decided to get the script filled at the hospital but fully intended to do some research when we got home.

I had asked the Neurologist if Tegretol would interfere with Brad's other medications, one of which is for a life-threatening condition, and he said no, that it would be fine.  However, alarm bells started ringing when the Pharmacist told us that it would significantly diminish the job of Brad's other medications. I was NOT impressed at all!  The Pharmacist also mentioned something about getting a base-line blood test.  I researched this later only to find out that Tegretol can cause damage to the liver, kidneys and the blood which is why Brad would have to get frequent blood tests once he started taking Tegretol.  On top of that, Tegretol has been known to cause severe skin reactions in some people and when I watched a video at this link showing these types of reactions, I was absolutely horrified!  NO WAY is Brad going on Tegretol!!!  The risks in taking Tegretol far outweigh Brad's mild neurological symptoms (see this post) and I'm angry that the Neurologist would not have considered this.  To each their own but, personally, I don't like mind-altering drugs as I believe it causes more damage and long term problems.  This one even warns to watch for changes in moods and the possibility of suicidal thoughts while taking it.   NOPE, this drug is not for my son.

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On another note, I ended up being carted off to hospital by ambulance on Thursday.  I had been having a numbing, pins and needles sensation down the left side of my body for a couple of days, particularly in the hand and foot.  On Thursday morning, I went to my doctor and he was concerned about stroke when my blood pressure showed as being quite high.....this is not normal for me .  Long story, short....I was kept in the ER for hours under observation, then cleared to go home with an outpatient MRI request to scan my brain and neck plus a follow-up visit to see a Neurologist.  The good news is that the numbness and pins and needles sensation has dwindled right down to barely being there at all.  For peace of mind, I'll still go ahead with the MRI because they were also concerned about the severe head pain I suffered for three whole weeks not that long ago.   It it doesn't rain, it pours, right?!

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I  have been doing the blog rounds and was quite tickled to see that Suzana over at Creative Therapies had featured my blog in a recent post HERE.  Thanks, Suzana!

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Stay tuned over the coming days as I plan some Blog Lovin' of my own.

~ Love, light and peace ~

a top tier and cupcakes doth a wedding cake make

Hi everyone,

It feels like forever since I've posted on my blog even though it's only been a couple of weeks.  Over those weeks, my life has not been my own with a wedding dress to finish, a wedding cake to bake, a wedding knot/tie box to varnish and a Mother of the Bride speech to prepare.  Luckily, I made the deadlines on all four! PHEW! 

Michelle and Alex had planned a park wedding ceremony for their special day but it had to be moved over to the Wedding Reception venue at the last minute due to rain. The Wedding Reception Manager was awesome and, at a moment's notice, had orchestrated setting up a section of the tavern for the wedding ceremony which went off beautifully!  Michelle made a gorgeous bride and Alex, a dashing groom.  The guests were fabulous. The rain had certainly not dampened our spirits and we all continued on to have a fantastic time. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any wedding photos to show you yet as Beau, Michelle's brother, was the official photographer for the wedding and is busy sorting through the tons of photos and preparing them for Michelle and Alex to see when they get back from their honeymoon.  They are currently touring around in New South Wales for their honeymoon and will be back in a week.

For now, I have some very amateur shots that I took of the cake and reception setting.

I made the top tier (pictured below) which was a boiled fruitcake covered with fondant icing. 

As some people don't like fruitcake, Michelle ordered some cupcakes (pictured below) for the lower tiers.  Michelle bought the blue foil-wrapped chocolate hearts to decorate them with.

Here it is all assembled.....extra cupcakes were stored nearby.

The colours Michelle chose for the reception room (below) looked amazing!

I can hardly wait for the wedding photos so I can show them to you.

In the meantime, blogging will return to normal and I will finally manage some free time to get around and visit all your blogs.  I'm looking forward to catching up with you all. I have missed you guys!

I will leave you with a couple of pics taken at home the morning of the wedding.  Michelle's best friend, Melissa, was her Matron of Honour and, as luck would have it, happens to be a hairdresser so she did Michelle's and my hair for the day.  Here Melissa is working her magic........

how Michelle's hair looked from the back

So, for now........that's all, folks ~ xo

~ Love, light and peace ~