A Wedding in the Family!

Congratulations are in order for the Sweetwater Son and our lovely new Daughter-in-Law!

Are they not just the most gorgeous looking couple?

The wedding was on Saturday at Willow Ridge Gardens.
It is pretty nice to have a brother and sister-in-law who have a wedding venue!

The weather was absolutely perfect for a morning wedding and brunch!

I can't wait to see the pictures from Matt Hodgman at Edge Gallery .  He took formal as well as candid photos of the lovely people and place.

Of course....I was too busy to take photos during the wedding or at the party...

But I do have pictures from Friday: preparations, the Groom's dinner as well as early on Saturday morning before anyone was up! I can share some of those with you.

Sweetwater Style is dedicated to sharing ways to save money and still be stylish and elegant!
This wedding had lots of touches that were very special and thrifty!

Goodwill Amusing Musing!

Does this ever happen to you?

You are in the thrift store and you see an item that you really like.

Then you see the price.....and think....

Oh my goodness....$9.99 for a basket of potpourri....what a splurge that would be.

There is something about the idea of the thrift store that messes with my sense of values.

Obviously this basket had never been used....and it was the right color for my decorating scheme.  If I had seen this in a retail store...I would have thought it was a real bargain!  But at GW $9.99 seems costly!  HMMMMMM???

I actually did go back and SPLURGE on this basket...

and this is why:

Fall Decorating Ideas-Use What You Have!

The first day of Autumn is less than a week away.

I absolutely love the song "Try to Remember"

If you aren't already in the mood for Fall....this song will definitely help!

Click on play and let the Brother's Four serenade you while you read the rest of the post.

I have decided to move slowly into full scale Autumn around here.

I also am committed to NOT spending ANY money to add those touches.

I started by gathering up all of the obvious Summer Decor.

It all went on the kitchen table.....forcing me to actually put it away before I started to change things out!  

Then down to the storage closet AKA the huge mess!  I dug out the storage bins of fall decor.  It is always interesting to see what is actually in those bins!

This sad little wreath was hanging in the closet! 

It looks pretty barren and was in obvious need of a "use what you have" update!

HMMMMM....

There was a whole bag of these lovely dried Magnolia leaves that was left over from last Christmas.

all it took was a little work with the trusty hot glue gun......

Click to see the results

A is for Alstroemeria!

Time for "Flower School"!

I am spending a lot of time thinking about and working with flowers these days.  

Sweetwater Style is actually "branching out"!  Stay tuned for a big reveal of the new floral consulting business that my friend Kim and I have started!  It isn't "ready for prime time" quite yet, but soon!

In the meantime, "flower school" is in session!
A is for Alstroemeria......because they are
Available
Audacious
Appealing

Alstroemeria, commonly called the Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas or Parrot Lily. 

Alstroemeria symbolizes friendship and devotion.  The twists of the flower symbolize the trials and tribulations of friendships.

Read more about Alstroemeria here

Alstroemeria is one of those flowers that is sometimes overlooked when it comes to big fancy flower arrangements.

But don't overlook these beauties!

They are usually the least expensive choice in those grocery store flower marts!

Besides being inexpensive, these little beauties are probably the longest lasting flowers you can buy.
Think about it....how often do you see these in the vases in a restaurant?

Our little Floral consulting business did the flowers for a wedding last weekend.

Hydrangea Tips and Tricks

Hydrangeas are to late Summer what Peonies are to Spring!

 Big

Lush

Beautiful!

 You have to love this sentiment!

 

This post is not about growing hydrangeas.

 I want to talk about using Hydrangeas in floral arrangements.

If you don't grow them or know where to beg, borrow or steal them, you probably know that each bloom can cost upwards to $5 a stem.....YIKES!

Hydrangeas can be a bit tricky. So it really helps to know some tricks to keep them from flopping!

Tips to save money on Professional Landscaping!

We built this house over 20 years ago.
We also landscaped around this house 20 years ago.

The gardens have changed through the years....

but the basic river rock around the foundation of the house has stayed the same.

These photos are about 15 years old.
The river rock is still pretty "clean".


Over the years, the rocks have "collected" lots of composted matter that is just perfect for "growing stuff"....and not necessarily "Stuff" that we want.

My adage of letting things "bloom where they are planted" had gotten out of hand

It was TIME to do something!
The more Mr. S and I talked.....the less appealing it was to think about dealing with the rocks ourselves.

We decided to (GASP) hire professional landscapers!

Book Bargains From Good Will

The words "Back to School" are very different for me now that I am retired!

I am NOT trying to get a thousand projects done before school starts!

I am NOT going to meetings that seem to steal precious minutes from the last precious days!

 

If I used to feel the pressure of "Back To School"....

Can you just imagine how kids feel?

Here is a bit of advice for you parents out there! 

Give your kids a bit of space to enjoy their last precious days!

Instead of asking them to do their Summer Reading.....Read TO THEM!

Add A Frame to a Canvas Print

This is a photo that the Sweetwater Son took when he was in Singapore.

We really enjoyed this spot when we were there last October.

The "ship" is actually a Casino!

The two glass structures are the Gardens By the Bay.  These huge "terrarium" like buildings house the Flower Dome and the Cloud Dome.



He and the soon to be Sweetwater daughter in law had the photo printed on canvas as my birthday gift.  You can imagine that I was anxious to find a good place to hang it.

HMMMM.....

Sweetwater Road Trip!

It has been almost two weeks since my last post....but that is because we have been traveling!  I know it is probably silly, but I hate posting when we are away to announce to the world that nobody is home at Sweetwater.

We took a road trip to attend a family reunion in Montana!

In addition to visiting and catching up with some pretty wonderful relatives.....



We got a chance to see where the Buffalo (I learned the correct term is really BISON) roam!

Burlap Pocket Bulletin Board

I bought this burlap coffee sack at a little coffee shop a few months ago.

It was only $5.00.

I had no idea what I would do with it.....but the graphic look of the stencil was too cool to pass up.

I decided to update the message center in the kitchen with a pocket bulletin board.

The pockets on a board like this are a great way to have things right at hand without cluttering up your workspace or poking holes in photos or invitations.

Making the board is really simple.
Anyone who can use an iron and a glue gun can make one.