Outdoor Wednesday....Decorating with the Animals

Susan at a Southern Daydreamer invites us over each Wednesday to share the great outdoors with her and lots of others who share her love for our beautiful world! You can stroll through at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/. Over the weekend I had out of town guests. One of the things I love about houseguests is that they remind me to look at my own hometown as a visitor again--to take advantage of sites and things to do that I have begun to take for granted. We love the zoos, but I have not visited strictly to see the animal exhibits in quite a while. When my guest's daughter expressed interest, I jumped at the chance to see zoo again and through fresh eyes!

It's hot here and we were luck to see so many animals out--even though they were resting in the shade. No wonder giraffe print fabric is all the rage! Wouldn't that make a scrumptious chair--not the real thing, just the pattern :)?

The flamingos playing in their pool were another favorite. I love pink and green together. How about a tablescape centered around pink and green featuring flamingos?

The gardens at the zoo are gorgeous and well tended. Wouldn't this water garden make a beautiful poster? Lori at http://www.familytreesmaycontainnuts.com/ is offering a giveaway to make one of your photos into a poster. I think this one would do for me!









The zoo has recently added a Birds and Bees exhibit. I'm helping my daughter redo a bedroom in these colors--guess Someone Else thought it was a good color combo before me :)






There is also an aquarium. This little fish is in the same colors as my guest bedroom. I love blue and yellow together!



Do you think zebra print makes a better chair or would it be best as a rug? I like black and white together---so fresh and basic. But there are other pattern options.


How about black and white with green as an accent color? Our zoo is one of only four in the country with Giant Pandas. We were lucky enough to catch them at feeding time. I was amazed at their size!


Sometimes I think a room or a tablescape is beautiful in all white. There is something so elegant about a monochromatic color scheme. I guess there really is nothing new under the sun. It appears that mother nature beat us to the punch when it comes to decorating!


One last picture of the zoo--this one at night in June. Our daughter's wedding reception was held in the courtyard of the zoo. It's even prettier at night. I told you I loved the zoo!

Metamorphosis Monday....Wedding Day

I want to thank Susan our gracious hostess at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday and thank you if you are reading this for indulging me! Some of you have asked to see pictures of the recent wedding of our daughter. One of the definitions of the word metamorphosis is " a transformation as if by magic". This day truly fit that definition. It was a transformation for me from fear to peace and from mother of the bride to mother in law. For the bride it was a tranformation from glowing bride to radiant wife; from being one to being half of one.

The Thursday before the wedding I began as I begin almost every day--reading my devotional. This particular day the verse from Matthew 7:25 was: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. Little did I know at the time that the verse must have been meant just for me! On Friday night a powerful storm with some winds up to 80 mph blew through our city leaving 90,000 people without power. Although the lights were on in the church, the reception site was dark. We had planned what we hoped would be a magical reception in the courtyard of the zoo. It was to be a wonderland of lit trees and soft lights. The band would, of course, need electricity. I prayed and asked God to help me accept whatever was in store for us, I vowed to keep the secret from the bride, and I waited.

These are skies on the morning of the wedding. We spent a happy day watching "Father of the Bride" and having our hair and makeup done. Strangely, the peace I had prayed for had come over me.

This is what the sky looked like as we headed to the church. Do you see that sun peeking through? Still no power at the reception site, but no rain!

The next couple hours were a blur of dressing and pictures. No word on the power. And the bride remained blissfully unaware.

Beloved got his first look at the little girl he has always called "Sunshine".

Here is the bride and her bridesmaids before the wedding. Do you see that sunshine coming through the window?

We headed to the zoo after the wedding. All I can say is that it looked like Disneyland to me. Candles around the reflecting pool and a few soft lights...the band playing thanks to a generator! About one hour into reception, the bride and groom came to me. They said it was all perfect. They never knew we were on generators!

Beloved and I are no longer just parents--we've morphed in to "in laws"! And the final "tranformation as if by magic" is complete and "the house fell not, because it was built upon a rock".From now on, Beloved and I will share our Sunshine

Thank you so much for letting me share this. I hope you will zip over to see Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. I promise, next week I am back to decorating and planting!