An Elephant Shower for Sweet Baby Eli & Chocolate Bon Bons Recipe

I had the pleasure to help with a shower for a special new mommy, Lacey,

who will soon welcome a precious baby boy into this world.

All babies are miracles, but little Eli was never suppose to be.

At least that's what the doctors told his mom and dad!

But God had another plan... what a testimony!

My very talented and creative friend, Julia, hosted the elephant themed shower.

I was pretty excited to be on board to assist!

The event was held at Julia's cabin on the pond,

...what a view!

So where do I start?

How about with the food, seems like a great place wouldn't you say?

Brought by different ladies, the collection of food was beautiful and tasty!

Julia's Chocolate Bon Bons (Truffles) Recipe,

 easy and so delicious!

Julia is a wiz with her Silhouette Machine, which came in handy  

in carrying out the elephant theme,

 making vinyls for different things, and whimsical cardstock banners.

What's a shower without a corsage for the guest of honor?
Julia personalized a little stuffed elephant, by giving him a vest and ribbon that coordinated with the colors of the shower.

I was handed the materials to make the wreath, my first of this sort.

After several rough starts, it came together.

Beautiful quilt made by Julia's mother...

Wanting my gift to be personalized for baby Eli, I ordered several monogrammed things from Etsy, and stuffed them with other elephant themed items in the cute tote below.

My daughter, Ashley, who has an Etsy vinyls shop, made the cute "Eli elephant" decal.

If you have any vinyl needs, check her out!
LINK to her shop, The Southern Brunette.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Drop back in tomorrow, for Soul'spiration Saturday...
~Rhonda

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Displaying Vintage & Creating Beautiful Vignettes {plus...} Hump Day Summer Reading Highlights #2

Collecting antiques and vintage pieces is a fun and thrilling hunt,

but knowing how to display those pieces can sometimes be a challenge.

If you've been following my blog,

you'll know my husband and I took off for a short road trip last week.

We went all the way up to Harpers Ferry, WV.

As we backtracked towards home, we rode through little towns in our path
down the beautiful state of Virginia.

It was enjoyable and refreshing, to witness down towns
that are still alive and kicking!

In our area, so many of them now resemble ghost towns, with boarded up windows and unkempt facades.

We made several pit stops at different antique malls,

my favorite along the way, The Great Strasburg Emporium, in Strasburg, VA.

In one section of the Emporium in the Dome Room,
 Hip and Humble, had clever displays of furniture set up. 

Paired with unique pieces, they created beautiful vignettes.  

As much as I love vintage, I still like a somewhat uncluttered, "clean" look in my home.

My Challenge...

Displaying my collections, without my home looking like the inside of a flea market.

Mr. Ramblings likes that look and calls it "cozy,"  ...we don't share the same vision!  :)

Meandering through these displays gave me a lot of direction,

and maybe they'll offer inspiration for you as well...

How cute is the vintage baseball inspired chalkboard?

I would love to have this table in our farm house...

 Fabulous detail on the the legs...

The old fridge made me think of Rue, Of An Old Fashioned World.

Is your "inspiration mode" on overload at this point???

Imagine seeing these beautiful vignettes and displays in person.

If you happen upon this way,

 I highly recommend that you stop in at The Great Strasburg Emporium,

...and allow for plenty of time, the place is huge!

{Address for The Great Strasburg Emporium:
160 Nth Massanutten Street, Strasburg, VA}

 Just a few photos from some of my other favorite booths...

I didn't buy one, but really wanted one of the old metal sand buckets for the lake house,

such temptation! 

There's lots for the menfolk to enjoy too.
If you're like me when shopping with Mr. Ramblings,
 that may buy you a little more looking time!  :)

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Hump Day Summer Reading Highlights #2

Since I seem to be on a historic kick this week,
how about a series of novels about heroine, Ashley Wilkes, a historic preservationist.
 The books are based in the Historic District of Wilmington, NC,
 and neighboring Wrightsville Beach.

I've read most of the Magnolia Series, mysteries written by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter.
I'm a sucker for local, North, and South Carolina coastal fiction!

The two books pictured are signed copies, from 2007 and 2009.
These and her other works can be found on Amazon.

Happy Reading!
~Rhonda

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