rustic elegance?

i'm a haller so of course i love ball jars. but i've been thinking of flowers that bloom in july/august (a potential timeline for this wedding!). the result? they really aren't my favorite and that's cramping the ball jar vase idea.

so i'm thinking of potted plants as centerpieces. with potential incorporation of the ball jars elsewhere.  I've seen them used a photo holders, lanterns, candle holders...

i adore this look!

but i also have a thing for buttons.  don't have a clue exactly how to incorporate buttons, but they are just a really good time.  maybe in napkin rings?

the nieces dresses have been ordered!

here is the dress the nieces will be wearing except their dresses will be teal with tourquoise stitching for contrast for the sash and ruffle.  i love these!!!!!

as to what their specific roles will be, that has yet to be determined.  i told them they could be whatever they wished, but carrie added the caveat that they couldn't be the groom:)  so between the 3 of them, i think we'll get a flowergirl, maybe a ring bearer, and who knows?

fabric banners by amy lou

Sarah, you posted something similar already. But I LOVE this idea. Definitely a way to add a little something to your lake side reception space. And then they can be used for subsequent outdoor parties down the road . . .

FAAAANtastic becomes wedding central...

So I decided to take my abandoned blog and turn it into the site for all things wedding. That means all my ideas/thoughts and the ideas/thoughts of my wonderful planning support team will be found here.

A date has been set. The tommy and sarah jo blog is now devoted to important wedding information for guests.

what i did at work yesterday...

I set up fun germination experiment yesterday. The species is endemic to fire maintained scrub and sandhill in central FL. We treated the seeds by simulating different aspects of fire.

First, we did a small burn where the seeds were buried in foil packets so we could retrieve them for germination trials.

We also smoked the seeds using a bee smoker.

A good day!

A follow up to my new friendship with the black bear...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/07/florida.tracking.bears/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

And the official group photo. Joe (the guy with the bear) has scary face on but that's really just his "this bear is a bit too awake for this picture" face. Notice how she's actually sitting up.

look for the bare necessities...

my new black bear friend. she's a little sleepy in this picture. still waking up, but she did lift her head, sit up, and roll around a bit why we were there. wish we could have hung out longer but the rain and lightning drove us away.