A Salvation Army Treasure

Hi Bloggers,

I couldn’t wait any longer to share this with you.

I feel so excited, proud, and blessed to have this treasure in our home.  My mother and grandmother found it for me while treasure hunting at the Salvation Army store in Hoover, AL. 

I received a call from my mother while she was at the store.  She said she knew I had been looking for a queen sized bed to put in our guest room and that she may have just found one at the Salvation Army.

I wasn’t sure at first.  Although I trust my mother’s and my grandmother’s tastes, it is hard to agree to something over the phone that you have never seen.  Especially since it was at at thrift store.  I mean, there is just no telling what it looked like and what kind of shape it was in.

While on the phone with mom, three other customers walked by and looked at the bed.  Mom chimed in without even knowing for sure that she was going to get it.  I overheard her tell them all that she wanted it and that it wasn’t for sale anymore.

She said she thought I would love it.  She told me it is a four-poster wheat bed that looks to be in great shape.  And, the best part, it was only $149.00.  I knew she would use her good judgment and make the right decision.

My grandmother, was visiting last week.  She lives in Rome, GA.  I’ve posted about her several times before.  Mom drove Grandmother to Birmingham in grandmother’s blue Ford van with a handicap parking tag.  Those two sweet women agreed that they would regret not purchasing it.  They knew it was too good to pass up.

Mom bought the bed for me as a 26th birthday present.  I didn’t know it was a gift.  I tried to pay mom back and she insisted that it was my birthday present.  I am so lucky to have a mom like her.  They helped the men at the the Salvation Army store load the bed into that big blue van.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall as all of this was happening.

Mom and Grandmother met me for lunch the next day.  They came to pick me up at my office.  Only, they forgot that there were no extra seats in the van because the bed was in the back.  I crawled in and squatted in the space between the bench seat and the door.  Too funny!  We were quite the sight heading back to my house to deliver the bed.

Judd came home during his lunch break too.  He wanted to help us unload it.  Isn’t he great???  I sure think he is. 

We moved the old full sized bed into the other guest room (which was completely empty) and set the new bed up in the current guest room all on one lunch hour. 

Judd and I have patiently waited for a new bed.  We’ve priced several over the last year.  I even looked at a bed very similar to the one mom found.  If I remember correctly it was about $1000 at an antique store.  Let me reiterate that mom found it for approximately $150!!!!!

Here are some close-up shots of the bed’s detail. 

 

      

Judd and I are so fortunate to have family who loves us and who do such thoughtful things for us.  We love this bed.  The price was right for mom; and because it was a birthday present for me it was the PERFECT price for us!!!!! 

I have two round tables with floor length skirts that will flank either side of this bed.  We are currently using them in our living room.  So here are some of the next home purchases and furniture shifting we will do.

• Find two small end tables for our living room to go on either side of the sofa.
• Move the current round end tables into the guest room as nightstands.
• Move the little night stand into the other guest room next to the full sized bed.
• Purchase a queen mattress
• Purchase queen bedding
• Find two new lamps for the guest room (or use two we already have and buy new shades for them).

Thanks Mom and Grandmother.  We love you and appreciate you more than you could ever know.  I could not have dreamed of a better birthday present!!!!!

Here’s a quick clip of the bed in our guest room.

I got legged

As you can probably tell from my lack of blog posts lately, I’ve been extremely busy with work, school, and life in general.  The blog has taken the backseat to my real world responsibilities.  Every part of my body has begun to ache from fatigue.  When I was just starting to feel ill and like I couldn’t muster up the strength to meet all of the challenges set before me, I was reminded that sometimes friends know just what you need without having to be told.

Hence, I was legged this week by a phantom fab friend.  Yes, you read that right…legged. 

What you are about to see is not nearly as inappropriate as it may first appear.  Ha.  It’s all in the spirit of clean fun.

I arrived home from class the other night at around ten pm.  I had been at work on campus since 8:00 am.  The days that I have class are always so ridiculously long.  I drug my tired body out of my car and slumped up our driveway with a load full of books on my back.  

As I approached the porch I gasped and jumped back a few steps.  I thought I saw someone hiding in the dark corner.  Upon further review, I realized, no, there was not a stalker lurking to attack me.  Instead, I had been legged.

Let me give you the back story on the legs.  The legs came into the picture when we (the fab) were undergraduate students.  I think it was around 2002 or 2003 when the legs came into our lives.  One of my fabulous friends, Amy, found the legs in her parent’s basement.  The legs began making appearances in dorm rooms across the country because we were scattered across multiple universities.  Each girl who received the legs signed her name on them.  We’ve had some big fun with that pair of legs over the years.  Here is my signature with my maiden name.  I signed the legs on the hill at Auburn University while aiding in a leg delivery.  Judd was with me.  We were dating then.  His signature is on the bottom of one of the feet.

The legs have been hidden in dorm showers, in beds, in front yards, on front porches, in cars, and several other places I can’t think of right now.  Delivering or receiving the legs is always fun. 

As we matured and grew into adulthood the legs made guest appearances in the honeymoon suites of the most recent bride.  Judd and I, being the first fab couple to wed, were the first wedding night recipients of the legs.  Don’t worry, no one interrupted our honeymoon.  They were strategically placed in our honeymoon suite before we ever arrived.  I’ll never forget when I first saw them that night.

Judd and I had just left the reception in our get-away 1939 Rolls Royce royal limousine (which was incredible by the way).  We arrived at the Tutwiler, a historic hotel in downtown Birmingham, AL.  As we approached our suite, Judd scooped me up in his arms, only the way a groom can do, to carry me across the threshold.  The room was dark as we entered.  I checked things out as best I could in that brief moment.  I spotted a human form in the bedroom.  While still in Judd’s arm I said, “Wait, Judd, there is someone in here.”  Of course, then we (I) felt silly because I realized we were legged on our wedding night.  Not punked, legged.  That’s the way the fab does it. 

The wedding night legging tradition has continued ever since.

Here’s what I saw when I walked up on our front porch the other night after class. Note: it was too dark to photograph them that night.  I carried them back out the next day to recreate this funny scene for you my fellow bloggers. 

  

 

I’m going to leave you with this one.  I truly didn’t mean for it to photograph the way that it did.  When I uploaded it I couldn’t help but laugh.  Hopefully, reading about friendship and something funny will help to lighten your load as it did for me.

Fab Takeover-Atlanta Style

My special friends, The Fab, recently spent a fun weekend together in Atlanta, GA.  A few of us have ended up there over the last few years.  Most recently, our dear and FABulous friend, Jamie, and her husband Michael moved to ATL. 

We tease about Fab takeovers because somehow several of us have moved to various regions of the country all at the same time.

Around 2007 Jamie and Michael moved to Boston at roughly the same time that we moved to Philadelphia.  Our friend, Terri, was already living in New York.  And at the time our friend, Susan, was in Washington D.C.  We teased then that we were having a Northeast Fab takeover.

Well, now we are having an Atlanta Fab Takeover.

I have already done a few posts about Jamie and Michael.  The posts were about when we visited them in Boston and when they visited us in Philly. 

Click the links below to read about those trips.

Philadelphia-Special Visitors-Jamie and Michael

Boston-A Great Visit with Jamie and Michael

They originally moved up north because Michael was starting medical school at a university “in Boston. Well, not in Boston, but nearby. No, not Tufts.”  (I just had to throw that in there.  A little 30 Rock reference.) 

We are so proud of him.  He just graduated.  He matched at Emory for his residency, which for those of you who don’t know, is in Atlanta. 

A FABulous couple, Stephanie and Chad, hosted all of us for the weekend at their house in Powder Springs, GA.  This is one of the first times we’ve had a Fab, plus significant others, sleepover.  It turned out to be so much fun!!! 

The reason we were all together was to have a “welcome back to the south” party for Jamie and Michael.  We cooked out, visited and caught up with each other, ate a pig cookie cake (click the link for an explanation on that one), and attended a Braves game at Turner Field.  I didn’t have my camera so I don’t have any real pictures to share.

Our FAB friend, Susan, did manage to commandeer Judd’s iphone during the game.  I didn’t know Judd’s phone took videos.  The clip below is funny to me because Susan caught me posing for what I thought was a picture…NOT A VIDEO. 

We had such a good time.  By the way, Susan is a pretty funny girl.  You might pick up on that at the end of the video.

Update: Jamie also did a post about the weekend.  You can read it here.

Prayer-Amy Goes to Haiti

This is my dear friend Amy.

She is one of the fab for those of you who have been around a while. She has a heart for missions and has traveled the globe serving the Lord. She is actually Dr. Amy. She graduated from Pharmacy School at Auburn a few years ago.

Amy sent the message below this morning. If you have a few moments this week please lift her up in prayer as she touches the lives of the people of Haiti.

(This is a picture from one of Amy's other mission trips. This was in Ghana)

Her message is below:

"Hi friends,

Please keep me in your prayers this week! I left yesterday to work with a medical clinic in Haiti for the week. I'm with a team of 7 nurses/doctors from Nashville working about 2 hrs outside the capital in a town called Petit Guave. It's one of the farthest points of the earthquake damage, near the epicenter of the second shock. The Nashville church I'm working with (Brentwood Baptist) has partnered with a local Haitian church to rebuild houses all summer (4 teams) and do a single week of ambulatory care clinic (our team). The conditions in Haiti are some of the most destitute I have ever seen, but it is not from lack of aid or western resources. It is from years of slavery and colonialism followed by poor infrastructure and western dependence. The extreme damage is more a result of poorly built homes (plastic or cement with no rebar) than the severity of the earthquake.

So how can I help? What difference can one week really make, especially with no way to ensure follow up or provide the next month's supply of medications? The only thing of lasting value will be sharing Christ's love, His hope, His ability to provide comfort and peace to broken people.

Pray that I will love boldly and speak words of truth and encouragement. The Haitian church has claimed Psalm 46 through this time: 'God is our refuge and strength, always a ready help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when the earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea...'

Love you all!

Amy"

She is a special friend who is doing something so great. Please take a few minutes to support her in prayer.

Residential Landscape Design: The Riley Residence……and a little bit more!

Judd here, when Abby started “THE LANGHAM PROJECT,” I was forced to sign a contract stating I would contribute to the cause. Okay, okay…..I did not have to sign anything, but she has put a “LITTLE” pressure on me recently to contribute to the blog. When we decided to start a blog/platform to share our interests, concerns, and lives, we thought that we should include a section to include all facets of design, specifically landscape design. If my beautiful wife has failed to mention, I am a Landscape Designer/Urban Designer/Planner. I have a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture with an emphasis in Landscape Design from Auburn University.  I enjoy educating others about landscape architecture. The landscape architecture profession is gaining recognition as a vital player in today's “green” and “sustainability” movements, and we designers are starting to get recognized from Capital Hill to small southern towns around the region.  If you are not familiar with the term landscape architect, please allow me to give you my definition.  A landscape architect is one who designs or envisions spaces that promote social interaction and enhance life while maximizing preservation and conservation of environmental resources - biological, physical, cultural and economic.  That was a long and detailed explanation, and definitely spliced together from a variety of sources, but I think it speaks volumes to the diverse skillsets and talents that most landscape architects provide.  Representatives of The Olin Studio (where I formerly served as a Landscape Designer), a landscape architecture firm in Philadelphia, PA, eloquently described landscape architects as “advocates for the artful creation and transformation of the public realm, and practice in a range of scales, including ecological and regional systems, urban districts, campuses, civic parks, plazas, and intimate gardens.”

Okay, on to my first project post. Our firm was approached to do a residential design a few blocks from my house in Homewood, AL. The client, the Riley’s, were building a new 8,500 sq. ft. house that was three stories. Most of the house had been completed at the time of my involvement and the Riley’s asked that the project be completed in 3 months. Therefore, I started the project in February of 2009 and completed it at the end of April.

The landscape design itself was influenced by the "Lutyens-Jekyll"garden style. The vernacular of the house resembled the works of the popular 20th century English architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens.  Lutyens was known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. Specifically, Lutyens chose indigenous and relative materials and often emphasized innovative local building techniques. He designed many English country houses in the classical style. Lutyens' longstanding relationship with Gertrude Jekyll, a prominent English garden designer (or planter), resulted in a perfect combination that would eventually influence an entire movement within the field of landscape architecture.  The English Garden movement influenced prominent American Landscape Architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted and others and ultimately became the foundation of the Riley residential design. The Riley residence planting scheme portrays the "Lutyens-Jekyll" garden style overflowing with hardy shrubbery and herbaceous plantings rooted within firm classical architectural elements of steps, stone walls, and terraces around the base of the house. This combined style, of the formal with the informal, exemplified by stone paths, softened by billowing herbaceous borders, full of liriope, lilies, ferns, and various perennials, is in direct contrast to the very formal bedding schemes favored by the gardeners in the Victorian era. This "natural" style was to define the "English Garden" until modern times. The following is a depiction of the design process from concept to implementation. Enjoy!

Before you dive in head first into the the conceptual phase or envisioning aspect of the design process, I always encourage finding a few precedents. Besides, everyone needs a little inspiration. Check out these award winning residential designs from various landscape architects across the nation (you can find them all on the ASLA website) that depict the very idea of blending the formal landscape elements with the informal. The natural planting schemes are in direct contrast to the very formal bedding schemes and the overall symmetry of the house in addition to the geometrical edges or hardscape elements favored by the gardeners in the Victorian era.

The photographs below show what I inherited. The house itself was built into the hillside which helped to hide its shear size and volume from the street. With a little landscaping, the 8,500 sq. ft. house would seamlessly blend into the existing vernacular which consists of turn of the 20th century bungalows typically found in the historic suburb of Birmingham.

The Riley’s initially centered and positioned their house around a towering 100+ year Southern Red Oak Quercus falcata. On my first site visit, however, when we turned the corner to see the tree I immediately gasped.  The tree was in major shock and all of the foliage had turned brown. The contractor not only changed the grade to cover all of the existing roots, but he piled debris around the base of the tree causing compaction. I can appraise and assess trees; however, I’m not a certified arborist. At that point, anyone could see that the tree was dying. In tree preservation, standard procedure is to rope off an area under the tree drip-line. This means to rope off and protect everything under the entire expanse of the tree canopy. Sure enough, a certified arborist assessed the tree and concluded it was biologically dead as opposed to aesthetically dead. If this happens to you remove the debris and try and correct the problem. A sure sign of a tree too far gone is to watch for leaf drop. If the brown leaves fall off, then the tree has a fighting chance. If the leaves remain……it’s too late and cannot be saved.

The concept! Aided by a friend of mine (thanks Haley), we started the initial conceptual drawings.

The end design used a combination of English Garden design principles combined with existing natural elements that resulted in a hybrid design that accommodates the existing topography as well as fits within the overall residential context. Sweeping planting beds wrap around the house to help transition the home’s formal architecture into the natural and informal landscape. The asymmetrical planting beds also help to negotiate the grade change and transition the user from the roadway (highest point) to the front door (lowest point).  A small gathering area or hardscaped landing/courtyard was designed to take the place of the quintessential southern front porch. The design stresses the importance of the pedestrian through appropriate scale and movement through the site, and it lessens the visual impact of the vehicular access. The street edge and sidewalk treatment was designed to be a welcome mat that will gather and channel movement from the street to the doorway as quickly as possible while providing the family some privacy when sitting within the courtyard. The backyard was designed to provide space for recreational opportunities as well as a variety of areas for more leisurely activities. The layout establishes the framework for phase II…….the swimming pool! However…..that is a few years down the road. Until then, there is ample space for plenty of fun to be had. 

Perspectives of the concept…..

Construction begins……

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The finished product……a month after installation. I will give everyone an update on the site soon. 

Saved By The Bell Oil Spill

 

The gulf coast oil spill, or should I say gushing leak, is no laughing matter.

 

My friends, however, are a laughing matter.

They are funny.  I mean, every single time I am with them or correspond with them they make me laugh, funny.  It's good to have friends like that!

 

Below is a conversation that just took place between us via email within a matter of minutes.

Apparently the oil spill episode of Saved By The Bell was so traumatic for everyone in my age bracket that it will be forever imbedded into our brains and hearts.

The following took place between 11:39am and 12:07pm:

Amy P.- Did anyone see the saved by the bell where they struck oil on the football field? 

Jamie S.-Of course! Remember the duck that died?

 

Susan T.-Stop the drilling.  Stop the oil!!! Get it, Jessi!

 

Terri W.-I did not. Remember I'm the weird one who did not watch SBTB.

 

Allison M.-Terri, you should be kicked out of the compound for that. (Blog readers, we have an inside joke that I just made an outside one by sharing this. We tease that we, as a collective FAB unit, are all going to develop a compound and live there together so as to never be separated by jobs, school, husbands, etc. ever again) Bonus points for anyone who can tell me the ducks name...

 

Abby L.-I think her name was Becky.

 

Allison M.-VERY GOOD ABBY! I am impressed :) I figured Sus. would be the only one with that level of knowledge.

 

Jamie S.-Ur so good! I was thinking Mrs. Belding!

 

Abby L.-What can I say? I am a wealth of useless knowledge. Sus, you should bring your SBTB board game to ATL. Ha.

 

Susan T.-I totally would have answered.  I missed the question!! An oil-encrusted Becky will always live in my heart.

 

Leslie S.-Ha, I thought everyone would remember that poor little duck's name! RIP Becky. You would think after all the SBTB gang went through they would be the ones leading the oil clean up effort!

 

Susan T.-Ser. Jessi is asleep at the wheel on this one. nice.

Space Saving Idea

With all of this going on at the farm a whole bunch of dreaming, planning, building, and sweating has been taking place.

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The exterior, as reported by my mother-in-law, was supposed to be completed yesterday!!!!!  We officially have all new windows, new log siding, a newly screened porch, a new covered patio and deck, a new steel roof, and a new bedroom and bathroom. 

To coincide with all of this newness on the exterior, it is time to finish up inside.  As you can tell from the photos above, the cabin is rather small.  The bedroom and bathroom are really small.  They’ll be just the right size for our needs, but they are what I would describe as quaint. 

There is really not any room for the bedroom and bathroom doors to open into those rooms.  We could install traditional interior doors that open out into the one room living area; however, that would take up a significant amount of space.

I ran across this picture below and thought it might be a good space saving idea for us.  What about sliding doors that run flush along the wall???  What do you think?  Neat idea?  Or is it a little weird?

courtesy: Coastal Living

How To: Make a Moss Table Runner

Some of the next few posts will be segments of Brenna and Colby’s wedding.  In this segment I will describe how I made the moss runners that were placed in the center of the tables during the bridesmaids’ luncheon I hosted.

 

I first decided to make a moss table runner for my sister-in-law’s bridesmaids’ luncheon when I came across one on the Southern Living website.  I planned to strictly follow SL’s instructions but quickly found that the instructions didn’t quite meet the dimensions I needed.  Since I was hosting Brenna’s luncheon I knew I needed to make two runners.  One for the “girl’s” table and one for the “mom’s” table.  I also wanted to make sure to measure the runners on our dining room table since that is where the runners will be used in the future.  I think the runners will make great additions to our Easter table and decorations.  Hopefully they will store well.  According to SL all I have to do to store them is to roll them loosely and place them inside of a large garbage bag.   I have already transported them this way to and from Judd’s hometown for the party.  They seemed to have fared well. 

Ok.  Here is what I did to make the moss runners.  First you will need to gather your materials.  Next, measure your own table to determine your length.  Also, I took out one of the plates I knew I was going to use for the luncheon to place on top of the runner to measure the width.  I wanted the runner to stick out a little underneath the plate.

Materials for one moss table runner:

• felt-backed plastic/vinyl tablecloth
• 3 bags chartreuse-colored reindeer moss
• 9 bags of decorative sheet moss
• 1 small bag of glue sticks
• 1 high-heat hot glue gun
• scissors

I borrowed a vinyl tablecloth from my mother.  The one she had was a cream-colored oval shaped cloth.  I measured my width and cut it accordingly.  It was roughly 13 inches wide and 7 1/2 feet long.  You’ll want to make sure it hangs down each end of the table about 6 inches.  I folded the tablecloth into fourths and cut it into strips.  (Remember I was making two).  If you’re just making one runner you could fold and cut it in half and then cut that down the middle.

Next, I measured the length I needed and hot glued the two pieces joining two ends together.  This will make one long runner.

Once the ends were joined in the middle, I folded the rounded exposed ends under and hot glued them down to make two straight edges.  If you started with rectangle or square cloth this will be an unnecessary step.  I was just working with what I had. Free from mom’s pantry is the best price you know.  :)

Then I used an extra glue stick (because that is what I had.  An end of a pencil or chop stick would also work) to press down the reindeer moss as I hot glued it along the edges piece by piece.  Using a tool is a preventative measure to keep you from really burning your finger.   I learned the hard way that my high-heat glue gun gets REALLY hot. Duh.  Be careful.  Place the reindeer moss on each side until well covered.  I found all of my moss at Hobby Lobby.  It was on sale for half price. 

 

 

Once the edges are lined with reindeer moss, fill in the middle with the sheet moss.  It’s kind of like working a puzzle.  Place the pieces down ahead of time to see where they fit best before gluing.  Work your way down the length of the runner.

Fill in any gaps with remaining moss.

When you are finished it will look like this.

And, when you are ready to host your party your table might look something like the picture below.  I was really pleased with my tablescape for the luncheon.  I used galvanized tin containers and watering cans to hold flowers.  I used an old bolt of tulle left over from our wedding to tie on the backs of the chairs.  I tucked in a fern frond to the chair covers in keeping with the natural theme.  The oak leaf hydrangea came from my mother’s yard in Hoover, AL.  She was so sweet to cut it for me and transport it from B’ham to Brewton.  Plus, she arranged it for me.  You sure can’t beat that.  She was a huge help.  (Note the baby bridesmaid cake.  I’ll do a Part II post for those soon).

For the table setting I used a white round tablecloth as the base layer.  The luncheon was held at the same place where the reception was taking place the following day.  It was an old hardware store that has been renovated—The Hourglass in Brewton, AL.  The building is amazing!!!! 

The white tablecloths were to be used at the reception and were rented.  I topped the white cloth with a large remnant piece of burlap.  Next, I layered on the moss runner, mason jars with tea lights, and flowers.  I used my everyday china—Mikasa’s Italian Countryside.  I borrowed my mother-in-law’s glasses.  I tried to borrow what I could because I was having to transport all of my things down there and was so fearful something might break.  It all worked out.  I ended up using my MIL’s flatware too.  I don’t have any pictures of the final table setting just yet.  They are on Brenna’s camera.  I’ll post more when they get back from their honeymoon.

I really enjoyed making the runners.  I think they really made the tables look finished.  I hope you have fun making them too.