We here at Leigh Lodge have had a very busy 6 months. We have planned and executed the wedding of my middle daughter Becky. What a wonderful time it has been. Becky has waited more years than she has wished for her Mr. Right to appear but as she says, “he is worth the wait!”  I was only the helper at this affair- Becky has been planning for this day for years. And it was truly obvious to the less than casual observer. I did, however, get to plan and give her a bridal shower, so I thought I would share a few pics of the occasion. We invited about 50 guests and since it was a lovely day in March we decided to have it on the porch.

I have been visiting a few blogs lately and found one with several cupcake blogs on it. I love a challenge and decided to try my hand at making  some of the flowers I thought I might be able to handle. They are made of fondant and much to my surprise I felt as though I was 6 years old working with play dough. I first went to Micheal’s and bought an assortment of supplies and spent all of $35. You know, tiny cutters and a few tools that come in a nifty set, some frosty powders to mix with clear vanilla to paint them with, a way too large amount of fondant, and ordered some pearl dragees on line to finish off the look I wanted.  I can say it did take me some time to do them but you need to have finished them a couple of weeks ahead so they will dry and that worked well for me since I tend to wait until the last minute.  I also made rose sachets to give as favors and that took quite a bit of time as well, but I started weeks in advance so I was very pleased with the outcome. Becky wanted her accent colors in red and her sisters and I decided to carry that thoughout her shower as well. Hope you enjoy the pictures and please check out the Cupcake Love section on http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/a_cottage_industry/ particularly cupcake d’ light. I had so much fun and want you to know I realize I have a long way to go in perfecting this craft but I can tell you everyone was impressed and loved them, as simple as they were.

It’s been a while since I’ve written. We have been through a major crisis here at Leigh Lodge which has kept production at a minimum for about 3 mos. My precious husband of 37 years had a very serious life threatening accident. As husbands will do, he was getting on to the roof to do some routine work and fell from a height of 15 feet onto the hard pack gravel driveway. I was upstairs vacumning and by the grace of God looked out and saw him lying in the yard. At first I thought he was just lying in the grass but soon realized he was hurt. By the time I got to him he was brushing off his leg and as I ask him what was wrong all he could say in a high squeaky voice was “Ants! Ants!”. I looked and realized he was covered in ants and in terrible pain. I asked what happened and he said “Roof! Roof!”. With lightening speed(lol) I realized he had fallen of the roof. We got as many ants brushed off as we could and I headed for the phone to call 911. They quickly showed up and loaded him up and headed out for Shands Hospital of Jacksonville, which is our trauma center. We soon found out he had broken his wrist, colapsed a lung and and broken a rib. After 5 days in what we fondly refer to as the hospital from Hell’s intensive care unit, he was sent home to recover. He has almost never been sick, never missed a day of work in well over 20 years, and has never been a little bit hurt let alone had a major boo-boo! He runs 3 miles and walks 2 three times a week,lifts weights and is in impecable health.  So, “I’ll save us a little money” turned into a very expensive 3 mo. vaction. Don’t get me wrong, I love having him home but this was not the best way to achieve togetherness.

Lesson learned, don’t ever let your husband get on the roof or do other potentially  dangerous jobs without someone else being outside with him. They can be so obstinate but lay the law down. Ern fell off the roof in a place where I would never have seen him, and literally made himself stumble around to the front of the house where I could see him. Then he prayed “Oh, Lord let her look at me!” because he knew he could not get inside. To make a long story short I did, miraculously!  Landing in a red ant bed he had hundreds of stings by the time I got to him.  We were told by his Doctor that after a lung is punctuared you only have about 2 hrs. until you are dead without medical intervention.  Once the sac around the lung is ruptured every breath you take in forces air into your chest cavity and eventually that air crushes your lungs and arteries and you die. He said he knew he would die if I could not see him so he made himself get up and move. If I had not seen him, I would not have ever thought to look for him, as he often goes outside for hours at a time. If I had known he was going up on the roof I would have simply held the ladder and would have kept it from sliding on the gravel. Then there would have been no accident. So, please learn a very valuable lesson from us and do not do potentially dangerous jobs alone. Life is so very fragile and we take so much of it for granted. Prayer is the single most important action of the day and is the reason Ernie is still alive. We pray every day for protection and that the Lord will make even our mistakes work for our good. And so he does over and over again. Oh yeah, you know how long it takes to fall 15ft.? Well, in that length of time he realized he was about to hit his head and die, so he flipped himself around, not to his right side because he is right handed, but to his left. I truly think that was an answered prayer of protection. He did fall but he is alive to tell about it! He will be back at work the first part of January and things will be back to normal. I am so very thankful to have him here with me. Thanks to all of you for being patient and visiting regularly. We’ll have some new outfits ready shortly.

Being a mother of three girls when I think of baby clothing I automatically think pink and ruffles. So a little while ago as I was browsing the website I became woefully aware of how little I had in the infant boys section. Pitiful!!!! So for all of you who have little boys, I have good news. I am adding a selection of really cute baby boy things shortly. I am working on some reversible pants with matching shirts that are so adorable and comfy.  I am also working on an adorable line of holiday outfits as well. So check back frequently and see what we have added. I love winter and all of the holidays that come with it. Could it be that in winter all of the things I am allergic to are dead and I am at peace for a while. Okay, that is part of it but fall leaves, pumpkins and warm cozy evenings are truly some of my favorite things. Then comes Thanksgiving, and I have so many wonderful blessings to be thankful for. And I mean really thankful for, but that’s a story for another time. Christmas is my favorite and this year I get to have my parents and most of my siblings here at Leigh Lodge. What fun it is! But I’m wandering, there is a fine between to cutesy and just cutesy enough for little boys and we have hit it just right so just be patient a little longer and we will have them ready to go!

I ran across an idea the other day I thought I would pass along. It has to do with organizing different sizes of baby and childrens clothing. When my girls were young, being a stay at home mom, I made most of their clothing. However, I was always on the look out for really cute and cheap, monetarily speaking, sale items and bought seasons in advance. Organizing was not my forte’ which meant they usually got shoved to the back of the closet and sometimes went unnoticed until they were outgrown by my oldest and passed on to my middle or youngest daughter.

This wonderful idea was to get plastic boxes with lids and mark the outside where it is readily visible with different graduating sizes. Place in the closet where you can see them(the trick is where you can see them and have them be easily available), and as the child changes sizes they are right there waiting for you. That would have made my life so much easier with only a small amount of work upfront. So I am passing this along in hopes that it will make things a little more organized and a little easier for those of you who are like me and need a little or a lot of help in this area. So next time you are in Target or Walmart pick up some cheap tubs and load them up as you shop.

Daniel’s mommy asked me to design something for his birthday party to Tweetsie Railroad in N. C. The family birthday party entourage included his little sister Ruby and his cousin Coralie, nicknamed LieLie. So with great excitement I began to look for the fabric and designs that would be just right for the occasion. The blue ticking just says railroad engineer and it was a great find. Of course we had to have a train and I managed to find one small enough that worked really well with a few minor adjustments. Red ric-rac for the girls and navy shorts with blue ticking for trim were perfect for Engineer Daniel. They had a wonderful time and Mommy sent pictures of the event to share. I was told that they were the hit of the day and everyone that saw them wanted to know where their party clothes came from. These outfits can be easily modified for any celebration from birthdays to a trip to Disney or the zoo. I think I had as much fun making them as they did wearing them!

Here we are in the land of LeighLodgeBabies.com. My favorite place to be at this point in my life. I have been through school, marriage, motherhood and the dreaded empty nest syndrom. All of this was accomplished by the ripe old age of 45 and I have spent the last ten years trying to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. My wonderful husband of 37 years said I should just consider myself retired, after all that is what most people strive for all of their lives. However, instead of being the joy that most people look forward to it just make me feel bored and useless.

So when our extended family began adding a new crop of babies everything came alive again. After several years of sewing and creating for them, BabyLove by Nissi was born and has recently become Leigh Lodge Baby Boutique. The challenge of creating something new and adorable for a baby is my passion. Life is so much fun if you take the time to creatively make the most of your children’s younger years.

Fashion is one way that we can teach our children to express themselves in a unique way. It can set them apart from the crowd and give them a sense of style that will last them a lifetime. We all know that it is what’s inside that really counts but we live in a world that unfortunately looks on the outside and makes it’s decisions accordingly. Adding style and fashion is one way that our children can get a foot up in the world and then use what is inside to influence people for the better. Now I am not talking about name brands, they are nice but that can become just another form of following the crowd. I am not a follower and never will be. So to me style is what you love and feel comfortable in with all the flair you can come up with.

Not all of us are born beautiful on the outside but we can all be striking, funky or lovely if we learn how to work with what we have. I encourage my girls to be individuals in every sense of the word, to become who the Lord has created them to be and truly they have. They are as different as can be and  are sucessful in their work and private lives, are loving and kind and are a tremendous joy to their parents. They all three have developed their own distinctive styles since childhood and are excellent at expressing it. It opens doors for them on a regular basis and gives them that edge that all parents want for their children. Starting them at a young age with their clothing, I feel, is a fun and easy way to help them start a lifetime of self expression.

So check us out or better yet involve your little ones in picking out their favorites and begin to get a sense of what they like best. You might be amazed at what they come up with. I was!