all the meadows white

When I was little I had this little poetry book and since Queen Anne's Lace grew everywhere in the country around my house this was my favorite:

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has washed her lace

(She chose a summer's day)

And hung it in a grassy place

To whiten, if it may.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has left it there,

And slept the dewy night;

Then waked, to find the sunshine fair,

And all the meadows white.

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, is dead and gone

(She died a summer's day),

But left her lace to whiten in

Each weed-entangled way!

Yesterday I was at my dad's house and just had to pull over in the driveway to pick some flowers. They are maybe my other favorite summer flower besides hydrangeas and peonies. I wish I could have a bouquet of them all together but I think Queen Anne's Lace is simple and pretty enough on it's own.

Apparently there are many different versions of how this flower got it's name. I like this one: The origin of the name is reputed to be based upon an English legend. Supposedly, when the future Queen Anne arrived from Denmark to became the queen of King James I of England, wild carrot was still a novelty in the royal gardens. The legend states that Queen Anne challenged the ladies in waiting to a contest to see who could produce a pattern of lace as fine and lovely as the flower of the wild carrot. The ladies knew that no one could rival the queen's handiwork so it became a triumph for Anne.

Romper Day: Inside and Out

Each morning I hit snooze at least three times. I drift in and out of sleep (depending how much my cat wakes me up in those 9 minutes) and the only thing I really think that hard on is what I'm going to wear to work. For some reason I decided in January to only wear skirts/dresses to work and it's worked out well. I've only worn pants a few times on Fridays to raise money for Relay for Life. Though lately it's been too hot to wear jeans even then and I've still worn a dress. Plus, I can just move around the classroom better in dresses. I'm constantly having to run across the room for one reason or another...

What I'm getting at is, this morning I laid in bed thinking that I really wanted to wear this romper today. I've had it for nearly 2 weeks now and haven't worn it yet. That's crazy! It's been rather rainy lately though and not as warm as the weeks before. But rompers are so not teacher appropriate so I threw on my pencil skirt over it. At first I tried a printed skirt which looked fine but I not quite what I wanted today. Really, I can't believe this is all I think about first thing in the morning.

It was a good work outfit. A few kids told me "I like your dress!" and my sweetest little girl said "It makes me happy when you wear different things." Really, she said that! I could have eaten her up!

One problem. Going to the bathroom. The romper zips down the front. The skirt zips down the back. Quite the process. Then you end up basically naked which just feels weird at work.

Then I got home and almost instantly (after deciding to photograph this work to home transition) took the skirt off. So easy.

I'm a little too in love with this romper. Oh, and look at my cute hydrangeas!

romper-urban outfitters, skirt-Ann Taylor loft, shoes-modcloth, necklace- great-grandmother's

Kitchen Display: May Flowers

I love, love, love fresh flowers. It's an instant good mood coming into a room with nice flowers. Right now I'm loving the peonies I cut from my great-aunt's house on Mother's Day. They smell amazing! So from that inspiration, I found some pretty kitchen flower displays.

Found on Apartment Therapy and decor8

Happy Mother's Day

I've been very lucky to have such lovely women in my family- my great-grandmother, to my grandmothers (Betty Jean and Norma Elizabeth-how great are those names!), and my own mother. They are constant reminders to sit up straight, a good meal is nice but presentation is everything, and that a lady always reapplies her lipstick after a meal. Okay, maybe I'm not very good at following the lipstick rule but it's still a good one to aim for!

I just happened to find the loveliest vintage Mother's Day cards at a shop downtown. They were in a box with mostly birthday and get well cards but for some reason I just kept looking through them and found not only a cute Mother's Day (with a kitten!) but then a Mother's Day for grandmother card. Very nice find. The grandmother's card had a little note on the back handwritten from Helen in 1951. The kitten one is signed by Suzie J. who it appears has just learned cursive. The lady at the shop and I were dying over how cute it was that the little girl signed her name Suzie and then her last initial. I'm sure I can't be the only one who finds these used cards more endearing than anything I could find in Hallmark today.

Lunch at my grandmother's included Chicken and Dumplings and Strawberry Pie- so good. I also noticed that next door my great-aunt's Peony bushed were in full bloom and trimmed some off before I came home.

Up next is a cookout at my mom's and lemon meringue pie. So if you haven't already, go hug your mother (and grandmothers!)