27 Years

 

Yesterday, Bryce and I celebrated 27 years of marriage.  We went out to dinner with the children and then made them look through our wedding album with us!  It got me thinking about what I would tell our children to look for in a life partner even though I'm 100% sure I wasn't thinking of these things when I said yes to Bryce.  I just knew he was a good man and there's a lot to be said for that.  But I think within that was the fact that we had the same core values.  In our marriage and life, those values have determined how we've raised our children, how we've grown as a couple, and how we've spent our time.  I think if we didn't have the same core beliefs there would have been a lot more friction within our marriage because if you are not on the same page you can't move forward together.

The other advice I would give is to not go just for the flash.  Big, romantic gestures are lovely but what is really telling are the little things, day in and day out.  Social media has us accustomed to snapshots of romance and beautiful moments but all of that is completely useless if you don't have open communication, thoughtful attentiveness and the ability to put someone else's needs above your own at times.  I believe you get the best sense of these things in the little moments of a life lived together not just a week of vacation.  So my advice would be to pay attention to how your relationship is on a random Thursday night when you are both tired and irritable.  How you navigate that is a good indication of how you will navigate a marriage.  

Bryce and I don't always agree on everything, and in our 27 years together, we've most certainly had hard moments but there has never been a question of how committed we were to each other and this life we've built together.  It's beautiful and I'm deeply grateful for that.  

Summer Solstice

 

Last week, for the summer solstice, Grace made the three of  us a special dinner to eat in the garden (unfortunately Harris had a prior commitment).  It was a chilly and super windy day so it would have been very uncomfortable to eat outside so Grace made the call to move it to the greenhouse (I'll post more about it soon!).  We strung some lights up and lit the candles in the chandelier and it ended up being such a beautiful evening.

Grace decided on the menu and made all the food and drinks.  Naturally, she used as much as she could from the garden.  

She made rhubarb gin and tonics, which were not only gorgeous but delicious as well.  The candied rhubarb garnishes were super sweet and pretty.  Along with drinks she served beet and sweet potato "chips".

The main course was sugar snap pea risotto.  

And for dessert, she made homemade mint ice-cream topped with her dark chocolate magic shell.  It was so yummy served in mint julep cups.

I put together a flower arrangement for the table using flowers from the garden.  I loved the addition of the snap peas and raspberries.

It was a wonderful evening!

Peony Season

I've just sold my last bucket of peonies and I can hardly believe that peony season is over.  This is the first time that we've sold anywhere close to as many peonies as we have, both on the cart and in private orders.  This month has been truly crazy busy, all good busy but crazy nonetheless!  We've had family visiting, peony harvesting multiple times a day, prom and graduation!  Phew!

I spent a fair amount of time trying to positively ID the peonies that are in front of the garden.  A lesson I apparently need to learn over and over again is to label everything and make notes, notes and more notes.  

The first rows we planted 3 years ago in the field were super beautiful and productive.  The surprise was the Bartzella, a yellow peony, that was very special.  I'm not usually a yellow person but I loved this peony!

The community was so supportive of the flower cart this year and I couldn't be more appreciative.  We sold out almost every day!

We also enjoyed lots of peonies in the house, most often grouped en masse.

Can one have too many shots of peonies?  

A Trio in the Kitchen

 

I've recently added a little trio of pieces to a kitchen wall and I love how personal each one is.  I knew I wanted each one in the kitchen because they are kitchen specific, but we have very limited wall space in the kitchen so I stacked them upon each other.  The beautiful pizza peel was hand made by Al (our Christmas gift)!  The piece of artwork at the top is from Kathleen and the can of tomatoes says "ANNALI" which is special because my full name is Anna Leigh.

The illustrated recipe is one of our favorite family Thanksgiving sides, Sweet Potato Soufflé.  I actually bought this for my sister for Christmas but had the opportunity to purchase a print for myself.  I framed it along with my Mom's old potato peeler, which is almost worn away on one side!  

High School Graduation

Harris graduated this weekend!  It was a beautiful weekend full of family and close friends who helped us celebrate Harris and this end of an era!  Full disclosure: I didn't do a great job on photos- we have photos with incomplete family, no photo of Harris by himself and zero photos of our small celebration!  

The ceremony itself was nice, with all the pomp and circumstance one could hope for, beginning with the bag pipers leading the procession and ending with the bell ringing 23 times.

The best part of the ceremony was that as a graduate, Grace was able to hand Harris his diploma.  It was a bittersweet moment since she never got to be on stage to get her own diploma but one that was certainly special to us.  

I have mixed emotions about high school, it was a complicated time for sure.  The pandemic hit spring of Harris' freshman year, sophomore year was spent in masks and at school only part time, junior year they wore masks until spring!  Being online was hard for Harris, and motivation was low during sophomore year.  It was hard to make deep and lasting friendships when social events were cancelled, you couldn't see each others faces and you were spaced far apart in classrooms.  I'm proud of these kids for persevering and making it through but I'm also a bit sad for what many of them lost.  Harris is relieved to be done and moving on to the next chapter (University of Pittsburgh!) and doesn't seem to be looking back with too much sadness or nostalgia.  

 

Harris and his best friend, Gordon.

We had family and close friends over for a small celebration after graduation and I managed to get zero photos with the exception of the cupcakes that Grace and I made!

And just like that, we enter a whole new era.

Prom

 

Last weekend, Harris attended senior prom.  He took Claire, who he has been dating for almost a year, and it was at the aquarium, which by all accounts made it very fun!  I thought they both looked lovely!

Harris cleans up well!

I made a sweet posey for Claire with garden peonies and Lady's Mantle flowers.

It was a good night.