Pennsylvania: Part 2

I would really love to blog about everything we have done here, but that would be incredibly too long, so I'm going to try to keep it short. Let me start with the suitcase and chalkboard I got for the wedding. It goes perfect with the d.i.y. oldies theme I have listed below. (And I'm super excited about it!)

Here is the "vintage suitcase" we got for $12.50. I wasn't sure exactly what theme I wanted for the engagement pictures. But now I know. I want to wear the wool skirt my grandmother gave me. (She wore it when she was about 30-40 years old.) And I want Kenny to wear a tweed or similar style jacket. Basically, we will be dressed as if we are from the 30's to 40's. Location? The Jonesboro train station that is now the Gone With the Wind museum. Something along the lines of the picture taken to the left would be adorable, wouldn't it?!

Remember the idea of the chalkboard being nailed to a tree with the menu written on it? I had it on an earlier blog. Well, I found the perfect chalkboard for $12! Kenny said that he could get one at JoAnn's for cheaper and then fix it up, but once you buy the paint, brushes, and sandpaper, we will have spent more than twelve bucks. Now all we need to buy is chalk!

As for the food, I believe we have come to a conclusion. We will have two dishes of pasta: a vegetarian and meaty one. We may even have some hors d'oeurves being passed around during the "photograph session" after the ceremony. We'll see. We are on that budget after all. In addition to the pasta, we may have some Japanese food as well: sashimi, egg rolls, california rolls, etc. (I suppose it isn't exactly "Japanese food", but it will be delicious.)

The same day we found these items above, Karen took us to a tea room in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. We had ginger peach tea (left) which was soo delicious! The place was adorable and quaint. It was as if we had gone to someone's house to have tea. We found out afterward that the family that owns the tea house is from England. Apparently, they bring cups back from sales in England. The daughter was serving us and was incredibly sweet. She told us about these boot sales in England where people will set up their cars with the boot (trunk) open and full of whatever they don't want. How awesome does that sound? You just sift through the pile and take what you like.

I had my first mincemeat pie here and it was scrumptious. Doesn't that just sound like a yummy word? Anyway, here is the picture of my food. (I went a little picture crazy on this trip.) Basically, it's a chicken pot pie with ground beef and onion inside. I'm sure there is more seasoning to it though. I loved it, especially on a cold day like yesterday.

As far as the wedding goes, we also decided on a pattern for the guest quilt. We plan on using the railroad crossing pattern while using the colors beige, taupe, golden brown, and creamy white. The stitching over the writing will be in dark brown and the little squares connecting the "tracks" will have little dogwood flowers embroidered in the middle. I tried to find a quilt similar in color or pattern, but I couldn't find one that looked remotely close, so we'll just have to wait until a couple months after the wedding to see the final project. It's going to be beautiful though! And match any theme I may want in our future homes to come. ^_^

Before I hastily finish part 2, I have to show pictures of the chocolate candies made for the engagement party I haven't been able to talk about yet. We went to the Wilbur chocolate factory in Lititz, PA, where I learned how to make chocolate candies using white chocolate, red dye powder, and plastic molds. I made little snowflakes on a stick, and holly leaves with red berries!

It was so cold, it barely took five minutes for the candies to harden! They took no time to make and everyone loved them! ^_^