Wedding Journey - The Venue

It just dawned on me that you are not aware of our venue.  

Jessica and Scott chose the Dekalb History Center, formerly known as the Old Decatur Courthouse.  The history of the courthouse tells us that "In 1898, a Neoclassical style courthouse replaced the [former] modest brick building. Made from granite, the new structure had many new amenities, including a special room for ladies, complete with toilets [we are certainly grateful for that!].   Images from the early 1900s show the rural courthouse that is/was – it is in the middle of a wide grassy lawn, atop one of the areas highest point, and no visible commercial structures. In 1908, a Confederate monument was erected in front of the building.   

At 5:20 a.m. on September of 1916, firefighters were once again called to save the county courthouse. Although the interior of the building was destroyed, fireproof safes protected most of the county’s records. The thick Lithonia granite walls withstood the flames, and they provide the foundation for the Old Courthouse that is now the home of the DeKalb History Center.  After the fire, the county retained what they could of the exterior of the building. The cupola was not rebuilt after the fire, but the two historic clocks were placed in the remaining porticoes. Completed in 1918, the new courthouse featured an addition of two new wings and an interior clad with Alabama marble." 

 Modern photos show a beautiful structure that has stood the test of time.  This photo showcases the outside.

 The room where court used to take place is all marble.  This photo is an example of how the ceremony will be set up. 

 

In the windows, we are going to have manzanita trees.  I purchased them from Jenn Hayslip and I blogged about her event, that I was lucky enough to attend, in my previous post HERE (go check it out, it was magnificent!).  

 These photos show a few pictures of the trees.

 Aren't they beautiful?

This is a picture of a florist that is setting up for an event.   We are hoping to also have some sort of branches or flowers in the arch as well.

LOOK at that beautiful arch!  This is where our "alter" will be located.

Again, I cannot wait until this wedding day so I can celebrate Jessica and Scott.  I'll show pictures then.  

Get busy creating!

Alterations and Lemon Curd

So last night, my oldest daughter, who is also my middle child, and I went and had her wedding dress altered for the first time.  I wish I could show you some pictures, but we cannot risk her fiance' seeing the photos before the wedding.  I will post pictures after the wedding.  So, you are just going to have to trust me on this one and I promise you will not be disappointed. 

 She looks BEAUTIFUL in her dress.  

I know, I know.. I'm probably biased.  But I really do not believe I am!  She has chestnut hair that was cascading down her back with her alabaster skin and blue eyes... Okay, maybe a "little" biased.  More importantly than any of that is how my daughter feels.  You can tell that she feels beautiful in her dress and that is all that matters.  

Anywho, I hope to show you pics soon and as of today, we have officially two months!

Do you remember the lemon meringue pie that your grandmother used to make?  The one with the lemon filling and the meringue piled on top, so high?  And she would toast it in the oven until the peaks were lightly browned?  Boy, I wish I had a photo of that pie!  Heck!  I wish I had that PIE!  It was creamy, lemony goodness...   It is what I thought of when my niece brought me home FREE lemons from a lemon tree on the farm that she tends.  Those lemons were the size of oranges!  Look at the size of those whoppers!  She picked them while they were still green so they could ripen over several days at my house. 

In the photo below, you can tell that several days have passed and the lemons are becoming more yellow.   They were so pretty. 

My niece brought me so many lemons!  Too many to make just ONE pie.  (Don't let me fool you...I was making all kinds of lemon recipes!)  Because I wanted to have them around for awhile, I needed to make something that would allow me to "can" the fruit.  That's when I remembered that once, a previous neighbor brought me a jar of her homemade lemon curd.  It was sweet lemon creaminess in a jar.  I HAD to find a recipe.  I went to my trusty website, FoodNetwork and found Ina Garten's lemon curd recipe.  

Let me tell you friends... this is supremely delicious!  I ladeled the curd into hot jars and sealed the contents.  It was so good that I reluctantly  joyfully gave them away as Christmas presents.

This photo shows the lemon after I've zested it.  You do not want to get the white part of the pith when zesting your fruit.  It does not taste very well. 

 

Look at all of that yellow gold....  

It absolutely tastes so delicious at this point....  But be very careful because it's very hot!

Get you some canning jars and make sure you boil them and keep the jars, lids and rings hot.

I cannot stress enough how delicious...

On top of toasted sourdough bread...

This is so easy to make!  Get creative!