Good morning and happy August – Jillian here. An update on Hobbes first—He is back to this normal, crazy self and even though he can be a pill waking me up for food or to go on the porch in the wee hours of the morning, I’d rather have him like that than when he wasn’t feeling well. Serendipitously,, I met a vet tech who told me more horror stories about that 24 hour emergency vet place – including one where they did a full battery of tests on a dog where they said it was vomiting blood and the animal had serious issues. The truth? He bit his tongue and it was bleeding where the phlegm he was spitting was discolored. Reiterates my decision to never darken their door again.
Yesterday, I drove two hours each way to attend a bridal shower for a nephew’s bride-elect. It was a long trip, but worth it to see family I haven’t seen since February 2020 (the month before Covid lockdown). The shower itself was utterly unorganized and lasted forever. I was texting my niece that I could feel my hair getting grayer by the minute. 🙂
It was a lovely venue and the bridesmaids did a beautiful job on the decoration and food. They clearly had no clue about timing, though. It was supposed to be from 2-4 but they didn’t even tell people to eat until 2:45 and they never cut the cake! Here is what it looked like- I didn’t get a pic of it there, but this is a link to how it looked. Red Velvet Rose Cake! – CakeCentral.com They also didn’t start opening the presents until 3:55 pm. And she got a TON! So, my plans to get home before dark dissipated.
I really wanted some of that cake, but alas, it was not to be! The place was beautiful even though it was a barn in the middle of nowhere. Home – The Gilded Oaks My niece and I put the address in her GPS and we ended up driving down a road that went from pavement to gravel to red clay. I kept saying, “This cannot be the way.” We were laughing hysterically and the road got more and more narrow–I kept waiting for the dead end— or the banjos from Deliverance. 🙂 (We have a blast every time we get together—she is more like a sister to me—we’re only 6 years apart in age) and when we got there, we kept telling everyone about this road that was not really a road and they looked at us like we were crazy. When we left, we turned the opposite way from the way we came and guess what?? It was a paved road. All the way. 🙂
A cool thing they did was a flower bar. They had a variety of flowers in a large basket and each guest was allowed to make a bouquet to take with them. How fun was that? Sure wish I’d gotten a piece of cake though…..


What a cool venue and elite bridal shower. Wow. The cake thing is confusing. Do you think they just forgot? I’m glad you survived the road in and you probably laughed your way out on the paved road. All in all, a fun day for you and your niece. Long, but fun. 🙂
Yep. Long and fun. We def laughed both ways. In and out. Lol. And I think they were going to cut it when we left at 5:00. Too crazy.
And the venue was awesome. Not where they’re getting married but I think it would’ve been a lovely choice for that, too. Can’t wait to see the wedding one.
Beautiful place and seeing everyone after being in shut down for long was no doubt a highpoint of the day. Even with out a piece of that gorgeous cake. 🙂 🙂 🙂
It was def wonderful to see members of my husband’s family. I’ve missed them as I adore them so much. We still had masks but we were sitting together for the first time in 18 months. Still craving cake though. 😂
>