delightful | a dream is a wish | part 3

Earlier this week I received an email from a dear friend of mine.  He said that while he had enjoyed my recent blog post featuring interviews from my little sisters after watching Cinderella, he felt as though "men were under represented".  I had to agree with him.

I've spent several days tracking down some men with discerning taste in order to get a interviews that would allow this blog to have a fair and un-biased viewpoint.  I strive to to please, y'all.  Okay, not really.

Let's get this rolling, shall we?

Wildflower is a friend of ours, most know him as Jesse, but we call him "Wildflower".  He lives in CA, is a musician and filmmaker, and an all around fun guy to hang out with.

abbe:  Can you tell me your age and profession?
wildflower:  20. I am a professional unicorn wrangler and I make films on the side. Rather exciting job most days.
abbe:  How often do you read my blog or how in the world did you find it?
wildflower:  Rarely. I stumbled upon the last article and interviews via Twitter through Brooke. For unicorn wranglers, anything with the words 'dream' and 'wish' is exciting.
abbe:  You recently viewed Cinderella, care to share the details?  Who did you go with?
wildflower:  Yes, I did. I have to say, the trailer in no way interested me, however I am a big fan of Disney and also having grown up watching Cinderella I determined to set out and view the film. I was also very pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it.  I went with my Dad (we sat in the back of the theater...)
abbe:  As a filmmaker, what was your impression of this movie?
wildflower:  I actually enjoyed it. Kenneth Branagh, is a director I've enjoyed over the past few years.  He brought a unique viewpoint and style to the film. Also, the costumes were fantastic.
abbe:  Did you have a favorite scene?
wildflower:  Definitely the first dance at the ball. Speaking cinematically the combination of the costumes, the choreography and the cinematography were fantastic. Really helped to weave the story together... and after all, to the Cinderella story, the ball is a bit of a pinnacle.  
abbe:  Was it just me or were the princes eyes really weird?  What causes that?
wildflower:  I think it was just you. However, as far as what causes that, unicorn wranglers are the right people to ask! I shall leave that cloaked in mystery for another time.
abbe:  My favorite question: what was your movie watching snack?
wildflower:  Popcorn and an unfortunately melting Coke slushee. 
abbe:  You are also a musician, be honest, have you been humming the theme song nonstop?
wildflower:  No, I haven't but I was very impressed by the score.
abbe:  Anything else you want to say?
wildflower:  Only that if you enjoy Disney as I do then you should really enjoy the film. Cate Blanchett was fantastic, the prince was charming without being schmaltzy, Lily James was a fantastic casting decision and unicorns do in fact exist.

Calvin is my baby brother, he's the cutest.  Poor little guy has seven older sisters, when it comes to chick flicks, musicals and Disney movies, he's seen them all.  I caught up with him over the breakfast table...

abbe:  Can I ask you a few questions?

cal:  Hi.  How are you?

abbe:  Good.  Can you tell me what your name, age and profession 

cal:  6. Calvin.  Cut trees down, tomorrow is a work day.

abbe:  Are you a regular reader of my bog?

cal:  What's a blog?

abbe:  Awesome. Did you go see Cinderella?

cal:  Yep...

abbe:  And what did you think?

cal:  I liked it.

abbe:  Did you have a favorite part?

cal:  The sword fight.

abbe:  Figures.  What did you think about Prince Charming?

cal:  I liked him, he had cool sword.

abbe:  Who did you see the movie with? 

cal:  I went with Brooke, but it wasn't a date, we had, um ah, candy and popcorn and for a drink I'm pretty sure we had root beer, it was actually pretty good. We had small gummy bears and large gummy bears.

abbe:  Would you say it was a sampler of treats?

cal:  Um, what does that mean?

abbe:  Nevermind.  Did you fall asleep?

cal:  No but my foot hunted, both of them.

abbe:  Why is that?

cal:  I don't know, it was just a long movie.

abbe:  Is it just me or were the prince's eyes really weird

cal:  Kinda...

I was most curious to hear what Josh thought of Cinderella.  He's a producer in the Christian film industry (October Baby, Mom's Night Out and the awesome new Woodlawn coming out this fall!)  and is a Disney buff.  Here is his insiders opinion...

abbe:  Can you tell me your age and profession?
josh:  I'm 24 and technically a movie producer, but really a cat wrangler.
abbe:  That sounds vaguely familiar...  How often do you read my blog/
josh:  I've become a regular.  I think you told me about it or maybe I found it because I was googling my name and the movie I worked on (Mom's Night Out) and it came up.
abbe:  That's terrible!
josh:  It is narcissistic, but everyone does it.
abbe:  This is true.  You went to the theater to watch Cinderella, share the details!
josh:  My brother and I were the only males in our circle of friends who were secure enough in our masculinity enough to join our female counterparts in celebrating this Disney classic.
abbe:  This is wonderful!  You work in films, what was your impression of this movie?
josh:  I love how they honored the integrity of the original film but brilliantly reimagined it for a new generation.
abbe:  Well said.  Did you have a favorite scene?
josh:  I love a good underdog story so my favorite scene was when Prince Charming finally finds Cinderella at the end of the movie.  It's touching.
abbe:  That was touching. Was it me or were the prince's eyes really weird?  What causes that?
josh:  By weird, do you mean offensively blue?  I think good genetics?
abbe:  Is that what it was?  Okay, what did you snack on?
josh:  I think a coke slushee and caramel corn.
abbe:  You're a fan of Disney movies, did you catch any of the Easter eggs?
josh:  The villainous grey cat Lucifer from the original movie.
abbe:  Any thing else?
josh:  Yeah, I think the expectations for guys just went up.  Thanks Disney (I can't even dance.)
abbe:  Well, how are your sword fighting skills?

Daniel is my brother, we spend a lot of time together.  You could say we're pretty tight.  

abbe:  Let's get started, can you tell me your age and profession?

dan:  Daniel R. Powers, 21, Sales Account Manager

abbe:  How often do you read my blog or how in the world did you find it?

dan:  Quarterly - Whenever I see a link in FB

abbe:  You recently viewed Cinderella, care to share the details?  Who did you go with?

dan:  um, with friends a bro friend and some girls invited themselves along, per usual.  

abbe:  I had a great time.  What was your impression of this movie?

dan:  I'd say it was second best Cinderella adaptation I've seen.  Ever After is better and has more humor, this movie had better teeth.  love the teeth of everyone.  Such good teeth

abbe:  Interesting, teeth...  Did you have a favorite scene?

dan:  The scenery was incredible, I want to live there.  The fathers deathbed, when the prince curled up into the fetal position, it was real and raw.  Also the back story of the stepmother, that made sense to me.

abbe:  Was it just me or were the princes eyes really weird? 

dan:  His teeth were weird.

abbe:  But his eyes?

dan:  Yeah, didn't notice.  How about Cinderella eyebrows?  The eyes weren't as bad as Stephens in The Bible miniseries.

abbe:  My favorite question: what was your movie watching snack?

dan:  Nothing.  I kept it clean.  I'm on a diet.  

abbe:  Anything else you want to say?

dan:  Um, if that was a real kingdom I’d like to move there, Lilly James was an excellent casting decision, the main castle guard was cliche, the lizard was unique 

abbe:  Thanks.

I think you could say that these were some pretty glowing reviews from our male friends.  Did I forget to ask them anything?

delightful | a dream is a wish | part 2

As promised, here are the remaining interviews from my sisters and their reactions...

Maddi: age 18

abbe: did you see cinderella?

maddi:  twice, and I’ll go again!

abbe:  if you could describe this movie using only one word?

maddi:  hmm, dazzling.

abbe:  what was your opinion of prince charming?

maddi:  he was the BEST!

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella?

maddi:  perfect, she truly was cinderella.

abbe:  on the the important details, did you snack on anything at the theater? 

maddi:  cinnamon bears and gummy worms.

abbe:  that sounds delicious, any other thoughts?

maddi:  it was the best movie I've seen overall, ever!

abbe:  thank you for your time.

Elle: age 14 

abbe:  Elle, did you go see Cinderella?

elle:  Abbe, Abithy, can I call you Abithy?

abbe:  for the duration of this interview, that would be fine.

elle:  can i sit down?

abbe:  if that makes you feel more comfortable, describe this movie in one word please.

elle:  not magical, because everyone said that... I'll go with dreamy.

abbe:  what was your opinion of prince charming?

elle:  haha!  so, funny story: I always used to like to rough-rider type of guy, but now I love the nice guy.

abbe:  but Prince Charming, how do you feel about this character?

elle:  Dreamy.  can I have more than one word?

abbe:  sure...

elle:  his eyes were the most amazing color

abbe:  is radioactive a color? but his character or personality? what about that?

elle:  I love him.

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella?

elle:  she played her realistically and was perfect

abbe:  what were you snacking on? 

elle:  a perfectly calibrated cherry coke and popcorn.

abbe:  anything else?

elle:  he was perfect, she was perfect, walt would have been proud.  I cried twice.

abbe:  thank you.

Lydia: age 10

abbe:  can I ask you a few questions?

lydia:  yeah… (looks at me skeptically)

abbe:  great!  did you go see cinderella?

lydia:  yes, I did.

abbe:  if you could describe this movie using only one word?

lydia:  amazing.

abbe:  what was your opinion of prince charming?

lydia:  he was perfect.

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella?

lydia:  she did a really good job.

abbe:   were you eating any snacks?

lydia:  popcorn and soda.

abbe:  no further details?

lydia:  not really.

abbe:  any other comments?

lydia:  prince charming's eyes were amazing and her wedding dress was beautiful.

abbe: thank you

And just for reference, here is a picture of Prince Charming and his eyes that apparently all the girls were so taken with.  They claim that he has blue eyes, to me they look radioactive, which is a term I picked up in photography class when we were learning how NOT to photoshop (perhaps I'm being a little harsh, but his flawlessness is unnerving, no?)

And here are a few Cinderella themed links that I love:

Proof that Richard Madden is a real live prince

The old and the new

Cinderella Earbuds!

Here is the shirt that I wore for opening night (its a fabulous little tee shirt!)

Have you been sucked into all of the wonderful Cinderella merchandise that is popping up everywhere?  If you have, let me know what I'm missing out on!

delightful | a dream is a wish | part 1

 Sigh...

Wasn't Cinderella the loveliest?

I can't begin to tell you how very much I loved this new film.  After a year of anticipation for this beautiful story (and Disney is a pro at giving you just enough of a preview to drive you crazy! goodness, all of the buzz just about put me over the edge!) I was thrilled to see that one of our local theaters had an early release on Thursday evening.  Some days you just feel like you're winning at the game of life.  

Brooke and another friend were both out of town and unable to join the rest of us sisters.  The theater was showing this   We were in the restored part of the theater with the domed ceilings, it's the very same theater that my grandparents grew up going to.  Anyway, that was just a little extra delightful thing that made my evening even better and didn't go unnoticed by me.  So precious!

Being that I live in a house full of approximately, a lot of girls, we've talked about this movie nonstop.  The costumes, prince charming, "have courage and be kind", prince charming, and HIS EYES!, the subtle ties to the original animated Disney film and OH EVERYTHING!  Knowing how much I love Cinderella, I had friends text me all weekend with their reactions ("I'm in heaven!").  

It was just so much fun!

For giggles, I conducted interviews with all of my sisters in order to give you a well-rounded review of this film.  Enjoy part 1!

abbe:  can I interview you?

brooke:  about what?

abbe:  cinderella

brooke:  I would love to talk about this most perfect movie

abbe:  great!  first, when, where & with whom did you watch this

brooke:  march 13, simpsonville SC IMAX, five boys that I was babysitting

abbe:  sounds like a fun loving group, if you could only use one word to describe this movie, what would it be?

brooke: perfection

abbe:  what is your opinion of prince charming?

brooke:  he was a prince and he was charming, adorable, precious.  yeah, put precious down

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella

brooke:  I wasn't too sure at first, but she was lovely

abbe:  what did you snack on?

brooke:  popcorn and the occasional recess pieces from WyWy

abbe:  any other comments?

brooke:  I just thought it was the most beautiful love story

abbe:  please state your name and age

gracie:  my name is gracie and I'm 8

abbe:  thank you, did you go see cinderella?

gracie:  yes

abbe:  if you could only use one word to describe this movie, what would it be

gracie:  love

abbe:  what is your opinion of prince charming?

gracie:  he was pretty darn cute

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella

gracie:  pretty

abbe:  any other comments? 

gracie:  I cried my little head off and I wanted a free poster but I didn't get one

abbe:  did you see Cinderella?

mim:  twice

abbe:  that is some dedication, one word?

mim:  golden

abbe:  what is your opinion of prince charming?

mim:  he was excellent but not my style

abbe:  and cinderella, how do you feel about lily james as cinderella

mim:  lilly james was perfect

abbe: snacks?

mim: popcorn, sour worms and cherry coke

abbe:  any other comments? 

mim:  nope

abbe:  thanks

This ballroom scene had all of us over the moon!  I could not have been happier with the final result, the entire movie was fantastical and the details were unbelievable.  I was surprised that I made it through the entire movie without any tears, but I've yet to see it on the IMAX.  I'll let you know how that one hits me.

Have you seen Cinderella yet?  What did you think?  Did it live up to your expectations? Share!

delightful | tinsel I'm seeing tinsel

Mega-bonus points for anyone who knows the tinsel reference...

Okay, that's what I thought.

I've decided that I can catch up on sleep in January.  Weekends at our house are usually low-key and restful and then we're ready to hit it hard again on Monday.  I've just about given up on December.  And it's better this way.  We can sleep in January, never mind that my calendar is already full for 2014's first quarter.  In the words of Scarlett O'Hara-Hamilton-Butler "I'll think about it tomorrow".

We decorated this whopper of a conifer last week.  Good gravy folks!  It's over 15 foot tall.  The chief takes his tree-picking-out very seriously and we just about died when this came through the front door.  I'm convinced that some town is missing it's tree down at city hall.

Normally, we'd cover the entire tree with boxes and boxes of tinsel, but this year we decided to go for understated elegance.  And by "decided", I mean, everyone took a vote when mom wasn't around and hid the tinsel from her.  I'm pretty sure that we're getting coal in our stockings and that she may disown us for that one.  I love tinsel as much as the next person (probably more) but some years you need to take a break.  Give the ornaments at chance to shine and all that.

my favorite little stinker!

We had some bets going around on how long it would take for us to come home from work and find the tree covered in the silver stuff, but mom just squared her shoulders and said that she'd get another tree for the basement and do whatever she wanted with it.  Problem solved.  

Have I mentioned that we're keeping track of Christmas miracles around here?  

Last count was 13.

Tinsel perfection!  

delightful | the thanksgiving recap

It really is a wonderful holiday.  And now I could insert all kinds of cliche comments about family & friends, turkey & pumpkin pies and how great it is to be living in a tropical climate in November.

But that would be a lie.  The tropics part, that is. 

Everything else would be true.  We hosted 18-ish out of town guests (from Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida & Wisconsin).  Our great room was like a hotel lobby.  Rolling suitcases, piles of winter coats, boots, shoes and probably 4 calling birds in there somewhere.  Later in the evening it started to resemble a park full of homeless people, that is, if your local park had upholstered couches instead of benches & feather duvets instead of newspapers...  Anyway.  We were packed out for the weekend & wouldn't have it any other way!  It's so fun to have crazy around you 24/7.  At one point mom asked me if I'd remembered to deliver fresh towels to people.  Um... that would be a no ma'am.  Besides, it would have been hard to find all of the nooks & crannies that were being used as guest rooms.

Pantry, check, kids toy room, check, couch #54, check.

Dinner was amazing this year!  We cooked 3 turkeys (okay, we cooked 2 turkeys, my uncle cooked the 3rd one) that were grown on our organic farm.  Those birds were so tender that when we pulled them out of the oven the meat was falling off the bone.  Literally.  Great for us, not so great for photo ops.  Which may seem strange to you, but is a very real life tradition of my mother's people.  We never cut into a turkey unless we've first photographed the yard bird.  I will never understand it, but according to legend, my Great-Grandmother Mimi has an entire album of "THE TURKEY". According to Mimi (my grandmother, the darlin'est woman alive) EVERY photo looks the same. Same platter, same size turkey, same Polaroid tint to the photo. They call these types of things "family archives". And they're precious. Kind of like the jello salad recipe from my dad's people. But I think I'll save that story for another day.

Friday was spent in debate of shopping. Do we want to be trampled to death or should we stay home. I suggested that we visit a local outlet mall to check out the sales. "Besides, I've never seen their parking lot full, it'll be a breeze to get in & out of". Those were my last words. Listen, I've never seen such parking in my life. Until then, I'd assumed that the surrounding corn fields were for agricultural purposes, I'd no idea that they were remote parking lots. The line for Coach was wrapped around the corner, UGG had its own security detail!!!  We hit about 3.5 stores & decided lunch sounded like a good idea. Chicago dogs to be precise. But the dog place was attached to a gas station & my brother refuses to eat food from a gas station so we went to the fine dining establishment that is "The Brat Stop".  Exactly.  I'm also failing to see how this could be better.  The Brat Stop happens to be over the border in Wisconsin and serves what the rest of the world would call a "sausage". Only here, we call it a "braaaht". Tacky cannot begin to describe this place, I'm quite sure they decorate for all seasons at once, the doors had bamboo shoots etched into the glass & the plaster ceiling either looked wet or like it would attack. We ordered cheese fries and assorted meats for table. It was pretty nasty, but we got a good story out of it. 

downtown christmas tree

One of our favorite traditions is the lighting of the square. Every year, the day after thanksgiving, the town my dad was born in (the same square Brooke & I had our shop on) has a huge event to kick off the season. For months, the city works to wrap the trees in lights and on this night they gather together, sing carols & then flip the switch for all of the lights!  It's downright delightful. Our gang ended up being about 20 people this time & then we headed back to the house for more food & late night chats.

Phil & Esther joined us for the weekend since he has family in the area. On Saturday they were meeting up with his grandmother in Chicago & invited us along.  This was my second downtown trip in two weeks, but I wasn't about to decline. I love cities!  We had a blast! The drive down was great, 3 girls, 4 guys & 1 baby. What's not to love?!?  Phil happens to be a great tour guide & our 1st stop was Little Goat Cafe.  If you know anything about the restaurant scene in Chicago, then you know about the trio of Goat restaurants.  The main restaurant is impossible to get into, but the cafe is is more grab & go with coffee, pastries & an extreme side of hipness.  Most of us stuck with our usual drinks, but a few veered off the straight & narrow with a goat milk latte.  I had a sip of Josh's & I could still taste the delicate aroma of a goat's patootie 20 minutes later.  Eeeewww!

We did deep dish pizza downtown, because, it's Chicago!  It was so amazing, it's worth the hour-long wait to get a table.  I was fun to walk through all of the Christmas decorations, see the Bean, and watch the skaters in the park.

It was one of the busiest Thanksgiving weeks I've ever had, but we had an absolutely wonderful time.  I did suggest that next year we move this "friendsgiving" to an tropical island.  The US Virgin Islands, maybe?  Perfect.  I'll just pop a pineapple ham into the spit & you can find me out by the pool with a diet coke.

There were 28 votes for and 0 against.

delightful | orchard harvest

One of my goals for 2013 was to arrange a styled wedding shoot.  I love all things wedding and one of the best things going on in the wedding industry right now is "styled shoots".  You pick a theme and work with vendors to set up a small mock-wedding and then have a photographer capture all of the details.  I knew I wanted to do this with my dear friend and talented photographer Kathryn Grace, so we met for dinner and started the brainstorming process earlier this summer.

The bridal bouquet & her nails!   

 My goal was to feature as many local vendors as possible.  Our theme was "Orchard Harvest", we dreamed up an elegant theme using beautiful harvest colors (berry red, emerald green, deep purples and mixed metals).  I was stunned to realize that we ended up with over eleven different vendors, only our models had to travel (from South Carolina!).  We were absolutely delighted with every detail of our shoot.  The florist, baker, dress shop, make-up artist, and hairstylist were amazing to work with. 

 Can we talk about this dress?!?  Kathryn's Bridals in McHenry was absolutely incredible to work with, they matched us up with a stunning gown, beaded belt and veil that fit our model perfectly.  And yes, that is a gold ladder that she is standing on (y'all, we have the most glamorous barn accessories).

 Betty at Apple Creek Flowers knocked my socks off!  I've never seen such lovely arrangements, she took the few ideas that we gave her and absolutely nailed the whole theme.  The bouquet stayed on my nightstand for two weeks and made my heart go pitter-pat every time I looked at it.

 The sweetheart table | In the middle of the Orchard | What could be better?

Our models have been married for two years and made the several hour shoot a blast!  Our Bride said this was more fun than her wedding day, isn't that darlin'!  My precious friend Katherine (so many Katherine's were involved with this shoot) drove over four hours to help me arrange things.  She just started a vintage prop rental company, and hauled the velvet couch, chairs, and red steamer trunk all over the orchard for me.  She's never afraid to try something new and she's pretty much the best! 

 Lauren at The Sugar Circle in Woodstock provided our cake.  She hand-painted the gold floral design on the cake.  And the figs are actually made from fondant and hand-painted as well.  Unreal!  We celebrated the end of the shoot by eating the cake, which was delicious!

 I used fresh apples as the name card holder and loved how it turned out.  The pink china is antique and from my mother's stash (thanks mom!).

Action shot | Reapplying lipstick mid-shoot

Photographer | Kathryn Grace Photography

Venue | Royal Oak Farm Orchard

Dress | Kathryn's Bridals

Florist | Apple Creek Flowers

Baker | The Sugar Circle

Calligrapher | The Constant Scribe

Hair Stylist | Amy at Studio 10 Salon

Make-up | Lisa at Renew Skin Spa

Props | Burlap & Bows

A very special thank you goes out to Kathryn Grace for putting up with my shenanigans (per usual!).  Thank you for being so willing to jump in and then delivering the exact photos that were in my head.  I'm grateful for your friendship and for your hard work on this shoot.

Oh, AND we were featured on Classic Bride Blog!  Check out our feature here and more photos on Kathryn Grace's website.  Thanks for reading!

summer bucket list 2013 | attend an outdoor concert

done!

In the last two weeks we've actually been to two outdoor concerts. I love them!

Number one was held in the city square and the community orchestra played "Music of the Islands" which included music from the British Isles and that made me really happy! We met up with new friends, who were in town from Texas, for pizza and ended up talking so much that we missed most of the music. Oh well!

Number two was at the lake front park and a good friend of ours was playing piano, the theme was "Wild Wild West"! The music was great, the girlies especially loved the selections from Oklahoma. My sisters packed the picnic with an heirloom tomato tart (from our very own organic farm), a fresh salad and salmon. It was so divine, my kind of picnic food!

the summer bucket list | 2013

I always begin to panic mid-July, realizing that summer is almost over and I haven't done a single thing I promised myself I'd do while I was freezing during a blizzard in January. Things, like, get the tan of my life, go to the beach everyday (obviously I was out of my mind from the cold), finally take sailing lessons, go golfing, etc. What was I thinking?
Anyway… This summer has flown by so far! We're finally moved into our new office, I coordinated a wedding, I've been spending my spare time volunteering at a historic mansion, we've traveled, we've just plain been busy and my tan isn't looking to shabby either.
A couple weekends ago I told Brooke that "today is the perfect day to check something off the summer bucket list". And she said "what bucket list?". At that point we realized that neither of us had a formal plan for the rest of our summer days. I jotted mine down on paper and she, in typical Brooke fashion, kept hers mental. I'm guessing it looks like this; "attempt new personal record for most sprinkle cones consumed in six week time frame". Or something like that… I'm kidding! Although, we do like to put the hurt on some sprinkle cones, especially on Saturday nights.
I, ahem, wrote mine out, in typical Abbe fashion, a bullet-pointed list. It'll be fun to see how far I get. What's on your summer bucket list?

1. Go Swimming    
   (at least once, I love to swim, but never seem to be able to find a pool.)
2. Attend an outdoor concert
   (so delightful!)
3. Walk around the lake
   (Its only 26 miles, if only I could find somebody to come with me…)
4. Go camping
   (yes, I said "camp")
5. Visit Yerkes
   (see the stars!)
6. Have a real picnic
   (with ants and everything)
7. Have a gelato tasting party
   (a la The Glitter Guide)
8. Take the kiddos to Old World Wisconsin
   (for freee!)
9. Eat tomatoes
   (everyday!)
10. Have tea at The Baker House
    (because it would be lovely!)

delightful | masquerade ball

Before the ball begins - unmasked.

Warming up with a practice dance.

Guess who???

The last dance of the evening.

Our sweet friends, Kathryn and Tara hosted a masquerade ball several weekends ago. I'm not even a dancer, but there was no way I was passing this one up!  It was at the most amazing venue I've seen yet, a perfectly renovated barn with a hunting lodge flair.  Complete with a giant moose head on the wall.  So fabulous!