Denim and Wedding Lace

When I first began to get to know Elizabeth, she told me, “You will l.o.v.e my daughter” ….
because we mama’s think everybody will love our daughters.
But, Elizabeth’s words rang with more than truth.

Sarah Beth has an old soul. She has  strength, wisdom and common sense that are … uncommon. She feels rich to me … like a beautiful brocade material with distinct crests and valleys that can be felt as well as seen.

The first night I stayed at Elizabeth’s home, Sarah Beth was the coordinator of the early morning jaunt to the horse pasture. In the five a.m. darkness, we walked the drive ……

with blankets and chairs and flashlights. In the deep darkness only found far from the city lights, we stared at the sky and watched the stars as the earth gently passed through the Orionids, a spray of Halley’s Comet celestial dust. For years, I have ventured outside to see a shooting star without a sighting. That night, on the chilly, dew-covered ground of that country pasture, I saw eight … and I thought how wonderful it was that a girl of 14 prompted this before-dawn adventure.

That same weekend, as we sat around a small bonfire in the backyard, I realized that Sarah Beth …
was wearing a t-shirt that is identical to one hanging in my closet … one of my favorite t-shirts …
because it has t.r.e.e advice  printed on it! Oh, how I love trees.

On a more recent visit, I was offered Sarah Beth’s room as a guest room.
It was no surprise that her window sills were scattered with collections …

… not unlike my own home
with a shelf of finds that have been accumulated through the decades.

She is drawn to rocks that are round and smooth ….

not unlike me ….

Her room houses a metal tree …

I adore my jewelry tree … whether it is stacked with jewelry or bare.

 

And she even has a wooden box on a shelf ….

Out of the dozen or more wooden boxes that are tucked on shelves around my home,
only one advertises for liquor …
and it is identical to Sarah Beth’s …
I picked it up at least twenty years ago when I lived in New Bern, North Carolina
at a little plunder shop called Secondhand Charlie’s.

That first weekend visit, we had the conversation that included my offer of my wedding dress (you can read about it here).
When I got back home, I re-boxed the dress and sent it to Madison.
Elizabeth and Sarah Beth get their diversity of talent straight from Elizabeth’s mom. Want to see something amazing?
Elizabeth’s mom designed, hand-c.a.r.v.e.d and painted this mantle …

… from a single piece of wood. *gasp*

And her magic … she extended to my wedding dress.
So, here is the before:

And here is the after … snapped just before the Fall Ball.

Here is a photo from a gathering before the ball that shows the back of the dress.

And one with her friends. I watch them interact on Facebook and love their support for each other.

I love the dress! It’s sassy and flirty  … and daring because it’s not an “off-the-rack” dress from the mall.
And  .m.y.  favorite part … is the jacket.

This dress from 1984
was resurrected
and will be enjoyed for years and years to come.

Those rows of pearls will continue to grace beautiful embroidery publicly.

Denim is now wrapped in lace …
durability wrapped in delicate …

where flowers embellish shoulders …

and that collar with the lace broach and dangling pearl that I so adored …
now lines the back of the jacket.

More than once, I thought I might donate her to Goodwill
or the drama department at Joy’s school.
I never d.r.e.a.m.e.d to alter her!
I’m so thankful that I held on just a bit longer.
Sarah Beth, it blesses me that my dress
will continue to have a life of exploration
worn by a young woman of beauty
who shares my affinity for creation, adventure and creativity.
You bless me richly, sweet heart.
And your mama was so right: I DO love her daughter.