My Mother's Child

It's Friday! Do you have big plans for the weekend ahead? I took the day off and hopped back on a plane up north, this time to Syracuse New York, where my mother and I are visiting my Aunt Vera for the weekend.

We've been enjoying lots of girl time — chatting, sipping wine, learning the history behind many of the things in Vera's home, telling stories and lots of preliminary discussions about possibilities for our wedding — so far we all agree on a lot and have only agreed to disagree on a little. Pretty good, eh?

Speaking of weddings, mom and Vera had a very special surprise waiting for me to see that they've been talking about for quite some time now...

My own mother's wedding dress. Don't ask any of us why it's been in hiding all these years at my aunt's house — all we know is how excited we all were to take it out and examine it.

I have to admit my heart was beating fast as mom and I opened the box. Mom was hoping the veil would still be included packed up with the box since evidently it was something my grandparents let my sister and I play with when we were little.

All I can say is — the veil was there, and the dress is still a stunner. I've really only gotten to see photos of it from my parents' wedding before and have been dying to see it in person. While we know it's not my dress, it was a special moment that we all got to share. You can imagine all the memories and stories that were told after pulling out the dress — I love getting to know these sides of my mom and aunt.

And...that's as far as you'll get to see today. I know, I'm a terrible tease.

I've posted this shot before, but here's what my mom looked like the morning of her wedding, brunching and pictured with her own mother and Vera by her side:

I think we look a lot alike. She was actually a few years younger than I am now in this photo. It's incredible to think how fast time can fly and how generations evolve, yet traditions stay the same.

I can't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day weekend than with these women who mean so much to me doing these sorts of sentimental things — you know, the things you look back on and remember as magical moments.

More on the dress and our weekend in Syracuse to come; in the meantime, here's wishing a happy Mother's Day weekend to you and yours.

P.S. Looking for a simple but special Mother's Day recipe? Check out Tim's version of French Toast featured on Virginia is for Bloggers in his latest guest post — almost all of the ingredients were sourced locally from some of our favorite market vendors including Sullivan's Pond Farm, Norwood Cottage Bakery, and Agriberry.

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