I grew up in a small town in New Mexico. There’s one main street that runs through the town, appropriately dubbed Main Street. There wasn’t much to the town by way of shopping except for the Roswell Mall complete with JC Penny, Bealls, and Corndog 7… and for those of you reading this that live/lived in Roswell… cue the “Gotta get it… gotta get it… gotta get it at the Roswell Maaaaaall!” commercial jingle. Anyway, I took my boys to Toys R Us this morning because the littlest ones have been begging for a toy vacuum. Their future wives will thank me for suffering through Toys R Us to teach them such a valuable skill. So anyway, while I was driving… and tuning out three screaming voices from the backseat… I was thinking about how much of a big deal it would have been to go to Toys R Us when I was little. The closest store was in Albuquerque, a three and half hour drive away. I remember getting the catalogs during Christmas time and turning, page by page, wiping my drool just before it dropped onto the gold plated magazine spread below me. I also remember going to Albuquerque and seeing Toys R Us… gleaming from the highway… nestled into its beautiful shopping mall… parking spots were beckoning our car from the front of the store. But, did my parents listen to the hypnotic chants coming from the front doors of Toys R Us? Hell nah. They just kept on driving. Sometimes they were even mean enough to pull into the Toys R Us entrance, only to turn to the right so that we could go eat at Garduno’s.
My parents were either EVIL… or incredibly savvy. Evil in my childhood mind, but yet so incredibly savvy, as now I understand the curse of Toys R Us as a parent. I forgive you, Mom and Dad, for being so incredibly ruthless as parents. It has taken 25 years and three children to understand… but now I do… I completely understand.
But, if my boys got to enjoy their toy store this morning, then I… for damn sure… can step into my cyber-toy store this afternoon. I welcome you to another #throwbackthursday… today the vault is opened from my birthday weekend last year to share with you Emily & Justin’s insanely gorgeous, light filled, golden wedding from Valley of Fire.
The sun, the blooms, the people… and now, welcome to Mama’s happy place…
Emily’s hair and makeup was perfected by the team from Amelia C & Company, and the bouquets were so so so beautiful from none other than Catherine at Layers of Lovely.
Emily’s brother created this amazing wooden altar for them to be married under, and the ceremony was conducted by the ever-fab Angie from Peachy Keen Unions.
Emily and Justin held their reception at Vintner Grill in Summerlin. The outdoor patio twinkled with endearing lanterns in the trees, and the tables were set with beautiful flowers by Layers of Lovely, tea favors for the guests, and hand made table numbers!
