I love fireworks. LOVE them. As a child, I loved driving down to the riverfront each July 4th with my family to watch my humble hometown's display along the Ohio River. Even though Evansville is a fairly small city, we always had a top notch show. I loved how the lights reflected off the water, and how we could literally see sparks fly off the barge in the middle of the river where they were setting them off. After college I moved to Cincinnati and was thrilled to discover the amazing WEBN display on Labor Day. Once we sat close enough to get actual physical debris from the fireworks flying into our faces!

Today at the local ABC (Assoc. of Bridal Consultants) luncheon, John Greer of Zambelli Fireworks International presented to the group about hiring their firm to set off fireworks at your wedding. YES, I said FIREWORKS AT YOUR WEDDING. I can't even imagine the coolness. I have chills just thinking about it. They can do custom colors, shapes, and all sorts of fantastic stuff. How amazing would it be to have your own PERSONAL fireworks display on the night of your wedding?! You are probably thinking it would cost a small fortune, but surprisingly it's pretty affordable to hire them for a decent display.

Contact John at 513.478.6475 or JohnGreer@zambellifireworks.com for more information.

Fireworks over the Ohio River in Evansville.

Last weekend my family visited us here in Cincinnati, and my mom brought my 5 month old son the most wonderful gift from my Great Aunt Vernie: a hand-painted china baby bootie. Aunt Vernie (Urban's Great-Great Aunt!) is 82 years old, and has been painting china for 40+ years! I hope that I am still creating 40 years from now. I love the dainty cursive writing she used for Urban's name, birthday and height/weight and the vintage look of the flowers. What makes this gift so utterly special to me is that my identical twin sister and I have little booties with our names and birthdays painted on them from Aunt Vernie as well. I got mine out to compare with Urban's, and the painting is just as beautiful on the the new bootie as it is on my 32 year old one. What sort of handmade gifts do you treasure?