Weekend Happenings + Stray Dog Designs

Over the last few years, I have purchased quite a few dvd’s.  Anytime I saw an ad for a movie that seemed interesting, I would buy the movie.  Of course, after doing this for a couple years, the number of movies bought and the number of movies actually watched were vastly different.  So about a year ago, I told my husband that I was not going to buy anymore dvd’s until I caught up with the ones I already had.

This weekend, I thought to take some time out and pick up one of the movies that had been patiently waiting for my viewing.  I picked The Family Stone.  If you haven’t seen the movie, there are a lot of big names in it – Sarah Jessica Parker (Meredith), Dermot Mulroney (Everett), Diane Keaton (Sybil), and Luke Wilson (Ben) just to name a few.  The premise of the movie is that Everett decides to bring his fiance, Meredith, home during Christmas to meet his family.  Meredith is a good person but a bit conservative and uptight while Everett’s family is very relaxed.  When Meredith arrives, she has difficulty fitting in and to make matters worse, Everett’s family isn’t making her feel very welcome.   The movie took a strange turn when Meredith, desperate for support, calls her sister to come to Everett’s family home.  I believe this movie is listed as a romantic comedy, but I found it to have little romance and no comedy.  In fact, for a good portion of the movie, I felt teary eyed and sad for Meredith.  Maybe it was because I could relate to how Meredith felt (minus the conservative and uptight part!).

I can remember being the “new” person in a group and encountering people such as Everett’s family.  I also remember going to someones home for Christmas and watching others open gifts knowing that there were none for me.  The feeling of leaving a room and knowing that people were talking about you or having the host/hostess really not acknowledge you can leave you feeling awkward and unwanted.   I’m not sure if these people intentionally were this way to me or just oblivious to their actions.

This leads me into the topic of creating a welcoming home with good hospitality.  All your hard work at making your home gorgeous can be lost without good old fashion hospitality and good spirit.  I think many people underestimate the value of good entertaining and etiquette.   It can make you and your home look that much more beautiful!

On a separate subject, our dog Hailey had to have emergency surgery yesterday on an abscess.  Between the sad movie and Hailey’s surgery, I needed some uplifting today and thought it was appropriate to share some beautiful light fixtures by Stray Dog Designs.

From left to right, top to bottom:  Alice Pendant,  Candy Stripe Drum Pendant , Niki Pendant, Virginia Pendant

Hailey is recovering from her surgery and doing fine.  However, I’m still recovering from the not so great movie!

Images:  Stray Dog Design