This past weekend I was a part of an amazing retreat here in Grapevine, Texas. I also had the privilege of creating the "mood/ambiance" for the Saturday night dinner.

Anytime I get to use my gifts to serve, I'm the one who is blessed. It is always an honor to serve along side such amazing people. Serving is also a great way to make new friends that enrich your life.

The mood that the leadership team wanted for this event was the feeling that you were at a gathering in your back yard. So,.we did our best to create that feeling (on a budget, of course). I placed a vignette on the left side of the stage mimicking the feel that you were in your yard and could curl up and read underneath the hanging lights with your cup of tea and a good book.

Do you remember the pink bike we painted from last years retreat (see that post here). We used that again propped up against the wall. One of my friends found the rustic palettes so we used them as the backdrop for the vignette. I blew up an air mattress and gathered some pillows and quilts from here, there and everywhere to make it feel inviting, cozy and colorful.

My girls game room pillows had a new home for a few days because they had that pop of green I was after.
I purchased a bolt of frilly white fabric for the curtains and hung them with 3M removable hooks (my new best friend). They acted as a frame behind the vignette.
We added christmas lights to the vignette and got creative by tying them to the microphone stands.

I ordered these cute little milk jars from Saveoncrafts.com.

I filled them with moss and wildflowers. I wanted a bit of fragrance too so I added fresh lavender as well. The kitchen smelled absolutely fabulous while we were making the arrangements. 100 arrangements in all, whew! My poor intern Audra, broke out in an allergic reaction. I wonder if she will ever help me with an event again!

Lots of helping hands made all these natural beauties! 8 hours later and we were all set up and TIRED!

We placed 3 arrangements on each table. Of course, we made them nice and low so people could talk to each other without the arrangements distracting them. Nothing like trying to talk through the centerpiece. I'm sure you have been to an event where the centerpiece blocks you from talking to your guests.

It's the details that makes a gathering come together and that doesn't have to be expensive. Tying the tablecloths with burlap that matched the moss in the jars, brought the table colors and textures together. We were into simplicity for this event!

Also makes it look more casual and less formal and pretentious.

Sorry for the terrible lighting in the picture. Hard to take a picture with spotlights shining down.

We also had this wrought iron table from last year. We repainted it a nice pale yellow. I layered a lace curtain panel (found at a thrift store) and a small pink floral quilt as the tablecloth. I always love to add a shiny element to my designs, so the wild flowers were in a LARGE silver vase. It makes a casual atmosphere have a little glam to it. The vase really looked fantastic with the flowers and branchy, whimsical arrangement. A bit of "shiny" goes a long way don't you think?

Each napkin ring had a bit of bling too. We added a little dried flower to each wrapped napkin. The details take a ton of work but they are what make the guests feel welcome.You want your guests to feel as though you thought about every little thing to make them feel comfortable and invited in.

We placed a few rocks running along the center of the table too. If you look closely in some of the above pictures, you can see the mossy branches we added to the center of each table.

During the weekend, we all gathered in different homes in the metroplex. We watched a live broadcast that was streamed live over the Internet all over the world (IF Gathering). It was so much fun to have a variety of speakers. Nothing like having a bunch of woman in a room together sharing life experiences and encouraging one another.

This was the first IF GATHERING and I'm sure there will be more of them in the future. It was a powerful event for woman all over the nation.

I believe that we woman do better in small group situations. I also think that meeting in HOMES is the key to us being vulnerable with each other. It is more relaxed, comfortable and creates a feeling of safeness. Doing life together is the best thing ever when you do it with woman you love and respect. We are all in different stages of life and when you get us all together it's amazing.

I encourage you to get involved in a group with other woman. It is the best medicine for your soul. Our bodies grow old and weary but our souls continue to strengthen and grow strong. I truly believe that is what keeps our hearts beating.

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One of my sweet clients passed this African story on to me this week. I couldn't help but share it with you, especially since I was born and raised in Africa and still have family there. Africa is so dear to my heart.

It is so incredibly inspirational and it made me think about how our lives can be transformed by the accountability we have in our lives and the family & friends (or tribe) that encourages us along the way!

Hope it makes your week colorful like it did mine!

Here it is.....

When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the unborn child.

They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women is attune to the song, they sing it out loud.

Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her.

Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song.

When the child passes through the initiation into adulthood, the people again come together and sing.

At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song.

Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

In the African tribe, there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. They then sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity.

When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it.

Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not.