My little girl is only 7 months old so this was my very first mother's day! Well, Pj did take me out last year since I had a bun in the oven for mother's day but this year, it's official! I've earned my momma stripes (literally, they're all over my belly and hips) and today, we celebrated my first Mother's Day! On Saturday, we went to my momma's house to celebrate with her. She gave me this beautiful pearl and jade bracelet (in photo above) and I gave her 2 Indian cookbooks. We slaved over the hot stove for several hours, chopping onions and ginger and making a huge Indian feast using her cookbooks as our guides. We filled the whole house with the scent of curry spices and garlic. YUM!!

I don't think I have ever mentioned my momma but she is the fantasy artist, Mickie Mueller. She has is the artist for 2 published tarot decks, provided artwork and wrote the book for one tarot deck which is still in the process of being published, designed jewelry for Peter Stone , designed statuary for Sacred Source and LOADS of other wonderful things. I'm so proud of my momma. But anyway, she is re-vamping her website and promotional info and wanted some recent photos of her for all of that stuff so for Mother's Day, she got all dressed up and we went out to the woods for a fantasy themed photo shoot. Here are just a few of the pics I took of my momma....




Today, we spent the day with my mother in law and my husband's family as we all traveled just across the river to Brussels, IL to a restaurant that has been a favorite of Pj's family since the 70's, The Whittmond Hotel. The hotel has a little antique shop inside and is decorated in vintage linens, lace curtains and heirlooms and photos of the Whittmond family. It was established in 1847! They serve everything family style and the menu is the same every single day and it is delish!

Pj's grandma and I usually battle over the sausage drippings that are left on the plate after everyone has devoured the sausage. We both dive for the dinner rolls, rip them apart and drown them in the sausage juices and tiny bits of sausage. It's like Macy's on the day after Christmas and we both have coupons! When they bring out the sausage, we all stab for them with our forks and the plate is empty within about 30 seconds. Today, I got the last of the sausage and the plate was on my end of the table so I won the first Battle of the Sausage Drippings but I think she ended up with some when it was all over with also. This place has THE best home made peach preserves on the face of the earth. The Hotel is in Calhoun County, IL, famous for Calhoun County peaches. They are so sweet and juicy! So, Pj's grandma taught me to drizzle preserves over the sausage. The combination of sweet and savory is so divine! Sounds gross, I know but it is wonderful! So, we took the ferry across the river to the land of peaches and sausage, filled ourselves till we couldn't move, then came home!

Before our out-of-state lunch trip, Pj and I stopped at our favorite produce stand for some much needed healthy foods. We got a butternut squash for Olivia, which I will be cooking tomorrow!


For my first Mother's Day, I got the BEST present any new momma could ask for: My little girl crawled for the first time! Here she is, crawling for the remote! I'm so proud!! Wishing all of you mommas out there a very happy Mother's Day! xoxo

My ensemble:
Vintage navy dress with white piping- from Amanda
White cardigan-thrifted (Goodwill)
blue belt-thrifted (St Vincent de Paul)
Steve Madden wedges-thrifted (dont remember where from!)
Snood-Designs by Kate
bracelet- from my momma
navy screw back earrings- antique mall
vintage navy purse-thrifted from Value Village