Sisters Marie: From Hair Ribbons to Heirlooms

A 3rd year as Thanksgiving hosts has come and gone and it was wonderful...It may be a lot of work, but I love preparing our home to share with Family and we have a great space with a built in bar for entertaining so we're happy to have the chance to utilize it.

In addition to all the food and decor prep, I of course also thought about what I was going to wear and all I knew was, I wanted to plan my look around the ribbon in my hair. For some reason, I had this Brigitte Bardot half-up ponytail vision in mind, tied with a dainty suede bow. By adding knee socks and printed blouse, it seemed like just the right amount of precious.

What's more important than any pair of socks or re-purposed ribbon is this gorgeous silver ring. It was my dear Grandmother's favorite piece of jewelry, as she was rarely seen without it on, even if she was just sitting in her corner chair watching Andy Griffith in her pajama's. Our family lost her this past June and I miss her more every single day...I felt a large hole on my birthday, as she would have been the first one to call and wish me the happiest of days. I missed her sitting at the head of the table on Thanksgiving and the abundant noise from her laughter when our Dog bounded towards her.

But most of all, I will miss her this Christmas...My Parents, Grandma and I always shared a few special Christmas Eve traditions together... After the children's mass (which she absolutely adored), we'd head back to the house for a quick sandwich, followed by an evening at my Grandpa's with all the cousins (where she got a chance to watch all the children wait for Santa's arrival) and then back to Mom and Dad's house to finish the night off with chats by the tree and a warm cup of hot chocolate. No matter how obvious it was that she was fading over the years, she always seemed so much more present and spry in these moments because I think she cherished them so much, as did I. Her presence will be greatly missed this year and I will be wearing her ring all season long, which she had been saving for me until the end. When the single diamond shines extra bright in church this year, only she and I will know why.