We saw this little sign on a bike in downtown Charleston. How perfectly fitting for my surprise 11/11/11 weekend!
If you know me at all, you may have noticed that I’ve been pretty excited, anticipating 11.11.11.
That’s because back in 2003, I realized that the calendar would be a perfectly symmetrical date on my 41st birthday. Since then, I have spent the last eight years reminding my husband Tim that I would like a huge celebration on this day.
By huge, I meant wedding-reception magnitude. Or it not THAT size of a party, I wished to spend the weekend with my closest friends, someplace warm and someplace beautiful.
Over the last two years, I honestly had lowered my expectations thinking that I was being silly to put so much stock in a funny-looking date.
But instead of being practical, Tim went above and beyond the call of reasonable, and completely surprised me by granting me my 11.11.11 birthday wish!
- My long-time 11/11/11 wish ACTUALLY came true!
We spent a long weekend in Charleston renting the cutest house ever (THROW PILLOWS included) with some of my oldest and dearest friends, who are very good conspirators too, I might add.
My friends Erin and Brett had a perfectly legitimate reason to not be able to leave their home in Kansas City to join in an 11.11.11 party. Their little girl was turning ONE on the 11th of November, so they certainly couldn’t be gone from home.
So when we picked the Three of them up at the Charleston airport, I was beside myself with excitement. I think I may have actually caused quite a scene with my delight.
Then, as if THAT surprise (including the throw pillows on our bed) was not enough, Tim also orchestrated another huge surprise. On Friday he “went out to an appointment” — whatever that meant — and returned with my dear friend Kelli and her husband Scott, all the way from Indiana.
How he managed to keep this all a secret, is beyond me. This completely sensible and logical man who I love beyond words, completely created the most extravagant gift I could imagine. And all for some silly day…
11.11.11 the best day of the century!
Here are photos from the biggest surprise of my life. You’ll see both my wonderful friends, and the amazing beauty of our trip to Charleston and Folly Beach. There are many, many paintings waiting to be created from this set of photos…
Aw! How exciting! Tim did such an amazing job for your special day!
I know!! I was throughly impressed by the depth of his planning. What a guy… 🙂
Wow!!!!!!!So happy he pulled it off. Hard to keep a secret. How is he ever going to top that.Love you,dear.
So. Fun. 🙂
What a wonderful description of a very special birthday surprise. Having had a couple of long conversations with Tim while he was in the planning stage, I was very pleased he chose our house as part of the celebration and was not surprised that he pulled it all off perfectly! I hope to visit your studio and meet you in person on our next visit to Greenville. Ellen Nisbet
I was so happy he chose your house too! Every one of us kept saying “we can’t believe how nice this is!” I loved the simple, yet lovely decor–especially the soft, southern color palette. I kept saying “I want to live in this house.” Thanks for leaving so many beautiful things available for us to use. The candles made our dinner even more special… and we were very careful not to burn the house down. 🙂 I photographed a couple of Camelia blossoms that were blooming in the yard, so I’m planning to turn those into paintings. Please do stop into my studio next time you’re in town!