{odd job}

I'll be away for a couple of days...

helping Kevin at work.

Lots to share when I return! :)

~Rhonda

{cooking mishaps remembered on the FIRST glorious day of spring}

Welcome to Foodie Friday, hosted by Gollum, from Designs by Gollum.

This is my first week of participation, and it just happens to be on the week slated to share cooking mishaps or Foodie Friday Trainwrecks! Oh, I have several of those, ...but a few in particular that my dear husband will never let me forget! :)

My "culinary career," {which I say loosely}, had a very rocky beginning.

My mother was an excellent cook, and often we were served three home-cooked meals a day, including a delicious breakfast. But she did not like or allow, anyone in the kitchen while she was cooking. Too distracting, she would say. I was only permitted in when it was time to set the table and pour the sweet iced tea. So, I unfortunately did not benefit by learning from her.

When I went off to college, my roommates and I tried to cook meals at home, to save money, but they were very feeble attempts! One roommate in particular loved grits, and at the beginning of one fall semester, bought a 25 pound commercial bag of grits. We stored grits in every container imaginable, the refrigerator was full, as well as all the cabinets of our tiny apartment kitchen. That was cheap eating, and it took us a year, but we ate every last gritty little grit. It is a wonder I can stand the sight of grits today.

Soon after college, Kevin and I were married. I had two really embarrassing mishaps very early in my marriage as a new homemaker, that I will unlikely ever live down. The first substantial meal that I served Kevin was Sweet and Sour Chicken out of a Hamburger Helper {Chicken Helper} box, served over instant MASHED POTATOES! I was young and naive, so proud of my meal, setting the table with our fine wedding china, freshly unwrapped from tissue paper and silver boxes. As I waited for him to get home, the mashed potatoes grew soggier and soggier. It was awful! What was I thinking combining mashed potatoes and sweet & sour chicken. {...and all from a cardboard box! LOL!}

My skills didn't improve for quite some time. Not long after that disastrous meal, I left a whole chicken on to boil, while we worked in the yard one Saturday. When we entered the house, the most disgusting, sickening smell filtered through the door. I had left the bag of innards in the chicken. I had no idea they were to be removed before cooking! Fortunately, through much trial and error over the last 16 years, I have greatly improved!

~~~~

To celebrate the First Glorious Day of Spring, I am headed out to tour a few nurseries and have lunch with my Garden Club. ...can't wait! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! ~Rhonda

{an inquiring mind wants to know}

Just what would you do???

I found a cute little stool at an auction Saturday.

It is really solid, but needs recovering.

Now I am trying to decide where to put it and if I should spray paint it?

I thought about putting it by the chair below.

It does make this area cozier, but would have to be spraypainted.

The chair is more modern and has a {dusty...ugh!} satin black finish.

I thought that if I spraypainted it satin black, and recovered it with the brown dotted fabric below, it might work well.

I am NOT against spraypainting. I do quite a bit of it! :)

But do I want to ruin the wood finish of the stool as it is now?

{I think it is an older piece! ...heavy weight!}

Or would it look better resting in front of the fireplace?

Leave the wood finish alone, except a good cleaning, of course.

... and cover it with this fabric , which would coordinate well with the pillows on the sofa across the room.
Or maybe even this taffeta striped material to add an elegant touch.

Decisions,

Decisions!

So what do you think?

Ashley will tell you I am going to do what I want, ...LOL!

But I would love input, I'm stumped at the moment!

~Rhonda :)

{if three is a crowd...}

...what does that make FOUR???

You all know the cardinal decorating rule "of grouping items in odd numbers?"

Well, sometimes I don't follow the rules, I digress...

{sigh}

The THREE tin tole trays, below, were making a nice statement on my kitchen wall just as they were. I've had them for many years, using them in three houses as we moved.

And then last week I found a fourth one in my favorite antique store, Patsy's of Mullins, SC. It has a little damage, but that blends and isn't very noticeable, ....and I might add, the price was right! {smiles!}

I wondered if maybe I should wait until I found a fifth one, so the number would be "decoratingly correct," but given my track record for misplacing items, I felt it would be safest "stored" on the wall! {LOL!}

I must be feeling quite giddy and silly due to our beautiful spring weather today, but as I was hanging these, the song from Sesame Street popped in my mind.....

One of These Things

(Is Not Like The Others)

One of these things is not like the others,

One of these things just doesn't belong,

Can you tell which thing is not like the other's

By the time I finish my song?...

Song From Sesame Street, by Joe Raposo and Jon Stone

So, have you figured it out???

~Rhonda :)

{blessings of a true kind}

~Happy St. Patrick's Day! ~
I'm not Irish, but I'm double Scottish, so maybe that makes me a "kissing cousin!"

Poor David was just so disappointed to find that St. Paddy's Day is not a National Holiday, which exempts him from school! {LOL!} So off I sent him with green M&M's for a snack!

I'd like to share some blessings of a true kind!

They're not just for the Irish, but for all people, given to us by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount.... ~ Matthew 5 ~
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Blessings to you all! ~Rhonda :)

{a tale of two rabbits}

Once upon a time, there was a young lady who after browsing many blogs, and seeing all the wonderful Easter decor displayed throughout, caught a slight case of Spring Fever. Not the Spring "cleaning" kind of fever, heaven's no...this is a fairy tale, not one of horror! But the "decorating for Spring" fever. So, she looked high and she looked low, but being the scatterbrain that she was, could not find her decorations from the past season anywhere. She vowed not to purchase one thing, in hopes that her decorations would magically appear, but alas, they did not! So off to Big Lots she went. Just for a few goodies to tide her over until the MIA stash turned up.
She found two little faux chocolate rabbits, that cost a mere $1.50. Oh, what a bargain! But the sweet little brown bunnies wore collars of pink ribbons. Being that she was not a "pastel'ly" type of gal, she adorned them with polka dots in whimsical black and white.

But after tying one ribbon short and then another quite long, she decided the longer was much more befitting and fun.....

...and gaily clothed them both in extravagant amounts of ribbon for such dear little guys,

... then tucked them amidst a make-shift Easter vignette.

Also adding to the collection of new, a cute festive green porcelain basket....

...topped with a petite shiny rabbit peeking into chocolate kisses galore!

But it didn't end there, ....one more addition, a white plaster rabbit to brighten the dining room with his sweet pot of daisies.

And so, for less than $20, the young lady had brought the freshness of spring into her home and was satisfied for the time being, but not giving up on her search, oh no!

....off they went to look some more,

The Two Rabbits {and I}!

"There is no failure except in no longer trying." ~Elbert Hubbard

The End!

~Rhonda :)

{where, oh where, can my little stash be}

~Back To the Land of the Living~

I'm finally out from under the covers, and MOUNDS of tissues! And I emphasize MOUNDS....that threatened to bury me alive! :) I don't usually get sick when the rest of my family does, but this year it has hit me twice. I'm still having some congestion, but overall am feeling MUCH better! Thanks for all the sweet and uplifting "Get Well Wishes," that each of you left on my last post! They certainly brightened my day!

Since I haven't had a chance to prepare a post, I decided to venture back into my archives and share my Easter decor from last year. {Okay I fibbed, kind of, I went back to RMS and pulled them up!} Unfortunately, for the life of me, I can NOT find my "stuff." I searched in vain before I became sick and have racked my brain trying to recall where I could have stashed it! Oh me, I just refuse to buy more, but I really would love to find what I had! It was also interesting to see how much my general decor and house has changed since the remodel...

The green rabbit, above, came from Big Lots, years ago. He had "a matching friend," but that rabbit had an accident and lost one of his ears. I still have the ear and I still have the other rabbit to the set, but can never seem to "find" them at the same time, ...so 7-8 years later, only one is displayable!

....and I wonder why I can't find the rest of my stash! {LOL!}

The vintage looking plate came from JoAnn's Fabrics last year.

I saved the arrangement above, {it's in the MIA stash}, but sadly, I broke the bowl before Christmas. My hope of Easter decor is looking dimmer by the moment, huh? {LOL!}

Below, was the vignette on the foyer table...{before the marble tile was replaced and moldings were updated during the Fall remodel.}

I LOVE the silver tray, below! It was a yard sale find and has such sweet and intricate designs.
The napkin is monogramed and the nest was found at Tuesday Mornings.
The gold metal basket was a flea market score, filled with metallic gold and green eggs.
{Excuse the glare, my photography skills have fortunately grown over the last year, too! :) }

"Where, oh where is my stash???"

The fish is no longer on the coffee table, but the fern is, awaiting these cute little rabbit picks from Pier One.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
I'll be the one covered in dust and webs, searching.....
{sigh}
~Rhonda :)

{under the weather}

...Be Back Soon! ~Rhonda :)

{what a difference a week makes}

Has it really been almost a week since my last post?

It has been a busy one,

...and a crazy one, as far as the WEATHER goes!

Monday and Tuesday, we had overnight temps in the teens.

To some of you in other parts of the country, that may be a winter heatwave! {LOL!}

But to me, that is pretty doggone cold, and not something we see often.

...and, we also had SNOW FLURRIES Monday morning.

Snow, three times in one year!

That is about half the amount of snow I have seen in my entire 40 years.

So much for global warming!

But one thing about the weather in the South, give it DAY, and it can change drastically!

{...reeking havoc on one's sinus'! ugh!}

This weekend, we are anticipating upper 70-80 degree temps,

and lots of GLORIOUS SUNSHINE!

Which has me in the mood for spring and yarkwork!

My MIL stayed with us Monday-Wednesday, and we explored a little yesterday before she left. I found the new garden flag and bow above. And she bought the cute little rabbit plate for me below, at a local gift shop. ...much needed inspiration and boost to welcome spring and Easter.

{Now if I can just remember where the rest of my Easter decorations are stashed! I really have no inkling! Not good! LOL!}

So with the rising temps, I am itching to get out in the yard.
After doing some house cleaning today, that is where I will be tomorrow!
Josh has aired the tires of my trusty, old wheelbarrow, I've purchased a few pansies,
....GREAT OUTDOORS, here I come!


"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, 'I Love You"

~Rhonda ;)