Playing with Food....

Growing up there were three places you absolutely minded your manners and did not misbehave, ...school, church, and the dinner table. There were a lot of rules at the dinner table, and yet, I digress! :) Oh, the shame of it all, the kids and I have been having a little fun in the kitchen....and at the dinner table!

Wednesday night, I made grilled cheese sandwiches out of a french loaf, which I give Nancy, at Southern Lady credit for, (and they were delicious!). I served them along with chicken alphabet soup. Ashley was down to the last 7 letters of her soup, and they spelled OBAMA. (Well, we fudged a little and made the H stand in for an A in a distorted manner! LOL!)

Note: NO endorsements here.... :)

David still had a bowl full of noodles, so they decided to put a plug in for the other candidate....
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Lisa, at Stop and Smell the Chocolates, on Fridays, is the host of a chocolate recipe swap. Go visit her for more yummy chocolate...

Last night I made Chocolate-covered Pumpkin Pretzels. They were festive, fun to make, and so tasty!!! The pretzel molds came from Wal-mart.

Gathered the ingredients, chocolate wafers and large stick pretzels. The pretzels were found at the Dollar Tree.

Melted the chocolate in the microwave and filled the molds...
After just a short while in the refrigerator, they were ready to eat...
Aren't they cute....and taste even better than they look! :)

That's all I have for this Friday! :) Hope it is a great one for you all! ~Rhonda

A Day Late...

I had all intentions and plans of getting this post up yesterday, but it didn't work out. One reason, Ashley took the following pictures with her cell and I had to load them from her phone. (Excuse the blurriness and quality.) Which brings me to my topic for E.W.W......PLANS.

A couple of weeks ago, we took the kids to the farm to ride around and play with their cousins. Kevin and I decided to take the golf cart out, while Ashley and David were waiting at the house for Uncle Darren, Garrett, and Tyler to arrive. We were quite excited to have a little alone time, just the TWO of us! As we began our "journey," we had no idea that this lie ahead.

Kevin drove through the field, and then onto to the loop that circles the woods. It was quite a distance from the house, ...what seemed like 5 miles to me, but actually wasn't even a mile! LOL! We got half way through the narrow path and encountered the mud hole above. It was a "mud boggers" dream and I suggested that we not try to go through it. However, Mr. Stubborn just sped up and tried to take it wide open. And mind you, not with a four-wheeler, or gator, or any other all terrain vehicle, ...but a golf-cart. Kevin's plan to make it to the other side of the mud hole didn't pan out to well, and we ended up stuck and stranded! ...with no cell phone, in the woods crawling with snakes, mosquitoes, and who knows what else. Having no other option, we began our trek on foot, back to the house. When we got about half way through the field, Darren and the kids spotted us and came to "our rescue. " :)

David was the lightest one of us all, so he had the pleasure of steering as we pulled the cart out with the truck.

David, Garrett, and Tyler got stuck in another mud hole on the way back to the house, but they weren't near as upset as I was! LOL!

I thought about all the plans we make, some good and some bad. And those that are intended to be good sometimes have the opposite outcome. I looked up the meaning of plans in the dictionary, and it means: "a scheme, or method worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective. " God tells us in His Word, in Jeremiah 29:11, that he has plans for us and in His perfect plan and will, He has a predestined objective for our lives.

This is one of my favorite verses, with such a powerful message. God knows each of us personally. He has a plan, and offers us HOPE in Him. I am so glad that His plans are perfect, and turn out much better than mine ever could! "smiles" ~Rhonda

Goodies Galore...

A Little Family History...

Yesterday, I posted this picture of the Alton Lennon Federal Courthouse, located in Downtown Wilmington. I'd like to share a family-related historical tidbit about it.

The Courthouse was built from 1914-1916.

Kevin's Grandaddy Coot was among some young neighborhood boys playing in the street outside, as the very first court was called into session. To pick the first jury, the judge sent someone outside, holding a hat full of names. He instructed the man to have one of the boys pull names out of the hat for jurors. The six year old little boy who picked the first jury for Federal Court at the new courthouse, was Kevin's Grandaddy.

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Now on to the Goodies...

I recently participated in the Very Vintage Halloween Swap hosted by Heidi, at Foxgloves, Fabric, and Folly. I met a sweet, new blogger friend through the swap, my partner Lori, from Morning Glories and Moonflowers. She sent me a FABULOUS package of Fall Goodies!

The excitement mounted as I opened the box and saw the green shiny tinsel and purple tissue paper.
Each item was individually wrapped with festive ribbons, that I plan to reuse! :)

Did I make out, or what??? Look at the amazing gifts Lori sent! I just love it all!

David joined in the excitement and helped unwrap, and pose the items for pictures!

Look at this precious little cat couple....

Lori made the super cute button bracelet, and sells them in her etsy shop! Ashley has been eyeing the bracelet, and the mug! David was most impressed that I received "Bath and Body Works Pumpkin Handsoap!" LOL!


Lori also made the beautiful glittery BOO blocks, below!

Thank You so much Lori! You made my day, especially with the hand-crafted items, and I will think of you for years to come, as I enjoy them each Fall!

FOUND GOODIES...

I have been going through some stuff that has been packed up for years, from a house we moved from 12 years ago! Some of the things, I have wondered where they were, and others I had forgotten about! I RE-found some pretty cool treasures that came from yard sales, auctions, or were handed-down. Kevin, Ashley, and I have been taking a long trip down memory lane, as each item was uncovered!

The white hobnail Milk Glass Pitcher is now being used as a tea pitcher.

The blue "airplane spoon," was Ashley's when she was a toddler! And yes, we sailed many a vegetable through the air, making swooping plane sounds, trying to entice Ashley to take a bite! :)
My Grandmother Butler made the rabbit and attire! I'm trying to figure out the best way to clean her. She also gave me the "Turnabout" Cookie Jar,...it's "two-faced." I doubt the paint was original, but added by a previous owner! :)

The Pillsbury Dough Boy, below was mine as a child, dated 1971. I just love this round white puffy guy! The black spice holders were handed down from Kevin's family.


And this was my favorite find...
An old scale!
As of last Friday, I had nothing to post! Now I seem to have abundance of material.... What a difference a few days makes! LOL! Thanks for all of your encouragement! ~Rhonda :)

~ I'm Back....

...and I have new stuff to post and share!

Saturday morning, the temperature was 75 degrees and not a cloud to be seen in the sky! ...Beautiful day!!! Not a day to stay home and look at this....

I bet some of you thought I was kidding when I said I had a toilet on the front porch! Unfortunately I was not, but am SO HAPPY to report, it is now back in it's appropriate place! Someone, (noone is owning up to it), decided that it would be real funny to put the pumpkin on top and make it a part of my fall vignette! I didn't find it that amusing! ...well, maybe just a little, but they will never know! :)

Anyhow, Ashley and I decided to go into Wilmington to the annual Riverfest! My mom lives half way between my home and Wilmington, so we stopped by to see if she wanted to go with us. She protested, stating all the things she needed to stay and do! But it was a "no excuse, we are playing hooky, kind of day," so off we went, with Nana in tow!

As you can see in the picture below, the turnout this year was incredible! I didn't get any pictures of the crafts or food vendors. It was just too crowded! But it was nice just to be in the midst of the festivities and hear the live music, and feel the glorious sunshine! :)

If you watched the TV series, Matlock, on air from 1986-1995, you will recognize the Federal Courthouse, Downtown. If you look in the center of the picture, there is a large beautiful fountain at the top of the stairs.

Segments of ONE TREE HILL, were filmed around the buildings and river boardwalk in the next few pictures.

Cape Fear River Bridge, the "Entrance to the City," in the background...

And what is a port city without a few PIRATES...

This was a pleasant sight to behold, a beautiful "garden" on the balcony outside the top story of an old renovated brick building...



Thalian Hall, which houses City Hall and a beautiful theater that still operates, "Opera House" Live Productions. ....celebrating 150 years!

The Old Courthouse Downtown...

Coast Guard Ship in Port...

The USS North Carolina Batteship Memorial, across the Cape Fear River. A Car Show was being held on the grounds in conjunction with RiverFest.

...off on a small tangent... For those of you that live in NC and get OUR STATE Magazine, the Battleship and it's "shadowy~guests" are featured this month.

Navy Ship in town, just for the weekend...

Ashley wanted to hit Plato's Closet, while we were in town. It is a resale shop for Teens, and I believe it is a chain like Once Upon a Child, just for older kids.

I liked to have fainted and fell out...really I did! ...when I spotted these Donald Pliner heels! Oh, be still my heart!

...For only EIGHT BUCKS!!! And they are like Brand New! I wore them to church Sunday morning, and about half way through Sunday School, I remembered I had forgotten to remove the price sticker on the bottom of the shoe. Then I couldn't recall which shoe the sticker was on, so I couldn't cross my legs, for fear that the $8 sticker would show! LOLOL! Now don't judge me....I know that shouldn't matter, but y'all know there are "times" when it does! LOL!

The Goodwill just happened to be on the same side of town as Plato's Closet. :) I was tickled to find the rabbit, which I am using as a pencil holder on the built-in desk in the kitchen. He is 16" tall, made of resin, and so heavy! He is one cute chef!

Hope you enjoyed the tour, and more importantly, I hope you were able to enjoy the weekend in your town as well! It was certainly just what I needed! :) ~Rhonda