B'ham News Garden Redo Feature

Click to open pics: I got word from the newspaper that the Garden Redo feature would run on the Saturday we left for the beach, so I was so excited to check the paper that morning as we were leaving! Of course, I had to stop & buy extra papers to send my friends and family in Atlanta. I did take it with me to share with my 2 girlfriends that I caught up with at the beach & they thought it was very cool.
Here's my original post on this garden bed, if you'd like to see more pics: Garden Redo


Oh, I have to tell you the story about my 10-year old neighbor, Grant. He was the very first person we met after we moved in here. We were out in the yard just after moving in and Grant from next door showed up and introduced himself. His dad came over and met us too and we eventually met both neighbors next door, who are really sweet people. Grant has helped me out numerous times in the yard. He really did help me pull out those boxwoods, dug holes, watered, and whatever else he can help me with. His dad says he's not so good about helping him at home. He's a sweet kid though & helped us out while we were on vacation by watering our plants. Everyone else I've met in the neighborhood who have moved in after us has already met Grant first. That guy gets around! If everyone were that friendly, all neighborhoods would be the better for it. He looks like Opie Taylor too.


I had several folks at church on Sunday tell me that they had seen the article. I'm honored to make the paper again and will definitely frame these features in my office and hopefully use them on my decorating resume. It's just a fun little something to do! I don't think we ever had anything like this feature in the Atlanta paper, so I had to move to Birmingham for this to happen. My hubby is teasing me about being famous now, so I'll enjoy it and try to keep my head from swelling too much, LOL. :)

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I was tagged by Pat at Back Porch Musings. I was to pick up the book nearest me and turn to page 28, find paragraph 3 and write about that paragraph here. The nearest book was a magazine, Traditional Home, September 2006. The third paragraph is a question from the editors.....If money were no object, how would you remodel your current dwelling? They go on to list reader's comments on how they would remodel their homes. "Wish lists addressed both function & aesthetics, including everything from enlarging a ridiculously small pantry to designing a sublime gathering space for multitudes of friends & generations of family."

So, how would YOU answer that question? I think for me, it would be getting our deck turned into a screened porch. I have all my wicker furniture stored in the garage from my old sunroom & porch & would love to have a nice screened porch to enjoy during Spring-Fall. I know I would use that space a lot if I could snuggle up on my wicker couch & be outdoors all at the same time.

Have a great week!
Hugs,
Rhoda

Back from Seagrove Beach!

We're back! WOW, what an absolutely fantastic week at the beach we had. Truly, the weather could NOT have been more perfect, nor the condo we stayed in. I found this condo online and rented directly from the owners. It was just outside Seaside in Seagrove Beach and was just perfect, nestled off the beaten path, with a nice view of the Gulf from our balcony. Everyday was gorgeous weather, not too hot or humid, but spectacular really. We couldn't have asked for more. You never know what you'll get when you rent a condo, but we were all pleasantly pleased and happy with our choice. It was beautiful furnished in a British Classics style (with neutral earthtones) and my friend said it looked just like me! We really, really relaxed and didn't do a lot of going. We enjoyed the beach everyday, went deep-sea fishing one day, State Park one day, but other than that, it was pretty relaxed and unbusy. Someone asked what books I read. I took several & finished up Lifeguard by James Patterson and got through one of my favorite authors, Nelson DeMille, his latest, Wild Fire. I love his books & this one was a great beach book!

One of my closest friends from Atlanta (Wanda & her hubby, Bill) met us there for 4 nights and then they were headed on to Disney World for the rest of their week. We all had a great time! We went deep-sea fishing one day, which was quite an experience. I've never done that before. My hubby, Peter, loves fishing and had a ball. We all decided to fish, although I wasn't too keen on baiting my hook with those slimy fish heads and squid parts, but I sucked it up & went for it. The guys did great and between all of us we caught about a dozen nice Red Snapper (and a couple of Jacks). My 18-yr. old stepson, Nick, ended up going with us at the last minute. Nick is going to the French Culinary Institite in NY at the moment & is a budding chef. He's up there learning the ropes, cooking in a nice NY restaurant and told us all about that experience. I know he'll do well. Anyway, he cooked fish for us 2 nights & it was fabulous! I've never caught fish much at all, much less took it home & cooked it before, but let me tell you...it's wonderful! We have a nice catch in the freezer now for more great fish dinners.

It was a great week for catching up with friends as well & we met up one night with an old college friend and her husband too. They live in the Panama City area and it was nice to catch up with them after 10 years. One of my very closest friends from Atlanta, Vickie, was also vacationing in the area with her family and we met up one day at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City. It's a beautiful place too. My guys took their fishing poles and had a great time and she and I hung out on the beach under the umbrella catching up. It was such a fun week!

And, last but not least, I got to meet up with one of our wonderful blog gals, JustABeachKat! She is just the most precious lady. We met up with Kat and George at their church, Seaside Chapel, on Sunday morning and it was a really sweet service. The church is just beautiful & we really enjoyed it. Kat told us how much they enjoy living down there and I can definitely see why...IT IS PARADISE!! Kat, I just checked your blog & see you mentioned our visit. Thanks, you're so sweet!

So, there's the recap! Enjoy the pics! I'm telling you girls, if you've never been the Gulf Coast beach (Panama City, Destin, Seagrove, Seaside, Ft. Walton), you are missing out on the best beaches around. It is spectacular scenery and truly paradise. Most of these beach pics were just outside our condo. The dunes are beautiful, the sand is powdery sugar white, and the water is the most glorious color of turquoise blue.

The first 2 photos will open bigger (still don't know why some do & some don't), so to get a great view of how truly spectacular these beaches are, open them up BIG!

My closest friend from Atlanta, Wanda, and her hubby, Bill, on the beach.
Me and one of my best friends from Atlanta, Vickie, at St. Andrews State Park. Don't you love how colorful we are? I love this pic...think I'll have to frame it!
It just doesn't get any better than this!
See the red flag? That means the waves & currents are rough.
The beautiful beaches! Me and my hubby, Peter, out for a morning walk on the beach.
Me, walking in the sand.


Shot from the fishing boat.
Sunset from the fishing boat.

Another shot from the fishing boat.

St. Andrews State Park
Me and Peter on the beach at our condo.
This is one of my favorite shots. This is the beach outside our condo.
Me & Peter again on a morning beachwalk.

Here's our condo....it was really pretty and we would definitely stay there again.

View from our balcony.
Another view from our balcony. The ocean breezes on our balcony were heavenly.
Our beach wasn't that crowded at all. I think this week was perfect...right before school is out and the rates are better too! Me and Kathy (Justabeachkat). She was so sweet & personable & I was so glad we got to meet up. And she is just gorgeous too...the beach really agrees with you, Kat!
My hubby, Peter.....the Angler. That man loves to fish. That was one of his main desires in going to the beach, to get to fish to his heart's content. Well, he did! See the string of fish they are holding up? That's what we all caught! The large fish catch is the whole boat's haul. I actually caught 3 Red snapper myself...I was pretty proud of that. The guys did really well. We so much enjoyed our fresh fish for dinner.
I made it out to take a couple of sunset pics....sunsets just don't get any better than on the beach. The last night we were there the sunset was perfect!
Isn't this just spectacular?!

Hope you all enjoyed going to the beach with me and I wish for you all to have a beach trip planned too! Sun and sand.....ahhhhh, it's the best for relaxation! I will be catching up with all of you soon too. Hope your week was grand! I've missed you all, but really enjoyed my break from the computer for a week. It'll take me forever to get caught up now! And guess what I'll be doing for awhile...yeah, laundry!!

xoxo,

Rhoda

Life is Good at the Beach!

Ahhh, the beach! Indeed, life is Good at the Beach. We're off for a week at the beach! Hope you all have a wonderful week & don't forget about me! I'll take lots of pics & share when I get back. In the meantime, we'll be eating lots of seafood, lounging in the sand (under the umbrella, of course) and relaxing with a good book!

If you've never been to the Gulf Coast of Florida, you are missing out on the best beach experience in the good ole' USA! It's truly the most beautiful beaches around...powdery, sugar white sand, blue skies, & blue-green water. Spectacular! We just love Florida's Gulf Coast! See ya'll soon!

Beach sign Pics courtesy of Stacks & Stacks Homewares & World Market.

A Gift from Sandy & some yardsale finds.....

I've met so many interesting & unique bloggers since I started blogging (how can it be just since February..it seems so much longer!) and Sandy McTier is one of them. If you haven't visted her website, Dream Create Inspire, please do so! Sandy lives in GA and is a very talented painter & had a blog giveaway a couple of weeks ago. I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful hand-painted glass coffee cup & saucer. It arrived last week, so I wanted to share it with all of you. It's hand-painted with hydrangea blooms. She also had in the top of it a silk hydrangea bloom, along with a little birdie (which you can see in the link above). Thank you, Sandy, for a very thoughtful & creative gift! You can also see behind the above cup pic, the address label that was on my package from Sandy. This gal doesn't just write an address on a package...she creates & paints it on there! Have you ever?!

And, for all my fellow yardsale junkies who are wondering....did she go yardsaling last weekend? Yes, indeedy, I did! A friend called & told me there was a church yardsale happening on Sat. a.m. not far from my house & did I want to go. You know I did! So, we went there bright & early & I snatched up some pretty neat things.

Oil painting of Venice in a nice frame for $6.00. I put this in our master bedroom. Looks good with all the other paintings I have in there with blue in them.

Silverplate covered sugar dish, $1.00. It's pretty tarnished & I think I'll clean it up & see how it looks.
Metal leaf/acorn tray. This needs some touch-up paint, but it's so cute... 50 cents

Very pretty & finely stitched needlepoint picture, $1.00

All these linens were $10.00. There's actually 7 pieces, but this collage repeated 2 of them. There's a sampler, a yellow rose, and some other pretty vintage things. I don't really collect these, but they were too pretty to pass up, so I'll probably resell some of these items.

I'm seriously thinking about starting some sort of resale business, where I buy yardsale items, fix them up & resell them. I find so many great things, but simply cannot house them all at my home! I'm running out of space!!

I checked at a local antique mall for prices on their booth spaces. The smallest booth they had was $160 a month. I know several of my fellow bloggers have an internet business, Ebay business or an antique booth. I'd love to hear some feedback from all of you who do have businesses & let me know how you got started, what you do to sell things & how it's working for you. I'm just mulling over some ideas, but would love some down-to-earth feedback from any of you who are doing this. I have sold some things on Ebay, but the shipping & packaging on larger, heavier items is really prohibitive on trying to sell small furniture items this way or items that are very fragile. So, I'd really like to do something....just not sure how to get it off the ground. I'm doing a small amount of decorating consulting & that's just getting off the ground too & I'd love to do more of that, but it takes awhile to build a business & get your name out there. I would love to combine my decorating abilities with reselling yardsale items & make a go of that. Any ideas for me? I'd love any feedback from all of you fine women out there who are so creative & talented!

I also want to say to all of you who stop by & visit my blog...thank you SO much! I'm honored to have made so many new friends in such a short time & I'm having a ball doing this. Your comments mean so much to me & I love it when you do take the time to let me know you're here. So, to all my new & old friends, thanks a bunch!

Mother's Day Memories

This Mother's Day was a really good one. I went over on Sunday morning & joined my parents at church. We came home & then went over to my sister's house, where she had prepared lunch for all of us. My hubby, Peter, spent the day with his mom in B'ham, so I went alone this time to spend time with my family. It was a beautiful summery day & we sat on the porch & enjoyed the fresh breeze. I know my Mama was happy to have all her chicks with her this year!

It's just me and my sister, Renee (she's 2 years older than me) and she has only one daughter, Lauren (who's 24). Since I don't have kids of my own, Lauren's the only grandchild & my parents absolutely dote on her. She's a little spoiled (since we've all been guilty of that), but we are so very proud of her. Lauren is especially close to my parents & informed me today when we were chatting on the phone that she's never leaving the Atlanta area, cause she does not want to be away from her grandparents. I think she'll stick to that one too! Lauren is graduating next Saturday from The University of Georgia Lawschool. She finished her 4 year degree & has now completed 3 years of lawschool. Think we're a little proud of that girl? Yep, we are! She has a job lined up this fall at a local law firm in Marietta (where they all live).
My niece, Lauren; Sister, Renee; Mom, Iris; and me
Here we are in the shade of the deck. As usual, I have no clue why some pics open larger & some don't. This one seems to be the only clickable one! My sister made chicken divan, green beans & almonds, black-eyed peas & homemade rolls! It was delish! I brought the strawberry shortcake & it was yummy too!

Here's my sister & brother-in-law's back deck where they spend a lot of time. It's a beautiful paradise in their backyard. They spent about 3 years landscaping & working on this backyard & my BIL, Bruce, built the pond from scratch. It's truly a backyard tropical oasis & they love having parties & spending time out there in the summer. Thought I'd share some of the backyard pics with my fellow gardeners. Their lot is not that big & slopes up in the back, so it was perfect for a stream & waterfall. They have koi & goldfish in the pond. Hope you all enjoy the pics! It was a perfect day to take in the fresh air & beauty of the backyard.
My little garden redo didn't run yet, but it is supposed to hit the paper this Saturday. We are leaving then for a week at the beach, so I'll have to post that when we return.

Hope you all have a wonderful sunshiny week!