One Thing Led To Another

My "to do" list today included working in the garden and cleaning the house. Everything started according to plan. The morning was lovely and fresh so I spent quite a bit of time in my garden. As I always do now that things are blooming, I picked some flowers to bring inside. Today I chose the verbena. The blossoms are huge and it's hard to get a vase that will hold them in. This large green bowl seemed to be the best fit for them and I decided to put them on the mantle in the living room. That's when one thing led to another.

I'm not sure if it was the green bowl, or these beautiful place mats and napkins that my friend Karen gave me, or all the luscious green outside. Whatever it was, it led me to remove all the red in the room and go on a search for other green items I had around the house.I put these little green gourds in a footed Delft bowl that my dad brought back from Holland when I was just a young girl. Put a green plate on a stand beside my blue and white.

Stacked up some blue and green gardening booksAnd the mantle is complete. When I saw how fresh looking the green was I looked around to see what else I had that was green and I remembered that I had a cloth from a few years ago which fits the round table. So I rummaged through the closets until I found it, pressed it and put in on the table. A couple more green books and some greens picked from outside, a pale blue vase and some pale blue books and it's looking very light and airy and springlike.Then the quilt hanging over the couch looked a little too dark, so I took down the blue and white one in the front hall and hung it over the couch. Now what am I going to do with the bare wall in the hall? The paintings my mom did are all the colors of spring, and they were just in the guest room, so I put them on the wall in the hall. Then the black hall table looked too dark, so I moved it to the bedroom hallway and put some fake ferns in an old planter that I had in the attic. So here is a view looking from the dining room. I think I've managed to bring spring inside! Another view from the dining room.Now when you come in our front door, this is how it looks. Hmm....that wall in the hallway at the back looks bare. I wonder what I can find to put there?So that's what happened today when one thing led to another. Meanwhile the housecleaning still needs to be done!

Rhondi xo

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Girls just want to have fun, so the song says and there is a lot of fun going on in blogland this weekend. Cielo at The House in The Roses has organized a garden party. Make sure you visit her to see some amazing and beautiful gardens.

Welcome to my garden. Let me show you around. This is a little garden by our side door. My gardening angel greets you as you arrive.
I have fun little pots of sedums and grasses.


There is a sign that gardeners sometimes have in their garden which says, "You should have been here last week!" I kind of feel like that because my garden isn't very full of color right now. These were blooming a month ago. So were these.
This is what's blooming this week, but they are scattered all over the garden, so I thought you'd like to see a close up before we go for a walk through the garden.
Come with me. The favorite thing in my garden right now is this hydrangea bush. I just love it, don't you? I've picked so many blooms already and it's still full!

Let's take a stroll through my garden.

Around the side of the house

Down at the edge of our driveway. I love the Japanese maple!
As you can see, my garden is mostly different shades of green right now. I love the variegated hosta and how it stands out against all the plain green. Perhaps some of you remember Daisy, the deer that had taken up residence in our yard in the winter? Well I think she has been back because some of my hostas have been nibbled!
I have lots of ferns.
and wooded areas.
That's just a little tour of my garden. If you have time, I'll pour you a cold drink. It's pretty hot today!

Two girls who like to have fun are Kari and Kijsa. They are featuring mantles and asked us to show you what are amntles look like.

Here is the mantle in our TV room. As you can see I prescribe to the theory that more is more! I love to mix books, china, pictures and candlesticks on my mantles.


Here is how the same mantle looked last Christmas with a symmetrical arrangement.
This is the summer arrangement on the mantle in our living room. It is just a fireplace front, not a real fireplace but I get to have fun decorating a mantle!!
Here is the same mantle last Christmas.
Make sure you visit Kari and Kijsa to see a lot more interesting mantles. You'll enjoy seeing their wonderful pictures too.

Beverly At How Sweet the Sound is celebrating Pink Saturday. Go visit her and see all the other blogs who are featuring PINK.

So as I said "girls just want to have fun" and there's lots of fun going on in blogland this weekend. Hope you have a great weekend.

Rhondi xo

Christmas Open House

Hi welcome to our home. I've got the candles lit, the music playing. I'm all ready for you. Come in. Make yourself at home. The New York Beauty quilt I made hangs in the front hall.
I put some greenery along with my brass candlestick collection on the living room mantle.A little gold angel sits beside the picture.

Our very traditional tree is in the corner. It's filled with old family ornaments and an assortment of things past down over the years. The red dining room is ready for Christmas all year long. My new red & white tea set and some holly from the garden decorate a side table. I love the way the light shines a reflection on the wall at this time of day.

A little closer view. Even the chandelier gets dressed up for the occasion!
In our TV room the mantle gets greens and red apples. Some more of my candlesticks get red plaid bows. Mr and Mrs Santa look great with the green plates behind them.
I got this funny little wire tree a few years ago and hung a whole lot of little red wooden hearts and birds that I had saved for many years. It sits on the hearth in the TV room. On our breakfast table I placed a little tree filled with some of my blue and white china. I have lots of it, nothing too valuable but all interesting or pretty.

Our kitchen tree has little candle lights, red apples, red wooden bead garland and some special little things that have special meaning for me.
It looks lovely at night.
The hutch beside the kitchen tree gets some special Christmas decor too.


What do I love about my holiday home?

Special family ornaments, like this glass bunch of grapes that have been passed down through the family.

Little things that remind me of family, like this doll my mom had hanging in her studio.
Memories of those special Christmases as a child in Canada when it would magically snow on Christmas Eve. Now the only snow I see is in this little snow globe.Handmade decorations from friends and family, like these ones painted by one of my mom's folk art students, Senta. They are 15 " tall.

Things painted by family members. My sister did this one to represent our daughter.
The best thing I like about my home are the framily and friends who come to visit. This is a wonderful time of year for all of us to reflect on our blessings and to remember why we do all this at this time of year. Jesus is the reason for the season.
I'd love for you to stay longer but I know you have other homes to visit today so please come back when you have more time and I'll put the kettle on and make us a cup of tea. To see the other open houses visit Karla's blog where they are all listed:

http://karlascottage.typepad.com/

Thanks for visiting. Hope you'll come back and visit me again. I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment so I knew you were here.
Rhondi xo