China Replacements

Do you like china?  I know many of you do and you would love this place! It's Replacements Ltd near Greensboro NC.  At Replacements they carry pieces of china patterns that have been discontinued.  

There are cases and cases of plates showing the most popular patterns they carry extending down a very long hallway. 

More cases

In the main showroom there are more cases filled with more beautful china, showing lots of serving dishes and  other accessories for the patterns.

Several cases full of chintz which I would love to own.

The china cabinets that house the china are all different and very beautiful too.

This is Flora Danica, a pattern I've always admired.

Isn't this sweet?

These are giant blue pieces from their museum collection.

At the back there is an overstock room where all the china is reduced quite drastically.  There are shelves and shelves of it.  There wasn't just blue transferware, but I took photos of it because...well I'm sure most of you know my love affair with blue and white china!

I think this art nouveau style  from their museum is so fabulous.

And tucked away in one corner was a small room,

filled with bargains.

and more bargains.

It was just an an amazing experience, but do you know what the most amazing thing of all was? 

I didn't buy one thing! 

My reason for going there was to sell some china that I had bought at a yard sale, so I was very determined to leave with a profit.  It took a lot of willpower, but I didn't even look at the bargains.  That way I wasn't tempted to buy anything.  I was very proud of myself.

Rhondi xo

The Party's Over

Thanks to all of you who came to the pillow party and who participated.  We all saw some beautiful pillows and it was fun to make some new friends too! 

Molly B makes these wonderful burlap pillows with words and she is having a giveaway.  You'll have to get there quickly though because the giveaway ends tomorrow, January 13 at 6:00 PM 

If you like china you will want to come back tomorrow.  That's all I'm going to say.

Rhondi xo

Pillow Party

Welcome to my pillow party.  I'm so glad you decided to visit.   

There are so many uses for pillows in our homes.  Here are just a few of them. I like to use pillows to add interest to a plain chair.  This is one I made, hand appliqued and quilted.

Sometimes two pillows look even better,so I added this little yard sale needlepoint one. It's not very comfortable to sit in this chair with two  pillows, so you have to remove them when you sit there!

I use pillows for comfort.  There are two on my chaise.  The top one I made and the other I've had for years.

I like to use them to add color to a room. These red ones add color to my white couch and get changed to yellow in the spring.

Of course we need pillows on our beds.  One or two are definitely not enough. Red pillows on a guest bed.

Quilted pillow on another guest bed, didn't make these.

  The needlepoint one was given to me by a friend.

What prompted this party in the first place was Manuela's post on pillows .  Don't you just love all the inspiration you get reading blogs?   I was making  some new pillows for our bed, so I thought it would be fun to show them to you and see what pillows you have in your homes. Here is what I made.  If you are interested maybe I could do a little tutorial on how to make them.

They are so nice and cozy on the bed.  Notice the ones with the teapot fabric have dotted fabric on the back.  I didn't have enough fabric but I think it looks better that way!

Detail of the patchwork one, with a yo yo in the center.  I made this one quite a while ago and probably showed it to you before.

I just love how the pillows look against the backdrop of my quilt.  Some of the pillows are down and  they are so soft and cushy.  Is that a word?

Here are some brownies I made.  I promised you refreshments!  I'll go and get the tea and be back in a minute.

Now I can't wait to visit all of you and see your pillows! Thanks for coming.

Rhondi xo

If you are joining the party, please publish your post first and then come and sign up.  Make sure you link to the exact post not your general URL.

Kisses

I heard a wonderful saying today.
We kiss our children not so they'll kiss us back. 

We kiss our children so that they'll kiss their children and they'll kiss their children and they'll kiss their children.

Don't forget about the pillow party I'm having Monday.  I'll have the post up late Sunday night so you can link up.  Click the button on my sidebar for more details.  Please grab the button and use it on your own blog.

I hope you're having a good weekend.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Good morning.

My husband just came into the room where I am writing this and said, "Thankful Thursday"!  For any first time readers, every Thursday I make a list of things I am thankful for.  I have been doing this for quite a while but now I am keeping count because of an idea that I got from Ann at Holy Experience.

So here is my list for today:

a creative mom

a compassionate sister

a dad with integrity

a hardworking husband

sun rises  a little earlier in the mornings

warm pajamas

cozy bed

hot cup of tea

my own studio

kids and grandkids healthy

husband's cheerfulness every morning

feeling hopeful today

how God's word can change my outlook

time sewing yesterday

more time to sew today

forsythia buds turning green. 

# 523-538

Did you know that being thankful is actually good for you?

A study reported in Psychology Today reported that  "In general, participants who were asked to think about what they were grateful for, compared to control condition participants, experienced greater levels of optimism, positive mood, and feelings of belongingness over the period of the study. That is, experiencing gratitude promoted psychological well-being. Further, in one study, these participants reported fewer physical illness symptoms and indicated spending more time exercising. This suggests that gratitude may also promote healthy living. Also, these participants were more likely to report helping someone with a personal problem or offering emotional support to others. In other words, gratitude may also motivate pro-social or moral behavior." 

That is quite amazing, isn't it?

If you would like to join me and do a Thankful Thursday post today, just sign in with Mr Linky below.   Please make sure you link to the actual post, not your general URL. Please feel free to copy the daisy button too.

So what are you thankful for today?

Oh, and don't forget about my Pillow Party on Monday!

Feeling Winter, Thinking Spring

Winter is here in full force, even in North Carolina.   Many parts of the country are covered in snow.  My friend Liisa in Sweden said the temperature was going down to -40 celsius, which is also -40 fahrenheit.  That's COLD!!!

Spring is a long way off for most of us, but I have a way to force spring to come to my house a little early this year.

On Saturday I cut off a few forsythia branches and brought them inside.  I smashed the ends of the stems so that they will absorb more water, and put them in a vase.  This process is called "forcing".

Already there is a little bit of green beginning to show in the buds.

It didn't cost me a cent and I'll get lots of enjoyment from it.

My mother,whose name was Barbara used to bring a few branches of forsythia in and force it just like I did.  She always mentioned it had something to do with Saint Barbara's Day.  The legend was that you cut some branches on Dec 4 and if they bloomed on Christmas Day you would have good luck the next year. You can read about the legend here if you're interested.

So today as I look out on a cold day, I have a promise of spring in my home.

Is there anything you do to try to bring spring into your home?

Rhondi xo

Pillow Party

It's the time of year when many of us are happy to put away the Christmas decorations and do a little refreshing or fluffing in our homes.  And what better thing to fluff than pillows?  One of my favorite bloggers, Manuela at Pleasures of Homemaking had a great post  the other day about how she  restyled some of her pillows.  She is always showing us some wonderfully creative idea that fits the budget.

All of us have lots of pillows in our homes.  Let's have a pillow party and show off our favorite ones!  They can be ones you've had forever or ones that you make or spruce up just for the party.  Just take some fun photos and link up with me next Monday.

Aren't these pillows beautiful?  I wish they were mine!

If you participate in Mary's Mosaic Monday you could make a collage of your pillow photos and join both of us.  I'll provide the refreshments.

Please copy this photo and tell your friends.  It will be fun!!

Rhondi xo