Red and white is dynamite...

Creative idea for an old birdcage...

Someone had the fantastic idea of turning an old birdcage into a chair. I would like to put shorter legs on one and use it for a dog bed. I'll bet the tiny pooch in the photo would agree.

Trailer-park chic...

This photo of Cyndi Lauper is one of my favorites. I think she's absolutely fabulous...


Linking to Rednesday and Mellow Yellow Monday

If I ever got married again...

I don't plan to ever have another wedding, but if I did, I think I would want to a red wedding gown. I think they are gorgeous. The top one is my favorite. Which one is yours?

All of these are surpisingly affordable and available from Romantic Gowns.

Linking to Rednesday

Birdhouse brings back fond memories...

Seeing this handmade red and white birdhouse brings back some very fond memories for me.

My grandparents divided their time between a wonderful home in Houston and the Old House, which my grandmother called, "the country."

Grandmother and Pa's next-door neighbors in Houston were a retired Army Colonel, who we called "Colonel," and his wife, Boo, which was short for Beulah. You have never met a more proper Southern couple than Boo and the Colonel.

Here are 10 things I remember about Colonel and Boo...

1) They never had any children of their own.

2) When Boo served us soft drinks, she'd always drop in a plastic piece of ice with a fly in it... much to our delight, of course.

3) Grandmother told us to stay off their grass and never to touch anything in their house.

4) Colonel had a fantastic collection of beer steins from Germany. They were way up high on shelves all over the house.

5) If Boo had a piece of furniture you weren't allowed to sit on, you'd know it, because it would have a piece of string tied across the seat.

6) Boo buzzed around Houston in her mint-condition Volkswagon Bug while her also-mint-condition '65 mustang stayed at home in the garage... I'm telling you, she was fabulous.

7) They had the biggest bottle of Old Granddad on their kitchen counter. It was so large, it sat on a wooden stand that tilted so it could be poured.

8) Boo was homesick for Victoria, Texas.

9) It was a rare honor for a child to be a guest of Colonel and Boo.

10) One day my brother and I spent all day in the Colonel's garage and he helped us build this birdhouse which still sits on a shelf in the Old House...

I'm so glad we held onto this treasure for so many years. I hope the Colonel is looking down from heaven and smiling.

Linking to Make it for Monday, Metamorphasis Monday, Motivate Me Monday, Make Your Monday, Transformation Thursday, Rednesday, Show and Tell Friday, Saturday Night Special

My favorite sunset photo...

I took this photo in the pasture behind our house a few years ago. Isn't it glorious?

Happy Rednesday!

Linking to Rednesday at It's a Very Cherry World

Perfect for the Old House porch...

Ya'll know I hate to run a blog post in the ground but I still can't get this red furniture out of my head. Can you believe I go to Kmart every now and then just to sit in them?

So, please forgive the duplicate post but I'm obsessed and I just can't help myself.

Sooooo.... I was in Kmart last week buying a 12-pack of diet Coke when I spotted this adorable, red bistro set. Yes, I actually gasped! I have fought off the urge to go back and get the chairs every day since. Then there's the matching bench...

Wouldn't this look so cute on the Old House porch? Unfortunately, I don't have room for them in Wyoming. Should I really consider buying them for a vacant house?

In case you don't have a Kmart, they are also available at Sears.

Linking to Rednesday

Meatloaf Muffins...

When I started this blog, I vowed to not include a bunch of recipes or cleaning tips because, well, let's face it, a Domestic Goddess, I am not. But this little time-saving tidbit is definitely worth a mention.

I learned this trick back when I worked for the REA magazine. We had a reader-submitted recipe page and one of our regulars sent us this tip.

Photo from whatscookingamerica.com

Basically, you take any meatloaf recipe and, instead of baking it in a loaf pan, you bake it in muffin tins. Since the "loaves" or "muffins" are much smaller than a standard meatloaf, cooking time is cut down to about half an hour. Brilliant!

Photo from myrecipes.com

This is one of my favorite cooking shortcuts. I love meatloaf but get home late from work so making a normal meatloaf during the week has us eating way too late.

I hope I have satisfied my Domestic Goddess requirement for the month (year, perhaps).

Linking to Rednesday at It's a Very Cherry World

Candy apples, cherries and polka dots...

As you probably know by now, I used to have an addiction to making these sets on Polyvore. Today, I am sharing with you some of my sets which feature red.

Going on a first date at the county fair... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring French Sole shoes

Very cherry paradise... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Dollydagger

Casual Friday... Casual Saturday by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Volcom jeans

Color, pattern, texture, shine... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Dorothy Perkins jeans

Afternoon at Fashion Week... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Vera Wang jewelry

Box seats... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Chanel

I love rock and roll... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug featuring Wet Seal shorts


Tubing the Frio... by Pete's Blue Scooterbug


So, if you are looking for a fun way to pass the time, pop on over to Polyvore and give it a try. I know you'll love it.

Linking to Rednesday

A penchant for pine cones...

Did you know I love pine cones? My sister loves them too.

I grew up in an area of Southeast Texas called the Big Thicket where there are lots of pine trees. To me, they symbolize home. The Big Thicket is one of the nation's few National Preserves.

On my way to the bank every afternoon for work, I've been seeing these beauties scattered on the ground. So, I got off a few minutes early last Friday, grabbed myself a plastic bag and picked them.

I just ordered matching sterling-silver pine cone necklaces for me and my sister.

These pine cones are different from the ones in Southeast Texas. They are much smaller and softer. The species of pines I'm familiar with are Loblolly and Long-Leaf.

The tree at work is more like a gigantic Christmas tree with a really long trunk. I wonder if it's a Blue Spruce?

I have a basket of gigantic pine cones that were my grandmother's. They are way up high on a shelf and I will have to dust them if I take them down. See the dust?

You know how I loathe dusting. (You would understand how much I hate it if you lived here, 5 miles down a gravel road, with no sidewalks, 600 cows in your yard and hardly ever a drop of rain.) But this is not about that. This is about some of Mother Nature's finest little treasures... pine cones...

I just love the color, texture and they smell so good.

For the time being, I have put my new little finds in this cute red basket which usually holds our mail. It's not quite large enough so I'll have to find something else.

Linking to Rednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

Perfect for the Old House porch...

Sooooo.... I was in Kmart last week buying a 12-pack of diet Coke when I spotted this adorable, red bistro set. Yes, I actually gasped! I have fought off the urge to go back and get the chairs every day since. Then there's the matching bench...

Wouldn't this look so cute on the Old House porch? Unfortunately, I don't have room for them in Wyoming. Should I really consider buying them for a vacant house?

In case you don't have a Kmart, they are also available at Sears.

Linking to Rednesday