Look at this!

Yesterday we had Jenny jump into the single-wide with us... and look what talent she brought with her!  I just had to share in case you haven't been to visit her!  I think she has a new fan in me... ANYBODY that can combine my obsession with "modern" chairs, vintage dresses and I would knock somebody down for those heels has to be someone I need to stalk in blog land! LOL
She can be found here and here!

I'm off to enjoy my Friday evening with my foot on the sewing machine peddle while dodging armadillo's... what are you up to tonight?

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... hee-hee
;-)  Robelyn

You see I see

Sweaters... next to dresses and frilly skirts - are my favorite!!! I love winter - and sometimes I can be caught in mid-summer wrapped up in a cute cardigan!!! That's just the way I roll....my sweater sleeves up. haha

Do you remember when I went to Athens after Thanksgiving? And how Debbie inspired me to hang my sweaters on the back of my dining chairs?

I haven't looked at sweaters the same since then. LOLOL I'm not the only one that sees them differently...

When I was re-setting the "red.neck" space in the antique mall a few weeks ago (bye bye Christmas, welcome winter!) I sure 'nuff thought of the lovely trash diva as I whipped up a pillow to put in my chair...

all it needs now is one of Jenn's corsages!!! Yeah, that was a blatant hint that I want one of those Jenn.  LOL

And have you seen what Troy has been up to?  Fantastic mind... fantastic junk...

I wonder what would happen if I hang my sweater on my lamp?  Hmmm..... Did you know that Troy and Rod are here in Waco? (I saved the BEST fact about Waco for last!) Well, they aren't here this week-end 'cause they are in Canton - but they live here and create great things here and you HAVE to go peruse their warehouse!!!  In the meantime - you should go see the two masterminds in Canton... looks to me they have a load of the coolest of cool stuff... and sweaters to!!!

So... do you WEAR your sweaters or do you DECORATE with your sweaters?  What do you make with them?

Comin' to you LIVE from a warm single-wide 'cause I hung my sweater from the ceiling fan... hee-hee
;-)  Robelyn

For Your Information...

 
Okay so - last night I went to my banquet and it turns out that my outfit WAS cute and anthro worthy... and of course my handbag was the bestestestest... well, other than the other ones of mine that were there.  LOL  I love my customers why yes I do!!! heeeeeee haw!

The banquet that I had to go duct tape was for the Waco Chamber of Commerce... have you ever been to Waco, TX? Let me give you a general run-down on Waco... yes, it stands for "We Ain't Comin' Out" and could be pronounced "Wacko" if you are so inclined.  ha HA!

Waco is named after the Huaco Indians, the first inhabitants of this area. And no - we don't all of us run around sportin' a feathered head-dress... although... that could be fun and I DO have feathers!!!

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885.  There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.  We have a Dr Pepper museum... and lots of Dr Pepper.  And it's good... look - someone even made a cake using it!

1 box yellow cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 10 oz. can of Dr. Pepper
3/4 cups walnuts (Chopped)
Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and enough Dr. Pepper to make a thin glaze.

Turn oven to 350 degrees.Grease a bundt pan.Mix all ingredients together and pour into bundt pan.
Bake for one hour. After cake cools , pour glaze over the top. Cut and serve.

That's some Pepper Love!!!

We have... Baylor University (chartered in 1845), a mammoth site (the nation's first and only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Pleistocene mammoths), Texas Rangers museum (meaning... don't mess with us - we have law and order (bootleggers and spies beware), and - Elvis played here before a packed house on October 12, 1956.  Oh wait, he used to hang out here all of the time - Ft. Hood is just a few pastures (and mine fields) away!

Waco ALSO has a suspension bridge AND a traffic circle!

Cool, right?  Well - it is unless you are dizzy from driving 'round and 'round on the circle for 2 hours and then try to cross the suspension bridge.  I got my first kiss on the end of that suspension bridge (sssshhhhhhhh don't tell my Mother!!!)!  The suspension bridge was the longest single-span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi when it was completed in 1870.  The bridge was built with cable supplied by the John Roebling Co., who built the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City!

If ALL of that isn't enough... Waco is the home of:

(you knew I was bringing you the good stuff, right?  LOL)

Honey's Home+Style

and...

Laverty's... I wish I had a microphone right now 'cause Laverty's and Honey's were said in my most reverent of voices...

If meeting me is not enough to entice you to come visit Waco, and Dr Pepper isn't enough to entice you to come to Waco, then you HAVE to come to meet Pat at Laverty's and Honey at Honey's Home+Style!!!  I get lost in BOTH of those stores for HOURS and am perfectly happy doing so!!!

My FAV-O-RITE trash Mama Debbie, the "bat-your-eyelashes" charmster Cat Daddy, and the dynamic duo of Liz and Fran came to see me in Waco... and Debbie decided to mimic the sparkle she puts in my eyeballs with a blinged out "Waco" for me!!!  Don'tcha just love her?  I do. Wait 'til you see what it came attached to!!!  hee-hee...

That's it!  Now.  When are you coming to visit?

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide...hee-hee

;-) Robelyn

It's All A Conspiracy.

Anthropologie...

 

 

I have my cute little dress picked out for the banquet I have to go to tonight... perfect accessories - I even have good hair today.  And then?  Anthropologie has to email me.... and now nothing in my wardrobe is just right.

I think it's all a conspiracy.  Hmmmm..... I think I'll start randomly emailing out pictures of my purses...

I wonder if subliminal duct taping works?  Wanna be my test subject?

Comin' to you LIVE from a woefully inadequate closet in the single-wide... hee-hee

:-) Robelyn

Upwind from Change.

My Grandparents were instrumental in my childhood. Very much a part of who I am today.

My Grandfather...

My work ethics I learned from him. Wanna know how he taught me? Picking up sticks. Yep... sticks. And since he lived in East Texas - the land of trees - this was pretty much a never ending job. LOL It was our job (I have 2 brothers). Now – just so you don’t think he was horrible – we got to ride around in a trailer behind his lawn tractor... he liked to pop wheelies... we liked for him to pop wheelies. LOLOL

He taught me patience – and to just work at it until it was done. And he taught me that even though I was working, it didn’t have to be mundane – there were so many ways to make it fun. Example: stick fights with your little brother – you would have thought we were “masters of the sword”. Did I mention that he popped wheelies? I mean – c’mon – how fun is THAT?!!? I used to love tagging along behind my Grandfather... we never did anything fast – always ALWAYS he practiced great patience. But each and every time we got whatever we were doing done. And it was done right. And when it was done we played in his toy shed (yep – a whole ENTIRE shed dedicated to toys) or we went fishing – sometimes just a boat ride - or we would stick our tongues out at the horse in the pasture... and laugh when we figured out that we had in turn taught the horse to stick his tongue out back at us.

My Grandmother...

I don’t even know where to start here. She taught me how to sew. She taught me how to do laundry. She taught me how to crochet, she allowed me to have my nose buried in a book as many hours of the day as I could – she listened to me pick away on her piano and miss all of the notes. She taught me how to stand my ground and know when to let the little things go – how to love – how to always have time for a coffee break just to chat - how to approach life with a grin – how to always have faith - how to always be kind and pure of heart. She REALLY tried to teach me how to cook. The sewing and laundry I have down pat... the cooking? I’m pretty sure I was out popping wheelies on the lawn tractor during those lessons. And... the laundry thing could be questionable. Luckily for me I like pink.

Between the two of them I learned about change. They were like two solid rocks when I was growing up - two lighthouses if you will. They were always there – watching their children change, watching their grand-children change – watching the world change. And I know now that their world changed – a lot, yet you never saw them fazed by it. I’m sure they were, but seriously – you would not have ever guessed it. From big things like life to little things like setting out for a day at the grocery store – but not ever making it there because there were too many garage sales on the way. LOL I wouldn’t be human if I said that I’m not at least a little bit skeert of change. I am – professional and personal change, physical and mental change – life. However, luckily for me, I am just flighty enough to not realize it’s happening until after the fact and I usually have a “huh” moment when I realize things are drastically different. I’m just cool like that. Change is funny... sometimes you can’t help but notice it, sometimes you just don’t notice it at all. In high school I moved from one school to another one 7 miles down the road – I was used to changing schools because I would switch between Texas and Florida, but for some reason the whole 7 mile thing was scary-er. The summer before making that change I was out riding bikes with my Grandmother. Because we were in East Texas there was a whole lotta loggin’ going on. Big pine tree forests going down right and left, the smell of burned grass and stumps – everywhere. As we rode along I asked her if it bothered her – the trees going down, big logging trucks in and out, fires and blackened ground. She looked at me and said, “it did in the beginning, but then I noticed that the next year they would plant new trees to replace what they took. I like to watch them grow and think about the forest they will become.” A couple of years later my Grandparents came to my house for my graduation. There were moving boxes everywhere, my Mom was moving into town and my little brother and I were going to Florida. It was crazy – scary. We were all changing. The morning of my graduation my Grandfather was sitting at the dining table reading the paper and drinking his “shot” of coffee, I was sitting there eating a bowl of cereal and he just looked at me and said, “You should see the trees growing around the corner from my house. They are getting bigger and bigger every day – a lot of new growth - changing every day." And then I think he found a garage sale ad because he was up and running.  LOL  I think the chair did a wheelie.

This is my new street sign. LOLOL Despite the fact that the “for sale” sign for this piece of land went missing a few couple of times (I know nuttin’), the land still sold at the end of my gravel road. A couple of weeks ago I rounded the corner on my way home just to come to a screeching halt and it went through my mind, “dang... really? A house? So close to mine? And a Port-A-Potty? I don’t want new neighbors!” and this picture was taken because I’m fairly sure I was going to rant and rave about port-a-pottys and building up the pasture land. But, between then and right now something changed. I realized that porta-a-pottys happen and I just need to make the best of this change. And, it’s not like this is right next door... there is some pasture separating us.

And why wouldn’t someone want to live by me? I’m great fun – I can drive a mean go-cart, there’s nothing better than the sound of a tractor engine at 5am, I don’t mind sharing my deer and field mice – you NEVER know what you will see if you look in my front yard... I have had show booths staged in the front pasture for goodness sake – bon fires, house fires, dogs that howl at nothing (one that sounds like a dieing walrus)... you name it I’m usually the cause of it. Always something different, always changing here in my neck o’ the woods. If you are reading this and you are my new neighbor I want to welcome you! What it is about your port-a-potty that makes me think long and hard about my Grandparents and change, I don’t know.

I’m just glad I’m upwind from THIS change. LOLOLOL

Comin' to you LIVE from a fresh-smellin' single-wide... hee-hee

;-)  Robelyn

Sad. So Sad.

The lovely Anne has figured out that I'm nuts.  You could have told her that a long time ago, huh?  LOL  Anyway - have you been to her Etsy store?  I have... and I am so honored that she caters to my insanity in a big way... I should just send her my checkbook and let her pay herself for having figured me out, send me what she knows I want and then me just be all surprised and stuff when it arrives in the mail.  Sounds like a plan, right?

Last night I was SO excited because my latest box from the lovely Anne had ARRIVED!  WHOO HOO!!!  I open it up all happy because it is the perfect thing for the perfect somebody!  Don't you love it when you find the perfect gift?  Or... when Anne finds you the perfect gift 'cause she knows the way your mind works?  LOL

Well... it was wrapped up in this.

And as I opened the package, my stomach growled. A big, loud and ferociously hungry growl.  Why wouldn't it?  A recipe for Pork Roast & Cherries?  Yummmmmmm.....

2 to 3 pounds boneless pork roast

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1 (20 ounce) can cherries

In slow cooker, place roast.  Pour juice over roast.  Cover.  Cook on low 4 hours.  Remove lid.  Cover roast with cherries.  Cover.  Cook an additional 2 to 4 hours.  Makes 6 servings.

Sounds easy enough, right?  I have a slow cooker, I like cherries and pineapple juice - I can find a grocery store...
So I pull out the bread to make some toast.

What, surely you didn't think I was going to risk the wrath of the local Fire Department did you? geesh.

The local Fire Department still didn't have to come.  But, I'm still hungry, my house smells like burnt up stuff and I'm slightly dis-gruntled.I'm going back out into my labooooooooooratory.

It's okay, you can laugh now... I can't hear you over my growling stomach.

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... hee-hee
;-)  Robelyn

You See I See...

When I look at curtains I see...

A skirt.

I have those shoes...luuuuuv 'em!!!

 A blouse.

 

A dress.

Or a purse!

What do YOU see when you look at curtains? And yeah... if I come to your house, you might want to guard your curtains... just call me Scarlett...

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... hee-hee
;-)  Robelyn (oops... Scarlett)

Question.

Why did the deer cross the road?

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... hee-hee

;-)  Robelyn

image courtesy of "mpm photography"... when he's not photographing purses.  LOL

When I grow up...

Pssssttt.... hey you, red.neck reader:

This is me - "the girl's" single-wide coming to you live!  From myself.  I would like to have a chat with you regarding what "the girl" puts me through - almost on a weekly basis.  It is torture and general chaos. *sigh*

See, "the girl" comes bouncing through the front door (which is painted cherry red, but subject to change on a minor whim) - pretty much on a daily basis - plotting and planning about changin' somethin' or other because she got inspired by you house people with basements and such (I am shaking my hitch at you in disgust).  I shudder and shake because I KNOW that I'm fixin' to have a wall moved, carpet taken up... cabinet handles replaced or a very large piece of furniture will be scooted across my delicate skin - then scooted back because that just wasn't the way "the girl" thought it looked best.  Happens all the time.  I needed a dermatologist a few years back but she thinks her and her paint cans qualify.

 

Let me tell you why I'm talkin' today...

I don't know if you know this about "the girl" but she's a freak for mid century modern ANYTHING.  And, for some reason the crazy girl thinks I need to no longer be a single-wide, but instead, a mid century modern marvel. She has tried for a few YEARS to remove the red.neck out of my VERY BONES and whip me into shape.  Hasn't worked... My axles are my favorite shoes and you know how a girl is about her fav.o.rite pair of heels.  But that doesn't stop her from trying anyway.

So she fiddles around...

Moves things around...

Whips out her paint cans and staple guns and power saws...

Fabric and Accessories... *stuph*

And drags in new old furniture so that she can turn around and do something else with the old old furniture.  She's discovered some new shopping spot up in Poetry, Texas that's owned and operated by this other girl named Mindy who seems to be catering - and I mean... CATERING on a silver platter! to "the girl's" desire to turn me into some modern marvel.  *sigh*

Could you PLEASE go visit that Mindy and have a lil' chat with her so I can have a lil' peace of mind?  Mindy hasn't even met me yet and here she is helpin' "the girl" bend me to her will - sending her home with chairs and such. Then I get a whole ear full about fabric, gel stain - "I could do THIS" or "I could do THAT" or "oh my gosh - wait 'til I get this done - it's going to rock!"

I'm just a single-wide... but the crazy girl keeps trying to make me grow up into some red.neck version of mid century modern funky ('cause her style is very much her own...) chic castle - and now she's got a favorite shopping spot....  Help?!
*sigh*

All of the photos you have been seeing I yanked down off of her "inspiration" board... and "the girl" found them all at apartment therapy and here.
Comin' to you LIVE from...well...myself.
;-)

I see...

I have left the geek-squad and returned my ugly nerd glasses to 'em (after 11-12 years of service)... along with the matching pocket protector.  I am starting out the new century with some CUTE nerdy glasses!!!  I'm so excited!!!  As a matter of fact - I'm so exited that I have left my contact lenses in their case!!!  There ARE a pair of them, so they won't be lonely...

I actually sat still long enough to watch some TV show the other day and that sent me off on my quest for some cute/more modern eyeballs.  LOL

After some research...

I have come to the conclusion that though I have dreams of looking like some 20's/30's/40's/50's glamor girl pin-up - all cute and nerdy in my sparkley glasses - I indeed look like the girl next door (as well as being a red.neck)... so my glasses should reflect that.  LOLOL This is what I ended up with...

I like them!  They are rectangle versus my wee lil' round ones I retired - and the sparkles are present!!!  Although - I'm not totally writing off some of the sparklier frames.  There might come a time when the inner pin-up diva chooses to make a few appearances...

Do you wear glasses?

In honor of my new "look" I even wore lipstick today... that's sayin' sumthin'...

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide... hee-hee
;-)  robelyn