Announcement By Candlelight!

Good morning friends! Thank you so much for joining in on my giveaway to celebrate my #411 blog posting!

Light the candles, pull out all of your instruments: drums, cymbals, trumpets, a big bass tuba! You can play or sing or dance around, but be sure and light the candles and say congratulations to Hattie. She is the winner of the beautiful doily!

This is what Hattie said, "I love your blog and have it on my favorites. Tho I do not have a blog, can I still enter your give-away? I love the doily. So dainty and so vintage. Thanks."

Hattie

Well Hattie, thank YOU!

Congratulations!

Please email me (rachelgoing@gmail.com) with your address and the doily and a few other goodies will be on the way to you.

Everything is always so much more fun with the candles lit, especially in the quiet solitude of the predawn light. Most mornings, I light a candle on the island in our kitchen.

So tell me please. What do you like to do by candlelight?

Love, Rachel

You Can Enter Giveaway Until Midnight Friday EDT

When we were lighting the candles on the porch last night, we saw this moth! His wing span reached from the tip of my pinkie finger to my wrist bone! It was amazing. Its' size reminded me of the huge swallowtail moths that we used to catch in Arkansas when I was growing up. I've heard that moths are drawn to open flames. I wonder if that is true. He came before the candles were lit.
Thank you so much for your kind comments about the interview. AND also, thank you for joining the giveaway party. There is still time to leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. Just scroll down to the posting below.

Some of you have told me you read this blog EVERY day. That amazes me! I am humbled. I had no idea that it would be of interest to you. So in consideration of your time, I just wanted to update you this morning and let you know that I will not do another posting until Saturday when I announce the "WINNER" of my give away.

I'm focused. I'm full steam ahead (whatever that means). I've got my teeth clinched. My muscles flexed. Well now that created quite an image. Didn't it? I'm determined to wrap up a couple of projects before the first day of summer arrives and these weeks are gone!

May this day bring you happiness. Search for it in the small blessings if you need to!
Love, Rachel

A Giveaway Party For My 411 Blog Post!

It's Monday again. Can you believe how fast time is flying? I'm participating in another party today.

This is my #411 blog posting. I think maybe I was supposed to have a pinata and confetti and cupcakes (wink wink) on my #400 posting, but I let that one slip right on past, so we'll just have a little giveaway today since you are such great blogging friends.

I found this gorgeous crochet doily at yard sale. It is beautiful. I have never seen this pattern and it is so so pretty. I have not used it for myself, though I would love to. However, I wanted to pass it along to one of you. It's all just to celebrate YOU!

Cindy at "My Romantic Home" has started having giveaways on the second Monday of each month, and I thought it sounded so fun to join in today and share these things with you. I will find some other cute little items to tuck into the package with it...shells, buttons, a vintage hankie...I'll surprise you! Please just leave a little comment to have your name entered into the give away drawing. I will choose a winner from the comments on Friday evening June 12.If you'd like to see some of the other giveaway participants, jump on over to Cindy's blog.

You will have to click on Cindy's name to go to her blog. For some reason, I can't get the picture to click and take you over there. Thank you!

I truly hope your week is off to a great start!

Love, Rachel

The Boots And An Interview by Giorgina!

Hey y'all. Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments yesterday. Wow! You are the best. I've had several questions about my boots shown in yesterday's posting. No I did not wear them with "my going away dress". If I would have found a pair like this, I'm sure I would have wanted them! Instead I had ivory leather heels. After wearing them a lot, I packed them away before they were ruined.

Well, just because I'm sentimental like that!

These boots have seen many miles on my feet. Several years ago, we were in Branson, Missouri on Christmas Eve. We happened to go into a shoe store that sold shoes to the show girls for many of the theatrical events around Branson. Of course my heart melted when I saw these adorable boots. However they were white. I wasn't sure I would wear white boots that much. Mr. RP thought they would make a great Christmas gift, so we bought ivory leather die and after dying them ivory, I've been wearing them ever since. Of course I had to add the lace for shoe laces. A plain white shoe string would NEVER do. Would it?

AND NOW ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

I have been given the tremendous honor of being featured on the beautiful website Decor Medley by Giorgina. This website has great tips for interior decorating and many other awesome tidbits of inspiration and creativity. Please go over and visit Georgina. You'll be glad you did!

She was incredibly generous to extend an invitation to me for an interview and include me in the list of other wonderfully creative people that she has featured. If you'd like to read it, you can go here. Giorgina, thank you so much for your kindness to me.

I hope you all have a fabulous sunshiny Saturday.

If it is not sunshiny where you are, go take a look at Mr. RP and me, over at Georgina's place. We are squinting into the sunshine for you!

Love, Rachel

Just Dreamin'

We'll be having another anniversary in a few days. I called this dress "my going away dress". I changed into it after our wedding. The dress and hat were so much fun to make.

Last night I dreamed that we were getting married again. I wonder why? Yes, I mean I wonder why I dreamed that...last night?

The neat thing, I was just as excited last night as I was then. Yep! I'd marry him again, all over again, in a heart beat.

But I didn't have to dream about it to realize it.

Love, Rachel

It Is Worth More Than That!

Thank you so much to everyone who visited "A Romantic Porch" during Rhondi's porch party. I enjoyed having you immensely. I am still trying to get around to all of you, so thank you for your patience with me.
I found this candle, candle holder and candle ring, that I've been using on our porch table at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. It was marked 25 cents and I scooped it up so fast, the poor little 'darlin's' head was spinning! Or something like that! Woohoo! I loved this. There are a lot of places in my home I could use it. But I decided to put it on the porch...for now!
The next day when I took it out of the sack to clean everything before I set it out, I turned the candle over, and the candle had a sticker for 50 cents. My heart sank. I didn't see that before I made the purchase. I wondered what the people having the sale thought when I paid them a measly quarter for the whole ensemble? Oh I know that you can barter on the price of items at a yard sale, but I hadn't done that. My intent was to pay the "asking" price. I put everything back in the sack.
The next evening when I had a chance to drive to the sale, I took my 25 cent purchase back. When the lady having the sale saw me walking up she said, "Oh no, you're not bringing something back are you?" I laughed and told her what happened. I told her I honestly didn't see that the candle was priced separately. She said they never noticed either. She said, "Now honey, just go ahead and take that and have a good day. That will repay you for your honesty!" Well, OK...but, I insisted on paying because after all that is why I had gone back. Of course to be polite, I felt I should "shop" their sale again, just in case I should fine some more great bargains! (wink) I had the lady keep my previous purchase while I "shopped". I chuckled as I overheard her telling the other "money collectors" sitting on the porch why I had come back. They couldn't believe it.
As I was leaving the lady told me that things like this always come back around to you. I thought about that.
Anyway,
I would think of doing nothing less.
It was only a grand total of 75 cents and it is worth more than that.
Yes, I learned a long long time ago, my
CONSCIENCE. is. worth. more. than. that!

Have an adventure filled day.
Love, Rachel

Rhondi's Porch Party

Rhondi is hosting a porch party today to celebrate her birthday.

Happy Birthday, Rhondi!

If you have been reading my blog from the beginning, you will know that at the start of each month, I feature a different blogger's porch, and host them as a guest on my side bar for the month.
I have loved gaining new friendships in this manner, and seeing a lot of beautiful porches in the process!

It sounded like a great idea to meet some more "porch lovin' bloggers", so this month, I decided to feature our own little "romantic porch" for the month of June 2009, and participate in Rhondi's party! I'm gonna have soooo much fun makin' a bunch of new porch lovin' friends!

See the shutters on the window and my window box in the photo above? The window was covered over on the inside of our home with dry wall before we purchased this house. It has made me crazy for a very long time. Last summer I decided to fix it up and enjoy it. So I did! No one knows that it is a fake (oops did I say that?) window...except now I just told you and a few other people around the world!We especially love sitting on our porch in the dark with the candles lit. During the warm days of summertime, we eat many of our meals on the porch. A couple of nights ago, we enjoyed a summer thunderstorm from the comforts of our porch! We have a faux "screen door" and my nieces named the pink bench in front of it a "flirting bench".
Every romantic porch needs a "flirting bench"!
Don't you think so too?

Thank you for dropping by as you enjoy Rhondi's porch party.
Love, Rachel