WEEKEND ON THE MOUNTAIN

My sister, Brenda, and her husband bought a little getaway place up Renegade Mountain about an hour from Knoxville.  I met her and Darla, her friend, there for the weekend.  I really didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got there.  It is really a cozy little place.  Brenda wants to update it, but there is really nothing that has to be done to it.

This is the view from the back deck.  Amazing!!







No trip is complete without a little "retail therapy"!!  We drove into Knoxville on Saturday and did a little shopping and ate dinner.

While we were out shopping on Saturday, we decided to buy some paint to paint the living room/dining room/kitchen.  In my opinion, there is no better and cost-effective way to change a room than to paint it. 



 I love the difference it made in this area!  It seems so much more warm and inviting.



Even the sofa, which Brenda definitely wants to replace one day, looks better against the freshly-painted wall.  She plans to change out the tables and lamps and do some accessorizing as well.

Darla brought some steel cut oats for us to have for breakfast one morning.  I had already done some reading about them and that they are so much better for you than regular oats.  In fact, I had found a recipe that I wanted to make which called for steel cut oats.  Instead, I used regular oats and cooked it on top of the stove instead of in the crockpot.  It was really good!  I found it here: 

You have to cook the the steel cut oats for 15-20 minutes, and the texture is a little different, but I really like them.  And I really like that they are so good for you!

So, of course, when I got home I went to the grocery store and bought me some of them.  You can find them in the organic/specialty food section.

 


I can't wait to try the apple recipe again.  But, even so, it makes the perfect breakfast!!

 We had a great weekend!!  Although we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we would like, when we're together it's like we've never been apart.  I love my sister!!

 

My "New" Dishes

A few months ago, I went with Rachel to pick up Josh's truck where it had been worked on about ten miles from where she lives.  We had to wait a while, so we looked in the paper to see if there were any garage sales.  It was really late in the season for yard sales, but we did find one that was way off the main road.  It happened to be an elderly man and woman having a sale in their basement.  It was awesome!  We stayed there for a looong time!  I found these...an eight-place setting of Pfaltzgraff dishes for $20.00!!!

They are totally my style, and the colors go perfectly in my kitchen.

I displayed them in this antique piece I picked up a few years ago.

Rachel found some goodies too.  She was totally bummed out about having to wait for the truck, but it turned out to be a blessing in desguise.  I'm convinced that God does things like that for us because He loves us, and that's just the way He is!!

HAIRCUT DAY

Rachel is so busy in her salon that we have to go on her day off so she can do our hair.  Today, we all went at the same time.  We met Rachel at The Marina in Ashland City before we went to her salon.  It is built by the river, and it was destroyed during the storm and had to be rebuilt.

They have wonderful catfish!

Rachel's salon is in her basement.  This is the entrance to the salon.

This is the inside of her salon. 

She took a little piece that we found at a yard sale, took the drawers out and added baskets and made a coffee station for her clients. 

Michael definitely needed a haircut!  He actually ruffled it up a bit for the picture for a more dramatic effect!

Much better!!

Rachel, Kobe and dad in front of her salon.

We had a great day together!  Thanks, Rachel, for using your day off to take care of your family!!