So  many of my blog friends have written books and the latest is Melissa, who you all know from the popular blog,  The Inspired Room.  She and I have been bloggy friends since the beginning and we both started blogging in 2007, so we go way back.  She’s a sweet friend and I love that she has written her first (of many) books and Love the Home You Have speaks to all of us who are so into making our homes live the best that they possibly can for ourselves and families.
So, today I’m joining Melissa for her book launch!  Today is the day and many of our blog friends will be posting about Melissa’s new book and joining her for a challenge in loving the homes we are in. Melissa has listed a 31 day challenge in the back of the book to give ideas on embracing and loving our homes.
Day 1 is Home Gratitude – Your Home is a gift and a blessing. Â Â
I can honestly say that I DO love my home.  It IS a gift and a blessing to me!  With all its quirks, imperfections, and squeaky floors. In spite of the fact that it’s a 1979 fixer upper and a house that I would have in the past turned up my nose at, I dearly love my home.  It’s all me and my house wraps me up with such a warm feeling every single day.  I love being home and enjoying the ambience of my house.  Going through a few trials in life will do that to you.  Hard times will make you really appreciate what you have to be thankful for so much more.
So, in honor of Spring, I got out some of my favorite dishes for the mantel.
I added some blue and white along with my green rabbit plates. Â Against the white plank wall, it just feels like Spring to me. Â A birds nest and rustic bird adds to the vignette.
Blue and white is so classic and never goes out of style. I found these blue and white ginger jars at Ross. Â Those green Bordallo bunny plates, I’ve been collecting for years. Â Started around 2000 and found them all at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Homegoods. Â They are still with me and I still love them.
Fresh flowers are always a great way to bring spring inside your home as well, so pick up a bouquet when you get the change. Â Happy colors uplift spirits!
Melissa has such a great message in her book for all of us. Â Loving the Home You Have is about embracing, accepting and living with contentment, right where we are now. Â So, if you don’t happen to live in your dream home or your dream home looks different than you planned, I think you’ll enjoy Melissa’s book.
I know that my idea of a dream home has certainly changed as I’ve gotten older and lived a few more years. Â No longer do I have this unattainable idea of what my dream home will look like one day. Â I’m living in my dream home right now and dearly love my cottage.
It’s not perfect, but it’s home sweet home to me!Â
You can get the book from Amazon here (affiliate link):
Love the Home You Have: Simple Ways to…Embrace Your Style *Get Organized *Delight in Where You Are
Rho, I meant to comment on your blog yesterday. Your home is truly beautiful. You have done an amazing job. I love the new windows. It doesn’t look like the same house. Your house is a loving home. I am so proud of you and happy for you. Well done friend.
Rhoda, I love your home too. It’s the epitome of cottage in my mind.
I realize that even owning a home in this day and age is something to be grateful for. Our home is a true respite from the craziness that the world sometimes offers. Peaceful, serene and so comforting to be here. I feel as if it is a true gift and there is hardly a day I don’t walk into my living area and say a prayer of gratefulness. That saying Home is where the heart is, is very true in our lives.
I have owned my home for a year now and absolutely love it. It is the perfect size, the perfect layout and the perfect location for me and my pups. When I was looking for a home I would get so disappointed when I would “think” I had found the perfect one and it would be too expensive or worse someone else would come in and buy it before I got a chance. It got so frustrating and disappointing. My friends kept telling me and I kept telling myself that one day the one that was truly meant for me would come along and it did. I look back at all the ones that I thought was the perfect one for me and none of them compare to the one I actually bought. Things have a way of working out for the best. I am so grateful and thankful for my home. It gives me peace and comfort every time I pull into the driveway. Rhoda I love your home. It’s amazing what a transformation your house made by adding those windows.
I loved your wise comment about how hard times make you appreciate things so much more. Our home was robbed many years ago and I remembering thinking being so upset until I realized it was just things that were taken, more importantly our family was safe and the roof and walls were still up….hard times regardless of their nature can make you more appreciative.
Rhoda, Do you use your green bunny dishes all the time or just at Easter?
I don’t use them all the time, but I’m not opposed to it. I need to remember to get them out and use them more.
Is that a McCarty piece in the pic with white vase with the roses? I love it!
It’s a McCoy pottery piece.
If you are referring to the aqua piece, I believe it is from Peter’s Pottery, also in Bayou Mound, Mississippi. The decorative incising on the sides is characteristic of Peter’s work. Rhoda, does the piece have a dark brown drip mark on the lip? That is the McCarty quick identification, symbolic of the Mississippi River. CAM, I am also a huge fan of Mississippi pottery. Love the touch of the glazes used by both pottery houses, don’t you?
Oh Joyce, you are so right. That is Peter’s Pottery, bought it in Birmingham a few years ago. I thought she was talking bout the white vase and it is McCoy.
Your mantel looks great, I’m so glad you joined in the challenges today and are helping me to celebrate the book launch. Thank you so much, friend!!!
Melissa’s book looks wonderful – will have to get a copy! Such a lovely reminder to be grateful for our own happy homes!
xo. Leslie
Segreto Finishes
Hi Rhoda, I love your mantel. Where did you get your mirror? It would look great on my mantel.
HI, Leslie, it’s from Kirklands.