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Open House was a Blast!

January 27, 2013 By Rhoda 70 Comments

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My story is a great testimony of how God can take ugly life circumstances and turn them into something beautiful and good and looking back 2 years ago, when my life seemed to be falling apart beyond repair, it’s with His amazing grace that I celebrate my Open House with all of you.

I so had a great time at my Open House!  The weather couldn’t have turned out better.  After a few weeks of rain, I was so glad to see sunshine again and the sky was blue and the air crisp. A perfect day to get out and about.   Meeting many of my readers from the area was so much fun. They feel like they know me and my family and I feel such a kindred spirit with all of them as well.

Open House Balloons

With three Open House balloons flying high, no one could miss my house.  Was so happy that the sun chose to shine too.

FOod table

My sister, Renee, came over early and she and my roommate, Rhonda and I all worked together on getting some food on the table to serve the guests.  Finger sandwiches, shrimp, veggie tray and cheese platter were all ready to go.  The shrimp wasn’t on the table when I took these pics.

Food

Veggie tray ready to go.

Desserts

My mom was so sweet and baked lemon tarts, brownies and cookies for everyone too and they looked so pretty on my 3 tiered stand on the buffet.

Strawberries

Strawberries are just coming in from Florida too, so I had to get some of those.

Dad

Dad was ready too and I gave him instructions to not leave until 3 pm and he accommodated me by staying and visiting. I think he really had a good time talking to all those ladies and I know they enjoyed meeting him.  I told him he has a lot of fans online, but he’s not sure about all that stuff.

You can see I got my new drapes up in the dining room.  Love them and I’ll share details on those later on.

Mom

Mom was ready to meet and greet as she always is.  I learned everything I know about hospitality from her, she is a gracious hostess and always has been.

Renee

My sis, Renee.  We were all caught up, food ready and waiting for the guests to arrive.

Rhonda Rhoda Renee

Rhonda, me, and Renee. I wanted to be sure and take lots of pics to  remember the day.

mom and dad

One of my guests, Nancy, snapped this nice pic of my parents and shared it with me.  It was a happy day all around.

guests

These 3 delightful ladies were some of the first guests to arrive and they cracked me up when I went to the door to let them in!  I had a blast talking to them and I’m so sorry I didn’t get all 3 names (I know it’s Rita and Helen from left to middle), but they knew everything about the house renovation and my family too.  They were so much fun and I loved showing them around the house.  They definitely looked at every single detail.

One of the comments I kept hearing was that the house was even prettier in person than on the blog, so there you have it!

Judy Mom

My friend, Judy came in early too and she knew some of those girls above as well.  In fact, it was so funny how so many people that came in, knew someone else that had arrived.  Lots of connections between them all and that lets me know that it is, indeed, a small world at times.

Heidi Laura

Sweet blog friends, Heidi and Laura.  Love these girls and have so enjoyed getting to know so many bloggers from Atlanta now that I’m back here living again.
Shirley Kim

More sweet blog friends, Shirley and Kim.  Blogland is full of creative women and they are all so supportive.

Living room

At one point, the living room was buzzing with people.  It was so much fun to see all those smiling faces come through the door.

Rebecca and Rhoda

This sweet gal, Rebecca (I think I got her name right!), came over from Birmingham, just to see my house.  We had met when I lived in Birmingham about 3 years ago and she knows some of my old friends from church.  I couldn’t believe she made the drive over with her son, but was so happy to see her.   She’s a sweetheart!

Kim and Dad

Quirky Kim, one of my new blog friends, who wanted to pose with my Dad.  Dad is a hero to many out there, I do believe.  I had several ladies try to hire him out, but he’s not going for that. 🙂  Besides, we have a screened porch to tackle next!

Kim and Sally

Kim and Sally, another Atlanta blogger, checking out the kitchen.

Den

These ladies took over the den and had a good ole’ girl party. I was bouncing around the house, trying to greet everyone.

family friends

Some of our old family friends dropped by too and mom had a great time catching up with them too.

031

This mother and daughter duo were so much fun to chat with.  They are beautiful ladies too.

Visiting in LR

I only got a snippet of all the people that did drop by, but I imagine it was at least 50-60 people total.  Talk about fun,  it was thrilling for me to be able to show off our handiwork to everyone, since you all  have been reading along and being so supportive through my journey of getting into a house.

My real estate lady, Dottie, came by too and she was blown away by the house in its after state. She knew I was serious when I said I was going to transform this place and transformed it is.  I can honestly say that I’m so glad I went ahead and jumped in there when I did to get a house.  From what she tells me, the market is really even tighter with foreclosed houses getting snapped up by investors, so chances are I would have lost out on even more houses and the prices have risen too.  God’s timing is perfect timing!

Thank you ALL who came by the open house, I so enjoyed meeting every one of you!

I’m so content in my fixer upper house and it really is home, sweet home.

There’s nothing like having your own place to call your own, is there?

flourish

The Lovefeast Valentines winner has been posted here!

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Filed Under: Family Friends and Me, House Renovation 70 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy Hancock says

    February 6, 2013 at 10:56 am

    Looks like your open house was a lot of fun! Wish I could have come! Your home is beautiful! Your parents are amazing! Can’t wait to see what you do next! 🙂
    Blessings, Cindy

    Reply
  2. Janelle says

    February 6, 2013 at 1:46 pm

    This is so heart-warming. And I absolutely LOVE seeing your mom and dad together after all these years. It almost brings tears to my eyes. Your house is lovely. God’s timing is certainly the right timing.

    Reply
  3. Kat says

    February 6, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    Darn, I wish I could have come! It all looks great.

    Hugs,
    Kat

    Reply
  4. Erin says

    February 12, 2013 at 2:27 am

    I think you need to do a blog post with your Mama’s lemon tart recipe! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Trudie says

    July 21, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Lovely! looks like it was a great day. I have the same fabric for my family room and kitchen window treatments as you have in the dining room! I just love that fabric…. I can pull out so many colors to accent, changing with my mood…

    Reply
  6. Sandy says

    January 27, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    Oh Rhoda! I’m so happy for you. Looks like you had an excellent open house. What a great idea to open your home to family, friends, and folks in blog land. If I lived in the area I would have definitely dropped by. Your story is an inspirational testament to the power of faith and hanging in there. God’s grace and your unfailing faith pulled you through. Your mom and dad are delightful. It’s been great meeting your family on your blog and thanks for sharing them with all of your readers. I love they way your share your journey and that your blog isn’t only about projects and home decor.

    Reply
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  1. awkward is as awkward does | deranchification says:
    February 10, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    […] talk to her in person.  O well, next time.  (You can read Rhoda’s recap from her open house here.  I didn’t want to post my pictures of all of my favorite things from her house since it is […]

    Reply

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Thanks for stopping by! I’m Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn’t have to cost a fortune and I’ve spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I’m here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won’t you join me?

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