A Secret Home Tour

My friend, let's call her Sadie to keep her identity anonymous, opens her home three times each year so folks like me can peddle our wares. Her home is so funky and cute. She is one of those gals that has a little quirk to her style. I also like that she incorporates local art into her home. There were so many funky-cool pieces around that I decided to snap a few and share with you. Shhh....don't tell!

This door bucket (and her twin sister) give a cheerful and fun greeting as you walk through the door.

This is a peek at the great room - you can see several vendors and shoppers here. This is to give you a sense of her overall style and also see the madness of the three days! There is so much eye candy in her home. This was my little nook.

A little wall on the way to the powder room was the perfect place to display these copper crosses.

Speaking of copper, this is a painting over her mantle. It is actually a piece of copper and has been painted and oxidized to create this stunning piece. This is a close up of the middle because the mantle was full of local school bobbles for sale! I am itching to knock off this idea - I think it would be fun to give it a try!

I fell in love with this cute little painting. It it painted with beeswax! I did a little research after she told me about it. It's a technique called encaustic painting - have you heard of it?

A lot of folks collect roosters in their kitchen and Sadie is one of those gals, too. But look at her funky twist on a traditional kitchen theme! Adorable!

I'll wrap up with this collection of paintings that lead from the kitchen to the back door. The paintings really aren't that related in subject but I love how simple black frames and an interesting arrangement make them work perfectly in this pass-through space.

There are so many other items I could share - this gal has style! I snapped a few other pictures that I will share in future posts. I would love to go back and snap some photos without the shopping madness.

I'm off to finish August business and kick off September with a bang! Don't forget to enter my $50 Willow House Gift Certificate giveaway!

Have a blessed week!

~Southern Fried gal

Southern Fried Sundays: Whispers

I love that when the path of life gets complicated God wraps His arms around me and guides me along the way. This was one of those weeks for sure. At every turn He was there whispering His sweet scripture to me.

When I was mourning the loss of a Christian love one He said, "Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51 NRSV

When I was feeling particularly weak in a situation He said, "When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

When I was fretting over a few unexpected expenses He said, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:26 NRSV

When I was fighting mad about an injustice He said, "Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Colossians 3:13 TLB

When I curled up in bed sobbing into my pillow He said, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy." Psalm 126:5 NIV

My God is changeless in his love for me, and he will come and help me! Psalm 59:10 TLB

How has He whispered into your circumstances this week?

Thankfully His...

~Southern Fried Gal

Win a $50 Willow House Gift Certificate!!!

Good morning! I pray you have had a fabulous week. I'm sweetening you up because today I'm doing something that is a little uncomfortable for me. I'm asking for your help.

I want to spread the word about my Willow House Team Opportunity because I believe an extra $500 in a monthly budget makes a huge difference for those that need it! That's what an average consultant makes for working just one night each week. In addition to the extra cash, you can check out all the other reasons I LOVE what I do!

Now on to the giveaway. I am giving away another $50 Gift Certificate to Willow House! There are several ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each entry so I can make sure your are entered for each one.

1. Share a link to this post on your blog. Leave the URL in a comment.
2. Tweet a link to this post. Leave your twitter userid in a comment.
3. Like my WillowHouseSFG Facebook page. Leave a comment saying you did so.
4. Subscribe to my eNewsletter, The Insider. Submit this form with Subscribe in the message box. Leave a comment saying you did so.
5. View my Willow House Catalog, specifically the first 4 pages and leave a comment letting me know your favorite "perk" about Willow House!

FIVE (5) BONUS ENTRIES. Schedule a 20 minute phone chat to explore our opportunity Submit this form with Chat in the message box. No need to leave a comment. I will keep track of this one.

Thank you in advance for your help in spreading the good news about Willow House! I will leave this giveaway open through Next Tuesday, August 31st at 8 pm central time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Southern Fried Gal

Willow House Wednesdays: LOVE

Trying to describe all the fun and rewards of being a Willow House Design Consultant is challenging. So I will just show you!!!

We LOVE Willow House! And we LOVE making friends for life. I'm blessed to have these ladies in my life. We all met through our Willow House businesses! This was taken in the photo booth at convention on 50's night.

I LOVE having the freedom to set my own business hours and bring home a generous paycheck. This gives me more time to create fabulous memories with my munchkin and hubby!

I LOVE my home and being able to add special touches throughout. Helping others fall in LOVE with their homes is a nice perk, too! When you LOVE your home you want to share it with others by practicing hospitality.

I LOVE company-paid vacations to warm and relaxing locations. We are currently earning a FREE Caribbean cruise. New consultants begin earning the trip immediately as well! The qualification period is August 4, 2010 through March 31, 2011.

I LOVE what the future holds! We are part of the ground floor! We are empowering our Design Consultants to sell online so guests can shop between parties. And we're not finished innovating - this year we will launch a new media-rich community. Soon we'll reveal a whole new way to shop online with an expanding collection of enhanced eBoutiques!

Now is the best time to join, reinventing your life as we reinvent an industry! Our starter kit has everything you need to kick your business off and start earning additional income immediately!

You can earn even more when you invite others to join your team and when you sell through your online store. I would love to have you join my team. It takes about 30 minutes to explore our opportunity to see if it is a good fit for you. Would you like to learn more? Contact me!

Can you feel the love and excitement?!

~Southern Fried Gal

In Memory of Tim Rymel

February 24, 1950 - August 20, 2010

This weekend the world lost one of the most amazing people I have ever been fortunate enough to know, Tim Rymel. His funeral was Monday morning in Northwest Arkansas and was a bittersweet time. We were sad to have lost this special person physically but we also were without a doubt celebrating his arrival into Heaven.

Tim was my best friend's uncle. I met him when I was in my early twenties. He took me in like family immediately. I never knew him not to have an infectious smile on his face. I never heard him complain. He was fun-loving, full of life, and one of the most faithful men I know. Even more amazing, he managed this despite being injured in a diving accident at age 17. His injuries resulted in being paralyzed from the waist down.

I think death always remind us of the fragility of our lives. It may even coax us to take stock of the life we are living. Tim's life example definitely did that for me. His life song was beautiful and definitely in harmony with God.

Thank you, Uncle Tim, for showing me what it is like to live life with zest, hope, faith, love and encouragement no matter what hand life has dealt.

~Southern Fried Gal

Southern Fried Sundays

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;

The mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12 NIV

Photo Credit: Heather Powell, 2010

Willow House Wednesdays: Tips From Convention

Fall is almost here (woot!) and this is usually when my container arranging bug hits. Here are a few tips for you DIY arrangers to get your creative juices flowing as we migrate from outdoor entertaining back inside.

The height of your arrangement should be carefully considered. A good rule of thumb is to either have the arrangement be half the height of the container (as pictured above) or be at least one and a half times the height of the container (as pictured below).

Your arrangement doesn't have to be made with flowers at all - how about granny smith apples? Here the apples are skewered and mounded around our Beaumont Container (pg 44, fall 2010 catalog). To fill in the spaces and add a pop of color, tuck hypericum berries here and there. You can find these for cheap in your grocer's floral section as well.

Moving closer to the holidays, the same Beaumont Container can be dressed up with a collar of artichokes (again from the grocery store) and given height with berries, greenery and sticks found out in your back yard!

Container arranging doesn't have to be elaborate or scary. Stick with me (ha, pun intended) through fall and I'll give you plenty more ideas for simple and inexpensive arrangements that will have your friends saying WOW!

So what say you? Do you like to DIY your arrangements or just grab something that calls your name at a local boutique?

~Southern Fried Gal

p.s. I love the design tips shared at convention. It is one of my top three reasons for going! Melanie Grant is as cute as a button and always has fabulous ideas to share. She will be hosting her own online show later this year. Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming Willow House community!

The Great Pirate Ship Cake Disaster 2010

I was out of town on business over the weekend. When I got back home BBC wanted to bake a pirate ship cake. This is the drawing he handed me so I would know what he had in mind. With school starting on Thursday I thought this would be a fun project and memory so I agreed.

This wasn't my first rodeo when it comes to pirate ship cakes. We made this one for his fourth birthday. It turned out decent for our first try. I thought I had learned a few lessons when making that one. I expected this go around to be even better than the one before.

I could not have been more wrong! We used a Duncan Hines cake mix this go around. The last cake didn't taste very good. It was dry and cooked unevenly. This cake baked up beautifully. Because it was so spongy and moist it didn't hold up well. The back end kept falling apart. I finally skewered and iced it together into this uneven mess.

The captain was happy with the end result. He contributed more this go around by helping measure and mix. He also crafted the pirate flag and sails with the help from DH. In the end his happiness was all that mattered with this project.

The cake was yummy and completely destroyed in about two minutes. I don't know why I ever fretted over it. I guess it just goes with perfectionist mom territory. When will I ever learn?

I am going to do this again, I think. Surely the third time will be a charm. If not we'll have fun trying!

What's your latest disaster?

~Southern Fried Gal

*******************************************
This post linked to the following:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff: Market Yourself Monday

Easy and Elegant Centerpiece

On Sunday I was challenged to do a quick product presentation using our Easy Elegance design concepts. Easy I can do. Elegance - I wasn't sure. Based on our current inspiration guide, Easy Elegance is classic style with contemporary touches. The main colors are neutrals (grays and browns) with jewel-tone color pops (purples & greens). I had about an hour to come up with my idea and present to a room full of people. Here's what I did...

An easy and elegant centerpiece. Glass containers say both classic and contemporary to me. I mixed and matched sizes, shapes, and textures to add interest. Even though the containers are slightly different, they relate. Grouping several like items together gives a feeling of luxury.

Green is easy for me. I added a strip of fabric with a diamond texture. Purple is a different story! I had way too much purple in my bedroom decor as a child (think purple walls, purple shag rug, purple bedspread, oh my)! Because of this I don't have much of anything purple in my home. Enter the $9.99 bouquet of flowers from Kroger!

Add a little water and a few snips here and there. To keep the repetitive theme going, most of the containers have only the larger, lighter purple mums. I like the ones with the longer stems best - lesson learned for next time.

I changed it up in a few of the containers to add more interest. Thankfully my bouquet had kermit mums and deeper purple flowers. To add a little ambiance I dropped a few clear tea lights into some of the containers.

For shopping my home (it pays to be a design consultant), $10 at Kroger, and and a smidgen of prep time this worked. I did this on Sunday afternoon and snapped the pictures yesterday. It still looks great today. It makes me happy to have a little pretty in my kitchen all week long!

What do y'all think? Are you drawn to the Easy Elegance style? How do you incorporate it into your home and/or entertaining?

~Southern Fried Gal

Willow House Wednesday: Home Party

As a design consultant with Willow House, I help hostesses share a fun evening with friends while earning free and discounted products. Hosting a party is easy! Here's a little snippet of the fun we had at my BFF's party last Friday night...

A few lovely guests gathering, sipping coffee, and chatting it up before we begin the presentation.

The spread. Notice how simple we kept it. Two salty items and two sweet items. Tea, coffee and water were offered for drinks.

A flat table is a boring table so we added an upside down basket from the French Wire Tiered Stand (pg 37, Fall 2010 Catalog) to lift one of the Italian Stitch Dinner Plates (pg 27) off the table.

We added more interest with a pop of color in the fabric and blue plate and layered textures of iron, glass, and pottery. Simple.

During the party presentation we walked through the catalog and shared design ideas. Our new Inspiration Guide helps keep us on track with this season's trends. The presentation takes about thirty minutes and then we eat, shop, and visit for another half hour or so. As a consultant, I am usually in and out of the hostesses home in about two hours and make an average of $125 at each party. Not a bad gig!

Our parties are super easy, loads of fun, and with our new make-your-own customer and hostess specials rewarding for all! You can check out the details for hosting a party on my personal website!

Have you considered hosting a party with Willow House?

~Southern Fried Gal

Beachy Photo Display

A friend told me about a fun way to display beach photos. I have wanted to give it a try for a while so when Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land announced her DIY Day ~ The Beach Edition today it gave the nudge I needed to finally knock it out!

This is the view from our room in Cancun. I love this photo and all the memories that go along with it. It is the perfect choice for this project.

I gathered up my favorite hurricane, a bag of sand, sea shells we have collected over the years, and the photo. Can you see where I'm going with this?

I created my own little beach in the bottom of the hurricane and then added the photo! Isn't this fun? I guess it is a photo display/shadow box of sorts.

Then I just added a few other beach-y touches and voila! Not bad for a five minute project that came together with items from around my home!

You can find more fun beach-y ideas in my summer decor post.

Do you have a unique way of displaying photos or items collected while on summer vacation?

Sigh - now I'm daydreaming of a beach trip!

~Southern Fried Gal

p.s. Be sure to head over to Kimba's party!

Let's Party! Back-To-School Tips

It's time to party! We are about two weeks out from the start of school around here. BBC is going into the first grade so I am still a newbie at getting used to the changes. PLEASE help me out by linking up with your tips for a smooth back-to-school transition.

Do you have a routine that you swear by? A recipe that helps with the hectic back-to-school schedule? Maybe you crafted a killer chore chart and you want to show it off! Anything that will help us newbies is welcome. You can dust off an older post, too. You can add this button OR just a link back will do. Thank you for the courtesy!

Here's my simple contribution:
1. We created a countdown to foster excitement and help prepare for the change.
2. We are following the school schedule (sleep, eat, evening reading/review) the two weeks prior.
3. We are making as many memories as possible!

I told you I need your help!

Now it's your turn! Let's Party!




This party will be open through Thursday at midnight CDT.

~Southern Fried Gal

Friday Hodge Podge

It's Friday - woo hoo! I'm working in the consignment store this week. I am continually amazed at this business - especially in this economy. Check it out!

If you need some extra cash, clean out your closets and check out your local store! If you want to save some cash, head to your store for back-to-school shopping. You never know what thrifty treasure you may find to dress up those school uniforms. I think these Coach chucks are particularly cute for only $12!

Speaking of back-to-school - that reminds me of our Train a Child party on Monday! I hope y'all will link up with some handy-dandy tips. Remember you can dust off an older post, add a link to the party and be good to go! Or maybe you have a fabulous new tip to share. I personally need all the help I can get.

Finally, the dog days of summer are definitely here. We had record highs in the capital city this week. Several days straight of 100+ degree heat with heat indexes upwards of 115 - ick. One day the high was recorded at 107.

Are you in the warm part of the country this week? How are you keeping your cool? Or are you one of those lucky ducks that is having average and below temps? Let us live vicariously through you!

Happy Friday!

~Southern Fried Gal

WIllow House Wednesdays: It's Our Birthday!

It's official! Welcome to Willow House! Our company website came up this morning.

Today we also open the doors to a limited number of new consultants. With the potential for earning and $99 starter kit, this is a no-risk opportunity. I'm dreaming big with you and would love to have you join my team!

With lower shipping rates and an online catalog, we have made it easier than ever to shop from the convenience of your home even if you are not attending a home party.

You can earn FREE and reduced products as one of my home, catalog, or blog hostesses! August is double hostess dollars, too! Ask me how you can earn a $400+ shopping spree on me!

In addition to finding fabulous ideas for our products on my blog, you can check out the Plate & Pattern Blog for ideas from our stylists. Our goal is to provide a simply good design community for you to enjoy.

This is a HUGE day in my life and I'm happy to be able to share it with you. I'm thankful someone shared this amazing gift with me. I gladly offer it to you on our birthday!

Dreaming big on cloud 9...

~Southern Fried Gal

Next Monday: Let's Party Series is Back!!!

I can't believe that the summer is almost over and the kiddos will be back in school so quickly. Hallelujah and sniff, sniff all at the same time!

BBC will be entering the first grade. While I feel like I have a better handle on the situation than last year, I still need all the tips and suggestions I can get!

I'm introducing a new Let's Party! series next Monday, August 9th. This series will be called Train a Child. We will focus specifically on getting prepared for back to school.

Do you have a chore chart idea? Or how about a favorite recipe that your kids love and is easy to prepare on those busy school nights? Is there a routine you swear by to make life easier with school-aged kids? Any awesome deals for saving on school uniforms or back-to-school supplies? ANYTHING that helps you get the kiddos ready for school and/or helps keep you SANE is fair game.

You have a few days to get your posts ready. You can even dust off an older post to link up! I'll open the party Sunday evening. The more participants we have the better equipped we will be to start the school year off right. If you like, you can help me spread the word with my sad, little homemade button...

Yippeee!! I can't wait! I LOVE to party!

~Southern Fried Gal

We Dig Dinosaurs

One of the perks of having your best friend own a consignment store is getting first dibs on the good stuff! Case-in-point, this I Dig Dinosaurs kit came into the shop last week. It had not been opened. The original price was $25 and I probably would not have given this product a second look. Kendra thought this would be a nice project for BBC so she purchased it for us.

I admit I was intrigued but a bit apprehensive. The box promised fun and easy clean-up. We decided to give it a try on Friday. The box was HEAVY and I didn't really know what to expect.

I certainly didn't expect this big, heavy block of sand! The instructions called for newspaper. In all my type A glory I knew newspaper would not properly contain the mess. And because it was over 100 degrees on Friday we were looking for some indoor fun. This plastic tub seemed like the best solution.

The kit came equipped with everything a young paleontologist would need for the excavation, chisel, hammer, brush, and protective glasses. Safety first!

Because I had no idea where the bones were inside the block and I had no idea how sturdy they were, we were very careful in our digging. It seemed to take FOREVER or at least 30 minutes to find anything resembling a bone.

Patience is not one of my strengths so I now know I could never be a real paleontologist. BBC carefully worked to reveal more bones. I was actually surprised this kept his attention so long and that he was being so careful.

All-in-all it took about 1.5 hours to loose all the bones. Again, I am surprised and elated that it kept BBC's undivided attention during this entire time.

By the time we had all the bones unearthed, DH was home and he took on phases 2 and 3 of the project. Here you can see the bones being assembled. Final step was to paint the bones to imitate fossilized bones. DH and BBC got a little carried away with the black and brown paint for my taste - oh well.

I'm so glad this kit came in Kendra's store. It provided hours of educational fun for the entire family! The cleanup was easy (a little vacuuming here and there). The remaining sand and block are still in the bin. BBC got out his Dinosaur figures and is using this as terrain for new imagined adventures! I would recommend this kit to other families - even with the $25 price tag!

How are you entertaining the kiddos during this heat wave? Stop back tomorrow to get the scoop on my next Let's Party! series (hint hint).

~Southern Fried Gal