Amy Currioman

When we moved into this house I learned quickly that if I wanted to replace a kitchen appliance that I could get quick approval from my hubby as long as it was shiny stainless steel.  Or at least LOOKED like shiny stainless steel.  He likes lots of chrome on his vehicles, and I guess that he thinks that stainless steel is the closest he can get to that chrome look in the house.  So we have a lot of stainless steel in the house now, because I wanted new appliances!  I really didn’t care as long as they were new and got the job done!

So now I try to find some other stainless steel kitchen accessories to complement the decorating theme. I’ve found quite a few stainless steel decorative items that would go well in the kitchen and dining area of the house. I was really surprised when I found some pretty Bloomus stainless steel Christmas ornaments online. I had never seen any ornaments that unique before!

This morning when I left the house I noticed the air was heavily scented with a sweet scent.  I looked around trying to figure out where the sweetness was coming from.  The only thing that I could see in bloom was the honeysuckle that has overtaken the fence that lines the property boundary line between us and our neighbor.  I never realized that honeysuckle had such a sweet scent that could be sensed from so far away!

I remember as a child my Dad showed me how to pull apart a honeysuckle so I could lick the drop of nectar from it.  I used to enjoy doing that a lot as a kid.  I haven’t done that this year yet, but I did do it last year when I was showing my own kids how to do it.  I was disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm for what I was showing them!  Oh well, maybe when I have grandchildren they will enjoy doing it with me!

Have you ever been to Hawaii?  I have, many years ago on a wonderful two week vacation.  We stayed in a condo on the island of Kauai.  We spent a little bit of time on Hawaii itself, but I fell in love with Kauai.  I’d love to live there!  The only drawback would be that I would be so far away from family members that I dearly love!  But then again, maybe they’d come to visit me there and I’d see more of them then I do now!  When I see a Hawaii Design website, it re-instills in me fond memories of my vacation, and rekindles my desire to move there!  Maybe I should change the theme of my blog to a tropical theme!

Tonight I went to dinner at a restaurant that I had never been to before – Ryan’s.  I went with my parents when they got off of work.  I had heard that Ryan’s and Country Cookin’ were owned by the same company and that their menus were identical, but I found that the Ryan’s that we went to was different than the Country Cookin restaurants that I have been to before.  Their prices were very reasonable, about $10 for an all you can eat buffet.

I had fried shrimp, steak, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, sweet potato casserole, onion rings, hush puppies, and cheesecake for dessert.  It was really good food!  I wish there was a Ryan’s restaurant closer to where I live because I would definitely eat there again!

Over the years I have noticed how much a scent can influence a mood.  There have been times when I worked in a very stressful environment and I burned some wonderful eucalyptus candles on my desk and the scent seemed to calm down everyone who could smell it.  I love to open my dresser drawers and smell the faint perfume of the drawer sachets that my grandmother gave to me many years ago. I marvel at how long the fragrance has lasted; it has been years and years.

Recently I discovered how to use a reed diffuser to have fragrance drift throughout my home without having to burn incense or candles. I think that is wonderful and I plan to order some from Sabon.com to send to my dear mother-in-law to use in her home. She can’t burn candles or incense because she is on oxygen 24/7. She will be thrilled to be able to use these home fragrance methods these to freshen up her home!

I found the reed diffusers on the website while I was browsing around looking to see what items they sell.  My sister told me about the website when I complimented her on how great she smells when I saw her last weekend.  She said it was a Vanilla Coconut body scrub product that she got for a Christmas present that was bought at Sabon.com.  So naturally I have to buy some for myself!  I love that scent!