Family Keepsakes…

Our house is filled with things that have stories connected to them, all near and dear to our family. My decor style is eclectic. I love to highlight imperfect things.

If it’s tattered, that’s because there’s a story connected to it…

Board Games…

Our family loves to play games. When my 80+ year old mom moved into our home with us, she came with several family keepsakes. One was an old “Uncle Wiggily” (TM) Game board.

The game board is now displayed on a shelf in our game room. (I love shelves.) My mom told me this game belonged to my father’s mother. Grandma kept this game to play with her grandchildren. She had a lot of grandchildren. The game’s cards and tokens are long gone. It’s not in perfect condition, but I enjoy having it for nostalgia.

When I look at the game, it brings back memories of playing games on grandma’s big table, the smell of her coffee brewing (and over brewing) on her stove and the fact that she always kept cookies on hand for her grandchildren. Especially those strawberry, chocolate and vanilla cream filled wafer cookies (which I stopped liking in my teen years).

According to https://boardgamegeek.com: This game is based on the character “Uncle Wiggily Longears” which was in a children’s book created in 1910. The game was first introduced by the Milton Bradley Company in 1916. It was modified in 1923, 1949, and 1955.

Playing Catch…

Another family keepsake on our game room shelf is my dad’s baseball glove. It’s an All Star 727 Ralph Kiner. My dad and brother use to play catch with a softball in our big front yard and this was the glove my dad used. Seeing it brings back memories of the smell of fresh cut grass, pine trees, damp dirt and the sound of a softball hitting the glove.

According to https://www.baseball-almanac.com : Ralph Kiner was the National League home run champion in every one of his first seven seasons in the Major Leagues, 1946 through 1952. I don’t know when my dad got this glove, but I do know he had it before I was old enough to know what a baseball glove was for. I also know that my dad enjoyed watching baseball, so owning this Ralph Kiner glove would fit with his era. My mom guessed that my dad played catch with his older brothers and nephews prior to having his own children.

The little girl in the photo is my mom. She was 2 years old. The photo was taken in Chicago. She was first generation born in the U.S.A. The photo of the teenage boy is my father’s graduation picture. He was 17 years old. He joined the Navy during WWII.

Let’s inspire together…

What do you have in your house that has a family story connected to it? Share it on https://www.facebook.com/RusticCountryMarket

Until next time…

Inspiring Home Life,

The Relentless Redecorator

Decor you can buy…

I signed up as an affiliate marketer for a few companies that reflect my kind of Relentless Decorating.

What does Affiliate Marketing mean?

It means I get a small commission if you buy using my link or code at the checkout. This helps me pay for my website without pop up ads!

Signature Homestyles

I started selling Signature Homestyles, and a couple other “home party plan” products lines, the early part of 2006. I still have and use their products today. Out of all I sold, Signature Homestyles is the only company that is still in business, so I decided to sign up for their Shopify Collabs program so I could share some of their products on Rustic Country Market Living.

Signature Homestyles offers my followers $10 off a minimum $50 purchase. (Limited to one use per customer.)

Coupon Code at Checkout: RUSTICCOUNTRYMARKET

How cute is this cow?!

I will occasionally feature items on my Rustic Country Market Living facebook page. Let me know if you buy something you love!

Inspiring Home Life,

The Relentless Redecorator

The Relentless RV Redecorator…

After battling numerous problems with our previous RV, we finally got it fixed and then we traded it for a new toy hauler!

Of course, I had to personalize the inside of this RV beyond the manufacturer’s decor. I also “had to” remove the stickers that went over the exterior of the windows so we could fully enjoy our view. That was a fun process!

RV organization is an ongoing process. I’ve added cabinet shelving, light sensitive motion lights at the steps and in the bathroom, and I utilized a lot of storage baskets. I LOVE baskets!

Here’s a few of my decor upgrades:

The “bear” toilet paper holder was a combined effort of the two of us. I hated having to reach into the cabinet to get toilet paper. (That action had unsanitary implications written all over it.) I saw a bear toilet paper holder online and asked my husband if we could make it cheaper than buying it. He built it, I painted it. It holds 3 reserve rolls below the roll. I now “always feel like, somebody’s WATCHING me.”

And yes, that’s an espresso machine & Keurig on the counter. (Don’t judge.) We now have a separate SodaStream for our RV instead of taking ours with us from our house.

Our RV is self contained with a generator, solar, and batteries.

We love to “rough” GLAM camp.

Inspiring Home Life (on the road),

The Relentless Redecorator

Inspiring Home Life…

I’d like to introduce my other half to Rustic Country Market Living.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without my husband, Jon. We’ve been married for 31 years. He’s supported me and I’ve supported him. Together, we make a GREAT team!

Jon in the middle of our retirement home remodel with our dogs, Chip & Joanna. (Names sound familiar?)

Jon has been a multi-talented contractor most of his life. When he wasn’t working on other people’s homes, he was working on ours. We’ve moved a lot over the years, and each house we’ve made into our home, some more than others.

Jon supported me when I first started blogging back in 1998, and when I registered my first website, https://byjoella.com in 2007. I started Rustic Country Market Living in 2017. I also have a patriotic and a travelog blog. All my sites are connected, so if you find one, you can find them all.

I’ve always been focused on the future, while Jon has been focused on the present. After I retired the end of 2020, our goals were for me to focus on Rustic Country Market Living and Jon was going to continue self employment. Instead, we’ve spent the last 3 years renovating our “retirement” house, making it into “our” home.

So here we are, in the future…

Together, we are now going to focus 100% on Rustic Country Market Living. Jon is a big part of all I do, so he will be helping add content to Rustic Country Market Living. It’s a perfect match, and I’m looking forward to growing Rustic Country Market Living with him.

Watch for Jon’s contributions about gardening, BBQ’ing, our wood fired oven, handyman tips, outdoor living, etc. His signature will be Improving Home Life, The Rustic Home Specialist.

Meanwhile, I’m excited to start selling decor items on Rustic Country Market Living, in addition to sharing organizational ideas that have made my life easier, antiques, decor tips, RV decor, etc.

If we love to do it, we might share it…

We’ve talked of starting to repurpose and sell our own creations. Did I mention I love to create stuff with my Cricut? I will share with you some of my creations, hoping to inspire you.

Thank you for following Rustic Country Market Living.

Inspiring Home Life,

The Relentless Redecorator