- Hey friends. I know I've been promising
y'all for a long time that I was eventually gonna get
through with the living room and be able to take y'all on
a tour of the living room. The living room's nothing
like it was at Riverbend. It's a fairly small living
room, but I love it. I adore being back in a smaller house. And this was the house that
Michael and I built 17 years ago when we married and we
called it our forever home. Well, little did we know that
life was gonna get so hectic after I got a TV show. Life quickly changed. And it seemed like all we were doing in this house was shooting for TV shows. So, the rest is kinda
history about us going down and buying a lot down the road. But we sold it back in
October 'cause Michael and I both realized it
was time to downsize. And that was why we never, never intended to ever sell this house because we felt like
that might happen one day as we got older. (laughs) So, we're so happy to be back
here in our forever home. So, the living room is done. So, I want to invite y'all in, and I'll give you a quick little tour. So come on in y'all. Pumpkin's even brave in going outside. Come on Loo, didn't Eddie do a great job. Oh, and look at these y'all. You remember when I did that
shoot at Anne's Garden Shop? Well, I bought these the
last time I was home. I did a book signing at her shop. She's got just some of
the most unique things, and these are the planters
I bought from her. I thought they were
beautiful, just simple white. And then these the last
trip I bought from her. - [Eddie] Yeah, that was a great find. - That was a great
fund. They're beautiful. I was hoping that I was gonna
be able to hang them out in the trees, in the Oak
trees over the water. But after I bought 'em, I found out they can't be out in the open. They have to be undercover. So Looloo, come on in, come on in. Let's show everybody our house. So, I want to start by doing this. I want to show y'all these beautiful, beautiful, old antique doors. I can't even tell y'all
where I bought 'em from. I know I bought 'em here in Savannah from an antique shop or
something that carried a lot of architectural stuff. And I saw these doors and I
just fell in love with them. And these were in our bedroom
when we first built the house. And a half bath is right
here, and it's holding up one of my son's favorite pictures of bears. They asked me to hold on to it for them. It means an awful lot to Jamie and Bobby. So, I'm keeping it safe in the potty room. So come on in y'all. I think the living room
turned out real good. Eddie and I, along with Carolyn Hultman from Carolyn Hultman's Interiors. We have worked on this house
to get it completely done. So, we can just sit back
and take a deep breath and enjoy the fact that we're
back in this little house. And it is little compared
to where we came from. So, oh my gosh, where do I start? These drapes that I have in here were in the dining room 17 years ago. These were made for the dining room, and Eddie found them winded up somewhere. And he took them to the dry cleaners. - [Eddie] They were in
my apartment. (laughs) - They were in your
apartment. Oh my goodness. So, Eddie took them to the dry cleaners, and had them cleaned. And did we have to cut them in two? - These were perfect. I
didn't have to do anything. - So we said, "Oh my
gosh, that's wonderful," because I always love that fabric. And it's the same color as our sofa that's in the dining
room end of the kitchen. So, it worked out perfect
and saved us so much money. So much money because custom
drapes will set you back y'all. I could kick myself for
not learning to sew. And of course all the furniture
is Paula Deen furniture by Craft Masters. And it's such wonderful,
wonderful furniture. It's heavy and it's just good stuff. And I opted to put swivel
rockers in all the chairs. And I love that. I just love having a
chair that moves with me. And y'all can see we got
the house all decorated for Christmas. Years ago, my aunt Peggy collected these Byers Christmas dolls,
and I fell in love with them. And I can't remember who
gave me my very first one, but over the years I've
got quite a collection. You can see them all over the house. I was so excited to do
this cabinet right here, and display the Christmas
dolls, the Byers dolls. And they've got so many
accessories now that go with them that are so, so neat. - [Eddie] Yeah. The snowman,
I think are kind of a- - Yes, the snowmen. Yes. Well, we didn't find those
until what two Christmases ago, Eddie, we found them at
Home Goods, didn't we? - [Eddie] Yeah. (laughs) - And we didn't even know
that Byers made a snowman. So, I think we bought every one they had. And this is one of the
accessories, the little gates, and course, the light post. And she is probably my
oldest one that I have. Do you remember the date on her? - [Eddie] I don't. Actually, I think it's just
from the early 1990s, maybe? - Oh, really?
- Yeah. I don't think it's too long. - I may have some, I don't know. But the thing about Byers is
they put the date on the bottom of every one of their dolls. - And they do themes.
- Yes. Different themes. Now over here, is poor
little precious Tiny Tim, and his mama and his daddy. And here is that, oh, Mr. Scrooge that made life so miserable for them. (Eddie laughs) - And he's here looking over
him and kinda scary looking. (Paula laughs) But I do love him and look at
this little fixture back here, it's a fireplace. I don't know if you can see that, but they just have some of
the neatest accessories. Never in my wildest dream did I ever think I would start back
collecting dolls, y'all. (both laugh) And this is some of the
snowmen, and they're so cute and you can see they
have the date on them. And course, this is
very, very special to me. It's a thank you note
from Ms. Rosalynn Carter. And I thought it was so
sweet, I had to frame that. And now this is one of my
favorite ornaments right here. I adore old ornaments. Well, one Christmas my
Christmas tree fell over, and it had all my vintage ornaments on it. And I just wanted to cry. Well, Eddie went online, and he found- - [Eddie] These are the hand-blown Italian Christmas ornaments.
- Yes. Yes. And I couldn't believe
when I opened my gift, and Eddie had found the ornaments, the very ornaments that
I had lost in that fall. And the triplets were over the other day, and Linton comes in and
goes straight to the tree. And he says, "Batman, Batman." Batman is Linton's hero. He thought it was Batman
since he had the mask on. So, he took this ornament and
just pulled it straight down. So, the hook and everything
is somewhere on the tree. And oh, I sucked in my breath. I thought, "Am I gonna lose
that one for the second time." (Paula laughs) Now, this ottoman we
found from Seventh Heaven, and this one came from Tapis. And I think it's just one of the most beautiful
tables I've ever seen. - [Eddie] It's a 18th century French- - Yes. Yes. It's from the 1700's y'all. So, it was just a beautifully
made piece of furniture. And of course the rugs, we
finally got our rugs in. That was another thing I was waiting on before I took y'all on a tour. All the rugs came from over
there on President Street. - [Eddie] The rug shop. - The rug shop on President Street. We do try to spend our money
in the town that we live in. And we're trying to be supportive of the other business people here in town. This is a tilt top table
and it actually tilts up, and you can just stand it
in a corner against a wall. This one came from Seventh Heaven. But there's some new places
that I want you to take me to, Eddie, that I've never
been to here in town. 'Cause I didn't get out and
play a lot 'cause I was working. But somebody mentioned a
place today or yesterday that we need to go to. - [Eddie] I'll have to check. - I can't remember the name. - [Eddie] I told you that
maybe tomorrow we'll go to this place called Ella's. - Ella's, yes. - [Eddie] In Richmond Hill. - Yes. Yes. That's a new store though. - [Eddie] It's been there for awhile. - No, I mean, it's just new
things. Is it old things too? - [Eddie] I think they have
a little bit of everything. - 'Cause you know how I
feel about old things. - [Eddie] Yeah. Yeah.
(Paula laughing) - I think old things are
still pretty good. (laughs) Alright. So, I'll give
you a quick run-through of the kitchen. This is the only room
that I had toured y'all. So, it was pretty much this way, I think when we did the tour. Right Eddie? - [Eddie] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think we've changed
things around a little bit. - A little bit, yeah. And I know we added our rugs because that's what we
were kinda waiting on. And I'm sure I told y'all this is Michelle and Anthony's
great-grandmother's old sofa, and I'm just thrilled to
have it here in the house. I'm so happy to have something that they remember from
their childhood. So. - [Eddie] And then we showed
them the light fixture we've kind of re worked it a little bit. - Yes, that's another thing that I've been waiting to show y'all. All of our light fixtures
were made by Becky, at the Light Post in Bluffton, Georgia. - [Eddie] South Carolina. (laughs) - South Carolina. What'd I say? - [Eddie] Georgia. (laughs) - Bluffton, Georgia. (laughs) Well, it's might as well be Georgia, it's so close, right?
Just over the bridge. But when they first delivered this, it didn't appear to be
quite like I wanted. So, they came back and picked it up, and took my advice and made
it more three dimensional. And I think it's just beautiful. And it's so funny. All the fixtures are
new except for the one in that huge pantry, and
the one over the sink. That one's 17 years old. And I couldn't believe what
I picked out for this house, you know it has the marsh grass, and look what that one over the sink is. It's marsh grass and stars. So. - [Eddie] Perfect blend. - Yeah, a perfect blend that I
didn't realize was happening. Now, our pantries, they're
still a work in progress, along with the rest of the house. So, as we get each room ready, we will take y'all on a quick little tour. And of course I couldn't part with this old piece right here. It's from the 1400's, I was told. I bought this from a man up
at Scott's Antique Market years and years and years ago. But all these are interchangeable. You can take them off depending on how much height you use. It's not a nail in it,
not one nail anywhere. And I just think it's beautiful. And from what I understand, it was where, back in the 1400's, people
would put their bread to rise, or their cheese to ripen. So, it's very handy and
it makes it so easy for me to just come out here. I don't have to bend over
and look in cabinets. And I just found these beautiful things from another one of my
favorite shops here in town. And that's Clutter. My friend, Lincoln has
some of the neatest things. She has a store full of
things that people are ready to get rid of and get something
new or they're moving. Or regardless, they want to get rid of it. Well, I found these two the other day, and I could not believe it. I mean, they look just like this. We didn't have to paint them, do anything. All we had to do was hang 'em. And we were able to use one
of the shelves from our rack, our dish rack, to display
some of our chickens. (Eddie laughs) Some of our chickens, I
just love those chickens. So that's about it. I'd love
to show y'all the porch. So, let me take a little
break and then I'll come back, and show you the back porch. How's that? - [Eddie] So, it's all right here. - (laughs) Yeah. - [Eddie] A lot of people
comment about your kitchen and they want to know
where all your copper. - Yeah. 'Cause I had a lot of copper. - [Eddie] You had a lot of copper. - Well, guess what y'all. I
still got a lot of copper. Look what Eddie and little Mike has done. They have hung my copper from
when I had owned a pot rack at Riverbend. They hung this on that strong brick wall, and it won't come down. So, when this is clean,
y'all, it's so beautiful, and it'll shine like a new penny. But Eddie and I have
had a few other things to do besides shining copper. So, we promise one day, we're
gonna get to ya. (laughs) And over here in this
side is my cast iron. Cast iron is so heavy, so heavy. And if you have to lean over
and get it out of a cabinet, if you can stand back up straight after you reach a certain
age, you're doing good. So, this is so handy. I can just come over here
and get whichever one I want. So, these two guys that are here with me, they're just geniuses. They're so good. So, okay. I'll give you a
quick look on the porch. It is still a work in progress. And, ooh something smells so good. - [Eddie] That candle right there. - Oh, it smells yummy over here. So, if y'all will remember this house, this room ended right here. And from here back, that
was part of the porch. So, we had them take that
wall, push it all the way back. And so we have a lot smaller
porch now than we used to, but it's a gracious plenty.
It's a gracious plenty. So, I don't have a whole
bunch of flowers out here 'cause kinda not that time of year. But these beautiful Ivy trees I got from Anne's Garden Shop. And these, I found at Anne's Garden Shop. And you know what? Eddie and I have talked about
'em and talked about 'em and talked about 'em. And you know what? I think that we have finally
figured out the use of these. You know back long time ago,
when someone passed away, they kept them at home, either in the bed, or in a coffin in the living room. And Eddie and I believe that
these held flower arrangements that sit on either side of the coffin. Is our guess. If y'all
know better, let us know. But that's our thoughts on it. And course, the little Wicker furniture, I've had it for years and years and years. And I got an extension cord
for our little Christmas tree, Eddie.
(Eddie laughs) And these are Paula Deen furniture. And they are just handy, handy, handy, but we no longer have, all of the Paula Deen furniture
is now cloth. It's soft. So, that's it. I found this at Clutter. And where did I find this one, Eddie? - [Eddie] Clutter, as
well. I mean, Tower Place. - Tower Place, yes. So, and this is the same swing that we hung up here 17 years ago. And I got me a Stag Horn Fern that I want to see if I can
get it growing on a tree. Well, I hope y'all
enjoyed the little tour, and I thank y'all for y'all's interest, and the love and the support
that y'all have shown to me throughout this year and
all the years before. And I certainly return that love to y'all, and I hope you have a
very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. And we just pray that
2022 will be a better year for our whole nation. I'll see y'all on the
next room tour. (laughs)
