Actually they got here yesterday.  A group of four young Brits arrived to stay at the Pink House on their way from NYC to New Orleans.  It’s interesting that my first international guests have chosen three of my favorite cities to visit while they’re in the Colonies.  New York City, New Orleans and PIKE ROAD, AL!  I met them briefly yesterday right after they checked in.  They pet Daisy and Buster in the back yard and then they went about their vacation.

They talk funny! BWAAAAWK!

I hope they have fun and tell all their friends about how they enjoyed the American South.  Of course I warned all my adjacent neighbors to be on their best behavior!  My neighbors are mostly hooligans and ne’er-do-wells so let’s hope they behave like proper southern ladies and gentlemen! (I love you Martha, Irl, Brenda, David, Kerry & Valerie!) 🙂

In addition to being my first foreign guests, this group is also my first booking through AIRBNB.  The site is only slightly different from VRBO in that they encourage you to have some breakfast goods in the fridge and pantry for your guests.  The “BNB” is short for “Bed ‘n Breakfast”.  Of course my first instinct was to get English muffins (yes, I know they’re not really “English”) and crumpets and scones and such, but Jim quickly advised me that this idea was stupid! (He has such a sensitive air about him).  He told me I should stock the kitchen with “southern” fare and after pouting for about 10 minutes I came to agreement with him.  I put a pitcher of sweet tea, some buttermilk biscuits and Conecuh sausage in the larder, as well as butter, jam, fruit milk and juice.  I stopped short of RC Cola and Moonpies, but I did put some Co-Cola in there for good measure.

They probably made fun of my tea service, but hey, what does a redneck girl know about English tea time!

Although I was especially excited about this booking, I try to make every one a homey and comfortable experience for my guests.  Since they were on their way to New Orleans, I left one of my guidebooks for them to peruse during their stay.

Funky kitty pen holder with welcome letter and amenity passes and form.

I have a binder with anything and everything you could possibly want to know about the cottage, the neighborhood and amenities, along with a guest book for them to leave a note when they depart.

I tune my retro radio to a local jazz station about an hour before guests arrive. My business cards sit in a cute old holder I found in a thrift store.

I’ve acquired a few more fun items to complete the Pink House experience. I’ve been looking for a while to find a breakfast tray for the master bedroom.  I’m sure Jim would bring me breakfast in bed everyday if he only had one of these.

It’s really old and refurbished with a cute little bouquet decoupage. I wish I could do stuff like that.

And although Jim told me that if I bring one more flamingo into the house he would begin divorce proceedings, I just couldn’t pass up this little snack plate.

He’d never leave me anyway.  No one can make him laugh like I do.

🙂