She lands her deals at auctions, eBay, flea markets and discount stores.
You never know what you’re going to find, she said.
The couple met in eighth-grade and the first day of school he asked Donna to go steady. She said “OK.”
Fast-forward 17 years. They had lost touch and were both divorced when Rick decided to look her up again. He called and asked if she wanted to get together.
“I said, ‘I don’t date,’” Donna said. “He said, ‘Who’s asking for a date?’ We joke we got married, but we never dated.”
They’ve been married nearly 14 years and say their home is their haven. There’s a shade of red and a shade of green in every room. Donna is enthusiastic about wallpaper, so enthusiastic she wallpapered the kitchen pantry and the garage.
Donna incorporated family trinkets and heirlooms into the decor, such as her great-great-grandmother’s quilt, a piece of which is framed and hangs in the hall. She collects and has amassed more than 300 Longaberger baskets. The walk-in closet in the master bedroom is a “basket depository,” Rick said. Wooden signs are scattered throughout the house.
“I’m sign crazy. I buy a lot of signs off eBay,” Donna said. She has custom ordered signs that represent her childhood, such as “D.C. Reese Farm & Girls, Birch Tree, Mo.”
Donna’s dad had that exact sign on his pickup truck. She is one of six girls.
“They’re all perfect, too,” Rick chuckled.
