Show Us Your Living Space

Show Us Your Living Space

When you enter our front door you are in our "entry hall" which leads straight into our family room. I love the chest which we purchased from Overstock.com when we moved into the house. My sister bought the fisherman's basket for me and yes . . .that is our Roomba sitting right when you walk in the door! I do move it around so it doesn't stay there all of the time. We bought our Roomba a couple of years ago at Costco. 

This room is connected to (a part of?) our kitchen which I highlighted last week. Our four chairs, sofa, floor lamp, and coffee table (chest) are all from Pottery Barn. I LOVE my recliner and am actually sitting in it as I write this post! The two little glass fronted cabinets on either side of the fireplace were purchased at Target as were the glass jars on the mantle.

If I were to change anything in this room, I would reface the fireplace. I don't know if we need to whitewash the bricks or cover the brinks with marble tiles?? We are also going to have to purchase another sofa - this one has had a lot of people sit on it! We are going to get a new TV soon. There is nothing wrong with ours EXCEPT it is a Smart TV and it is 7 years old. I guess it is like our computers -- they get old fast.

I love how much light this room receives. The plant box on the mantle was made by my "boss" who also happens to be the senior pastor at my church!

There are two pictures -- you can see one in the photo above -- that we purchased in Charleston. The pictures are of homes in Charleston that look similar to homes in our neighborhood!

Also in the photo above (and below) you can see the little table right by my recliner -- it is an antique from someone in Mark's family and it is the perfect size!!

The rug is from NaturalAreaRugs.com. I've purchased several rugs from them and have been very pleased. Our plantation shutters are Mirasol and we have them throughout our house. 

On the trunk, we have a tray made by our brother-in-law, Bob. The bottom of the tray is made from a panel of an old door from the farm (the farm is a post for another day!). This tray is great for keeping up with remotes. The book standing up is a Snapfish book I made of our 2020 trip to Israel. One of our young adults gave us the book about bees. Fun fact to know and tell -- Mark and his daddy used to have bees!!

I'll tell you something about the trunk . . . anytime I can't find something . . .odds are Mark has stashed it in the trunk!!

In June we will have lived in this house 7 years and we've spent a lot of time in this room. We've hosted the young professional group on Tuesday nights - almost every single Tuesday night until the shut down. That is a lot of Tuesday nights! We've hosted our supper club and have sat in this room as we talked. We've attempted to make it to midnight several years on New Year's Eve and we've even played a few games in this room. Over the last year, we've watched Chuck and Bosch and Alias. We've laughed at Big Bang Theory. We've opened Christmas gifts as a family and I've hosted baby and wedding showers in this room.

Tell us about your living space and show us some photos!! 

Mama Said Hodgepodge

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. It's like my mama always said, "There will be days like this!" -- Old song!! I wonder if anyone else will have this same answer? Actually, one thing I remember my mama saying is "you need to sweep your own doorstep before you sweep mine."

2. May 11th is National Eat What You Want Day. What will you be having by way of celebration? I won't be eating "what I want" because that would be something sinful like a mega order of French fries - the ones that are really fried . . .not air fried." 

3. Describe your idea of a perfect spring day. A perfect spring day would be blue skies, sunshine, temp of 73 (or so - warm enough where you don't need a jacket and it feels great sitting in the sun), NO POLLEN, surrounded by laughter and the people I love.

4. Success, fulfillment, growth, achievement...pick one and tell us how it relates to your life in some way, either currently or in days gone by. I have grown so much over my adult life, as I'm sure many of you have, too. I'm not talking about size here - I'm talking about my spiritual life; the way I see the world and the people in it; the way I live each day.

5. I saw this going around on various social media sites and thought it would be fun to answer here. The last thing you bought on Amazon is your weapon in battle. How will you wield it?  (if you're not an Amazon shopper, then the last thing you bought online anywhere) - I ordered a bronze lamp for our back porch. I guess I could swing it and hit someone over the head with it!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I have a few thoughts:

We had dinner in a restaurant with friends on Friday night and we went to another friend's house for pizza and salad on Saturday night and it felt NORMAL (and wonderful!!). 

Today, I thought of two blog posts I want to write about meaningful (to me) things. I wish I were as eloquent a writer as some people I know but if I'm writing from the heart . . .why in the world would I even compare myself to others???

I've ordered a couple of weeks worth of meals from Eat, Fit, Go. I heard about this company via Weight Watchers (WW) and was pleased with the first order so I've ordered again. Here is a picture of one of my meals this week. (I'm not getting paid, etc. for telling y'all about this - they don't have any idea who I am!)

Shameless plug -- come visit me on Thursday and please Link Up and show us your living space! A few writing prompts are available here. I guess I should have lined up some people (in advance) to link up with last week's post about kitchens to generate some interest. I'm new to this kind of stuff! If no one links up, I'll just keep showing "All Around the House" of my house :-).

All Around the House

Week Two - Show us your main “living space”! 

Some people call it a “great room.” Some people call it a “living room.” Some people call it a “family room.” You know the space – the one where you have a sofa or two and a chair or two.

Come back on Thursday and link up! I would really love for some folks to link up so I can see some rooms! I’m always open to new decorating ideas!!

Some things you might tell us. . .

1) Do you love this space in your house?

2) If you could change one thing in this room, what would it be?

3) What is your favorite item in this room?

4) Tell us about your favorite event that happens in this room – is it movie night? Is it game night? Is it simply lying around and watching TV?

 

Please feel free to share links of items purchased, etc. We might want to buy one! 

10 on the 10th

10 Things You Hate (or really dislike) to Do

Linking up with Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After!

This month’s edition of 10 on the 10th is an opportunity to vent a little about those things in life you hate doing (and I'm going to add things I dislike!).

I thought this sounded like fun and then I remembered that positivity is my #1 strength so hate is a really strong word!! I can definitely come up with 10 things I dislike to do!!

1. I really dislike crazy, rude drivers. I think we may have lost all road civility over the last year. People think they don't have to stop at stop signs. People think they should go first at a 4 way stop. People think they can drive up the shoulder in a traffic jam and duck back in at the beginning of the line.

2. I really dislike cleaning bathrooms. At this stage of my life I am very blessed to have a wonderful friend come and clean my house once a week. I am so thankful she scrubs the showers and toilets!

3. Speaking of bathrooms, I really dislike taking a cold shower. I love for the water to be HOT!

4. I dislike having most political discussions. Not only have we lost road civility (#1), we sometimes have lost the ability to have a civil discussion with another human being who might not believe the same way we do.

5. I dislike failing. Yes, I know that we often have to fail several times before we get really good at something but I still hate failing.

6. My husband would say that I dislike working outdoors and while that is somewhat true, sometimes a good outdoor project is just what I need. 

7. I dislike sweating -- not on the beach or when I'm out for a walk -- I hate sweating when I'm dressed in nicer clothes. 

8. I dislike ALWAYS having to watch my weight. I'm so jealous of people who can basically eat whatever they want and rarely gain a pound. 

9. I dislike have dental work done. I don't mean I mind going for a check up and cleaning but I hate to have a crown or a filling. Thank goodness my dentist will use "happy gas." Insurance doesn't pay for it but it so worth it. 

10. I do not enjoy going into an event/room/meeting/party where I'm the only person I know. I do it and can actually do it well, if needed, but I dislike it strongly!!

I feel like I need to write 10 things I love. It actually took two days to come up with 10 things I dislike for this post. 

Show Us Your Kitchen!

Show us your kitchen!

I do indeed love my kitchen . . .especially when it is clean! We've been in this house 7 years next month and this kitchen is so much better than my previous kitchen. Does this kitchen have every single thing I want or maybe need? No, but there are so many things I do love. I LOVE our island and use it for cooking and crafting and serving. Since Mark and I are the only ones at home, we also eat 99% of our meals at the island. I know that in 7 years trends have changed again and people either put marble or quartz counters in. Mark says if we ever redo our counter tops, he wants to use Alabama marble. I think it is lovely but it stains so easily and I think that would drive me nuts. Pros and Cons?

I also love my gas cooktop which leads me to the one or two things I would change. My dream cooktop would be a six burner "red knob" (Wolf) cooktop. We would have to do a major kitchen overhaul for me to get that cooktop because it is bigger, etc. I would also love a double wall oven rather than one oven and microwave.

We are thinking about replacing the lights over the island. We have a friend who works in the lighting industry and she is going to help us find some new fun lights for over the island. Any suggestions?

Our garage fridge died a year or two ago so we moved the builder grade fridge from the kitchen to the garage and bought a new fridge. I love the freezer on the bottom and the "French doors."

When I took the picture above, I realized that I needed something on the wall above the cooktop and I've added a cute green wreath.

Our old house had stained wood cabinets and the kitchen always felt dark. These cabinets are made by Danbury and are painted Icy Mint. They look white to some folks but there is the tiniest hint of bluegreen in the color.

I also love the 3 X 6 white tiles in the herringbone pattern on the two sections. The grout is pewter colored which is a bonus!

I am the main cook in our house and the main grocery purchaser. My pantry is in the area behind the cooktop which is actually the space under our stairs. The day we were moving into the house I realized that there was NO PANTRY! I may have freaked out. For a long time, I made do with a metal shelf in that area under the stairwell. A couple of years ago, our neighbor came and measured and built beautiful shelves for me so I have an official pantry now!!

I also excel at eating so I'm always on Weight Watchers!

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen area because you will see in another post that it is a big open space with the "family/great/living" room plus the laundry room is through a door by the fridge so I'm in and out of that space. Oh! I forgot -- I also fold clothes on our island!!

One last thing -- pre-covid we hosted a dinner and Bible study every week for young professionals. We are hoping to move from zoom back to in house soon!! I love the fact that young adults, in addition to eating food, have studied the word of God at our island -- a different kind of nourishment. They've also assembled health kits for the homeless and they've bagged snacks for a group home and they've assembled kits for parents who bring their children to Children's Hospital . . .and end up staying . . .and need a toothbrush, etc.

Show us your kitchen and tell us all about your favorite parts and the things you would like to change! Link up below or feel free to post in the comment section.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Thanks to Joyce for the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop over to From This Side of the Pond to link up!!

1. What's something you 'may' do this month? 

I "may" buy some new clothes! I didn't purchase much over the last year and I could use a few new pieces. Where is your favorite place to shop for comfy and casual clothes?

2. Last time you literally or figuratively shouted mayday!? 

We had our first in person Sunday School class on Sunday. I've been teaching this adult class for about 25 years but due to Covid I haven't taught in person in 15 months until Sunday. In my head, I was screaming "mayday mayday" all last week. I will say that God heard my "mayday" cries and showed up. We wore our masks except for the picture. We practiced some social distancing. I did take my mask off to teach. We had a few folks on zoom and about 1/2 our normal pre-covid crowd. It felt good to be back together.

3. Let the chips fall where they may, come what may, maybe, Cape May, mayflies, devil may care, you may now kiss the bride,  much to our dismay, mayhem, mayonnaise...choose a 'may' word or phrase from the list and tell us how it relates to your life in some way right now. 

You MAY kiss the bride. A wedding in April was our debut back into the real world and we are going to another wedding in the middle of this month!

4. If someone were serving you breakfast in bed this weekend, what would you like to see on the menu? 

I'm not sure I have ever eaten breakfast in bed. We do love waffles around our house so I guess that would be nice. To be honest, I'm not sure I want to eat in bed. 

5. Tell me one true thing you believe about motherhood. 

It is one of the hardest and possibly one of the most rewarding things I have every done in my life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I was reading a blog the other day and the writer had set a goal of doing more things as a couple. We have actually made plans for both Friday and Saturday night of the upcoming weekend and we are looking forward to good conversations.

I would love for you to check out my earlier post and join us tomorrow as we begin All Around the House!

All Around the House

Week One - Show us your kitchen! 

Come back on Thursday and link up! I can't wait to see some kitchens! Are our kitchens different in Alabama vs California? Are our kitchens different in the US than elsewhere in the world? Please share pictures and feel free to use some of the prompts below.

Some things you might tell us. . .

1) Do you love your kitchen?

2) If you could change your kitchen, what would you change?

3) Do you prefer painted cabinets or natural wood cabinets?

4) Are you the "cook" in your house? If not, who is?

5) Do you excel at cooking or eating?

6) What is your favorite feature in the kitchen?

7) What is your favorite gadget in the kitchen?

8) Do you spend lots of time in your kitchen?

9) Tell us about your favorite event that happens in your kitchen (besides just eating).

10) Is there anything else you want to tell us about your kitchen?

Please feel free to share links of items purchased, etc. We might want to buy one! 

Also, are there questions about other rooms in the house that you would love to read about?