Our home has never felt so cozy and lovely to me as it does now, after having lived here for 5 years at the end of this month. We have made so many memories here, and I can feel the heart of our family in every nook and corner. When I'm picking up at the end of the day I notice I often stop in the middle of something to just sweep my gaze around the room with a smile on my face... I am so thankful for this place. I imagine it's the thankfulness and the contentment that make it feel so lovely to me. It's the collected-ness over time that tells a story I know by heart.
If you were to come to our house, you would probably hear little boy shrieks and giggles and roars before you ever made it to the front door... maybe as you were walking up the sidewalk, past the lamp post and the flower beds.
You'll find white mums and pumpkins somewhere on the porch pretty much every fall.
And there's room for a little table and chairs on the porch, where we sit to watch the boys ride bikes and scooters up and down the drive and sidewalks.
When you first come in the door you'd be in our living room, and you'd see a view like this:
Only there would probably be toys scattered around. You might find boys laying on the floor like in the photo below though.
Or lounging on the sofas or recliners, maybe watching Veggie Tales, or Cars, or Winnie the Pooh...
Behind the front door there's a little row of hooks for bags, jackets, scarves... I searched for an inexpensive set of hooks that I loved for a while until I found these at Homegoods.
If you look back toward the front door and window you'll see this:
These sofas were one of our earliest purchases in our marriage. Bomber Jacket leather, from Raymour and Flanigan. We bought them before I even really knew what style I like. But I love them still and will love them always... the leather only becomes softer and more distressed and beautiful over time. They are so comfortable.
This shelf is my "mantle." It was here when we bought the house, and I love decorating it. This mirror and the white pillar candles have been here for a little while now, but I change what's in the vase based on what's in the garden or what I find at the roadside stand. Below the mantle is a stack of collected storage... The wicker chest I got at our community yardsale for $4. The suitcases are from my mom. One belonged to my grandparents, and one she found at a vintage store. The big basket was another thing I hunted for quite some time.... and also found at Homegoods. (I should just start my searches there maybe..?) But I wanted something we could throw all our blankets in and was big enough to hold them all. The feathers taped to the wall were from our trip to the zoo for Isaiah's birthday. The boys found them on the ground there and brought them home with us.
Our tv cabinet was given to us by our wonderful family friends, the Herrmanns. And that leather recliner was given to us by a neighbor, Jack, a World War II vet Shaun loves to spend time with when he got a new one.
On the little end table next to our loveseat I have this wicker tray that I got from the Pottery Barn outlet early in our marriage. I love to put my magazines and whatever chapter book I'm reading to the boys in it. And that wooden bowl... It was from target long, long ago and it has held a million different displays in it... from potted daffodils and moss to wooden easter eggs, to nuts in the winter, to pumpkins in the fall...
Also on the table is a milk glass vase of grass from my backyard...
Canvases and a silhouette of drew and a newborn photo of Jaden...
And a close up of what's on top of the tv stand... Wooden crate from Shaun's great aunt's garage when it was being cleaned out, dried lavender from my sister-in-law's shower last fall, a greenish gray pumpkin and a globe.
I took these photos right after picking up... It does not stay this put together for more than a few minutes, believe me. But I think it's pretty beautiful with lego towers and train tracks and tractors and matchbox cars creating a little community on the floor too. :)
For a look back at our living room when it used to be yellow, click here.
And to see our living room at Christmas time, here is 2013 (my favorite) and here is 2014.
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