Kitchen

Someone asked in an earlier post about the brick backsplash.  We've been in our home nearly 8 months and the brick in the kitchen and powder room is still one of my favorite features.  I do wonder if I should have taken the brick all the way to the ceiling.  We debated this as the brick was going up and decided it made more sense to stop where we did.

When you look at the wall from this angle, you'll see what the issues was.  If we took the brick to the ceiling on the main wall with the stove, there isn't a good stopping point on the short wall and the wall with the doorway.

The kitchen itself it probably my favorite room.  We spend all of our time in the kitchen or in the adjoining tv room.  If we're not outside eating on the back porch, we're eating at the kitchen island.  The kids do their homework at the island while I'm cooking.  There's tons of storage and tons of counter space.  It has a great view of the backyard and is open to the tv room, so I can easily keep my eyes on the kids.  

Just a couple of pics.  I can't tell you how much I love all of the windows.  We finally broke down and got blinds for the kid's bedrooms and the tv room off of the kitchen.  I love having the sun stream in and seeing all of the green outside!

Spring has sprung

The snow is finally gone, and I can't help but enjoy a pretty day by taking a walk around the yard.  We still have a long way to go in the yard and with the landscaping, but we will get there!


And on this particular day, I was blessed with my son picking a beautiful bouquet of buttercups- my favorite.

My field of buttercups.




This is my daughter's playroom.  She has never (and I really do mean never) been one to play with dolls or Barbies.  It certainly wasn't for lack of me trying.  She just really had no interest.  Instead, she's always wanted to play school.  I assume that's because she's grown up with me "playing" school.  She when she described her ideal playroom, it included a desk, printer, maps, dry erase board, and a place for her "kids" to sit.

This picture is a little blurry (I'm still trying to figure out my new phone), but it shows one of my most favorite possessions- this little round table.  This was my grandmother's table that she had cut down and used in her first grade classroom.  It makes my heart smile to see my daughter use it to play school.

Snow!

I have always enjoyed a good snow day, but I especially love one when the snow is so deep I can't get to work at all!  12.5 inches between January 21-23.  

I can see this tree from my kitchen and great room window.  I has ice all over it and when the sun hits it, it sparkles like a million diamonds.  Beautiful!  I think it's the perfect spot for a swing come spring time.  

The kids loved playing in the snow.  

This was on Friday night.  Snow was still falling!  

Can you tell how deep it was?  You can't even see the steps!

All the little trees have turned to ice.  

 

Master Bedroom

It's finally coming together!  This room is 17'9x15'5.  It's a good size, probably a little bigger than we need.  When we designed the house, I wanted the space to be in the common areas and was less concerned with large bathrooms and bedrooms.
The light fixture is one of my favorites and one I found on Amazon (I think- I blogged about it when I found it) on clearance.  I found the bedding at Dillard's on their New Year's Day sale, and got it for a steal, so the room was really designed around it.  The bed is from Ashley.  It's a navy upholstered frame and headboard with silver nailhead trim.  The rug is from Homegoods.

The night stands/chests came from Wayfair.  I purchased only one originally as I already had a nightstand I purchased when we bought the bed and was going to do two different night stands.  The first chest from Wayfair came damaged, so they sent me another one and told me to keep the first one they shipped.  Fortunately, the damage isn't that noticeable.  The customer service at Wayfair is amazing, but I can't say much for the quality of the chest- the drawers are really difficult to open and close and the grime on it was unreal.  Granted, I didn't pay that much for them so you get what you pay for.  However, they are unique and luckily, we don't really need to store anything in the drawers. 

This little bench came from Overstock Tribecca bench.  I just don't think you can go wrong with Overstock.  The reviews are so helpful, shipping is fast, and price is great.  It's the perfect size for the end of the bed and the perfect shade of beige to coordinate with the walls and bedding.  

 And then there's the church bench.  I love antiques, but haven't used any in the new house.  My parents have a house full (and then some).  I needed something to go on the long wall in the bedroom but didn't really need a dresser for storage.  This pew is from the 1800s and came from the old Christian church in my hometown of Rochester.  It's nice to have this piece of history and home in our bedroom.  And my husband likes to joke that now he has a place to sit while I do my preaching.

 I've ordered a handmade clock to go above the pew and can't wait for it to be finished!

This cute piece came from Hobby Lobby.  It's one of those stores that I don't frequent often, but I happened to go in one day and found this on sale for $400.  

Pantry, Drop Zone and Bath

At the request of a follower, I'm posting a few pictures of our pantry and drop zone (and throwing in a couple of one of my favorite rooms).
Our pantry is an odd size but a great size.  The wall to the left of the door is 6 feet and the wall with the built-ins is about 6'8".  There is plenty of room behind the door for additional shelving; I just haven't gotten to that yet.
When we designed the pantry, I knew I wanted a counter with outlets to store the coffee pot, blender, toaster, etc.  I hate having those things on the counter in the kitchen.  I also knew I needed an outlet for my Swiffer (I've since upgraded to a cordless Dyson - which I LOVE!).  The cordless vac is on a narrow wall to the right of the doorway.  The shelving is adjustable and I lined it with clear shelf liner so the baskets wouldn't scratch the paint.
There's also plenty of room above the counter for shelving.  I originally thought I would need to store some serving dishes and crockpots in the pantry, but there is plenty of room in the kitchen cabinets, so I opted for a cute little shelf and picture.

The next area is our drop zone.  This was a change we made to the original blueprint.  We needed a space to well, drop stuff- mail, keys, school reminders, etc.  It's recessed 5' and the desk is 7'10".  It's not really big enough to use as an office but perfect for what we need to use it for.  I'm still looking for the perfect chair!

 The door leads to the garage so I can tell myself it's okay if the drop zone looks a mess since we're the only ones to see it!  For reference, the laundry room is to the right of the bench and the pantry is to the right of the laundry room door.

One of my favorite spaces is the powder room, and it's certainly one that gets the most compliments from visitors.  We used the same brick veneer on the walls in the powder room that we used in the kitchen as a backsplash.  I was worried that it would feel claustrophobic, but with 9' ceilings it doesn't.  

 This adorable handmade sign came from 42nd Circle Design on Etsy

The mirror is a knockoff of one from Pottery Barn that I couldn't afford.  A quick search on Amazon and I found this one.  

Getting settled

Maybe someday I will have time to go through our home, room by room, and blog about everything I've done and everything I love, but that day is not today.
We are busy living in our home and enjoying it!  And because it tis the season to enjoy family and friends, that is exactly what we are doing. . . in our home!

This beautiful wooden tray came from the Pottery Barn outlet.  I filled it with burlap, miniature pumpkins, pine cones, and deer antlers that my husband has picked up over the years.  

The dining room table set for Thanksgiving.

This is one of my favorite rooms and no matter how many pictures I take, I just can't do it justice.  

This was my first attempt using real greenery.  I have always used a fake garland around my front door but wanted to do something different this year.  I love it!

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The stockings were hung. .