by Warning! At the end of this post is a pic of me with no make-up. It’s only fair to give you advance notice…just so you don’t spew coffee all over the keyboard or something. J
Jessica over at Farm Fresh came up with this voyeuristic idea…that we moms need to give a grand tour of what life is like at our house. The tour includes pics of the following, so without any further ado, come right on in!
First Stop: My bathroom and the toilet…
This is our one and only bathroom–Thank God. I’m thrilled to pieces to only have one bathroom to keep up with! I love dark brown, and dh thought I was crazy for choosing it in a small room like our bathroom, but we love how it turned out. The wainscoating is tongue-n-groove siding that we pulled off of a falling-down building on our property, I sanded it, coated it with primer and pai
nt and dh threw it on the walls.
As you can see, the toilet is back in its own little alcove, as is our bathtub. Check out our old-fashioned heat resinor in the wall. We have one or two of those in each room, it’s what our hot water heat (from the outdoor corn stove) travels through to toasty-warm up our house in winter.
On to th
e Laundry Room:
Very little to see here I’m afraid. Yes, I painted this in the late nineties. (Dh swears it looks like doctor’s office colors) I’m thinking of a redo of coral and tan maybe. Haven’t decided yet, and that would definitely be a project for NEXT summer! Meet the twenty year old washer we brought with us from our first home…the dryer bombed last year, thus the two colors. I’m a white appliance lover. The washer keeps holding out. I actually was all caught up on laundry (pretty much) the day we took all the pics…except for the covered basket you see in the pic which contains hand-wash it
ems and a few tie-dye shirts that I still wash separately.
To the kitchen–meet my refrigerator and sink…
We had guests yesterday morning so my sink was still clean! Whoopee, but does that mean I fail this “real-life” test? Just look over at my magnet/craft covered refrigerator, what a hodge-podge! And we’d just finished a supper of leftovers, can’t get much more “real life” than that, right? My desk, in the background, is covered with tardy birthday presents for various of my nieces, and magazines and books on their way out to the car and back to the library! Still playing catch-up after being sick and then going on vacation!
Check 
out two of our closets…
This first one is in my hallway right next to the bathroom. The drawers on the bottom contain play-dough, paper dolls, wrapping paper supplies, etc. I used to have all the games on the top two shelves, but early this week I moved all the kid games to the bottom shelf. It’s summer, they need to be within reach!
The one on the right is supposedly a coat closet for company, but it’s by the front door, and ALL our company comes to the back door, of COURSE! So this closet is a mess of card table/chairs, the girls Indo-boards, boxes of videos we never watch, and all our stamping/scrapbooking supplies. Strange collection there, isn’t it? Oh for a craft room.
And the L
iving Room…
It wouldn’t be real life if I moved the exercise equipment out of the way, though I normally exercise and then scoot the Gazelle off the center rug and out of traffic. Don’t ask me why there’s a plastic bag hanging on the coffee table…it’s probably a hammock for one of my three yo’s dollies. There’s a handkerchief tied to the TV table in the same manner with something sleeping in it. The laundry basket is full of library books, renewed in the nick of time.
Those horseshoe tables were made my by fil, we love them, and have several horse pictures on the walls. My attempt to underline hubby’s passion in life: horses. Though the way things are going, maybe I should be framing pictures of dogs.
We’re also supposed to be posting pictures of what our children were doing while we put this post together.
Mine were catching crawdads. What else is there to do in the country after a big rain?
And finally the picture you’ve all been waiting for of me bare-faced and dull at the end of a day…
Oops. The digital camera’s batteries died before I could upload it. Truly sorry! I do promise a raincheck though! As soon as possible, of course! (I really would have, honest, I just don’t feel like robbing batteries from my youngest’s playtoys)
Thanks, Jessica, for a fun party! It’s Real Life, any of you want to participate? I’d love to come peep in your windows! Be sure to check out Jessica’s, she did an awesome tour of her life, as did many others!
You’re awesome. I love your bathroom–especially the wainscoting. Too funny about dollies sleeping in sacks ect–we have that too. You should just convert that closet to a craft alcove. Guests can always throw their coats on your bed.
Thanks so much for playing! It’s great to see your Real Life!
Oh & did I ever tell you DH made an endoboard from your inspiration?
Jessica’s last blog post..I’m so … so… GRRRRR
I love the earthy colours in your house – cool! I might just do this one too 😀
Amy’s last blog post..The Strangest Things
I love having a tour of your life and home! It looks like such a wonderful place to grow up for your children. I had a washer not too long ago very much like yours, until mine gave out. I hate to admit it, but I was not too sad to have a reason to get a new one. LOL We have all been sick with sinus stuff, so my house is such a mess right now. I am hoping to have some time to clean it tomorrow after church. I went to my high school reunion this weekend. That was fun! Well, have a wonderful week, and thanks for the awesome tour! Juli
Loved this idea…and the peek into your beautiful home! I am going to try to post a few of these, as well. It’s so fun looking into other’s homes!
Amy M’s last blog post..Real Life
I like this idea, but I would be a bit embarrassed to share mine, because my laundry room and dining area have clutter (thanks hubby) but now that I do have a digital camera, I think it is high time to learn how to use it.
Btw, you have a lovely house.
Leticia’s last blog post..Stardate 082308.4
Thanks, Jessica! These are the best kind of posting ideas, so I look forward to your next one! There’s nothing more intriguing than real life glimpses into other moms’ lifestyles and homes. Especially those of my online friends, it’s like visiting them! I love being able to picture what their surroundings are! Thanks for the great suggestion on the craft alcove…we’ve never used it for a coat closet so no one would know the difference!
Thanks, Amy, I do love brown…not only in my home decor, but I’m wearing more and more of it myself! Can’t wait to see your “real life” post, please play, it’s so much fun!
I’m so glad you liked it, Juli! And yes, I wouldn’t be sad to see my washer bite the dust, mostly because it has all sorts of little inconvenient problems that I have to work around when washing a load. But I don’t really relish spending the money out for its replacement at the moment, either! 😉 Sorry you have all been sick. Nothing like that to swamp the housekeeper, huh. I’ve been reading “Shelter for the Spirit” that you recommended, remember? It’s good. I think it’s what I needed to get my organizational/decluttering wheels turning. Glad you had fun at your reunion! We would have had a 15 year one this summer, but no one planned it! How many years have you been out?
Amy M, so glad to see you again! I really hope you post, I’d love a virtual “tour” of your abode!
Leticia, clutter is part of the “real life” aspect here. My house goes through phases, I just happened to have a relatively uncluttered house this week because I went on a cleaning frenzy the few days before we went on vacation. Something about wanting to leave things nice to return to? I wish I kept it that nice all year long. Summer is easier on me, b/c my “full-time” job (homeschooling) is in the background!
Thanks all for taking a gander and for the comments!
Mary
I have been out for 20 years!!! I am almost 38. It is hard to believe how fast time goes by. I don’t blame you on waiting till the washer goes out to get a new one. We have a TV in our living room that is old, but it still works, and I will not get a new one, unless that goes out. (My hubby has suggested we get one a few times now.) LOL
Mary, I guess mine goes beyond clutter, it is full of junk and mess. I hate it.
My house is so small it is hard to find space for everything.
Leticia’s last blog post..Judge overrules dad’s decision to ground daughter
Juli, lol, our TV is old and small! (compared to most living room tvs out there, I think it’s 20 inches) We got it early in our marriage for $5–a raffle ticket! We rarely watch it though, and don’t plan on switching over when the networks go digital. So I know what you mean!
Leticia, when space is an issue, it’s really disheartening to know where to begin. I wish I was better at letting things go (ie: giving away, paring down on clothes, etc) but I guess I come by my pack rat tendencies naturally (right, Mom?) 😉 I was just looking at my daughter’s dressers in dismay today, they are beyond stuffed full of clothes, and my girls believe they can’t live without 3/4ths of it. It’s impossible for them to put clothes away without stuffing them into drawers, etc. So, I really need to do something. LOL, my solution is bigger dressers. Isn’t that terrible!?!
Loved this post, Mary. I especially love the bathroom – I would have been scared to do the dark on top and white on bottom, but it looks great. Have been contemplating a similar idea in my dining room… Do you find you have to deal with lots of scuff marks, etc on the white? And I feel really dumb asking this, but I really have no idea…What’s an endoboard??
Hi Haley,
My husband’s aunt had white wainscoting on her bathroom walls, the bottom half, and I asked her about it before doing it in mine (plus I went with a cream color, not white). She said it was no problem to keep clean. Ours is old wood, so it has the nicks and dents, although painted, and maybe hides things better. I was really worried that dust, etc, would stick in the little crevices at the bottom of the tongue-in-groove boards where they meet the baseboards, but when it does it vacuums up very easily! I’ve had it in there for 5 years now, and its held up great! I wish my wallpaper was holding up that well…I really need to give the seams some attention.
Here’s my post on the Indo Boards…Rich made them for the girls 2 years ago for Christmas…it’s an indoor surfboard, great for balancing! David would get a kick out of them…there are pics of them on this post if you click on the link. Thanks for asking!!!
http://homesteepedhope.com/2006/12/28/unique-gifts/
Our dryer just died a few days before all the wedding guests arrived. I’ve been using the lovely Hotlanta weather to dry stuff until we can get a “new” dryer! This is a fun blog post, so glad you participated!
Hotlanta, indeed! What a pain to have happen right before the wedding! With company no less! I’m really pestering my dh to put my clothesline back up…he took it down last fall intending to move it closer to the house for me, but when he tried to dig down to cement the posts, he hit rock! Not sure where we’re going to put the thing now! But I sure miss having a way to get that fresh air smell in the house now that the AC is on!
What a great tour, but I didn’t see the gift shop? I wanted to pick up one of those “I’ve been through Mary’s house, and all I got was this lousy shirt” before I left!
This is a good idea, and I really believe that you didn’t have batteries. Really. Truly. Yup…
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LOL, I really truly didn’t! My digital camera has suddenly turned into a battery eater! My rechargeable ones must have bit the dust, and Energizer’s bunny must not be up to the challenge anymore! I forgot that I owed everyone a no make-up pic! Hm…
Sorry about the gift shop being closed…If I’d known I could make a buck or two off of this…I would have hired more employees!