Show Us Where You Live- Children's Rooms

"Jillian, Jillian, Jillian Jiggs, it looks like your room has been lived in by pigs!" "Later I promise, as soon as I'm through. I'll clean my whole room up, I promise, I do."

Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman

Welcome to my nearly empty nest
Where once I could have shown off a room filled with a treasured teddy bear collection mixed with sports memorabilia, is now a tranquil sleeping room for guests.

Where once the College Boy dwelled with his volumes of books and spare computer parts, is now a catch-all room and off season clothing storage area.

Today's tour leaves me in distress as the only room occupied by offspring is often a mess.
I've bribed and I've threatened, I've aided and abetted
but most days I just close the door and ignore what gets me besetted.

For the squeamish or for the idealistic, please be warned--You might want to look away!

Sorry, I couldn't bring myself to show you what's behind closed doors!

Friday Home Tour- Guest Room

Welcome to the Home Tour!
This week Kelly is having us show our guest rooms. Good thing, I needed some motivation to get downstairs and spruce things up. It's been a while since I had real guests to occupy the space. Most usually College Boy stays down there giving up his old room to his girlfriend so she can share the "girl" bathroom with The Princess. I guess, technically, his old room is also a guest room too.

When we bought this house 5 years ago, we chose to finish out the lower level for a family/media room, guest room, and full bath. Sadly, stay over guests are few and far between but I try to keep it guest ready for a moment's notice. The Princess still has impromptu sleepovers downstairs but those "guests" usually end up on the couches and floor. I love using our home to entertain friends and family. I've had the privilege of exercising the gift of hospitality by opening up the space to a couple of summer interns over the past 5 years and hope to do the same this summer.

So here's the lower level guest room and bath:

Thanks for stopping by. Come back anytime!
Gina

Show Us Where You Live- Family Room Edition

Welcome!
I had so much fun looking at all the beautiful kitchens that Kelly had us post last week that I thought I'd play along again. When we moved to this city 5 years ago, we downsized a bit from our previous home. One of the things I could give up was the formal living room. We never used them in the houses we previously owned and no matter how much older I get, I just don't seem to be the "formal" type. Our family room is open to the kitchen/dining area and I like that for family time and entertaining.
Here's the view from my front door:
And a close up of the corner table. It came from my office in a previous life and I've been looking for something else to go there for 5 years! When I do find it, this table will go behind the couch where this lone end table has been doing a decent job of providing some visual depth behind the sofa.






And on the other side of the room-- our "ma and pa" chairs. I used to make fun of my
parents with their his and hers recliners but we do get territorial with our chairs don't we? The chair and a half belongs to the man of the house but when he's away...whoever is in it, owns it! I do love my leather wing back though and it's a recliner too. The leather is just a little cold in the winter which is why this blanket is usually hanging on the back of it! I've just recently added this basket tray to hold the remotes and my latest editions of Midwest Living. The candle is battery operated...and fragrant!

There are 2 areas in my family room that are a source of contention for me.
One area is the TV. We started out 5 years ago in agreement not to have a TV in this room. We finished out the basement and installed surround sound in the family room down there. We both agreed that by moving the TV area downstairs it would make watching TV an intentional act. What we didn't count on was how stinking COLD it is the the lower level...in Iowa... in the winter. So the first compromise was that we would get a small TV that could sit on the end table and easily be put away when we were entertaining. It grew from there and that little TV has now grown to a 47 " complete with surround sound, DVR, DVD, and some other equipment that also requires a remote to operate. I've always believed that a TV should been heard and not seen (well, something like that) so have always hidden our TVs in a piece of furniture with doors. I cannot find such a wooden contraption in all my shopping excursions so the TV sits in broad view on this inexpensive stand from Target.Contention area #2 is the fireplace mantel. It has been my decorating bane for the past 5 during the spring/summer seasons. I have decor I like for fall & winter but have yet to find the right thing for spring and summer. I like Pottery Barn's style but this year's accessories are very beachy and that just does not make sense in Iowa. So here's my fireplace:

Discuss amongst yourselves. Your suggestions are welcome here!

Gina

It needed cleaning anyway...

I was having a little insomnia and decided to catch up with the blogging world where I see that Kelly is having fun on Fridays with a virtual home tour for anyone who wants to play. This week she is touring kitchens and since mine needed cleaning anyway, I decided I would play.

Here's the view from the family room:

This is the first house I've lived in where I had light colored cabinets and I have liked the change but I love my dark wood and bring it in with the black table. We bought the house just as the builder was completing it and I was able to make a few changes to meet our needs better. The center island was originally a two level bar meant for eating at. I like to serve buffet style and do a good deal of entertaining, so I had that island removed and put the larger granite island in it's place. We added the bookshelf at the end. It's functional for storage but I change out my baskets, mugs, and decor with the seasons.

One thing I could not change was the small pantry area in the kitchen. It just wasn't going to be enough for my family of 5 so I took the coat closet just off the kitchen and across from the laundry and turned it into a pantry!
I like to change things around on my counters but like them to be as clutter free as possible. Here's one little corner that I love:










Thanks for stopping by!

Gina

Christmas Open House, part 2

Christmas decorating is like buying presents used to be for me when my children were very young--I just can't seem to find a stopping place.
With the main level being sufficiently dressed for the holidays, I only needed to put on the snowmen collection in the lower level then I could sit back, relax and eat bon bons. I started collecting snowmen a few years ago when I lived in Texas. It didn't make much sense then while living in a region that rarely saw snow--I just thought they were cute. My friends thought I was a bit "off". Then we moved to Iowa where hand rolled snowmen can be seen adorning yards from Thanksgiving to Easter. One year, after a significant snowfall, my kids built a snowman on the deck that looked into the kitchen/breakfast area. They did it up right--it was about 4 1/2 foot tall and was complete with a face, scarf, and a hat. That thing startled me every time I walked into the kitchen. I was glad to see that Frosty melt away. So here's the snowmen collection (which I must say usually stays up until March because...we live in Iowa):









That's it... I was done.
But then I started thinking about College Boy returning home and I wanted to fix his room up. You know welcome him to a warm, comforting, clean place that didn't look like his 4 dude apartment. So I found this old reindeer collection and that sparked the "Recycled Masculine Lodge Theme" for his room. The tree is from his older brother's dorm days, the ornaments are from early days of marriage, the wicker love seat was rejected by The Princess because I picked it up from a neighbor's driveway (they were giving it away). I recovered one of the pillows with an old piece of Christmas fabric and displayed the reindeer collection on the bed and love seat. The book is one from the kid's collection and was one that gave College Boy one of his childhood nicknames. I'm sure he will be overwhelmed with nostalgia and give me a big hug and a kiss for all the trouble I've gone to in creating this themed room OR he will shove everything out of the way as he dumps his laptop, back pack, and dirty laundry in the room where he once hid out from the world (or just his parents). Maybe you will appreciate it:
"NOW I'm done!", I said to myself as well as announced it to all those around.




Then on THURSDAY College Boy called to say that College girlfriend would be coming home with him ON FRIDAY for the weekend. Well, I couldn't have a guest in the guest room without some kind of Christmas decor. So, I pulled out another Princess reject and decorated this little white tree with gold, silver and multi-colored miniature balls. I KNOW she will appreciate it because she's a girl and notices those little touches and... well, you know, I am College Boy's MOM.





Well friends, now I am done. That completes the tour but I wanted to give you a look at my front porch as you leave. Thanks for stopping by again. Take care and drive safe.




And because this is Iowa, that is not Department 56 snow strategically scattered about. It's real, it's getting deeper by the hour, and it tomorrow it will need to be shoveled.

Christmas Open House

Welcome friends. It's a frigid evening here in Iowa but the last of the recent ice storm has cleared from the streets and sidewalks and is ready for a new snowfall. A fire is going in the fireplace and the subtle scent of evergreen is in the air. A pot of hot mulled cider is brewing on the stove. Come on in and join me my friends.

Most of the pictures I'll post were taken without flash to create that evening glow effect (it also masks the dust that may or may not be visible in the flash of light).In the entryway, the banister is wrapped with greenery & lights. Brass ornaments purchased years ago in Georgia, are hung along the greenery. Our family tree is in the front room. I love the smell of fresh trees but haven't had one since we moved from Georgia 15 years ago. Our ornaments are a collection from over the years. Every year each family member gets a new one to hang on the tree. It's a very nostalgic event as the ornaments are hung year after year. Here are some of my favorites:



















After Christmas I hope to purchase another artificial tree for the family room that I can decorate with a theme each year. For now, I decorate the mantle with greenery, lights and my Willow Tree nativity. Some gold ribbon and star shaped boxes softens the scene and gives it a little glow.









This is the first year to decorate this table. This summer I was convinced that I needed a bigger table when I found a good deal on this one. It pulls out to a big square for entertaining. I've pulled it out to entertain a couple of times but it's a two person job even with a butterfly leaf. Most of the time it stays this size. Any time of year I like simple tablescapes that can be picked up quickly to accommodate a school project or family Scrabble challenge. Same goes for the island decorations. The large, flat granite surface is an ideal place for cookie baking, a buffet table or gathering spot for friends. In real life it catches the mail, the grocery bags and anything else that needs to be dumped when you come in the garage door.











Thanks for stopping by. There's more to see so check back soon.

Merry Christmas!

Controlling Chaos...continued

Sometimes it has to get worse before it can get better.

Controlling Chaos

Recently for a leadership study I'm a part of, I took the Strength Finder assessment from the book with the same title by Tom Rath. According to the test results , my top 5 strengths are:
1. Communication
2. Woo
3. Empathy
4. Strategic
5. Positivity

I'm not sure how much validity to give these kinds of tests but I can see the reality of some of these strengths revealed in my life.
For the record (and so as not to come across as full of myself), I assure you that right off the top of my strawberry blonde head that for every strength listed above, I could easily give you 2 corresponding faults. And if I go too long thinking I've got it all together, there are other people and situations in my life that remind me that I don't.
Resuming post now...
It made sense to me that if these were identified as "strengths" then I should channel my energies in these areas to be more effective in my life,work and ministry. Strangely enough, my ministry/work requires most of these strengths at any given time of my day. Blogging came as an outcome of the strengths revealed. It also put what I thought was perhaps an obsession into perspective as well...
I like to organize things. I find myself reorganizing rooms, pantrys & shelves, and closets. So far I've confined my urges to my own domain and the occassional request from others who asks for my assistance. According to the Strength Finder list this urge for organizing would relate to the strategic strength. Even before the Strength Finder test, I discovered that I had a "knack" for looking at a situation and breaking it down to manageable parts. What sometimes overwhelms other people, exhilarates me.
Now that it gets dark at 6 o'clock at night and I have alot of alone time while hubby works out of town and The Princess is off at some kind of practice or rehearsal... I need a project. So I've decided to tackle the one zone of my home that seems to remain in a constant state of chaos--our home office. Specifically the filing cabinet! In spite of efforts to live and pay bills paper free, there is still a good amount of documents that need to be kept and filed. So I'm working out my approach and gathering the necessary tools. My goal is to have it "whipped into shape" by the end of the week.
You are my witnesses. Stay tuned.