Where we live...

 In addition to lots of time spent in Lily's playroom, we also live in these rooms...

This is a look into where we spend most of our time as a family.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of our most favorite parts about our new home is the open floor plan.  This is our family room taken from the kitchen.  As you can see, there is a TON of natural light which makes the room bright and cheerful even when its cloudy outside.  There are two built-in bookcases and cabinets on either side of our fire place and I LOVE having a mantle!  Over the years, we hope to advance our ratio of "adult" furniture that we pick out and purchase ourselves to hand-me-downs, but for now, what we have and have been given is more than enough!  It is a very comfortable space to spend time.

Here is a peek at my mantle.  I kept things pretty simple this year as I had never had a mantle to decorate before, so I used what I had and enjoyed playing around with where things might go.  Our finances were tight with just having moved, so I did not purchase anything new other than the large letters above the mantle itself.  I think I spent a total of $6.  Leading up to Halloween, I had a fall colored garland across the mantle and a Jack-o-lantern there in the middle.  For Thanksgiving, I just put up my two little turkeys and a cornucopia.  It will be fun to see how my decorating style evolves and emerges over the years in this fun new space!

This photo is taken from the fire place looking back toward the kitchen.  As I mentioned, we have an open floor plan that allows wonderful flow between the two rooms and allows you to still feel included and involved in what is going on even when you have to fix dinner or do something in the kitchen. 

Here is another glimpse into the kitchen from a different angle.  Lots of windows and wonderful light.  I have tons of design/decor ideas for our kitchen as well.  It may be awhile before we can dig in and really make it the way we would like, but perhaps some smaller steps in the coming year.  We'll see.  It is so nice to have all of this space!

Some more wonderful light on our stairs leading up to the bedrooms.  We have the shade pulled up a little bit because our neighbors have three dogs and Lily loves to look out the window on our way up to see what the dogs are up to in their back yard.  Most of the time they are sleeping in the sunshine, but she loves to check on them!  It never gets old.

One of Lily's favorite features is the little opening up behind the chair here in this photo.  You can see part of the window from the landing on the staircase that I just showed you in the photo above.  She loves to wave to whoever is in the family room, say "good night" to any and everything on her way up to bed and to have one last glimpse of the Christmas tree before she turns in for the night.  It is a really cute little ritual that she has developed...  I have visions of little peeks out from that space in the future with a little gal asking for one more drink of water, just one more story...

We also have a dining room on our main floor, but right now we don't have any furniture in there so hence no photos.  Right now, it is a room where some boxes still remain (mainly of wall decor and some of the final 15% of STUFF that just never seems to find a place... ugh!)  While I dream about hosting family and friends for dinners and holidays someday, I am also really enjoying just having some empty space around for the first time in a very long time.  In fact, probably ever. Call me crazy, but I like it!

Hope you enjoyed these glimpses into our home.  We have not done Lily's room yet, that is high on the list for 2013.  I am sure I will post some photos as we dive into that project.  My apologies for not having the beautifully staged photos I had envisioned, but my life tends to be pretty messy and clutter-y these days.  I'm working on it, but also keeping things and expectations realistic!  Making a house into a home is an ongoing journey and one I'm beyond thrilled to be on with this place!  Thanks for stopping by and for being so encouraging and patient with me!