home is where my story begins...

Christmas Front Porch

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house!  I’m still not lifting or moving too much since my back surgery, but my pointer finger works just fine.  My kids and my hubby really like it when I ask them to do something and then just sit and point at what I’d like done.  (Can you hear the sarcasm?)  So, I can’t take credit for the loveliness of the front door.  My hubby did the work and I just pointed.
I have used the same garland and wreaths for many years.  I’d like to bulk it up, but it’s hard to splurge on decorations when I could use that money to buy gifts for people.

This is my favorite sign of all time.  If you live in my neighborhood, you know how true this is.

Ok, maybe this is my favorite sign.

Ok, I guess I have a problem deciding which sign is my favorite.  I love this one too.

I cute sign, a bucket of holly, and some birch logs from the deck are all it takes to make my chair kind of cute!

This is the sled I grew up using.  It’s missing the middle wood piece, but I still love it.  That sled has seen many miles of happy hills!

I’m having a hard time believing that MY sled could possibly be an antique!

Happy decorating!

Copper Decor

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I don’t know what it is about copper, but I’m loving it lately. I’ve been trying to find ways to incorporate copper into my decorating.
I bought this bowl for $2 at a garage sale a few years ago. I put it on my bookshelf with a few old books and it adds the perfect amount of brightness.

This is my favorite copper bowl. It’s a big antique bowl that I bought on eBay a few years back. I only paid about $20 for it and I LOVE it. It was hanging on my pot rack for a long time and I’ve decided to let it shine on my bookshelf.

I added a few fall elements to my bookshelves too and they blend in so well with the copper bowls.

I’m not sure what I will do when it’s time to change things out for Christmas. Does copper look good with traditional Christmas decor? Well, I will find out soon enough because the Christmas decorations are coming out on Friday!
Happy decorating!

Antiques That Tell Your Family Story

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I love filling my home with things that have history. I don’t spend a lot of time shopping antique and thrift stores. (Although I wish I had the time and money to browse antique stores.) Most of my treasures come from family members, so I really appreciate the history behind these pieces.

 

The pocket watches belonged to my step-dad and grandpa. I love holding something in my hand that they held onto for so many years.

 

This sewing machine was in a corner of my parents’ garage for years, before it found a home in my craft room.

 

There is nothing more meaningful than holding your great-grandmother’s Bible. There are even handwritten notes inside from church services and Bible studies.


When we were going through my grandma’s old suitcases, we opened one and found her wedding dress and my grandpa’s WWII army uniform. Many years before, she told us she had thrown them away because they were tattered. It was amazing to find them in perfect condition inside a suitcase in her garage.

The flower garden quilt is from my husband’s side of the family. His grandma sent it home with me after a visit to her house. It is very tattered, but I just have the good part of the quilt poking out of the basket. The star quilt was made my great grandmother and the picnic basket belonged to my grandma and grandpa.

This one was made my great grandmother and my great, great grandmother as a wedding gift for my grandparents. The patterned fabric was made from old shirts and dresses. They didn’t have a lot of money and they used the scraps they had available.

I can’t say I purposefully fill my home with antiques. I don’t seek them out, scour thrift shops, or shop ebay for a great deal. I fill my home with these treasures because each piece has a story.

What story does your home tell?

Decorating With Old Books – Loving Family History

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My husband calls it old junk, but I love home decor that has some sort of history.  I think he may be coming around a bit.  Recently, when we went away for the weekend, I convinced him to wander the antique mall for a few minutes.  He actually said that it wasn’t the worst part of the weekend.  That’s improvement!

I love treasures that tell a story. Even more special is a treasure that tells part of my own story, and reveals a little bit about where I’m from. I love the look of old books in home decor, but I really love that my old books came from my grandparents.



They have the neatest old covers.

The inside of the cover is beautiful too! They just don’t make books like this anymore.

Here’s my favorite. This is a bible that was on my grandma’s bookshelf. Inside, it says, “For Our Dear Mother. From, Edith and Chester. August, 1927.” Edith and Chester were my grandmother’s parents. So, this bible belonged to Edith or Chester’s mother, my great-great-grandmother. How cool is that… just to know that I’m holding the same bible that my great-great-grandmother held.

There are even hand written notes inside the margins that were written during church services or bible studies.

I also have an old hymnal from Seattle Pacific College (now Seattle Pacific University). Both of my grandparents, both parents, several aunts, uncles, cousins, and I also went there.

If you look around my house, you’ll see that I decorate with lots of old books. To most people, that’s all they are… just old books. To me, they’re part of my history and it’s amazing to hold a little piece of history in my hands.

Happy decorating!

The Tween Bedroom Makeover

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Just when we had my daughter’s bedroom all organized, the bedroom furniture in place, and the new quilt made, we were given Great Grandma’s bedroom set.  It’s good problem because the bedroom set is beautiful and my daughter loves having a bigger bed. 
Today we moved the picture wall to the opposite side of the room.  Last week I bought a new comforter for the bed. I didn’t even let me daughter go shopping with me.  I knew it had to match her quilt and look good with her bedding because I wasn’t even going to consider repainting.  The gray in the comforter is the same gray that is in the quilt.  It’s the softest comforter you could ever imagine, so she wasn’t too sad that I didn’t let her pick her own bedding.
While decorating her room, it’s hard for me to keep in mind that she’s still eleven years old.  Even though the picture frames and bulletin board don’t really look the best with a beautiful bedroom set like this one, they still get to stay.  

Will you just look at this beautiful sleigh bed?

The bookshelves above this dresser will need to move eventually, to make room for the mirror that goes along with the set.  Plus, she can’t actually reach the books.  The poster of the puppy dog, thumb-tacked to the wall, gets to stay too… against my better judgement.

Here’s the second dresser in the set.  It’s so pretty. All of the special treasures on top of the dresser got to stay too.  Everyone needs a magic 8 ball, a lava lamp, and a piggy bank colored with Sharpie markers.

The quilt doesn’t actually fit on the bed anymore, but it makes a nice throw.

Oh, and I’d like you to meet Paul.  He is the largest stuffed animal I’ve ever seen in my life and he lives at my house.  Paul gets to stay too.

Happy redecorating!

Nap-Time Creations
Dolen Diaries

October

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Well, hello October!  Can someone tell me where September went?  As much as I love Summer, I really-really-really love Fall.  September and October are kind of a toss up on which is my favorite.  September is my birthday month and back to school time, but October is when I really break out the Fall decor, it’s my wedding anniversary (20 years on October 6th), and I LOVE being the hot apple cider lady for the trick or treaters. 
I’ve been adding a few Fall touches here and there to the house.  I usually bring them out all at once, but it’s been feeling a bit rushed this year and the little-by-little approach was all I could handle.
The front porch was the first area to be decked out.  Every year I say that I’m going to do something different, and every year the same decorations go up.  But I do still think they’re pretty.
The pumpkins were the deal of the season!  If you have ever shopped for pumpkins, you know that the big pumpkins are pretty pricey.  We were at a funeral, in a small town in Eastern Washington, and noticed that the church was selling pumpkins as a fund raiser for $4 each.  I didn’t have any cash on me, but my mother in law came to the rescue and the kids bought 5 pumpkins!  (That just reminded me that I need to pay back the money I borrowed!)

The Fall quilts have made their way out.  When I graduated with my Master’s Degree in 2000, my friend Christy (a teacher I used to work with) gave me some beautiful Fall fabrics.  I love, love, love these fabrics.  I didn’t know what to do with them so I took them to the fabric shop that she bought them from and asked the quilt shop owner for suggestions.  In about 10 seconds flat she had lined up my fabric and written out a quick and easy pattern for me to follow.  To this day, this is one of my go-to quilt patterns when I need a quick and simple quilt to give as a gift.

Oh, mini pumpkins, how I love you!  I’m a bit addicted to those little guys but they just brighten up any tablescape.

And any burlap pumpkin can join the party too.

I love all of the jars will with leaves, wheat, and pumpkins on the dining room table.

And finally, we have a little quilty happiness.  Camille Roskelley always has a basket filled with rolled quilts in her house.  Since I want to be just like her, I shall roll my quilts in a basket too.  

Happy October Friends!  Thanks for stopping by!

The Big Scary Wall

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Everybody has a wall like this one.  My sister calls it The Big Scary Wall.  It’s that one wall in your house that is just a blank canvas, but it’s SO big that you don’t even know where to begin.
I’ve had grand plans for this space since we moved in, 10 years ago.  My plans have involved an entry table with lamps and a picture (hubby said no), barn wood shelves (don’t even know where to begin with this idea), a gallery wall with photos (my house is already filled with photos of my kids), and even building shelves into the wall (again… don’t know where to begin with that one).  It’s been 10 years and I have done nothing with this space.
This is the big wall you see when you walk into my house and take a right, toward the kitchen.  It is also directly across from the dining room.  Here is the lovely view you see as you are sitting in my dining room.  Pretty blah, huh?

Well, I have finally decided that it’s time to do something about the big scary wall.  I bought 3 small-ish items, which won’t even make a dent in this space.  But, the best news is that I have an IDEA of what I want to do!  It’s taken 10 whole years but I now know how I want this space to look!
  I can’t wait.  
Here are 2 of the items I purchased for the big scary wall.  The rest of the things will come from thrift stores, possibly an antique store or two if I don’t find what I’m looking for at the thrift stores, and my pantry cupboards.
I can hardly wait!  Do I have you wondering what I’m going to do and why I’m so excited?  Oh, I certainly hope so!

Sewing With Salt Air Fabrics

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Yesterday, I wrote about not being quite ready to let go of the Winter quilts and pillows.  Maybe it was because it was a cold and rainy day, and I just wanted to cuddle up under a quilt with a good book.  On the next sunny day, I think I’ll be ready to bring these out.  

I do love the bright and cheerful colors.  For all of these projects I used Moda’s Salt Air line.  They are such happy fabrics!
I will admit, there was a time in my life when I couldn’t imagine buying fabric at a quilt shop.  The big fabric store chains were just fine for me and made a pretty quilt.  Then, I discovered Moda Fabrics.  Sigh.  They’re so pretty.  I just love the way there is an entire line of fabric with 40 prints that are meant to go together.  It’s just so cohesive and makes my wanna-be-artistic-style easier to achieve.

I used the fabric for more than just quilts and pillows.  There were lots of summertime kid projects with Salt Air too.

Now, maybe if we could get a little sunshine around here, I could get in the mood to decorate for Spring!
Happy Spring sewing and decorating!

A Not-So Springy Quilt

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I know it’s time to put my winter quilts away and bring out the Springy quilts, but this one doesn’t seem too Winter-ish.

It’s Spring cleaning time and I’m thinking about rotating my seasonal decor.  Quilts are my favorite things to change out.  I usually leave a big basket filled with almost all of my quilts in my family room, in case of a chilly night on the deck when we have company over.  In addition, I have one or two draped over the back of a chair or hanging off the side of the couch.  I rotate those, seasonally, along with my floor pillow covers.  This is one of my Winter quilts.  There’s really no reason that I call it a Winter quilt.  The colors are pretty neutral and the fabrics are not season-specific.  For some reason, it just says Winter to me.

This quilt was my first jellyroll project.  I fell in love with the colors of this jellyroll, the minute I saw it.  I had no idea what I would make, but I just loved this fabric.

When I ran across this book, I knew my problems were solved.  I bought the book and picked out a pattern.  The pattern I chose was not something I would normally pick.  It was very random, and I tend to like a more predictable pattern.

What do you think?  Is this a Winter quilt, or can it stay out a bit longer?
 

  It’s cozy, just the right colors, and looks great in my family room.  Maybe just a few more months.

Happy Spring decorating… unless you’re not quite ready yet.

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My Favorite Blogs

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When I’m needing a little home-life inspiration, I generally run for my favorite blogs. I’m feeling like I’m at a stand still with my home projects right now.  It’s too cold to finish changing out doors and windows.  I got a bit tired of stripping, sanding, and staining doors and trim, and I haven’t really been in the mood for redecorating or rearranging furniture.  I ran across this post about my favorite blogs, which reminded me to go check them out again, which then reminded me how much I have to get done around this place, and now I’m on a mission to spruce a few things up around here.  And if you give me a cookie, I’m going to ask for a glass of milk to go with it.  (My teacher friends and parents of small children will know exactly which book I’m talking about here.)

So, here it is.  The post that started my spiral into cleaning, organizing, and decorating again. Happy reading!
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Choosing a favorite blog is like choosing a favorite children’s book author.  Each time I take out a new book, in my classroom, I tell my kids that this is truly my favorite author.  Usually, I’m met with several eye rolls and kids saying, “You always tell us that this is your favorite author!”  It’s true.  I have lots of favorites.  I cannot pick just one. 

Well, I feel the same way about blogs.  Each time I come across a new-to-me blog with gorgeous photos, a style that I strive for, or inspirational projects, I decide that this must be my new favorite blog.  Although, I must confess, I never really let go of my old favorites.  So, today, I’d like to share my favorite home decor… right now.  I guess I’m adding them to my list of favorites. 

First up, is my most recent addition to the favorites list.  Golden Boys and Me is a blog I connected to in many ways.  The author, Courtney, is a teacher (once a teacher, always a teacher in my opinion) who now stays home with her family.  I love her style and photography.  There is a warm and coziness to her home decor, but it’s light and bright at the same time.  I tend to struggle with the combination of the two in my own home, so I admire her decorating style.

I think I need to scour Goodwill for a tray like the one below and create a display like this on my ottoman in the living room. Or maybe I’ll just wait until Christmas and see what she comes up with then.

http://www.goldenboysandme.com/

I spotted this photo last week on the Pottery Barn blog.
 Love, love, love!

Let me tell you, friends, I have a blank wall above my bed and a white bedspread with very little color in the room.  My bedroom is screaming for this look!  I know the Pottery Barn quilt was part of the inspiration for this look, and I don’t actually own this particular Pottery Barn quilt, but I may have mentioned a time or two that I’m a quilter.  I see a jewel toned, scrappy, star quilt in my future!  When I post a similar looking bedroom photo on my blog in the coming months, you’ll know where the inspiration came from!

http://www.goldenboysandme.com/

Now, we move onto Finding Home.  Seriously, I think Laura could be my BFF. She just seems like a fun person who I would love to hang out with.  Again, I love her style because it’s warm and cozy, but still light and bright.  I love the way she uses natural materials in her displays.  
At my house, I have a great wooden box sitting on my dining room table, a bundle of wheat, and a few other fall items.  You may be wondering why I’ve never shared a picture of my fall table display.  Well, it doesn’t exactly look as pretty as this one.  Mine is kind of a “Pinterest Fail” look.  I’m not even going to keep trying with the fall display.  I’m just going to move right onto Christmas.  What are we putting on our Christmas tables, Laura?  I’ll try whatever you do!

http://findinghomeonline.com/

Her living room is gorgeous!  I love her home because it’s custom, but it didn’t start out that way.  They moved into a builder-grade home and have gradually made it their own.  They’ve made it special and unique.  The first time I found this blog, was through Pinterest.  I spotted the picture below and pinned it, because I’d love to have built-ins like this in my own living room.
http://findinghomeonline.com/

So, there you have it!  These are my favorite Home Decor blogs right now.  I eagerly await their posts each day (or every few days) because I know there is inspiration right around the corner!  If you have a favorite blog, please leave a comment about it in this post, even if it’s your own!  I’d love to hear about it and why it inspires you. I’ll be sharing my favorite sewing and photography blogs later in the week.

Happy decorating!
(Photos were used with permission from the blog authors.)