More Decor

Our house has experienced a few more changes lately. I LOVE it! It's really feeling homey.

Te colorful, prize-winning cross-stitch has its place by the front door.

Russell's Grandma gave me the miniature heart shelf, Lyd bought me the candle, Annika gave me the shells, Naomi gave me the cross-stitch, I made it, and Mom gave me the frame. I just love seeing it every time I enter or exit the house. I have so many dear friends!

When Mom and Lydia came in September they bought us 2 early Christmas presents. This little stool is a nice place to sit while putting on our shoes and is handy for storing my shoes as well, since our walk-in area is quite tiny.

Last week I went shopping at Old Time Pottery with Russell's Grandma, her sister, and his Aunt Tricia + her kids. I was excited to find this coat rack. The weather has cooled down and we are wearing jackets now, so I needed to find something so we could hang them by the door. I wanted something with a shelf and was so happy to find this shelf with hooks for a good price compared to anything I was looking at online. It has a slightly rustic look, which I love, of course, with my flare for country decor. =)

During the weekend I got some great deals at Jo~Ann's (I love that store!!!), this 'M' wood cutout being one of them. I painted it yesterday and then spattered it with cream paint and sanded the edges to give it an antique look. What do you think?

This Joshua 24:15 sign is the other present from my parents. I love that verse!

And we do...and we will!

The Living Room

Except for the coffee table and piano, this was generally the "mission house-look" before Russell and I got married. All those black trunks are full of my belongings.

Then we bought new couches and, after paying on them for a couple months, we were ready to move them in! Even being very sick, I was super excited to say goodbye to those horrid, blue-green clunkers! =D Aaron attempted to get a suntan as Russell drove the couches away. =D

And there are our new suede couches! Certainly an improvement...but it gets better!

Last week I rearranged the living room so it's cozier--not just an area you have to walk through to get to the back hall.

Walking out of the kitchen...

This keyboard was Clay's church piano for a while. When the boys in the home spilled milk on it someone gave the church a new piano. We got the old one fixed and now I used it to practice on...sometimes. It seems like I'm always busy with something in the house. I keep meaning to sit down and read a book Russell bought me but I never seem to have the time. I don't know what it is about this place--I guess it's the sand--but I feel like I am constantly cleaning. I clean our church twice a week, and I've figured out that I generally tend to give my own house a thorough cleaning twice a week as well. That means 4 out of 7 days I am cleaning and then there is cooking, baking, the never-ending laundry and shopping, not to mention the church-related events that come up once a week or so.

That is a cinnamon broom. It smells heavenly!

This is the view as you come down the hallway...

I dried these roses from bouquets Russell has bought me and, once thoroughly dried, placed them in a vase. Now I have flowers in the house all the time and they never wilt! If you noticed the flowers on the coffee table, those are also dried. They were leftover fillers from my wedding bouquet.

This is the view when walking in the front door...

We bought the braided heart rug on our honeymoon.

I love having the living room set up this way. It is so much nicer!

There are my little pink crocs! I love those things! Because it is so sandy here almost all my shoes have ended up either filthy or ruined, but when my crocs get dirty I just take a sponge and soapy water to them and they are good as new. What a blessing! I never used to go barefoot. Now I do all the time. Socks have almost become foreign. =D

The wall behind the couch is still quite bare. I have some picture frames to hang, but I need to print off pictures for them and our printer isn't working yet. I'd like to get some hooks so I can hang my purse or our jackets (when we need them) by the door. I'd also like to get a big rug to put in the sitting area of the living room, but I haven't found anything yet. I came across this small store in town called "A Little Bit of Country," and it's one of those places that tests my ability to NOT be covetous. =D I used to think I would have a hard time knowing how to decorate my home and I used to worry about it. My only problem at this point is knowing when to STOP. =D

I am so happy I bought that little throw quilt. The colors liven up the whole room.

Just last Wednesday we bought and assembled this bookshelf. It is so nice to see all my friends (my books) again! I missed all my pretty, delicate figurines and homey nick-nacks.

My dad's aunt cross-stitched Russell's and my names and our wedding date and framed it as a wedding gift. The colors she chose could not have matched the living room any better. I love it! The Willow Tree figurine was an engagement present from my Grandma and Opa. I always wished to have that figurine, and now I do! The Yankee Candle--Vanilla Cupcake--is the first Russell ever gave me. I doubt if I'll ever burn it. Mom and Dad gave me the pretty lady figurine for one of my birthdays years ago.

Russell just recently bought me the baskets from Joann's. We got two for the price of one. I love those deals! Once I got the books on the shelf I was so happy to have those baskets as fillers. I think it also gives the whole bookshelf a country look.

Along with collecting bears and tins, I seem to have started a small collection of shoes as well.

The grandmother of one of the former boys in the home made this quilt for me as a wedding gift. I love how she embroidered my full name all along the edge and added tulips. I will treasure it always!

The Lord has given me some beautiful things to call my own. He has given me a cozy little house and a wonderful husband. I am so very blessed! Thank You, Lord Jesus!

The Dining Room

After uploading pictures of the kitchen I realized I forgot to take a picture of the reason for a kitchen---the fridge! Our refrigerator is right across from the stove and just outside our bedroom. Russell likes it that way. LOL! =D

There she be! If you've ever been in my mom's kitchen you'll notice that I kinda have mine set up like hers. I'm so used to having things in a certain spot that it just worked out best that way. I've even got onions in a basket on top of the fridge. Like mother, like daughter!

Across from the kitchen area and one step up is our little dining area.

This is what the dining area looked like BEFORE...

...And this is AFTER. I found this table and chair set on Craig's List for an excellent price. The chairs need a little paint, and the table has a few marks on it, but it is extremely sturdy. I love it!!!

You probably recognize the cherry table cloth I cross-stitched. When we flew into the States for the wedding Russell bought me this Yankee Candle--Strawberry Buttercream--at Cracker Barrel, and then a family in our church here gave us the same candle as part of their wedding gift. We almost burnt the whole thing during our honeymoon. The candle in this collage is the one Russell gave me. I'm trying to make it last. It smells sooooo yummy!

This cherry picture is from Old Time Pottery too. Lydia found it when we first went to the store back in October and coaxed Russell to buy it for me. I just got my hubby to hang it for me. Expecting company gets things done that would otherwise sit for a while, so thank God for company!!! ;)

Here is the messy-looking little nook behind the fridge. I store our food in that little closet and on top are all my herbs, vitamins, and medications. That's also where I keep the cooler. All my extra baking utensils, plasticware, and storage bags/plastic wrap/tin foil are kept in the plastic drawers. The basket on top holds my coupons, shopping lists, and to-do lists, etc.

The Kamps family gave us this cute clock for our wedding. You can partly see into our bedroom in the right picture.

Looking from the living room into the dining room...

Looking from the dining room into the living room...what you can see of it, anyway.

I think this picture gives a pretty good idea of how the house is set up. The house is long and skinny.

This is one piece of kitchen equipment I love!!! My good ol' crock pot!

Next...the living room!

My Cheery Cherry Kitchen

Well, you all saw the bathroom, and now it's time for the kitchen!

The little box with fruit drawers was a gift from the Kamps. I keep all my teas in it and matches too (in the orange drawer). Mom bought me the cherry hotpad at Old Time Pottery (I love that store!). Alisah gave me the red pitcher as a shower gift. I like having all my spatulas in it where they are easily accessible as I cook! The hotplate is also part of the set I got from the Kamps. The toaster is even red!

Our house is has a lot of tree cover, so it's often dark inside even when it's sunny.

And here are some closer up pictures...

The oven and stove...

We bought the tin sign during our honeymoon. Russell and I do everything we possibly can together--as best friends. I am so blessed!

This is where I wash the dishes...yugh! I love baking, I love cooking, but dishes are my least favorite chore.

You can see that nice big Southern watermelon...and my empty paper towel holder. =D We're heading for the Dollar Tree soon so it shouldn't be empty for long. I used to think Dollar Stores were for low-lifes. (LOL!) I now thank God for them. The other day Russell and I were putting together a cheap, Walmart pressed-wood bookshelf when I teasingly commented about "having to unfold wood" as Russell proceeded to unfold the cardboard-like backing and nailed it on. We always had real wood furniture when I was growing up, so I practically disdain pressed-wood. I found out something: Russell and his brothers thought my siblings and I were "rich brats," as he put it, when our two families first met. Can you believe that? =D If preferring real wood furniture makes me a rich brat then I guess I can proudly say I am one!!! =D

My friend Vanessa cross-stitched this towel for me. I love it! Though my kitchen is mainly red, I've got some blue hues in it too because of my dish set.

This is my Corelle Ware dish pattern. It's called Country Cottage. I fell in love with it at first sight. My mom and Russell's mom have the same Corelle Ware pattern, and I thought about carrying on the tradition, but when I saw this I knew which one to pick.

Our house is kinda small so we store food from the food bank in unusual places.

I love the small touches of Holland all around my kitchen! I got most of my towels from Mom and Mrs. Kamps and her girls. I don't know what the difference is, but the Dutch know how to make excellent, durable towels. I love them.

I collect tins. The tiny teapot is really a Christmas ornament, but I have so many kitchen towels with teapots on them that my kitchen has become half cherries and half teapots. Lydia bought me my red tea kettle as a shower gift. I love it! It really helps make the kitchen a cheery place!

Russell bought me this cherry towel set at Old Time Pottery last October. It's one of my favorite towels.

Well, that's all for now. This my kitchen--the heart of my little home!