Um... did you look at the kitchen? My idea of re-doing the kitchen is getting it to the point where the rest of you would start thinking, "Let's gut it."
If you want to know what looks like a magazine, check out House of Turquoise, which basically consists of pictures of...magazine houses, in one of my very favorite colors.
This is the kind of thing that inspires in small doses, and I do recommend training your eye with the best, but after a while, serious discontent sets in, no?
So, meanwhile, I have been coping with living in a house that's not like a magazine (just like almost everyone else in the world) by learning to knit!
Just like I said I would! Thanks to good friends who helped me, I'm on my way... exciting!
16 comments:
Hi, Leila! Becky here. (The one you sent the Beekeeping book to, along with the chocolate that melted in the mail and became fabulous ice cream topping?!)
I think your house looks so lovely because you can tell it's decorated and kept with lots of love. Everything in it has meaning and memories. It has a warm, inviting, homey look to it. I would much rather come and stay in a house like yours than one of the magazine homes. Wouldn't you? :)
I am learning to knit as well! A sweet friend taught me at Barnes & Noble in about an hour and a half over a cup of coffee (tea for me). I've only partially knitted a scarf so far, but I love having something to do with my hands while watching a movie with the family or waiting somewhere.
Enjoy!
Becky from FL
Hi Becky!! Good to hear from you again!
You are so kind. I love my house. I'm just saying that no one should think it's perfect and use that as an excuse not to make their own "kept with lots of love", as you say!
And I can see the mistakes in my knitting as I sit here looking at that picture. But it's okay...it's going to be a REAL HAT! That I knitted!
Knitting is wonderful! I learned 50 years ago (yikes!) when for my birthday my Aunt Lillian arranged for me to have lessons with a tiny little old lady who lived in a tiny little old house at the edge of a woods out on Long Island. Miss Martha was her name, and she taught me well, whilst scaring the life out of me; Miss Martha was a strict teacher.
I'm not the crazed knitter my mother was, but I usually have something on needles, and every August, when the air begins to clear and nights begin to cool, I get an irresistible urge to pick up the needles and knit something -- I think of it as some sort of atavistic throwback to preparing my family for the coming winter.
Enjoy your knitting! My sister in law teaches at a yarn shop; if you have questions, just give us a holler!
Cass
Good for you, Leila, to learn to knit. I enjoy knitting more and more as I find useful things to make--scarves and mittens for presents, dishcloths for the kitchen, baby sweaters and socks for friends, etc. It's especially great for all of those times I'm waiting for a child--sports, music lessons, etc.--because it is portable, unlike my sewing machine and I can continue to do it no matter how noisy things are around me.
Your house is so home-like. I appreciate your recent post on doing a deep clean and then just doing regular upkeep for a reasonably clean house. My mother's motto was always "Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy." It is a good rule to live by, I find.
Joy, in snowy VA
I'm learning to knit too, though I'm still very definitely at the beginner stage.
Like others, I love your house because it looks like a real home where a real family lives. Magazine houses never look like anyone actually lives there!
I'm a firm believer too in doing a really deep clean once or twice a year and then maintaining in between times. It's worked for me for 22 years! :-)
I taught the boys to crochet last night and they aren't completely frustrated yet. Knitting is on my list to learn, but not yet. I don't have the mental energy right now. I'll stick with my crocheting a little longer.
If I saw your house in a magazine I surely would clip the pictures out and put them in my "someday" file. I used to live in a large yellow house in New England, too. It will always be home to me. That's what your blog represents: the best of home. It's better than a magazine!
I am learning to knit as well...my oldest daughter is my teacher. She is impatient and critical of my work. I wonder where she got that from?
Hi Leila,
Good for you to learn how to knit! I love the color. I have wanted to learn to knit ever since I saw an article where some ladies would knit baby sweaters for needy children in Africa. Then, because of the sweater's stretch, that item of clothing would fit the child for YEARS. How very neat! Now, I just need to learn how.
Oh, I love your house as well. It looks very classic and yet comfortable.
Your house does look lovely! So warm and inviting. I wish mine was...
I am learning how to crochet it seems easier than knitting to me, only one stick at a time!
I just want everyone to know that I've been to Leila's house and it's much nicer than those Martha Stewart style show houses in house of tourquoise. It's not perfect at all. It's an old house and has plenty of problems but it is one of the nicest houses I have ever been to and that's because of the love and care and personal decorating style of the woman of the house (That's Leila). MS will never be able to get that because decorating is a means not an end. Decorating is about making a home and Leila has done a superb job of that. I always feel refreshed and inspired after I leave her house. Auntie Sue
Way to go! I really want to learn some day, too. My daughter and I have tried to learn from online videos, but just couldn't get past that first row. I have a friend who said that she would teach me to crochet, so I'm going to hold her to it and start there.
You chose a such lovely color to start with!
By the way, I think your lived in home looks much more inviting than anything in a magazine.
Hi Leila,
I wanted to let you know I made your mac & cheese recipe. It was GREAT & so easy! It was an instant hit. Thank you for sharing the recipe. We just moved and it was so nice to eat a "comfort food" meal that we didn't get through a drive-thru. I also have a daughter by the name of Bridgette (different spelling) who is still- at the age of 16- a HUGE mac & cheese fan. She and one of her older brothers nearly finished the pan off. Thank you again! :)
Btw--I loved the pics of your home. It looks so peaceful. It gives me inspiration as I try to unpack boxes and have some order in our new home. :)
I taught myself to knit from a book. I'm not an expert by any means (I mostly knit scarves and dish cloths), but it sure is fun!
I think your house looks better than a magazine house! It looks like a real home lived in by a real and loving family...a home that is warm and welcoming.
I love the pictures of your home too and would love to see more. It inspires me to "be" in my own home.
Unfortunately as I have arthritis in my hands I can't knit any longer but I'm hoping to learn to crochet which may be easier for me. I need to find someone to teach me rather than trying to learn from a book, I think that will be easier.
Good luck with your knitting.
Heather
Leila,
I just love your house. The wide plank pine floors, the big foyer and staircase. The chandelier! Oh, my goodness, that is one beautiful hunk of crystal. I love your mix of furniture too. It has a great mixy-matchy look, like a collection, not a boring suite you bought in one fell swoop at the furniture store! It's lovely.
mary
I like that your house has good bones.
Some of us have osteoporosis.
No matter what though, the rules for dressing well never change.
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