Welcome to our home.
Moving to Louisiana has been a bit of a homecoming for us. The Hubs and I met when we were stationed at Fort Polk, about 45 minutes away from where we live. You can read about our first date here.
When we found out we were moving here, The Hubs and I wrote out a list of things we wanted in a home. We knew we wanted this to be our retirement home, so we wanted: one floor, open concept, little to no carpet, space for a coffee bar {I rejected a lot of homes because this was lacking}, enough room to park an RV and our cars {The Hubs rejected a lot of homes because these things were lacking, and a fireplace {yes, I know this is Louisiana but I want what I want}.
During our house hunting trip, The Hubs and I looked at a lot of houses, but they were all quickly rejected because they didn’t meet our requirements. On the last day of our house hunting trip, our realtor {Hi, Rose} told us about this house and asked if we wanted to see it. We weren’t really interested because the house is in the city and we are definitely suburbs kinda people, but we agreed to take a look.
When we first walked in, we just knew. It was like that with our first house too. I knew almost immediately where our furniture would go. I could see us living here comfortably into our old age. And, bonus, even though the house is in the city, it’s a very country like setting.
For this tour, I’ve decided to do things a little different and show you the big picture here and share some of the details of our home on Instagram, so make sure you follow me there {and say “Hi” so I can follow you as well}.
MY OFFICE
This is my office. It’s also the entry to the house from the carport. For almost a year, this was dead space. We used this space as Squeekerz’s bedroom and a drop off point for junk, but it wasn’t really used for anything else. My office was upstairs, which was a pain in the neck because that meant I had to carry Squeek up every time I went upstairs because he couldn’t manage the steps. On a whim, I decided to move everything in here and it worked. Squeek loved it because he could sleep and still be near me and I loved it because look at all that light.
Now that Squeekerz is gone, I share this space with Bleu. If you look closely, you can see the two ginormous fluffy beds that she does not sleep in. Usually, she’s under my chair.
Whenever The Hubs and I get a chance, we like to visit antique shops and look around. Most of the time we come home with something. On a recent trip to Pineville, we purchased this vintage typewriter. The keys are all rubbed out and it’s rusty, but it’s a fun piece to have around. Those planters used to hold the prettiest purple leafed plants, but I killed them long ago and can’t seem to part with the planters. I may end up with faux plants…
I had The Hubs hang this shelf up for me a few months ago. My plan is to get one of my pictures printed and sit it up there. I just can’t decide which one I want. I also use this space for storing my lenses when they’re not in use.
This is a close up of a few of the items on the shelf. The Pentax belonged to The Hubs long before he met me. I found it while we were unpacking some long forgotten boxes and decided it belonged on my shelf.
As for the books: I’m a Nancy Drew fan; when I was a kid, my aunt and I used to visit a doll museum in Washington, D.C. that was owned by the author of The Doll House Mystery {my aunt had her autograph the book for me}; and my childhood friend saw the monkey book and sent it to me because I LOVE MONKEYS.
And, speaking of monkeys, this lamp was a housewarming gift from our realtor. Isn’t it the cutest? She has one at her office just like it {she also has a monkey butler business card holder}.
The Hubs and I found this vintage mirror when we lived in Georgia. The glass is all smokey and spotty, but I adore it. It used to hang in our daughter’s bedroom, now it hangs by the backdoor.
A top view of my desk. True story: furry pillows freak me out {germs} but I love this pillow so much that I ended up buying a second one for the other office chair. The purses in the window are vintage beaded beauties that I found at second hand stores. I don’t carry them because they’re delicate but I couldn’t stand to hide them away either.
Another view of my office. At some point, I’d like to change the overhead light but I haven’t found exactly what I want yet.
BREAKFAST AREA
On the rare times that Bleu is in her bed, she sleeps right there. She likes that area because she can see everything and everyone without having to get up.
The Hubs and I eat most of our meals at this table, even though we have a dining area. I think we like this table because it’s intimate and sits directly in front of the TV.
Remember I said I wanted a coffee bar? This is it. The vintage card catalog holds different flavored teas {I do drink tea every now and then}. I also started storing my baking supplies and some of my pots and pans on the lower shelves. At some point, I’d like to move the pots and pants and use the bottom shelf for more baking pans.
KITCHEN
I’ve always had big kitchens, so moving around in a small kitchen has taken a bit of getting used to. And really, we don’t need all the kitchen space that we used to have. The one thing I did insist upon having was that refrigerator. I saw it in the background of a commercial and used my librarian skills to track down the make and model. It was the best purchase ever. Why do I like it? Because I can open up the split door, grab a cold drink and not open up the entire fridge. It’s the small things, y’all.
LIVING ROOM
The living room is a work in progress. In our old house, that furniture looked so small, now it looks so big. But it’s incredibly comfy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep on that sofa. At some point, I want to change out the yellow pillows for another color, I’m just not sure which yet.
DINING ROOM
The Hubs surprised me with this dining room table and chairs… I didn’t know he had it in him to pick out something so funky. That picture is one of my faves because it’s an outdoor coffee bar.
THE HUBS OFFICE
The Hubs asked me to show his office, so here it is. That letter chair is probably one of my favorite pieces of furniture. It was an unexpected purchase for us. I tend to be a little more adventurous in my pattern choices, and The Hubs is more conservative. It turns out, he really likes that chair.
The pictures are pieces that we found in antique stores in and around Missouri. I love that so many of the pieces in our home are from all over and have memories attached to them. Like I said before, I’ll be sharing more detailed pictures on Instagram, so make sure you check me out there.
ABOUT WHERE BLOGGERS LIVE
Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Over the next few months, a group of seven bloggers will be sharing their workspaces, their homes, towns and more!
Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Julia at When the Girls Rule
Lisa at Midlife in Bloom
Come back next month to learn more about where I live.
Cheers,
LET’S CONNECT
