imagine the impossibilities | home tour

Every January, I start the Big Purge.  The big purge consists of cleaning out every room in the house—including the attics, garage, and all closets.  Once the excess clutter, outgrown clothes, and broken toys are bagged, removed, and donated, the Deep Clean commences.  I DESPISE the Deep Clean.  Wiping baseboards, vacuuming behind the bed, and cleaning basset hound grime off the wall is not my idea of a good time.  I started January 1, and finally finished touching up the paint in my son’s room this past Thursday.  What an ordeal!

As part of the Imagine the Impossibilities Blog Challenge, I am sharing the Big Purge on Team Skelley.  Since this is the cleanest that my house will be this year, I am also including a Home Tour.  Thanks to Michelle at The Story of the Sparkmans for giving me the heads up on this challenge. If you have not been to Michelle’s blog, you must check it out.  Michelle is a friend of mine from Tennessee and is the mom to not one, but two sets of adorable twins.  Michelle broke her leg over the holidays, but instead of letting that slow her down, she chose to use the downtime to start her own online design consulting business.  And did I mention that she is gorgeous?

Onto the challenge!

{big purge}

 

I break out in a cold sweat just looking at these.  Let’s cleanse our palate with some After photos.  I just walked through my home and randomly snapped  because my house is always this neat and clean.  No I did not stack clutter in the hallway while taking pictures of rooms.  Of course not.

{after}

~foyer~

~living room~

I am thinking that I need accent pillows for the couch. The mantle is currently bare—after I took down the Christmas greenery, I decided to change the mantle decor, but nothing has jumped out at me. I welcome your suggestions!

[reading nook]

~kitchen~ 

We have an open floor plan which I enjoy because I can cook and yet stay involved with what is going on the living room.  The only time that does not work is when I need to run the dishwasher.  I miss the ultra-quiet dishwasher that was in our Tennessee home.

A bar was a Must-Have. We always congregated around the bar when I was a kid.  The kitchen bar was where I worked on homework, ate breakfast, and gabbed on the phone in the pre-cordless days of yore.

[breakfast nook]

My oldest put his hand through one of our rattan chairs last year, hence the bench.

{Lugano bench\World Market}

[pantry]

~home office~

In 2010, we turned our rarely-used formal dining room into my home office. I did not even have to buy office furniture, our dining room table became the perfect place to wrap gifts and work on projects.  In this photo, my laptop & phone were elsewhere {probably on the bar}. 

{paint color:  Benjamin Moore Florida Keys Blue 2050-40\2010 Pottery Barn Color Wheel}

~master suite~

{laelia bedding\Anthropologie}

Have you heard of Chinese paper cutting art?  It is remarkable!  

{basset art\Chinese paper carving artist Alex Wong}

Speaking of….

Speak of the devil, here he is wallowing on my freshly vacuumed rug.

[my refuge]

Please excuse the next photo,  I had no natural light to work with.  This was an especially difficult photo and it just did not turn out like I hoped.

[master closet]

The builder installed the top shelving and poles during construction.  Last year we decided to expand on the design and added the shoe shelving.

{shelving\Closet Maid Expresso @ Lowes; bins\Target; storage ottoman\Ross; Laura Ashley velvet hangers\ Marshalls- much cheaper than Amazon}

I keep threatening to put in a chandelier, ala Mariah Carey.  Total project cost: Less than $200!

~powder bath~

 ~the boy’s suite~

{madras bedding\pottery barn kids}

~the girl’s suite~

{chamois bedding\pottery barn kids}

~study~

This is The Engineer’s space, as you can tell by the University of Tennessee motif.

 

[guest nook]

{fold out bed\IKEA}

 

We do not have a true guest room, so when guests stay over, we set up the IKEA fold out bed in the study.  They have their own closet and a bathroom next door {granted it is the Big Kid’s bathroom and you never know what you will encounter in there}. With a mattress pad, the bed is actually comfy!

~playroom~

[little kid’s side]

{collector's shelves\pottery barn kids}

{pink play kitchen, easel & white table set\kidkraft}

[game room side]

Pac Man pillows!

And there you go!  As I was scrolling through old posts and photos, I was reminded of what a lemon our previous camera was.  Even with the Canon, this was a difficult post.  Lighting…angles…trying to ensure that the photo captured the actual look of the room…I was not always successful, but the Cotton Wife gave me valuable advice that helped.

If something catches your eye and you would like to know where I found it, leave a comment or shoot me an email @ kdskelley@gmail.com.  I have a memory like an elephant and can tell you where I found practically everything in this house, and probably what it cost!  Or you can connect with me via twitter. 

Thank you for stopping by and thank you to Linda @ it all started with paint for co-hosting the challenge and being so lovely when I felt overwhelmed!

Also linking up with my lovely pal Stephanie Lynn’s Sunday Showcase.  I have not done a Sunday Showcase in forever—if you are looking for a wide variety of creativity, check out her blog, Under the Table and Dreaming.

pinterest pick of the week {#25}

Cupcake in a jar.  I love it.

{Can be found my Valentines Idea Board at Pinterest}

Joining in with:

giving back

When the kids and I were at the YMCA earlier in the week, we took a detour on the way to the car.  We were looking for the new amphitheater that was recently built by a local Eagle Scout.  When we reached the clearing, Big Kid said, “That is not a movie theater!”

As the kids ran and weaved through the amphitheater, Big Kid read all of the names on the benches.  He came to one in the very back:

“Hey, wait a minute!”

I feel very strongly about giving back to the community.  The YMCA has been a wonderful addition to our town and we have spent many an hour at the Y.

I want to instill a love of giving in my children.  It is so easy to get caught up in a sense of entitlement.  But it could all be gone tomorrow, and if it was, what would we have to show for our lives?  Stuff?  I like stuff.  I write about gadgets and technology and toys and clothes.  But my legacy is my children, and I hope to teach them to leave the world a better place than they found.

{photos courtesy of my iPhone}

This is a heavier post than I usually write.  I feel the need for levity; here, have some Dancing Carlton.

Confession: when my friend Allison and I went clubbing back in the day, I would always do the Carlton on the dance floor.  I don’t know why guys never seemed to approach me.  Perplexing.

instajanuary

That post-holidays slowdown that I was expecting did not ever materialize.  What a busy month!  This is what Team Skelley has been up to in the first month of 2012.  In no particular order……

Fat Dog models his sporty new tennis visor that The Engineer won in my family’s Dirty Santa game.

The Big Kid completed his first PowerPoint presentation on Emperor penguins.  In the Second. Grade.  When I was in the second grade, we colored pictures of  penguins.

It was a month long celebration for Little Kid’s fourth birthday. 

Big Kid has missed his bestie, Lil N, who moved to Texas last month.  Lil N. read the book Holes last year, and Big Kid wanted to try it out.  He loved it.  He is a bookworm.  Today is actually Lil N.’s birthday and Big Kid emailed him a gift card to his favorite hang out: Toys R Us.  Happy Birthday Lil N., we miss you and your family!

Awkward photo alert!  I blinded the family at Little Kid and Granddaddy’s birthday dinner at Cantina Laredo.

We made heart-shaped muffins for Little Kid’s birthday celebration at school.  What?  They look like hearts.  Somewhat.

Big Kid was tested for thyroid issues as part of his Alopecia diagnosis.  He was a real trooper during the blood drawing, and I was very proud of him.  Results: negative, thank the Lord.

Little Kid loves flowers and was surprised to find out that the altar flowers at church last Sunday were in honor of her birthday.  This is one small bouquet from the arrangement.  

Little Kid and her Daddy.  So much alike.

After the hustle and bustle of the month, I finally snuck a  nice bath and glass of vino.

Because I always receive comments that I do not post many pictures of myself (unless it is WIWW), I am putting this up.  This is my cousin Brooke and I, circa-1995.  I found this in the big January purge.  More on that Monday.  Our family always liked to joke that Brooke was my mini-me. 

 

Brooke is now in graduate school and engaged to be married--and gorgeous!  Nowadays, I wish that I looked like her, how the worm has turned.  Here we are at our cousin’s wedding last year.

That is January in a nutshell!  Can you believe that it is almost February and Valentine’s Day?  Do you have any special Valentine plans?  Have a wonderful weekend!

Joining up with: