Thursday, September 3, 2009

I Love My House


I know I said I was going to post about my kitchen today. But I really don't want to and I'm not sure exactly why. If you ask Sam, he will tell you we are doing nothing with the kitchen. I would say we are considering painting the cabinets, new appliances, etc. etc. And therein lies the rub.

But that is not exactly why I'm not posting about it. I could always show you my dream kitchen, or my friend Sarah's new gorgeous kitchen, or even talk about whether or not painting the cabs is going to help resale down the road. But all of those topics would suggest that I don't love my house and I do. Because loving your house is not about having the most beautiful cabinets, or the perfect floor plan or even a sweet yard with shade. We have none of that. But we do have the greatest neighbors and friends and our home is comfortable and happy.

I really believe that choosing a house is a decision to be made with your heart and your gut and not your head. When we bought this house, I knew it was the right one for us. Just like I knew Sam was the man for me. And it wasn't a business decision and I can't give you any reason why other than it felt right.

And just like I have favorite things about Sam, I have favorite areas of my home (and favorite pieces in my home.) I'm keeping it real, so I didn't even clean up before I took the pictures.

First:

I love this wall of pictures. I copied my friend Joy (who also gave me a bunch of these frames.) I love how the kids stare at the pictures and I love that Sam hung them all for me as I stood back and eyeballed it and yelled commands at him.


Second:

I love this hutch. Sam surprised me with it for Christmas when Luke was a baby. I love decorating it for different holidays.


Third:

I love these pictures of the kids. Luke is about 2 1/2 in his picture and Sammie is 18 months in her picture:


Fourth:

I love this storage room. This is where things get ugly. Yes, it's a huge mess. That's how we roll people. Sam built these shelves with his bare hands. See over there on the bottom left--that tub from Costco is my food storage. Bring on the big one, I'm good to go.


Fifth:

I love this big chair and pillow. The chair is big enough for two adults or me and all three of my kids to snuggle. When we bought our family room furniture. I picked out the material and trim for this pillow. Then the lady told me how much it was going to be and it was some ridiculous amount. So we decided not to get it. When the furniture was delivered--guess what was with the chair? It may be the nicest thing Sam's ever done for me.


Sixth:

Our basement. It has a ton of toys and it's always a mess and I can send my kids and their friends down there (the wii is there too!) and not see them for hours. Sam and his dad finished our basement and it's my favorite area of the house.


Finally: This little girl. (And all three of my kids--they make my house messy and loud and happy and fun.) Sammie is not only her father's namesake--she looks just like him. She adds sparkle to my life and keeps me company all day long.


This may have been my cheesiest post ever. Forgive me. I needed to be grateful today.

27 comments:

Sam said...

I have heard that gratitude determines attitude, and attitude determines altitude. This post was tres fromage.

You forgot to mention the Champion toilets, the HD televisions, and several fine furnishings from R.C. Willey's Broyhill Collection.

Linda said...

I love your house too, Brookie! Just remember -- you will have YEARS after the kids are gone to "pimp out" your house, but you will only have a few years to enjoy and spend your $$ on your kids. Instead of the new kitchen, take a trip to Disneyland with the kids. (For what it's worth, this is probably one of the few worthwhile words of wisdom that I have acquired.)

Jill said...

Your house looks beautiful! I think a photo wall is an essential part of any home, and I love yours!

Sam seems to be a very thoughtful husband.

Our yard has shade, but we don't have a basement, double sized chair or a gorgeous hutch.

WHITE said...

I love your picture wall, its really well done. Your house looks very nice, hopefully I can come see it one day! Cute post!

melissa walker said...

I think your house looks like you--which is the best thing I can say about a house! That what is there reflects the love and family who live there!

Jessica said...

I love your picture wall, I am thinking about doing that downstairs in my house. Man, Sam is quite the handy guy. I'll have to send David over for lessons.

Ashley said...

I'm glad you did this post instead of the kitchen one. This was really nice. My favorites are your hutch and the storage room. (Though I couldn't see your tub of food storage in the picture.) I think your house always looks good bc you hold out for nice stuff instead of just hauling junk in off the street. That picture of Sammie is great too. I can just imagine her telling some sort of potty humor joke. I love it.

Jill T said...

Sam really is a handy man. Nice. And great surprises he's given you. You have a great home, filled with fun stories and great memories!

Pandy said...

When I get a new house the first thing I'll put in it is a duplicate of your wall of pictures. I love it and I especially love entering a home that tells you about it's occupants.

Your home is beautiful and reflects your good taste. Those amazing children are just the frosting!

Pandy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mandee said...

Such wisdom. I wish I had read this post 3 years ago.

Paint your cabinets and stay forever.

Amy M. said...

I love your picture wall and hutch! That was SO nice that Sam surprised you with that chair. I also love that he said your post was tres fromage. Bagley and I used to use that phrase too!

Denise said...

I love your house. I wish I saw this post sooner. I LOVE your hutch and the holiday decorating idea. We just bought some furniture, today, to use for extra storage. Now, I wish we got a hutch :(

Jaime said...

Hey, you have a dreamy house and yard, I might add. I would L.O.V.E. to have that home and neighborhood. There is always time later for the undermounted sink, new countertops and hardwoods floors - no matter what it looks like it all has to get cleaned. ugh.

Way to live in the moment and love what you have - esp the amazing little and big ones.

I needed to read this - a little cheese does me good. M is heading to the BYU game in Dallas and I've been a lil panicky about running solo with the crew. Some reason your post makes me feel tons better about getting to be with them.

Lorzzz said...

You do have a great house! I love the picture wall - really spectacular. Good job.

Liz said...

I love your house, too. So many fun things

Linde said...

I love picture walls and your's is great! I agree--you may not love every square inch of your home, but there are parts that are terrific and make it feel like home.

Linde said...

P.S. I LOVE your food storage. ;)

alexandra said...

I don't care if I sound like a crazy person; this post brought tears to my eyes. A house is not a home no matter how beautiful unless you have the associations and tenderness that you have described. What a great reminder! Your kids are so lucky!!

Carolyn said...

I am glad that you moved in! We are glad to have such fun neighbors! And you have a really cute house too!

The Mostess said...

I love the hutch--super cute. I would kill for storage space and a basement. Our house is just slightly larger than Ashley's, which means crackerbox-sized with little yard. Your house has so much personality--I love it!

Raderstorf Family said...

Brooke Warner, I have found you! I have been searching for you (facebook and all those time sucking sites) only for fall upon a link from Kim's blog. How fun it is to get to know your family, which is beautiful I might add. I look forward to the visits to your blog and getting to know you again. If you are interested my blog address is raderstorf.blogspot.com
Kisses..Erica Sunderland

Magdalena said...

I love that wall! I ned to invite you to my fam blog so I don't feel like such a sneaky peeper! Will you email me at thekindgirls(at)gmail(dot)com so I ca send you an invite?

Anonymous said...

I love this post! I think there are always places in our houses we love and others... maybe not so much. I love the framed pictures on the wall with that quote. Adorable. I think chessy is always good. Glad to see I got a shout out, ok, at least my kitchen did.

sheryl said...

:)

Amen to all the above.

And don't let money hold you back from painting cabinets. When you come for the marathon let me take you to see a few painted cabinets and show you how to do them. ... Yes you can!

Em said...

I love your hutch, your storage and your fun kid-friendly basement. All of it.

But that picture wall. Man. One day, I'll have one just like it. It's beautiful.

As is this post.

D-dawg said...

I love your house too. We have similar style. The hutch is to die for. Thanks for the "nester" blog tip- she's great.