One of those things

This is a post about what I love about my house!!  I don't think our new house is perfect, but I love it!  I'm the kind of person that when I buy a shirt or pair of shoes or jeans and I take them home I don't necessarily decide if I like them until I try them on a couple times.  But then I'm as loyal to them as anything.  Sometimes I'm not crazy about what I buy and return it.  Well, this is the biggest purchase I have ever made; and part of me wondered, "will I still like this in two weeks or will I want to return it and can't".  Well, I can safely say I am happy with our purchase.  Here's what I love about my house!!  Mind you in the past 8 years I have lived with big J's grandmothers 2 room & one teeny bathroom basement with a shower that seriously exfoliated you to the bones, my parents house, J's parents house, basically a mobile home but worse (though I did like living there the entire structure was questionable) to name a few.  So, please allow me to gush:

A WASHER & DRYER

I love these babies.  I realize they are not the most "dreamy" appliances by any stretch but mind you I had been without a washer and dryer of my own for about 8 years, the last year and a half or so I spent hanging almost all my laundry in order to be resourceful (and stubborn).  I love them.

A DISHWASHER

I don't have to drag this across the floor to hook up to the sink anymore!!  I can use the sink and run the dishwasher at the same time!!

My front living room

We picked out this new furniture and I love them.  The piano came from Great Grandpa and is a very nice gift.  We are using it to the best of our abilities.  :)  I would also show my desk that 4 very bright people helped put together, but I'll have to wait until it's cleaner.....

The shower rings

This picture proves that I am a genius.  The curtain bar is so high that a normal shower curtain is not long enough.  So my genius little mind came up with this solution--hook together rings that you can get for $1.29 a set at Wal-Mart and you've got an awesome element to your bathroom.  Just make sure you have an odd number so they lay right.  You are welcome.  I've just shared my genius mind with you.

The toy area

Check this out--our toys are mostly all out of the kids' rooms!!  They have SO much fun playing down here.  Still needs some decoration.  Hey, I've been busy!!!

The reading area!

I really wanted a reading area.  I love reading down here with the kidlets.  I'm still looking for just the right rug to really define the space but it works.

Toy Heaven!

The sellers left this bookcase for a price and we decided to fill it with colorful toys.  I still need to get some more baskets for it but it's a fun and easy way to store a lot of gadgets!!

Camping Closet!

This was one of our first projects. The camping closet.  All we did really is add two shelves and voila, it's organized and we can still walk in it!  Love it!!

My craft room!

This proves how cute my hubby is.  We couldn't decide what to do with this extra room so while I was busy working on something else he organized it as a craft room.  It's now super messy because I have to organize all my crafts in it but it will be super fun(ctional) when I'm done!!!

Our deck! 

I love this deck size and color.  My kitchen won't work for red this go around so the porch satisfies my need for bold color.  

View of the mountains!

We have a view of the mountains in our entire backyard--except for the house behind us which we're going to more or less block with trees.  Love it!  Tonight we saw a beautiful, bright rainbow in front of these mountains and it was gorgeous!

Front door glass!!

I love the beautiful glass on my front door.  I'm not always a fan of these because I don't like people peeking in but these just open to a closet.  Perfect!

New Chandelier!

This is one of our other projects.  It took a while and big J isn't happy with the price tag but I LOVE it!!!  The one that was there was way crooked (turns out this one was too so we think it's the metal plate that's attached to the ceiling but as long as we don't touch it it's not bad right now)  This to chandelier seems to explain my style.  Simple, somewhat contemporary but also a little traditional and not feminine but not man-cavey either.  Love it!!