A while ago, Candy at http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/ asked her readers to post tours of their home. Well, here is mine!
We bought this home last summer, such a God thing! We should not have been able to purchase anything, much less a house... but it happened. It was the first house we looked at.... 20 houses later and 3 rejected offers on other "dream" homes, we got this one! Turns out it couldn't be more perfect than if we built it ourselves, funny how God knows these things ;-)
It is just shy of 1400 square feet and was built in 1948, all block construction except for the addition. I love that when the monsoon comes I don't feel like my house is going to blow away!
Front of the house. My son posing with the chihuahua and his little soccer ball. That is a jar of sun tea busy working on the side of the driveway....
Our gigantic grapefruit tree right outside the front door. It is starting to bloom, the fragrance greets you when you open the door:-)
The last of this years crop. That basket is huge! Hubby pulled all the fruit off so the tree could put more energy into flower production. This years crop is only really good for juicing... The tree did not get enough water last year because the house sat empty for 8 months before we moved in. The fruit has good flavor, just a little tough.
The welcoming committee!
My little starter garden. Hubby and I are still in negotiation as to yard space :-S I currently have, in the back row: pumpkins, peas and apple mint. In the front row: nasturtium, bell peppers and thyme.
Our cat wondering what I am doing...
Grapefruit blossoms :-D
The two books I constantly refer to as I figure out how to homestead on a largish lot in the middle of a sprawling metropolis!
This is the wall that will house the piano in a couple weeks, it is currently next door at my mom's house. The pile on the floor is bound for Goodwill.
My antique sewing table. The lamp belonged to my grandmother. It has little vines painted around it. The books are form our recent trip to the library. There is not usually a license plate there.... long story....
The family table. It is made of alder and was custom finished. All of the chairs will eventually be white...
The home school corner. I home school my two younger children. The oldest has currently decided he wants to attend a school in our neighborhood. The laptop is here because the desk is in the "project room". We just sit at the table right now when we use it.
My center piece. The handkerchief belonged to hubby's great-grandmother. The rose quartz is a candle holder we bought at a local museum. In the pink vase is a plant clipping from my son's first grade teacher and the other jar is a lemon balm clipping I am hoping will grow roots.
One of our many book cases. The bottom two shelves are the kids books. The rest are novels and story books. The room to the right is the "project room" aka the family room. I will add pictures when we are done with the remodel... it is a mess!
The bar and window looking into the kitchen
This is the rocking chair my dad bought me when I was pregnant with our oldest. I made the sunflower pillow and hubby's grandmother made the throw. The eagle picture is a piece of artwork my parents bought after they were married.
Here is the first counter you see when you walk into the kitchen. The cabinets above hold our everyday pantry items. In the corner is my sugar and oatmeal, two bowls of pecans from the back yard waiting to be shelled and an egg carton that I use to hold everyday items like scissors, my cell phone, pencils...etc.
A continuation of the same counter. On top of the microwave is the butter bowl, some napkins, and yes, another license plate... don't ask. the shelving unit was built by my hubby and holds my massive collection of cookbooks. The containers on the bottom shelf are for brown rice and whole wheat flour. Next to that is a basket of onions. The coffee cups used to be my parents and are older that I am! I don't use them but think they are pretty...
Here is my beautiful stove! I was nervous about cooking with gas when we first moved in... now I don't think I could ever go back! The pot on the stove has some navy beans that are in the works for tonight's dinner. The stool next to the stove is a favorite hangout for the kids when I am cooking.
The kitchen sink. The upper cabinets are original to the house! I have my collection of canning jars in the little nook waiting for peach season to come around! On the counter to the right is my notebook for shopping lists and my daily planner. Behind that is my knife block, coffee canister, cutting board and Home Management Binder. I keep my master schedule, meal plans and such in there and transfer it to my daily planner. My kitchen is to small to leave the big binder out all the time. The blue bowl to the left is some broth waiting to go into the beans.
My beautiful fridge that my in-laws bought us. I was thinking of fashioning an ice-less fridge.... but this works! Yes, that is Jack in his kitchen! Hubby works for him so we thought it appropriate ;-) When hubby's store was being remodeled he snagged this picture for me!
This is an adorable little laundry basket hubby bought me at a discount store. It holds my kitchen towels that I try to wash a couple of times a week.
This is the little landing on the way out the back door. Behind my ironing board is my future studio. It is small and there is nothing in it right now... a project in the making.
Looking out the back door... Here is our tree that turned out beautifully after hubby trimmed it. We are going to put a little sitting area out there :-)
Here is the shed that one of the previous owners put in. He built it himself so it is solid! already wired for electricity and it has a loft... lots of storage! The area to the left of it has been reserved for a special project (details to come ;-)
This is our looong patio. The kids love riding their scooters up and down it. The far end will eventually have raised concrete planters for my garden.
A picture of our faithful watch dog! She is avidly guarding the dog food kept in the metal bin ;-) There is also the kids collection scooters and bicycle and a pot that will eventually hold the grape vine I found growing wild under the tree! (that is mom's house:-)
This is my beautiful washer and dryer that hubby bought me last spring! Unfortunatly we have to keep them on the back porch for now. This whole area will be closed in as a screened in porch sometime in the future.....
Here is the shed that one of the previous owners put in. He built it himself so it is solid! already wired for electricity and it has a loft... lots of storage! The area to the left of it has been reserved for a special project (details to come ;-)
This is our looong patio. The kids love riding their scooters up and down it. The far end will eventually have raised concrete planters for my garden.
A picture of our faithful watch dog! She is avidly guarding the dog food kept in the metal bin ;-) There is also the kids collection scooters and bicycle and a pot that will eventually hold the grape vine I found growing wild under the tree! (that is mom's house:-)
This is my beautiful washer and dryer that hubby bought me last spring! Unfortunatly we have to keep them on the back porch for now. This whole area will be closed in as a screened in porch sometime in the future.....I kept the tour to only the public rooms. Some of the angels were sleeping and some really needed to clean their rooms! Maybe I will do a separate post later on...
Hope you enjoy!
