Welcome to My Living Room.

If you're new to my blog, welcome! This weekend Kelly's Korner is hosting a living room tour. I love it! Things like this provide such great decorating inspiration. We moved into our home in June 2007 (wow, 5 years!), and it's still a work in progress. I'm still a work in progress too, so it only makes sense.

Stepping into our entry way, you have a direct view into the living room.
There's a study to the right, though you can't see it here.

I have been wishy washy about potentially hanging curtains in here. I love the plantation shutters
and don't want to cover them up, but I think some colorful curtains would be perfect. Decisions, decisions.

The mantle is decorated with frames from Goodwill, lanterns from Pottery Barn (here),
and the votives are from LaurieAnna's Vintage Home in Canton. The mercury glass votives
add a little jewelry sparkle, and I love them.

Oh! And I made the monogram over the fireplace several years ago. It cost me about $10.

We bought that cute secretary at Canton a few years ago for Valentine's Day.
My husband was terribly excited about that V-day gift, as you can imagine. He's
a good egg. The apothecary jars are filled with antique matchbooks, buttons,
and a bird's nest. And here's the story about the rocking chair.

My Coralie Bickford-Smith Penguin Classics, some family pictures, and my slow growing white pitcher collection.
My maid of honor/BFF/college roommate gave us the Waterford cross when we married. I hope it'll be a family heirloom.
The drawers below are where we hide our junk. Everyone needs an easy place to stash the random stuff.

Another corner of the room, with one of my favorite pics of our boy. Details here.
(Taken on a different day than the rest of these photos. There are usually more toys in that corner.)

Another corner of the room. That basket (from HomeGoods) houses a small Apple store.
It's where we keep laptops, other gadgets, and their respective chargers.
The barley twist lamp is from Pottery Barn several years ago, and the cross is from Canton.

Our floor plan is open, so it my kitchen looks right into the living room. We love it. So great for entertaining!
That's a sweet little Pottery Barn anywhere chair in the corner for a sweet little boy named Jack.
I know a lot of people like to see a glimpse of the way people "really" live, but I'll be honest with you--our living room looks this way most of the time. Unless it's been a very tiring day, I pick up everything before we go to bed and clear the kitchen counters. Our bedrooms may be a disaster, but the common rooms of the house are usually ready for company with just a quick breeze through to pick up toys or shoes. It's a discipline I've worked hard at to keep the homekeeping part of my life together, even though we're all over the place during the week.

Now, dusting is a different matter entirely.