Home Sweet Home

Just over two months ago, I moved home. In some ways, it was a hard decision to make. I am an incredibly independent person, and the thought of living at home after almost three years out on my own was not super attractive. But in other ways, that decision was one of the easiest I’ve made all year. The place I moved to was not just any old house, it was the house that I grew up in. 10+ years ago, my parents moved from my childhood home into my grandparent’s big farm house, but now, they’re remodeling the house I grew up in and preparing to move back there in just a few weeks! Right before I moved in two plus months ago, we did a quick paint job in our old shop and turned it into what is now the “house” that I rent! I love love being back in the country again and living in the place where so many childhood memories were made is so incredibly amazing.

I have gotten quite a few questions about how I have decorated my little space, and while I am no Joanna Gaines (#goals), I really do love decorating and making my house both welcoming + beautiful.

As you can see from the two photos below, my house is just one big (?) room! My kitchen + living room + bedroom + office are all smushed together, and then the bathroom and pantry/freezer room/water softener room/storage room are off the hallway that leads to the main front door.

(It still feels strange to call it my house/refer to the “front door” when I spent a good portion of my childhood playing under that tin roof back when it was a shop full of Dad’s tools and had a huge sliding door that opened up!)

(Right) This is my little bathroom, and that tiny shower right there is the same place that we bathed my childhood Collie, Lady (who looked pretty much exactly like Lassie). If you have ever seen the movie “Elf”, and recall the scene where Buddy is showing in his Papa’s shower, that’s about how I feel every time I shower. My rug is from Ross, and I made the sink skirt from some fabric I found at JoAnn’s. (Left) The fake plant is from Marshall’s and the little plaque is a Goodwill find.

(Left) Hallway entrance to my house. The bathroom is just to my left, and the pantry room is ahead and to the right. That big, beautiful mirror is an old one my Grandma had, and the “welcome” sign on my door is a chalkboard sign a sweet friend gave me for a Christmas present one year! I got tired of writing on it with chalk, though, and ended up just painting the word “welcome” onto it. (Right) This lamp is one of several that came from my other Grandma, and I have another one that sits on my piano.

I love dried flowers, and honestly I probably keep more flowers than I should. But when they come from such special occasions, it’s hard to throw them away! I did get rid of quite a few between the last house and this one, but couldn’t bear to part with these ones. They came from a hike with my dad, my cousin’s wedding, and my boyfriend at Valentine’s Day, as well as some little extras that I can’t remember what they were from but I just liked them! The way I display them was inspired by a Pinterest photo I saw.

(Left) Plants, plants, and more plants! I like to say that I have a green/black thumb because while I adore plants and have a ton, they don’t always survive. (Like the orchid I killed off that my boyfriend gave me for our first Valentine’s Day. Oooops.) Most of those little plants are cactus babies that my mom gave me. (Right) My cozy little reading (or more likely, working!) corner. The fluffy, knit blanket was one I found at St. Vinnie’s, and the pillow cover is off Amazon. The sign on the wall says, “with God, all things are possible” and is from Hobby Lobby.

My planters many not be pretty (hey there, old yogurt containers) but at least the water catchers are! I got all of these little cups from Goodwill for less than 99 cents each. That middle plant is one my boyfriend grew after a leaf broke off one of my big plants. He built it a little green house out of chopsticks and saran wrap, and while I was pretty skeptical that it would actually take off and grow, it did! Not sure where I am going to put it once it is full sized…but oh well!

(Left) A better/ full view of my dried flower arrangement. The sticks came from my grandparent’s fir grove. (Right) Seriously happy with the quality of these pillow covers! I was really sick of my old decorative pillows but didn’t want to shell out $25 or more for a new one. I got two of these covers for about $14 I think. Totally worth it, in my book! The lamp behind my chair is one of two that I found at a thrift store, and IT HAS A DIMMER SWITCH. Sorry for yelling. But guys!!! It has a dimmer switch!! I may or may not reeeaaaally like dimmer switches.

This is my little kitchen! It’s pretty darn tiny, but I love it! My kitchen table is used for eating about 2% of the time and kitchen counter space about 98% of the time. The chairs work great as towel racks/drying racks for my hand-me-down kitchen towels, but maybe someday I’ll get fancy and put a real rack up.

(Left) As you can see, I really like old stuff. This adorable salt shaker was like 99 cents at Goodwill, and while it’s not really useable (the lid is nigh impossible to get off) it still makes for a nice little accent item! (Right) Okay, how stinkin cute are these spice bottles?! My sweet former roomie gave me this set for Christmas, and they fit perfectly into this old spice rack that my siblings and I used for a toothbrush/toothpaste holder growing up.

Farm Charm <– if I could pick two words to describe my style, it would be these two. This sign from Hobby Lobby is definitely one of my favorites, and greets me every time I look up from doing dishes.

(Left) Another shot of that sink unit, because it is just too darn beautiful! (Not biased at all.) The story behind it is really special to me. It belonged to my great-grandparents who used to own and operate a service station in another small town near me. When they retired and moved, my mom spoke for the sink and got it! Her first memories of washing dishes is at that sink, where her Grandma let her play and “probably make a mess”. For almost my entire childhood, that unit sat just around the corner from where it is now and held my mom’s gardening tools. Shortly before I moved into my house, my parents commissioned someone to restore the unit to it’s former glory, and now I get to enjoy using it every day! I don’t think it will ever fail to feel special to me as I work in my kitchen and imagine my great-grandmother (with whom I share a middle name!) working at that same sink. (Right) Another Goodwill find, next to a Pioneer Woman spoon holder that my boyfriend gave me for my birthday last year.

Love these shelves so much! My dad was going to put in a complete different style of shelving, but I convinced him otherwise and now he constantly comments about how nice they look. I stained the boards (so fun!) and my boyfriend and dad installed them.

More thrift store finds! That white crock was only $3, and the wooden pail/trash can was probably somewhere around that. It’s definitely hit and miss with thrift shopping, but sometimes you can find some pretty amazing things!

Old canning jars are the beeessst as far as I am concerned, and these chalkboard labels I got off Amazon are super cute! (Perfect for all my Trim Healthy Mama goodies!)

My gallery wall was inspired off a photo I saw on Pinterest. I put it up almost exactly the same way in my previous house (the one I lived in for less than 3 months before I moved home) but this time I actually got photos printed and in the frames!! Most of those frames are from thrift stores, and the three signs are from Hobby Lobby. That “home” cut out sign was one I got on clearance at Kohl’s.

(Left) Oh how I love these little books from Chatbooks! They have this amazing feature where you can input a hashtag from Instagram and it will collect all the photos that have that tag, and then will auto print each little book for you! Way back when my boyfriend and I started dating, I started using the hashtag #theadventuresofnathanandrebekah and since I am a photographer, you better believe we have a looooot of photos with that tag! A month or two ago, I decided it was time to get those photos in print, so I just put that hashtag into Chatbook’s site and viola! Printed books arrived at my door a week or so later! (Okay, a little more complicated than that, but honestly not much!) Their company is so amazing and every interaction I have had with customer service has been a good one. They’re fast, super nice, and make you feel like a real person and not just an invoice! (I promise this is not sponsored.) (Right) Love that white frame I found at Goodwill, but love the man in the picture even more. He’s so supportive of me chasing my dreams, and that picture sitting on my desk reminds me of that every day.

I honestly can’t remember where this old camera came from, other than that my dad had it and gave it to me. It may have been a great grandparent’s, but not sure! Either way, I love it!

Old wooden boxes make my heart happy. My mom got the one on the left forever ago, and the ones on the right have been collecting dust in our barn for years. So happy to clean them all up and give them new life! The quilt that covers the one on the left was made by my great-grandmother.

(Left) A better view of all the boxes, and a shot of my closet! I honestly kind of hate that wooden closet…but it’s a love-hate relationship because it has been with me for almost 3 years now (except for the brief 3 month stint this winter when I actually lived in a *real* house that had a real closet!) I decided I didn’t like staring at my clothes, so I picked up some Walmart curtains, hemmed them, and then stuck some sticky velcro to the underside of the closet and bam! No more clothes staring at me each time I sit on my bed. (Right) Oh how I love this piano. My grandparents bought it way back when, and for my entire childhood it sat in the basement of their house. Us cousins would tinker around on it in-between pool matches, and even though it doesn’t have a very good sound and some of the keys are a little sticky, I still love it dearly. So thankful it was passed on to me and that I get to have this part of my childhood with me forever! Side note: yes, the TV is *huge* and no, I definitely did not need a TV that big. But…it was free and free is nice so hey! I’m not going to complain.

Looking back toward the door that leads into the hallway and outside.

(Left) Another Hobby Lobby find, and a plant that my mom has had since college. I re-potted it right after I moved here, and got a new hanger for it off Amazon. (Right) Fresh flowers. Always.

(Left) My work space! But I’ll be honest, I actually prefer working at my kitchen table, because then I get to look outside every once in awhile and enjoy the beautiful green yard and pasture beyond. Fun story behind that desk: I found it on Facebook marketplace last September, but knew I couldn’t buy it until after I moved from my tiny cottage into my new house. I kept my eye on it, a little in disbelief that it hadn’t sold. A few months later when I was finally on the verge of moving, I checked the ad again and it was still there! I messaged the lady, and we figured out a time for my awesome friend to swing by and pick it up with his work truck. She had the desk listed for $50, but when my friend went to give her the money, she turned it down and just said “Merry Christmas”!! I mean, how crazy is that?! So blessed by that little old lady! (Right) This rug from Amazon is probably one of my favorite things in my house. It was a little on the spend-y side ($70) but totally worth it! The quality is super great, and the vintage look to it just makes my heart happy. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a rug! (Side note: I totally know $70 is a good deal for a rug. But when most of the things in my house are thrift-shopped, then it seems really expensive!)

(Left) Just another shot if my favorite corner of the house. (Right) Another thrift store find! I was needing a bedside lamp, and this little vintage number was just what I was looking for. (Seriously, if you learn nothing else today, learn that if you keep your eyes out, thrift stores will give you your favorite household items.

Big, ole, fat heart eyes.

(Left) Still one of my favorite tunes, even after all these years. “Jessica’s Theme” from “Man from Snowy River”. (Right) This plant was one that I found on Facebook market place, and then met the gal in the Fred Meyer parking lot to buy it off of her.

And that brings us to the end! I am so blessed to call this cozy little place my home, and hope that you’ve gained a little bit of decorating inspiration from this post! (iPhone shot of one of the many stunning sunsets we have out here, featuring our chicken house.)