Tuesday, June 05, 2007

New House Pictures

Front of house.



Don't let the inviting front yard fool you: the rocked flower bed in front of the porch where the iris plants are host a healthy and fecundate family of snakes. Lots of snakes.

The grass in our front yard is the nicest grass we've ever had but we always wear shoes, thanks to the consistent presence of snakes. There's nothing so chilling as walking through plush grass bare foot only to feel something slide between your foot and the earth.

Did I mention you can look for a snake at any given time and 9 times out of 10, you'll find one? And yes, I still scream when I see one.

Although they are a nuisance, the snakes seem to go well with the Northern Wisconsin Rock front flare of the front of the house. Kinda gives it the "up north cabin" feel you get when you're camping: cabins and snakes. Rocks on houses in Nebraska are a rarity so I feel blessed that of all people to get to live in The Rock House of Nebraska, I do.

I could do without the snakes though.

Our Address etched in stone.


Now that you have our address, please don't send us junk mail. Thank you.

Looking into the house from the front door.


This is the entire half of the house. The other half accommodates three bedrooms, three tiny closets and one bathroom. (not pictured. Our cleaning lady/photographer was only contracted for this half of the house. The rest of the pictures coming at a later date.) This half holds our entry, living room, "office, " dining room, kitchen and basement stair way. We plan to move the office down stairs some day when we get the basement finished. The upstairs "attic" also has refinishing possibilities someday down the road even farther than the finished basement. There's also the possibility of extending the kitchen into something a little bigger but that's somewhere down the road too. It all depends on which roads you take, but owning your own home gives you so many possibilities! If only it provided the check book to match then possibilities could become realities.

The Living Room.



The furniture makes it look bigger than it really is. In real life, the furniture actually makes the living room smaller. On pictures though, it has an opposite effect. Oh, and yes, we do plan to do curtains someday.

The Galley Kitchen.

What you see is what you get. Not a lot of counter space but you should see how much stuff fits nicely in the cupboards. I love being organized! I was going to go with a different theme for the kitchen but decided against it. I stuck with my previous apple theme that I have purchased mostly from second hand stores and garage sales or on major Michael's clearance sales. I hate getting rid of good deals like that.



The "country kitchen" arrow was a $0.70 deal from TJ Maxx. I really do love a good deal.

This is the Other Side of the kitchen, not seen in the first picture.

With no counter by the stove, it does make it a little bit more challenging when preparing meals. But, having the glass top makes the parts of the stove that aren't hot, seem more like a counter. I've been surprised at how much easier this kitchen is to work in than I first thought it would be.

My Kitchen Window.

It takes a lot to smudge that window.

My China Cabinet.

No, not all my china fits but at least some stuff could get out of it's box.

Our Dining Room Buffet.

Craigslist rocks! I found this on craigslist.com just days before we moved. This old piece of furniture by itself wasn't exactly the prettiest thing but it sure can hold a lot of pretties. We topped it with an antique mirror that's been in Toby's family for years. I've guarded and protected it's foggy glass since I first found this heavy wooden framed mirror in a dark corner but never have I had "use" for it. I really do like foggy mirrors, actually. I think they look so old and quaint -- and the fog helps hide a few blemishes like extra pregnancy weight. To spruce up the outdated features of the buffet and make it look like a real antique, I laid an antique beige dresser scarf (Goodwill deal) on it's top and we added a few vintage and antique looking treasures on it and around it.

In the far distance of this picture, you can see a Pot Rack.

My parents bought us this for our last anniversary but since we knew it wouldn't fit in the kitchen anywhere, I hung it out in the dining room and dolled it up a bit with red berries and a red lantern. Kinda gives the whole room a neat effect. Some day I hope to use it for a real pot rack but for now, it's unique. And being used.

And there you have it, the first half of our new house. We love it here and are so thankful for how God has blessed us with this house.

For those of you that have commented on how the "N" page in your address book is getting worn from being erased and whited out so many times, we plan to stay here for quite awhile. At least a year anyway. No really, this is home to us and the community, Church friends close by and family connection we have here has been an overwhelming confirmation that Milford will be home for a long time.

Come see us! Don't worry about the snakes; we'll scare them away before you get here.

(All photo contributions were made in full by Beemoo's Photography. All cleaning and photo props are compliments of Beemoo's Nanny Services. To find out more about this amazing person, visit this site.)

6 comments:

Brittney said...

In my experience, I would say that Milford snakes out-of-doors are a whole lot easier to put up with than Seward cockroaches in my sleeping quarters.

Anonymous said...

The place looks totally adorable! I love all your little decorations! Have you read "The Hidden Art of Homemaking?" It's on my list for someday...but you ladies are doing a great job at it already.

Kristi said...

I absolutely love the way you decorate. You have such a flare for dressing things up!!

Cockroaches and snakes both give me the willies. Although, since I've been bitten by a timber rattler and am horrified of snakes, I'd go for the cockroaches....IF I had to choose. Good thing we don't live in the land of Fear Factor! I'd be out in the first round.
:)
~Kristi

Dennis and Valerie said...

Courtney, I wish you could come and decorate my place. I have a feeling that you could make even the smallest and dingiest of places welcoming and full of light. Not that my place is small or dingy- we have a beautiful apartment, it just isn't very decorated! :)

So, now it is my turn to encourage you in your final days of pregnancy. My pregnant overdue desperation of eight weeks ago is still very vivid in my mind. So I won't tell you trite things or even truths that you already know- I'll just say I'm sorry that it is taking so long for your precious baby to get here. I'll pray for you.

Dennis and Valerie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lizzie said...

i love it, Love It, LOVE IT!!!!! Homes are sooo much fun to decorate and take care of. :) And I can totally empathize with the whole "...down the road" thing. I've been saying that ever since I moved in here three years ago, and the only changes made have been painting the kitchen and one bedroom...oh yeah. And I bought a new shower curtain. :)

What a lovely post! thanks for the "peek" into your adorable home!

Another Goodwill-shopper,
Lizz :)