House Tour Part One: my fave and least fave

My favorite thing about the new house is this little mossy brick courtyard to the side entrance. There is ivy crowding into the landscape, and little birds twitter from the trees. The little bistro set was here when we moved in, and I love to sit here and talk on the phone or read (when I rarely get that chance)! I also love the flower boxes, which I have always wanted on a house of mine. The boxes were here too, I just filled them with impatiens and ivy.

On the flip side, this is the kitchen, which has nasty ole' wallpaper that I detest, making it my least favorite thing about our new house. I have gotten permission from the landlord to strip it and paint it a fresh color, so I will have a before/after post as soon as I can get a chance to do it. The kitchen is small- if you stand looking at the first picture, you do a 180 and there is the other picture. The awkwardly hung shelf is now gone, and my dream would be to put a bar table and two bar chairs there where the white shelfy thing is, but, well, that is a dream that costs too much money for us right now!

The white door on the left is to the awesome laundry room which is not pretty, but so highly functional! It has a utility sink which is another of my favorite things- what a great place for cleaning poopie clothes, filling up and dumping mop water, and so many other useful tasks.

The house has an energy efficient front loading washer and dryer. It is different, but I like them alot. My favorite thing about them is the little happy chimey noises they make when they are done. I like that the washer tells me it is done, which my old one did not. I don't forget about loads like I used to. The dryer actually plays a little tune when the clothes are dry! A much better alert than that annoying buzz that normal dryers make- that would make me jump out of my skin.

I also love the extra storage in the laundry room. It is basically our "pantry." And I can leave a drying rack up, and an ironing board (if I ever ironed). Jen McShea has told me this is the true test of a good laundry room, so I guess I am blessed- no, I KNOW I am blessed. See the diaper changing pad on the drying rack? That is a story. I will tell you later.

Ok. If you go back to the kitchen picture facing the wall with the laundry room door, and go right instead, you find our Play Room! This is a wonderful new development for our family- especially because Ruth and Mac share a room and their beds take up their whole room. Their toys stay in this room, conveniently located off the kitchen so I can keep an eye on them while I'm cooking.

This picture below is the "reading nook" which I have yet to decorate fully. It is a project " in the works."

Here is the other end, with the bay window and gas burning fireplace, which I'm sure will be cozy in the winter. (This is the window with the window boxes on the outside.) We have the sleeper couch in here so moms can sit and talk when they're over for a play date and the kids are playing, or for extra guests so sleep on when they come to visit!