My Favorite Things Saturday!

Home Sweet Home

Our recent move has driven me to reflect on my past homes. My hubby and I have owned a total of 3 homes. We have built one, and purchased 2 new construction or spec homes. This move has caused me to realize how much "home" really means to me. Given the recent natural disasters it has not escaped me how much a home means to all of us. I have been blessed with always living in a house with a yard and in a good neighborhood. I don't think I truly reflected on this until I moved away for the very first time.
Being able to define a space allows me a creative outlet that I have taken for granted. I love being able to create rooms that reflects not only myself but my family. This is truly one of my biggest and life defining favorite things. From the blogs I have been following I know this to be true for so many people.


Here is my first house (well not mine, and not my very first - couldn't find a picture of that). This is the home I lived in for most of my childhood. These two pictures don't do it justice. It was a wonderful home. It had two very large boulders in the front yard with a rose bush and beautiful dogwood tree. To top it off it had an in-ground pool in the backyard complete with screened porch and a large boulder for drying off in the sun. The screened porch had a tin roof which I can still hear the sound the rain made on it!

My second home was in Texas. We purchased it before we were ever engaged. At that time rent prices were more expensive than home mortgages and it made financial sense to purchase. So yes I did "shack-up" before I was married. Not a choice for everyone but it was a right choice for us. We used Texas limestone for facade and fireplace. We watched this home be build from the foundation up it was so exciting and rewarding.


My third home was in Richmond VA and very much a typical Colonial in every sense. I plan on doing a complete home tour sometime soon to showcase it. We were there 10 years and I LOVED this house. Probably because the length of time I was there as much as the life events that happened while I was in the home. If I could hug a house I would have given this home a big bear hug. I will humbly admit that I did hug a wall or two prior to leaving!

My fourth home and current home is wonderful too. I am just discovering some of the things I love about it. It is in some ways so different from our previous home and then in others very similar. I am sure others have found they have new hobbies or interests once in a new home. I am discovering my green thumb. The Richmond house had hardly any shade. This home has a great position, it has a great mix of both sunny and shady spots. In the previous home I had to turn to a landscape architect to know what to plant where. Now I know what I want and where to put it. Well I am 10 years older and wiser so I guess that helps!

I hope that no matter where you are everyone reading this blog has a sense of home sweet home!