CREATIVE SPARKS: SATURDAY SNAPSHOT — HEARTH & HOME — JUNE 9

Sparks are flying around the blogosphere again today, as we join in with Alyce, At Home With Books, to showcase our Saturday Snapshots.

After enjoying last weekend with grandkids, I started thinking about the arrangement of my living room.  I wanted change.  And even though I’ve changed various pieces in the living room, dining room, etc., two large pieces seemed unchangeable.  I could only ever visualize the big sofa and love seat as they have been since I moved in five years ago.  Like this.

Love seat and sofa at right angles

 

But my granddaughter is very much an “outside the box” thinker, and while I’ve been known to do the same, I was stymied.  Stuck.

But then she said:  Put one of the pieces on the diagonal. 

And I realized that would work.   Plus, the fireplace is already at an angle.  So here’s what I came up with….

Sofa on the diagonal, facing loveseat

Another view

 

Facing the fireplace head-on

 

So as I sit back with my book and gaze around, I am satisfied.  For now.

And I have to laugh as I think about all that huffing and puffing and sweating in order to make the changes.  It was morning, fortunately, but was already heading toward a hot day.  But the best part?  Finding inspiration from an unexpected source.

After I washed away the toil of the morning, I went to lunch with a friend…and relaxed.

***

Now I’m off to visit your blogs…and see what you’ve snapped this week.

 

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A BIT OF ME (ME) — DREAM HOMES — OCT. 2

Today, our host at There’s A Book has asked us to stretch and dream a bit.

DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM HOME AND WHERE IT WOULD BE LOCATED.

Naturally, the stuff of dreams is fantasy.  So our minds can fly to the seas, the English countryside, or an island.

I have a couple of dream homes, just off the top of my head.  They’re not very realistic, but one is more so than the other.

First, here’s a country cottage in Kent.

Country Cottage in Kent

With this cottage, I would need caretakers, housekeepers, and lots of money for maintenance, but I guess if I’m dreaming, I’ll add those into my dream.

Then, in another part of my dream life, I’m thinking a little closer to home…an island off the State of Washington, near Seattle.  Bainbridge Island, and here’s a peek at a little cottage by the water.

Bainbridge Island Cottage

My mind is traipsing along, exploring the gardens, the sea, and enjoying the luxurious interiors.

And, of course, each of these dream homes would be filled with bookshelves and books!!

What would your dream home be like?  I hope you’ll stop by and share some of your fantasies.

CONNECTING TO “PLACE”

Meghan Daum’s memoir Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House leads the reader on a journey toward finding the perfect dwelling.  From apartments in NY brownstones to farmhouses in Nebraska, and westward to cottages in LA, the author describes her obsessive quest for the house that’s just out of reach.

Some people have hobbies like collecting, but Ms. Daum admits that searching for just the right neighborhood, redecorating each home so that she is finally authentically herself, became an unending task that finally reached the point of having to decide whether or not to live with her boyfriend, since that would mean adjusting her space to make room for him.

Her story felt very familiar to me.  I’ve done that same kind of quest, but not with the same diligence, perhaps.  But I’ve enjoyed open house “window shopping” and internet searches, hoping to finally find that dream home.  And I’ve also done constant redecorating in each home when it was impossible to actually move.  I’ve had that itch to rearrange things in order to make my life feel more my own.

This author’s story was full of honesty, humor, and insight as she describes finally reaching a place of “almost” contentment.

Thoroughly enjoyable, this is a story that I’m likely to reread, because I could relate to it.   I’m giving it five stars, and I hope I read something else by this author soon.

THE STORY BEHIND THE HEADER

Noah exploring

This photo, along with the one in the previous post, were taken several years ago, when my youngest grandson was a toddler.

At the time, we lived in the foothills, and Noah lived in my guesthouse with his parents.

Recently, I pulled these old photos from an album and made a collage of them for my header.  I created the collage at Picnik.