Sister's Garden and Bloom

Hello everyone!
It has been nothing but rain here in the Midwest for days.  I'm so over it!  We did have a tiny taste of what the beauty of spring will be when we enjoyed a few lovely days a couple of weeks ago.  I even got my spring/summer clothes out of storage and put some winter sweaters to rest.  Small house = small closets, so, I have to switch off:)  In the name of warm weather to come I want to share some photos from the Sister's Garden and Bloom Spring Open House in Kalona, Iowa that I went to the weekend before last.  I wanted to post them sooner, but I am still so busy.  I'll explain why more in another post.  Anywhoo...we had so much fun!  If you haven't been to Sister's, you must go to this lovely farm house store in the beauty of Amish country in Kalona, IA.

There are two houses FULL of great antiques, uniques and flea market finds.

That's my son Evan above having a blast and even better...they had a really fun huge sandbox in the house for kids and mom was able to shop in peace!:)
Also, around every corner were goodies and treats much to Evan's delight!

It was a really fun day and one of the coolest things I saw was this glass house made of lots of different old windows.  I have seen these on Pinterest and pinned them on my boards, but to see it in person was awesome!  I have to do one at my house.  Maybe a less elaborate front door, but I think it would make a really cool greenhouse.  Here's their blog if you wanna check it out  http://www.sistersgardeniowa.blogspot.com/

Another project I guess:)  Noah will be thrilled (wink wink).
Have a great week!

-Jess xoxo

Square Footage...How Small Can You Go?

Hello Everyone!
Another busy week and I'm lagging on the blog-front, but I'm back!  Does anyone watch "House Hunters" on HGTV?? 



http://hermanchan.net/blog/2010/03/19/herman-on-hgtvs-house-hunters/

I do love that show!  I find it funny and slightly disturbing any time a couple goes through a

Gi-Normous house and they are sooooooo disappointed because, how on Earth will their kids ever be able to share one bathroom sink?!  Or, "We have 2 children, 5 bedrooms will not be enough!".  Is it just me that finds this strange?  Maybe because I have never lived in a gi-normous house and do not know what it's like to be able to spread those wings!  When you look around at what other people live in, especially on these shows like...Selling LA and House Hunters it's hard not to compare your own home, look around your living room while you watch, and think...how'd I end up in this dump!.Ha.  Then you watch Selling New York and see bidding wars over million dollar apartments the size of a tissue box and think...Girl I got it gooooood:)  Don't get me wrong there are times when I think we should find a bigger house, maybe we will some day, but I keep looking and coming up empty on style and character when it comes to getting more square footage.  So, here we stay!  It takes real saavy and organization to live well and raise a family in a small home and I'm proud to say I am one of those people.  Cheers to the little houses of the world! 

Here are a few of my favorite petite styles.  Timeless, Classic, Beautiful....

http://www.essential-architecture.com/IMAGES2/BUNGALOW(4).JPG

The Craftsman Bungalow.  My very favorite!  The dark/white contrast lets the details shine.

http://www.sbconservancy.org/reminiscing.htm

The Spanish style Bungalow.  If I ever moved to Cali, I would be crazy to not live in one...so many are serious architectural gems!  By the way, I had a thought, if you did live in a California style climate (which unfortunately I do NOT), if you need more square footage, take it outside!  Outdoor rooms could be a whole other post that I'll touch on at some point, but this one is Spanish style so I'll just pop it in:)

mediterranean landscape design by san luis obispo landscape architect Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture

This Victorian Bungalow is fabulous!  Even more fabulous because it's from my beautiful home state of Iowa.  Let me just say, I would not have energy to own this house.  Can you see yourself out there on a ladder year after year working on that paint job?

Let's face it, owning a small home may be less maintenance, but when you have an old architecturally detailed house like the ones above, it's not going to be a walk in the park. The exterior maintenance can be all consuming sometimes. They are not for everyone, I just wanted to remind myself that it's not always about square footage.  I know the tniy house revolution is here, however, square footage CAN make some difference...
I mean, could you live in this???



http://livingroomrealtors.com/tiny-house-revolution/

NEVER!  So cute though:)
Have a great weekend!!

-Jess xo