A Home of Our Own

I’ve been wanting to write about our new house, but I’ve put it off because methinks it has not achieved its picture-perfect stage. (In other words, we still lack a lot of furniture and storage, and the house still is boxes-and-bags kinda messy.) I have several friends asking for photos already, but then again I feel reticent posting because of the aforementioned excuse ;). Then, I came across (in a round about way thanks to Instagram) a blog called the Nesting Place and read the Nester’s post entitled The Decorating Truths You Won’t See on HGTV. The Nester struck me to the core with that one, and it has changed my attitude to the status of our place. And so, this post is finally being typed!

Beautiful light streaming in!

I have lived in 18 different houses (well, as far as I can remember) in all of my 31 years. Thanks to being a PK (pastor’s kid) then later MK (missionary’s kid), I was able to crack the I-am-an-NPA joke (no permanent address harhar!).  Filling out forms always got me scratching my head when they ask for a permanent address (since, well you know, I had none of that). But oh, the itinerant lifestyle had its perks along with the inconvenience! I’m not complaining! I have met amazing people and learned a lot of things I probably never would have if I were stuck in one place my whole life. And yet, there is something so, so appealing about the idea of having your own home…You can still go all over the world, but have that one little place you always go back to—that one place that can hold your memories and treasures of all your wanderings. Sigh! So, I hope you can imagine just what it means to me to have our own house!

My dream house is a little bit bigger than what we have now, and yet compared to our 18^th apartment this is spacious! (Which reminds me of chatting and 'LOLing' with my cousin in Florida where her three-bedroom house is considered small and her feeling cramp in it, while here in the PI that would be considered a big house!) It's all in the perspective. My requirements are not so many…I just wanted to have windows that let the light in, space for books, and a garden! I got the windows and we’ve started the garden…We, later on, can add the shelves for books! God has been listening to a lot of my wishes, and I am grateful! So in celebration of God's goodness, I'd like to share some photos of my imperfectly beautiful home (borrowing terms from the Nester here!)...

Welcome to the sala ... Before I read the Nester's post, we just had these chairs pushed up against the wall, but then I got inspired!

 I DIYed a coffee table (a.k.a. 2 boxes on top of each other)...

Told ya we still got lots of bags! Do you spy the little car under the sofa? Courtesy of Hansy!

Welcome to the kitchen! This is the only part of the house where we got the shelves and storage, and is my current favorite place. I can handle clothes and books scattered around, but not misplaced kitchen stuff! One of our visitors said, "Unahin talaga ang kitchen! Nanay na nanay!" (Do the kitchen first...so motherly!) But hey, I cook meals three times a day, plus prepare snack and drinks in there too! I gotta have a workable place for all that, right? (I am still dreaming of an oven...even just those small ones! Donations anyone? hahahaha!)



To the side of the kitchen is my laundry area...We copied from the big house Papa and Mama are currently renting in Thailand by having a drainage hole installed for the washing machine. I wanted an extra faucet too just for the washing, but the hubby forgot to tell the builders about it :(...So, that's on my list of home improvements :). (If you're wondering how I do the washing...I fill a bucket to bring water to it from the kitchen sink coz' the hose won't fit the kitchen faucet , and then rinse the clothes outside where we have another faucet or in the bathroom or in the kitchen sink. At this point anything goes! Haha!) I've learned that you can somehow tell which part of the world you live in by looking at the laundry area...I've been chatting with a good friend, Ira, who now lives in Texas, and her laundry area's in the garage...It consists of a washer and drier (two separate machines). Here in the Philippines, it's usually just the washer and spinner in one! (Probably because we don't have winter here and have more sunshine to dry out our clothes.)


And here is a view of the dining and entertainment area from the sala. Yes, that little table is our dining table, and that other table at the side, holds the laptop, dvd player and television. It is also where we have our mirror, writing stuff, and scrapbook materials underneath! (Isn't it just a hard working space?)I am typing away in the said space at the moment...

All curtains are the handy work of my Mamaski...They make our place so much more homier!

And here's a little peek at our rooms...

Say hi to Hansy, who messed up my bed styling but made this pic cuter!

This bed came with me from Iloilo. (I was supposed to sell it, but nobody wanted to buy it!) So, in a way it is the one big furniture that has been with us since apartment #1 as a couple...I'm glad nobody wanted to buy it :). (And I'm glad Nong Greg and Tatay were patient enough to dismantle and ship it to Mindanao!)  I remember telling my mom that since we don't have budget to buy stuff, I need to be creative for now. Here are more DIYs in the room...

No cabinets? No problem! I got the TV and stove boxes, covered them with cloth, and piled the clothes on them.

This is our bedside table. It is a barrel of my parents' stuff which I topped with cardboard and covered with another blue cloth. (And that lamp is old like 12 years old! I washidized it to look prettier...)

And here comes the last picture, Hansy's room...

Tada! This is where all the messy things hide until I find places for them...and that has to be soon before visitors sleep over!

So there you have it! Well, most of it :). I've learned to embrace this stage of our home...You see a lot of empty spaces and blank walls. I have not yet figured out where and how to display our various framed pictures and artwork, but I'll get there one of these days (after I get those shelves for the books).

This coming Tuesday the Women's small group are having their fellowship in our house. This is my way of practicing what I've learned--opening up our imperfect home to people. I just have to figure out how to be a host (yey for the first time ever!) all by myself with a super energetic toddler in tow (help!).

I'd like to end with a quote from the Nester (Sorry, if you feel you're hearing too much from her! Just click on her post title above or the highlighted phrases below to see why!)...

 "Slow decorating and enjoying the process, inviting people into the undone, holding onto hope for your home, actually CHOOSING SLOW?  This is the real making of a home. This is the making of a life. This is how important things happen. Accepting slow isn’t giving up, it’s realizing that home is never “finished” and being okay, and happy because of that."

Slow decorating and enjoying the process, inviting people into the undone, holding onto hope for your home, actually CHOOSING SLOW?  This is the real making of a home. This is the making of a life. This is how important things happen. Accepting slow isn’t giving up, it’s realizing that home is never “finished” and being okay, and happy because of that. - See more at: http://www.thenester.com/2014/06/the-decorating-truths-you-wont-see-on-hgtv.html#sthash.KbxRm4JU.dpuf

Slow decorating and enjoying the process, inviting people into the undone, holding onto hope for your home, actually CHOOSING SLOW?  This is the real making of a home. This is the making of a life. This is how important things happen. Accepting slow isn’t giving up, it’s realizing that home is never “finished” and being okay, and happy because of that. - See more at: http://www.thenester.com/2014/06/the-decorating-truths-you-wont-see-on-hgtv.html#sthash.KbxRm4JU.dpuf

Accepting slow isn’t giving up, it’s realizing that home is never “finished” and being okay, and happy because of that. - See more at: http://www.thenester.com/2014/06/the-decorating-truths-you-wont-see-on-hgtv.html#sthash.KbxRm4JU.dpuf

I am consciously enjoying the slow process that we are in right now. After all, it's our own home now...no hurry! Have a blessed day everyone!