Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Heart of my Home

Mrs. G at Derfwad Manor recently shared with readers the favorite spots in her home. She also asked readers to ponder their favorite spots, their home's hearts. It was hard for me to come up with, because I love my old house. It was difficult to love at first, because of the lack of closet space, and the ginormous closets that we had moved from, but slowly, slowly our house is becoming a home. Because of the people in it, and the people who pass through.

I have never, ever been a tidy person. My role in life is to make other people feel better about their cleaning habits. The cat food on the floor? The grungy hair at the base of the bathroom sink? The dishes that are more of a sink sculpture? Yeah, so what. I cook balanced meals, I pay attention to my family, I read books and listen to music. I do laundry, I mow the lawn and water the roses, and I decorate with things that I love.

Here is a tour of my favorite places in my house:

This is what you see when you walk in to casa McQ. There is no formal entryway, just slambamthankyoumaam, where would you like to go? The living room to the left? The dining room to the right? The kitchen through that little cubby there? How bout the basement? (Trust me - unless you like cat poo, you probably don't want to go there right now)



The mirror at the end of the hallway was once hanging over an old radio console from the forties in my parent's house. If I stand in front of it long enough, I can see my mom getting ready to go out somehwere.



If you happen to love knickknacks, and a good mystery, then you'll love our bookcases. They are stuffed with all kinds of books, and little bits of evidence that we live here and love each other.




Joe-Henry made this little pinch pot in art class. It has all the picks in it from the five million guitars that share our space. The yellow one with the handprint? Got those made for his Daddio. That's JH's actual handprint of his hand with two big fingers. Love it. So much.


In our living room is this gigantic chair. It's got stains all over it. And cat hair. But I got it for a song on Craigslist, it matches our sofa, and it's the comfiest, coziest chair on the planet. Ask anyone who has had the pleasure of draping over it.



Our bedroom. It has little feng and absolutely no shui, but it's comfy as all get out. This bed is where bad dreams go to die, and visions of sugarplums take flight. And stuff.



But the real heart of our home? It's summed up by this saying that hangs over the cutaway to our kitchen in our dining room.



Without my guys and the people who pass through our humble abode, this would just be a house. They make it home.

That's the tour. Thanks for stopping by. You've made the place a little sweeter for your presence.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what I love most about this series of pictures? (and there's a lot to love).

I love that you took a picture of your unmade bed.

Me? I won't let anyone come into my house without my bed made, and we're talking even the lawn man who never quite crosses the threshold while I apologetically (every. single. time.) rush about and say "I know your check is right here, just one moment..." And it's not that I'm a fanatic about my bed in particular (I am NOT one of those "make the bed every morning" types) rather that I never want anyone to see my home if it's at all messy. And so when I should just look FORWARD to someone coming over, I always spend several hours beforehand, even if it's a casual visit, cleaning up.

And so everyone thinks I have my shit together and really I'm a neurotic stressed basket case.

But you? You are not like that. And I LOVE that. And your home looks so lovely and homey and welcoming.

Lisa L said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
anniemcq said...

I love you, Tracey. Come by any time. I'll inwardly freak that the bed isn't made, but after a margarita, I bet I won't care one little bit. I also bet, we'd have a great laugh.

karigee said...

Everything looks exactly as it should -- comfortable, welcoming, loved. What a joy.

Kirsten said...

Thanks for sharing those pictures. I'd show pictures of mine, but my whole house is in disarray! Although I like to share the ones of my gold-flecked "linoleum" and navy blue carpet. (You gotta love the slow remodeling process of buying a house that hadn't been redecorated since the 70s.) I love seeing a slice of others' lives and how they live in their day-to-day hub-bub.

Kirsten