house vs. a home

I recently read this book & LOVED it. What instantly drew me to The Nesting Place was the topic of decorating + the beautiful pictures throughout. I believe life has suppressed a lot of my decorating creativity the last few years ... and that's okay. It's the season of life with little kids & a tight budget. I'm certainly content & happy with our home, but I've wanted it to reflect my style more [which has changed over the years] ... and suit the needs of our family better.

What's great about this book is that it not only offers great decorating tips that won't exhaust the bank account. Myquillin [the adorable author ... I wish I knew how to pronounce her name correctly!] also shares so much wisdom on making your house a home. Here are just a few of the things I learned & don't want to forget:

1. I need to stop apologizing for the state of our home whenever it's clearly cluttered with legos & pretzel crumbs... "Imperfections bear witness to the fact that we are normal, approachable, real people."
2. I need to consider the true purpose of our rooms when re-decorating... "I get to decide what would work best for our family right now."
3. I need to take more risks... "The key to creating a beautiful home isn't knowing what you are doing; it's taking a risk even if you don't know what you are doing. There is no wrong way to create beauty."