Friday, August 20, 2010

Wanna come over?

I did it. I did something I absolutely hate to do, and now it's done. I invited people for a girl's night at my house.


I hate it because inevitably, no one will come. This happens every time. Book club at my house? Tiny turn out. Birthday party for my kids? Ha. But every couple of years I manage to convince myself that this time if I throw a little thing, people will show up.


Don't get me wrong, I like entertaining. I just don't enjoy feeling rejected. (The exception is dinner. Everyone always says yes to dinner. Huh.) So I decided I'd give myself a million outs by inviting people with less than 24 hours notice so that if no one comes, I can blame it on that. Kenny and James will be gone on a Scout camp out, and I'm going to hang out with the 1.5 out of 12 people that have accepted so far.


But you'd want to come over, right? To hang in your comfy clothes, share chocolate and watch Tina Fey in Date Night. Right? Right? (I don't sound needy. Right?)


Let me show me house. I think I kind of owe these pictures since we've been here for two months now. If you don't want a tour of my house, I'll never know that this is where you clicked away. (No rejection. See how I did that?)


All right. We're just doing the living room today because um, doing every room in my house would be boring.


Here we go:

I took this today. Not every where in Southern California is smoggy. Actually, Orange County is mostly all right.


Also, Kenny is fighting the good fight against the brown patches. It's epic.


This is what you see as soon as you walk in:
I'm going to go ahead an offend a large chunk of you by saying I don't care for oak. At all. It has to do with the looming walls/furniture/bookshelves of my childhood. I especially don't care for golden oak. Next week I'll show what we're going to do with the oak banisters, but for now, it be what it be. To the left is the temple we were married in (Redlands) and a bromeliad, purchased Tuesday because the tag says it's "hearty." Better be. I have the Brown Thumb of Death. Sleep with one eye open, Bromeliad. (To the left of that doomed plant is a closet that runs under the stairs and makes a great toy room for Grant. I love this house.)
This is the front door. I don't know what to do with that niche. I bought two things and brought them home so Kenny could help me choose and he liked them both in there together. Something about yin and yang. I don't know. Anyway, now they're both there and will probably stay that was for a lonnnnng time. But the light will eventually get swapped out for something cooler.


We didn't touch the carpet in the living room because um . . . we have kids. It looked pretty new two months ago. Now it doesn't. I feel smart every day for not getting new carpet.
We didn't do any painting in the front rooms because it's got big old vaulted ceilings and it would have been a pain. The existing paint was in good shape anyway. This was the furniture that came over from our condo and then I found the cool pillows at Target and the interesting drapes at Pier 1. The shelves display bowls Kenny turned on his lathe and as he turns more, we'll add more. (No pressure, honey.) We'll get to those books in the bottom picture in a minute.


If you're sittiing on the comfy sofa, this is what you see:
Our friends GAVE us that piano because they inherited a baby grand. It was ours for the price of the moving. I paid $200 to move and tune it and let me tell you  . . . Leo, a short potbellied man with a baby parrot named Tikki on his shoulder showed up to do it and I KNEW it would be worth every penny. He kept that parrot on his shoulder the whole time and he asked me for a bowl of water for his dog Bingo (I forgot the name, okay?) in the truck. The pictures on top of the piano are still searching for a home.


The top shadow box holds an original edition of Huckleberry Finn, a gift from Kenny on our first Christmas together. And I mean original as in over a hundred years old. It's awesome. The bottom book is signed copy of the 40th anniversary edition of To Kill a Mockingbird. That's right. Signed by Harper Lee. My oldest son's middle name is Atticus. I love that book.


This is the other thing you'll see when you sit on the comfy sofa:
 Fine. You'll really see this:
These are the first half of the shelves my awesome father-in-law built for us. They'll continue down that right wall when Kenny finishes designing them. (No pressure, honey.) Those boxes are all full of books. We have two bookshelves upstairs full of books. And we have this still sitting in the garage waiting to be unpacked:
So, yeah. We have a lot of books. A lot, a lot. A lot.


But Kenny and I have always wanted a library so I'm going to be so excited when this is done. We have to swap out the chandelier and throw in a couple of bean bags and it's going to be perfect. The shelf under the window is even with the sill so we can find some cool cushions and make it into a window seat.


And that's the tour. 


You'd come over for girl's night, right?

30 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I would totally come over! And move in.

Jenny P. said...

Oh, to have a girls night at your house! I would love it. It's hard to keep myself from buying a plane ticket right this very second! One day... I've contemplated hosting a blog weekend retreat here in the mountains... it's a place people want to visit, yes? We could go see the Biltmore House!

I hope you have a good night. And your house is lovely... I love all the books the best.

Don said...

It looks great! I'm kind of glad I'm far away so I don't have to deal with my implicit non-invitation to a girl's night out, though.

I'd for sure send my girls to your night out, though.

Tracy Loewer said...

Your house is lovely! I would come over, even though you don't know me. I could be the one where everyone (or, um, the 2.5 people) would be all "Did you invite her? I didn't invite her. Do we know her?" and then I'd entertain you with charming stories of the Canadian prairies and we'd all laugh about how lucky it was that I found out about the get-together and we'd all become the very best of friends. The End.

Unknown said...

I sure would come over to girls night! How can people not come to visit you in your beautiful home? And I am beyond impresed by your signed copy of TKAM. She is such a recluse, that's really quite a treasure!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Are you kidding? I'm half tempted to look up the cost of air fare and just get myself down there right quick. That could be because I'm currently trapped in a car with three small children, but really it's because YOU are fabulous.

Your home is lovely, but it's totally you who sell the girls' night idea. Hope the turn out is shockingly huge.

Lara Neves said...

I would love to come! And I am so jealous of your shelves, even in their halfway state. Love the room.

stewbert said...

Yes. I'd come over!

Linda said...

Who the heck would turn down girls night "in" it's the best kind of girls night "out".
Your house looks so nice...
Love you.

Tamara Hart Heiner said...

I thought I was the only one this happens to! I think I go to everything I'm invited to b/c I hate throwing things and having no one come. We'll see how many come to my baby shower next weekend!

Christy said...

I hope you have a wonderful time tonight! My son's last birthday no one came(or called). We had to call a neighbor boy over to go with my son to the movies. :(
Your house is beautiful. I especially love your framed books. I totally want to steal that idea for decorating my own house! What kind of frames are those?

Carolyn V. said...

I would totally come! Even w/o food. Have a great time. Your home is beautiful!

Annette Lyon said...

Somehow I'm in the rejection boat too. So weird. Something like 4 people out of 18 invited came to my baby shower, and about that to my bridal shower. I felt so loved.

If you were near me, I'd totally come, because you're the awesome you. And we'd laugh and talk and eat chocolate.

Heather Richardson said...

Heck yes I'd come over! And who knows, it may happen some day! And we've got a fabulous little book club here in Lake Forest that you would be most welcome at, consider yourself invited!
Your house is beautiful, you must love it!

Karen M. Peterson said...

Do you have an extra bedroom? I'd nanny really cheap.

And I'm so jealous of your Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird!

LisAway said...

That is what I call living the dream! I love the windows! It's just lovely! And I'll be right over. In my sweats. With Polish chocolate.

Susan said...

You just need to move to my town. We're all about girl's night. And yes, I'd come over in a heartbeat. You should give us all a update on how it went and how many people came.

Alison Wonderland said...

Why don't people come? I would totally come! Some people just aren't right.

Andrew & Sarah Clawson said...

Count me in!

becca said...

I so get it. The unanswered invitation (including the unrequited one) is death.
However, your home is lovely. Really, really. I'd be there. With really crusty baguettes and some rocking bruschetta.

(Hope it works.)

Melinda said...

I'm right there with ya--no one EVER comes to anything I invite them to. Jerks.

I would go to your Girls Night in a heartbeat! Your house is awesome, love the bookshelves! And I am seriously jealous of your To Kill a Mockingbird, that is my ultimate favorite book! I wanted so bad to name one of our kids Jeremy and call him Jem, but my husband said he could only thing of Gem the 80's rockstar cartoon. :)

NIKOL said...

I'd totally come over. Well, if I lived closer than 2 hours away. I don't know if a 2 hour drive for a girls night makes sense. But I'm sure you're not LITERALLY asking me if I want to come over.

If I did come over, could I maybe persuade you to then decorate my house? You had mad skillz.

NIKOL said...

Also? My son's middle name is Atticus, too. It's probably better that I don't come to your house because that copy of To Kill a Mockingbird might go missing. Just sayin'.

Sarah said...

I'd come over. Your house is fantastic. I'd die to have those bookshelves! I hope people came over... it's seems so unfair that there's so many people online wanting to come but are too far away to come and yet people that live there don't appreciate that opportunity.

amber_mtmc said...

I'm late, obviously, but wanted to tell you that I would be there for sure! I would sit right next to the bookshelves. : )

InkMom said...

I hate oak, too. Always have.

I would totally be there . . . move heaven and earth to do it.

And I'm with Jenny -- if we hosted a real life blog party, do you think people would come?

wendy said...

I'd be there in a heart beat. You bettcha.
and I don't do well with rejection either. WHY do I take everything so personal.

love the house
I think your front entrance is as big as my WHOLE house.
just saying

Emily said...

Seriously, your house is beautiful. You might need a bigger one soon to house all your books though!

charrette said...

I would totally come over...WILL totally come over someday. And I'm so happy you came to see me in the meantime.

Charlotte said...

I have the same issue. I don't invite because the rejection is just too much. Then I wonder what it is that makes people NOT want to come over. Then I get paranoid about what it could be. Is it me? The house? The kids?

Then again, I always try to come when invited to other people's places because I figure it would suck just as bad for them if no one showed. And often it is just them and us at the party.