Welcome to our home!

Megan tells me she thinks I don't actually have a new home and that I'm just telling tales about our new place.  I tried to get her to believe I actually live in a tent in Mom's backyard, but she wouldn't buy it, not even after I showed her the evidence below:

So instead I decided to give my readers a tour of our new home!  We closed on our home on July 31, 2012, but I've been terribly remiss in posting pictures of the Casa Baldwin.  Here it is, in all its glory.  Just so you know, Ken has recently scoured the house on one of his days off, then announced to me that I can no longer let it get messy.  He took me through each room in the house, showing me how much he'd done to make it look great - it really did look fabulous! - and then gently reminded me that it should stay looking that way.  I've tried to keep it up to his expectations, because Kenny is a very neat and tidy person and works so hard around our house to help out.

Out front:

The kitchen (which faces the street - that is the first floor front window):

The dining "room" and the table and chairs from IKEA that Ken hates:

The Master Of The House and His Throne!  Plus, our new couch from Ashley Home Store, where I work.  It is very comfy - come see for yourselves!

(Behind Ken, the door on the right is our closet, and the door on the left is the potty.  The door on wall to Kenny's right is the garage.)

Ken's coat closet of costumes (Jim's word for Kenny's work uniforms):

The downstairs bathroom, where I proudly display the "Keep Calm And Carry On" picture Megan got me for my birthday:

The living room from next to the downstairs bath:

The front door, through which we hope many friends and family will pass:

Looking up:

And climbing.  I want to add fleur-de-lis coat hooks I bought at my favorite decor store in Utah to the left of the window.

The hall closet at the top of the stairs.  I just reorganized it with brilliant boxes from Target (which I first saw at Megan's house!):

Ken brought home this Amish bench, which I do not remember discussing with him, but which admittedly fits perfectly in the alcove over the front door just like he knew it would.  It is our "reading bench."

The hobby room is on the left, looking out over our street, and our guest room is on the right, looking out to our neighbor's house.  (The reading bench is to the left of the hobby room.)

Care to study, scrapbook, sew, or rock out?

Our lovely desk, adorned with niece pictures and a map of the world Ken bought me for Christmas!

More of my books.  They'd be downstairs, but our new couch necessitated a move.

And we're walking....

.... into the Guest Room!

It's quite cozy, and there is a queen bed just waiting for weary travelers.

In the hall upstairs:

The gilded-framed poster of Italy Kenny got me for our fifth wedding anniversary this summer:

Our guest bath, just perfect for visitors!

Look at all that counter space to spread out at!

The Royal Bedroom.... 

furnished by my mom's very generous friend and coworker Mary Jo, who was moving and refused to let us pay her for the beautiful items she no longer needed:

And the Royal Bath, which, because of our opposite schedules, is rarely shared:

The potty and shower are on the left, while the master closet is on the right. 

The master closet, which I really need to organize.  Thank you, Target!

Ken loves his clothes.

The Garage:

When we first moved in, the garage was unfinished and with no storage or water of any kind.  Ken would have none of it.  He spent days taping, sanding, installing storage racks, and finding just the right hose and sprayer.  Then he painstakingly painted the garage and we cleaned, organized, and swept the garage spotless.  We also installed a pantry and put parking stops in so I would stop nosing the metal pole in front of the water heater (oops).  Grandma Mickey had the same problem, but she kept running into the freezer!  Those little yellow mats work great.

And a little tour around the outside of the house on different days:

The side "yard," which our neighbor keeps littered with leaves because he uses his leaf blower to clean his side.  Where do you think your leaves are going to go, dude?

Our front porch on Halloween.  Kenny carved his pumpkin on the left like a lantern based on the folklore we heard back in Salem, Massachesetts about each family having their own personal design for iron lanterns.  Ken wondered, "What if you come upon a friend's lantern in the darkness, thinking you know who it is because of the familiar design, and whatever is holding the lantern isn't your friend?"  I carved the pumpkin on the right to imitate a design Megan once did.

Looking to the east:

Toward the east on a foggy morning from the garage - we get a lot of moody weather: