I don’t know when exactly I started reading Nester’s blog. I want to say that it was five or six years ago, and when I got to meet her in person at a conference a couple of years after that, I remember thinking, Well. She is just as warm and funny and endearing as I thought she would be.
I love it when that happens.
Myquillyn (that is her real name, though personally I default to “Nester” just about every single time) has such a knack for creating spaces that breathe, for decorating rooms in ways that don’t feel stuffy or overwrought or unusable. I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve gone to her blog in search of inspiration, and a few years ago, when Sister was decorating her newly re-built first floor (it was wiped out in the 2010 Nashville flood), we talked about Nester and her ideas like she was an old friend who would’ve totally gone to all the Nashville-area Home Goods with us if only she hadn’t lived a couple of states away. What I remember more than anything is that Nester’s laid-back, easy, no-fuss approach to decorating made Sister feel less overwhelmed about getting her house back in order, and that, as my mama would say, was such a blessing. No joke.
Well.
This past Friday I spent most of the day trying to finish some writing that I started over a month ago, and by the time I got home late Friday afternoon, I was ready to put on my pajamas and crawl under some covers and watch TV. But then I noticed a cardboard box on the kitchen counter, and when I opened it, I found this little gem.
I told myself that I’d look at it sometime Saturday – but curiosity got the better of me, and I started to read. An hour later I was still sitting at the kitchen table (I hadn’t even changed into my pajamas yet), and I had to force myself to put down the book. Early Saturday morning I picked it up again, and except for about five minutes when I set it down so that I could hang a print in my foyer (the book inspired me to not put it off for one more second), I kept on reading until I finished.
And here’s the thing (I said this on FB yesterday, so forgive me if you’ve read that already and I’m repeating myself). I typically don’t read a lot of home decor books, mainly because I get intimidated and overwhelmed and my perfectionistic side just can’t take it. But Nester’s book is inspiring and honest and gorgeous and real. I actually felt a little sad when the book was over – but then I looked up at my own house and saw all sorts of totally imperfect possibilities. That made me smile.
So. Just because I love this book to pieces and want to share it, I’m giving away three copies of The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful. Nobody asked me to do this; I just want to do it because Myquillyn has created something that’s unique and oh-so-special – and I really do think it’s going to be so meaningful to the people who read it. Since the book releases next Tuesday, I’m going to make this giveaway a pretty quick one so that you still have time to order for release day if you don’t win. If you’d like to enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me your absolute favorite thing about the place where you live.
I’ll use random.org to draw for winners Wednesday night and notify them ASAP via email.
Y’all are going to love this book!
This giveaway is now closed. Winners will be notified via email.
What I love most about my house is it is finally (after about 9 months living there) starting to feel like our home, and not just a pile of boxes.
green grass, trees, nature all around- land, space. Be still my heart. the house can be changed, but you can’t create space where there is none…
1. I had no idea her name is Myquillyn, even though I’ve been reading her for almost a year now? Funny.
2. My favorite place is in the living room in the evenings. Husband and I squeeze on the couch and are quickly joined by 2/3 dogs. It’s incredibly uncomfortable and wonderful all at once.
I love our home because it’s housing two families complete (my sister & brother in law) while we care for our Mother with Alzheimer’s.
I love my itty-bitty cottage’s hardwood floors and the arches between rooms. We have plans to make the house bigger, but I hope, hope, hope to keep the FEEL that it has now!
After working 20+ years, I am ‘retired’ and feel like I am getting to know my house all over again. I am able to help my hubby with yard work on the weekends b/c I don’t have to get the house clean and clothes ready to start all over again on Monday. And I enjoy it more than I thought I would. I am purging and re-organizing to make it more livable. So even though I may be a little (or a lot!) older than most of your readers, it’s never too late to learn new things.
Besides my family, the thing i love about my home is that it sits in the middle of the trees.
I love my bright green and white kitchen!
I live in an old bank bulidng that was turned into lofts and I love my exposed brick wall.
I love our backyard especially when my husband and I sit on our porch swing and talk about our day while our daughter plays.
We just got home from 5 weeks in a third-world country, so right now, I love just about everything about our home – clean air, drinkable water, beautiful trees and flowers, etc…
I love love that we have a screened in back porch and lots of natural light.
A couple years ago I moved my sewing machine into the kids playroom. I love that we can all be in the same room doing what we love!
I love the open space and the beautiful views we have from our windows.
My favorite place is my kitchen. It is roomy and open. it has great light, which is one of my most favorite things!
I love our location! We’re in the middle of the city but back up to a wooded area so it feels like the country…the best of both worlds!
I love my bookcase filled dormer! and my sort-of recently repainted green walls!
I love my family wherever they are!!
Well… considering we move in exactly 1 week, I don’t really want to think about the house we are in now. Now the new house – totally different story! I am excited to redo so many many things!
I love that my home just suits us :) When we bought it over 4 years ago it was a blessing after a foreclosure and renting for 7 years. Our philopshy is that it was a blessing from God and we try and share it as much as possible with others!
My favorite thing about my home is that my commute is 5 minutes. My home needs a lotta work and I need this book!
I love our backyard. It’s got plenty of room for our littles to play and explore!
We have downsized considerably planning for retirement and love the size of our home but challenged to find places for the things we love without appearing overcrowded.
My favorite thing about my house is all our art… From kids work, to paintings by my father, to friends photographs, they all are unique and interesting but share the story of our family.
Thanks so much for your review! I love your fresh take on life – and the Nester’s too. I think you two were neighbors in Heaven. And I like my house. I didn’t when we first bought it, so I’m not sure why we did. But it’s kind of grown on me. I love that my family can all hang out together in it. And I love that we can live in it and not feel like we can’t put our feet up. I also love that it is mostly dirt-colored, which is perfect for a family of boys.
My favorite place in my house is my daughters room. Pale green walls. Accents of pink. And a hot air balloon mobile. Love!
I love that our home is a sanctuary from the outside world. I love the Nester and would really enjoy reading her book!
I love our living room because that’s where we all are all the time. It’s crazy.
I live out in the country and absolutely love being able to walk outside and smell the fresh morning air.
It is so peaceful here.
Truth is we are in transition. We have been renting for almost a year, knowing it would be short term. But now in the next few weeks we will find out were we are moving to. Hopefully we will find a home with hardwood floors, wood burning fireplace, and some land for kids to play and a garden. It seems like dreaming and it won’t be perfect, it never is. It almost seems scary. But we know what is in our hearts and can’t wait to live it.
I love my old (1880’s) farmhouse that my kids can live comfortably in. We love the country and farm setting.
My favorite thing about the place I live? The people who live there with me, of course!
I love my white kitchen cabinets that I painted all by myself. Everyone told me NOT to do it. My parents, and my in-laws thought I was crazy to paint over perfectly good wood. And I am not a painter. But, I did it! Even with 3 little kids in tow. Now every time I go in the kitchen I smile, and I am soooooooooooo glad. Reading the “Nester’s” blog gave me the courage to go for it. In fact, she has given me the courage to tackle a lot of projects in my home.
I love my kitchen island. It’s always a gathering spot, whether I’m cooking dinner for just the three of us, or hosting a party for 15.
I love that my 100+ year old mantel is still beautiful and the focal point of my living room.
My favorite thing about the place I live is that I live here with my favorite peeps and my favorite pets and even though there are for certain things around here that I would change, I feel more comfortable and happy here than anyplace in the world.
My absolute favorite thing about the place where I live is the glass french doors in the living room which allow the sunshine to stream into our lives. I’d LOVE to win a copy of Myquillyn’s book!
My favorite thing about my home is the people I share it with!
Getting oak hardwood floors several years ago, changed the entire looks of our house and I love my new front door. Went from a solid metal door (no windows) to a beautiful cherry mahogany door with an oval decorative glass. It has brought light into our family living room, and is especially nice when all of our family gets together.
I love my hardwood floors and my family.
My favorite part of my home is our bathroom—lots of space and a great bathtub!
I love everything about where I live except my bedroom could use some help. I want everyone to feel Welcomed at all times when people come over.
Our home is very small…I love the special little seating areas nooks we’ve created:-)
My favorite part of my home is the memories. I have spent my whole 24 years of marriage in this same house, brought home 2 babies from the hospital to this house and now we enjoy our 2 teenaged sons here. It is not perfect, but it is ours and full of memories of our family’s life.
I love that I can look out the back window and see the bluebirds in their houses! Makes me smile!
My favorite part of our home is my kids’ rooms. Mostly because they reflect so much of their personalities.
My favorite thing about my home is my family. With two boys and two dogs it’s often a mess but they bring me so much joy I just try ignore the balls and shoes and dog hair and enjoy their company.
My “eating nook” where we have dinner each night and sit around a table that’s been in my family since my grandparents were newlyweds over 65 years ago. Old and not perfect, but precious to me…
I so need this book for so many reasons! My favorite thing in my home is the back porch swing and how the sun rises through the french doors.
I love that we live on 5 acres in the country but can get to the city in 20 minutes!
My favorite thing about my home is the sunlight that pours in during the day. :)
The fun times spent with family and friends here.
My fave thing about home is that it’s a roof over my head :)
I love our dark wood floors throughout the house. With 6 kids they have lots of “character.” I always wanted hard wood floors before this house and am thrilled to finally have them.
My favorite part about where we live is that my peeps are there with me. Love making memories in our imperfect home.
Thank you for the giveaway.
The location: close enough to town, but enough in the country that I can have chickens.
I love my den and my deck and the best part is when there are people around to share the spaces with me! Thanks for offering a giveaway!
We rent so we cannot update or decorate as we would like to but I love my new mixer, along with my Anthropologie milk bottle measuring cups, timer, and bird sugar bowl. Just little pieces of me.
I love limitless number of possibilities for improvement! I love that my peeps are there.
My favorite place in my home is the kitchen. Its where i spend so much of my time with my little guys.
I love all the potential in my home. My husband built our home and I cannot wait to really make it “ours.”
Was born and raised in Wisconsin and have lived in Southern California for 20 years, but still get awestruck looking out my windows and seeing palm trees silhouetted against the sun going down!
My favorite thing about our home is the unlimited possibilities compared to our last home, and the fact that my husband and I are working together on so many projects!
I love my Montana themed bathroom, I ran myself semi-broke decorating it. But to bathe behind horses running(my shower curtain)…makes me feel free. My dog Boy sits on the soft brown rug and that just tops it off. It makes me look up towards Heaven and thank God for all my Blessings.
I love the fact that our home (& hearts) accomodate our boomerang children, my in-laws (for 2 years) and now my mother. Truly enjoy the multi-generatin thing!
Our gray couch. We scrimped and saved for it and it took almost three years, and I wanted it so much and I love it, dog hair and all!
What I love about “my house” is that we are renters. Yep!
We have owned three homes, the last one we thought we were staying forever.
We loved our home. However, my husband had a stroke and we realized
It was too much to handle . So we sold it and rented a two bedroom one bath
Duplex.. We have no intentions of moving… It isn’t perfect.. But it’s perfect for us
Love your blog
LeeAnn
Our backyard! (I know that’s not really a part of our house, but we make it an extension). It’s fenced, so I can turn the kids loose to play while I garden (one of my fave activities). And I especially love it when my hubby grills. :)
I love all the windows at the back of the house that overlook the woodsy backyard.
I love that my house is cozy and comfortable…and full of memories.
I love sitting on my front porch in the evening and watching my kids play. I love seeing the beautiful Wyoming sky in the background and knowing my kids are growing up in a safe, happy, still wild place.
Oh, I’d love to win this book. I just discovered the nester 2 weeks ago, but I have been embracing her philosophy for about 2 years. I love the idea that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful! My favorite things about my space are the natural light and who I share my space with….MY FAMILY! (A husband and 4 daughters!)
My family!
Sounds like I need this book in my life. We bought an older home almost 2 years ago and the renovations aren’t happening near as fast as I would like. Our previous home was one we built and I loved every thing about it (except the school district we were in… The things you fail to think about pre kids) and I hosted any and everything! This home is so far from where I want it to be and I truly feel like God is teaching me patience and contentment with this house… in all it’s 1979 glory! I love the space of our home and the yard… Oh, I love the yard. And I love that there is no place my kids would rather be than right here.
My favorite thing about our house is that yes, it is where we live currently, but it is where my husband is with me. Where he proposed to me when it was just his house and not ‘ours’ yet. Where he loves me regardless of how messy it is. :-)
We built our house 3 years ago and our favorite place on football weekends in fall is our screened porch…comfy furniture, a tv for game watching and a gas fireplace for cool evenings…doesn’t get any better!
I love my big backyard where I can watch my kids run and play and have fun!
I love that my tulips and daffodils bloomed!
I love our screened-in porch and back yard in the springtime. We grilled out for Easter lunch and had family and friends over and ate on the porch.
I love that we have plenty of room for guests to visit.
What I love most about my house is my back yard. I lived there before my husband joined us (long story) and he has made it such a special retreat in both Summer and Winter even. We live in CA so we don’t get the weather extremes. We feed the birds (& therefore the squirrels) and I love to watch them play and sing and scramble for the food. The true pecking order is quite a sight to watch.
Have a great week Sophie!
Our house was built by my grandfather in the 1920’s. My mother was born there and I lived there as a child until I was almost 9. Now, me, my husband, and our two daughters call it home. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes – there are many, many things that need to be “fixed”, but it’s home.
All the natural light. That’s my favorite. It’s like free serotonin. Our house is small and way imperfect and our family of five has outgrown it…but Nester’s mantra is always ringing in my ears: IDHTBPTBB. : )
I love the the time spent there with my family!
I love that my house is open, bright, and cheery and that one of my former college students called it “his happy place” because of the love he felt being with my family!
We moved into our home last summer, it is the first home that my husband and I have ever owned. It is allowing us (me) to finally make our house a home for him, I and our two toddlers. I am having fun developing a sense of style for us. We have lots more to go and for once I am looking forward to it.
My favorite thing about our house is all the windows that let in the breathtaking sunlight. Oh, and my family is great, too, blah, blah, blah, but seriously…the sunlight!!!
What I love most about my home is how well it fits our family. I love each space that we’ve put our personal touches on, and made it our own. This book looks so good….I would love a copy.
My friends often comment that my home feels so comfortable. Hope I win but if I don’t I’m going to buy the book!
The best thing about my home is that I share it with my husband and son-my two favorite people in the world!
I love that our home looks and feels like us. It shows our own style and is peaceful and comfy.
I love that I get that peaceful, easy feeling the minute I walk in the door!
We are military, so we move A LOT. My favorite thing about this house is that I have a dedicated homeschool room!
I love my turquoise front door and the fresh eggs from our chickens! (Two things, i know…couldn’t help it!)
Too fun! I love that this place I call home simply continues to unfold, morph, change. Just like me. Slowly.
The Nester was one of the very first blogs I ever read (and am still reading). She has taught me to love the house I live in today instead of wishing for the one tomorrow. I love my back yard.
I love that 3 of our 4 kids were literally born in this house and it is home. :-)
I purchased your Salty Sweet book during Falls Creek Women’s Retreat this month and loved it and am hooked on your blogs already. Only 15 minutes from that part of Oklahoma, I love that my church is only 3 miles from my home so I have no excuse for not attending and they are truly my family that God has placed us here to fellowship and worship with. God is so good, all the time!
I love that it’s an old house with plenty of character.
I think that the very best thing about where we live is that it is ours! (and the banks, of course). We lived in the Parsonage from 1988 until moving into our very first home of our own in 2005! LOVE it – every little bit of it.