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.
I love the high ceilings in our house.
My favorite thing is the bayou that runs behind our house.
I love how safe I feel in our small town!
I love my house because it has a real cottage feel to it and it makes me feel peaceful and safe when I walk in the door.
I love my house because it’s where my family and I have made great memories!
We just bought our first home and we’re still in the process of moving. What I like about the quaint rental house that we are moving out of: the character and charm that tend to come with older homes. What I like about our new home: the potential to create fun, cozy spaces. It’s really a blank slate! :)
I have a library/craft room in my house that I love! It is MY space and I have all of my books on one wall (I have A LOT of books) and the opposite wall has all of my crafting supplies. My wonderful husband hung a peg board and painted it the same color as the wall, and it holds all sorts of crafty tools, etc. It’s a great room and I’m happy to call it my own :)
Now that we are finally getting a taste of Spring…I love my backyard! Basketball, marshmallow roasts, sitting in the sun, simple pleasures.
I love that we’re out in the country and our kiddos can play outside a lot and enjoy God’s creation.
I’ve got a red rocking chair that sits in a little reading nook in my bedroom with a quilt hanging over the back that was made by my great great aunt. It’s my favorite, cozy spot in the house to curl up with a cup of tea and good book!
We just moved into an apartment (in a house) the beginning of this year, and I love that I have a dedicated spot for creating, painting, whatever. . . Thank you! :)
Just thinking about home, our home, makes me smile! I love the way the sunshine streams in all day and I love my big back porch and my kitchen where I bake things, and my sofa where I can curl up for an afternoon nap! But my most favorite thing about our home is who I share it with and how deeply blessed I am to have such an incredible husband who loves me so well!
Warm regards,
Ruth Lutz
I love my backyard view…..trees….
I love that I am making this house a home for me and my family. I love that my kids are growing up here and that they don’t care if the paint color is right, if there are nicks in the walls (they probably put them there!), or if the decor is “nice.” Functionally, my favorite part of the house is the laundry room on the second floor with the bedrooms. It’s so nice to not have to lug laundry up and down the stairs!
My favorite thing about my house is that my favorite people are here! And I love that it enables me to welcome in friends and family, our previous home barely fit our growing family.
I love when I’m in the kitchen and see birds at the feeder outside my window, and good friends in my small MS town :)
I love the beautiful mantel in my living room. I love to decorate it for the holidays. It’s extra special because my husband is the talented carpenter that built it.
My favorite thing about where I live is my baby’s room. It’s the only place in the house that I created entirely – not full of hand me downs and throwing things together. Everything was chosen and goes together and I love love love her room!
I love our big windows that look out to the soybean/corn fields. The sunrise and sunsets over the perfectly straight rows just make me so thankful for God’s Creation! I also love our Guest Room. It is used almost monthly! Hospitality makes me happy!
My absolute favorite thing about the place where I live are the people. The Lord placed us in a neighborhood surrounded by community, authentic relationships, and ministry. And I love that somehow people keep saying our house feels like a “home” it’s exactly what it feels like to me too and what I love about it.
I love the quiet! It’s a neighborhood set way back. I also love the light.
Can’t wait to read this book!!
The floor to ceiling 80’s brick fire place! It gives the room so much warmth and character! It’s so pretty that I can’t bring myself to paint the awful paneling that surrounds it because I’m afraid it will ruin “the look”. :-)
I brought my children home from the hospital to our home.
My (tiny) house is horrid ~ but my land is gorgeous. We bought our place for the land, with the intention of saving $$, building a new house, and bulldozing this one. We’ve been in this dump for over 8 years (It takes a long time to save money when you have a bunch of kids and one income!) but are super close to breaking ground. Every once in a while, I get a hankering to skip the building part, and just have a nice house already (Even the Nester couldn’t do much with with this one) so I look at houses for sale that are already built. I have yet to find anything with land as lovely as ours. (almost 10 acres, gently rolling – sort of divided up into ‘rooms’ (I got lost when we first bought it ;-) with a pond where the kids can fish and kayak, a wet weather creek where they spend hours building dams, and lots of trees. Oh, and a train track at the N edge of the property, which my husband finds very romantic:-)
My favorite thing about my house is the bank of windows above my bed. And when they are open, the scents and smells and breeze and sunlight of the outdoors makes me happy.
Hi! I just finished reading YOUR book and loved it! Thanks for the work you do. The thing I love most about where I live is that it is under contract to be sold! Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we are moving into my grandparents old house next month. I’m so excited to be back in my hometown in a house that really feels like home!
My favorite thing is the people who share this place I live in with me. My family!! They bless me above and beyond. I’m sad when they aren’t here…happy albeit a little nuts when they are here. Wouldn’t have it any other way. :)
Love Nester too! Her book looks fabulous. I have no decorating talent WHATSOEVER. So, I just stalk the blog. lol
We recently moved and I love that our new place has acreage and is more secluded. This book would be so helpful in getting the inside of the house more like home.
My favorite thing about my home is how when we have guests they comment on how cozy and welcoming it is. I think that’s the whole point and I’m glad it’s coming across to those who we welcome into our home!
I am actually in transition. In a temporary place until I move next week! I love the tranquility and abundant green foliage that covers the property where I am living now.
We live in town, but have a bit of country living as well. Love sitting outside under my tin roofed back porch and listening to the rain. I am a country girl at heart!
My absolute favorite thing about my home is the people I share it with!! That is the truth! Would love to win this book! :)
I guess I would say that my favorite thing about my home is it’s in our budget. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s what we can afford and with a lot of hard work and love it has been one awesome place for my family. Thanks so much for the giveaway.
Blessings,
Linda
We added a “screen room” on the deck of our house (south side so it is too sunny to sit there…can you say HOT?) and we absolutely love it out there. We just fixed it for the summer last week and are already enjoying it. We eat almost every dinner out there in the summer, and weekend mornings coffee is just perfect sitting there.
I love our “tree house.” It’s actually a log house ,but if you live in a house made out of bricks you call it a brick house and I live in a house made out of trees so I call it my tree house!
My front door and my wreath. It’s just homey.
My favorite thing about my home is that it’s a 5 min. walk from my parents home so my family can walk there to see them whenever we want!
My favorite part of my home is our screened room. I would love to read Nester’s book. Thanks for the chance to win!
I currently as a missionary live in a tiny one room apartment in Haiti, so my favorite thing is the cross I brought down with me that my beloved great aunt Jane bought me years ago on a trip to the southwest. She’s no longer on this earth, but when I see that cross, I know I am home.
I enjoy spending time on the deck with my family. It allows us to enjoy the beauty of nature and each other’s company.
I love my home because of the people I share it with!
My favorite thing is the hardwood floors and that my 19 yo daughter is still at home. Makes me happy.
My favorite thing about my house is the back deck/ back yard. We use it spring-fall for entertaining family and friends!
I love my screened porch. I can watch the hummingbirds bicker, purple martens soar. It is a great place for great niece and nephew sleepovers.
My favorite thing about my space are the old gospel songbooks that belonged to my husband’s grandfather that we have used to decorate in different ways, such as http://instagram.com/p/mgqDDwqJwf/.
It’s my first home. :)
My favorite things about my home are the people with which I share it, the great light all across the back of the house, and the high ceilings. As for the space AND the people, me especially, praise GOD we don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
g i n a
Every home I have ever owned has had a navy blue dining room. I use it as a neutral. House #1 I had the whole navy/hunter green/burgundy plaid deal, house #2 it was paired with khaki, and in my current home I use it with robin’s egg blue and white. Navy is my signature color ;)
Love the tag line (as well as the blog). It DOESN’T have to be perfect!
For us, home is where the army sends us – in 4 1/2 years of marriage, we’re on our third nest – my husband has moved 18 times in his military career! So it’s wonderful to have our familiar items out to make each place cozy. None of it is fancy, and you’d better believe we love it if we’re going to haul it around the world.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter!
I love the imperfect original oak floors that run through my 1920’s craftsman.
My screened-in porch. It’s the quiet place where I can see God in nature and all of life’s stresses melt away.
Love our home more everyday. Today I’m appreciating my little front room gallery wall.
My cozy bedroom.
I love Oregon. I live in the valley, in between the coast range and the cascades, bad for allergies but great views all around. Thank you for the giveaway!
I love our backyard and all the trees!! We didn’t have any trees at our last house and our new neighborhood has big old beautiful trees! :-)
I love the
I love the peace and calm of my front porch, unfortunately we are leaving it behind in a few weeks
My house has one long flight of stairs and I was nervous that my toddler twins would really hurt themselves when we moved. They, however, figured out how to fly down the stairs on their bottoms, bump-bump-bump and it is cute and gets them downstairs safely.
I love that my tile and wood floors don’t make me sneeze like carpet used to. Buh-bye carpet!!
One thing I love is our fireplace with its perfectly-sized mantel.
My favorite thing about my house is my people. They make it a home. Imperfect and all. ..
My very favorite spot is the back covered patio – the whole back yard is a quiet, shady, private slice of heaven.
my favorite thing about my house? this is where my people are! thanks for the giveaway!!
my favorite thing about our place is the sunroom. the trees here in arkansas are a sight year-round & it’s the perfect spot to watch the changing of the seasons. i also love the little creek that runs by my perch on the loveseat (it’s really just a rain runoff we created but whatever). and my quilts. :) thanks, sophie!!!
I love my family room, it’s cozy and where everyone likes to gather. (Plus, it’s right next to the kitchen which doesn’t hurt).
We live in a small home, but my friends say it is cozy. I love my blue kitchen!
The house we currently live in was built in 1917 and I absolutley LOVE all of the character that is has.
My favorite thing about where I live is it is the first place my husband and I have lived together and created our first home. We have slowly been making the place ours and the living area is probably our favorite. It’s where we hang out the most as a family of 3 (dog included!)
We built our home with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. We brought our daughter home from the hospital, and acquired the two sweetest dogs ever here also. Our home has evolved through the years and has always fit the bill perfectly. :)
Oh, I’d love this book! I have so many ideas for my house that I get overwhelmed, which is interesting since my favorite part is its potential.
I love that the front porch on our home really lets us “engage” with our neighbors on a regular basis!
We finally have space for everything and don’t feel cluttered!
My wrap around porch and my wonderful neighbors.
I love the blue walls in my kitchen/living room. Thanks for the give aw
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The whole thing. I love driving up to my house at the end of a work day. It doesn’t matter which room I’m in — I love it. I guess my favorite thing about it is that the Lord has let me live in it for a while.
I absolutely love my backyard. When we were house hunting I just prayed that God would give us a great backyard for our three kids to be able to play in. He went above and beyond! :)
the house we live in is the one I grew up in. I love that we have renovated it and made it our own. I really need some new decorating tips though!
My favorite thing about our home is that while it maybe cozy (aka small) we have the perfect space to invite others into our home to fellowship. Even as an introvert, I love to fellowship with others in our home.
My neighborhood is full of amazing people who have supported me through a very difficult time – I think that’s the very best thing about my house!
I love that I live in the country…the birds, frogs, crickets sing morning and night. No curtains means that glorious sunshine streams in and warms the whole room. Comfy seating keeps us relaxing together. Things are finally turning green here…spring is coming!
My favorite thing about where I live is the history it holds. So much has happened in my little home.
As of last fall, I have a home in MT for part of the year. My absolute favorite thing is the huge windows that look straight out at the mountains. I have to pinch myself that I get to spend even part of the year in such a beautiful place.
I love our big windows looking out to the backyard where the kiddos play.
I love the six acres we live on….lived here 7 years but we are still discovering things outside!
“There’s no place like home” becomes truer to me the older I get. I long to be with my family in our home and it does this mama’s heart good when my first born, who left for college this year, WANTS to come home. College life has kept her busy but she longs to sleep in HER bed and be with HER people. Family is what makes our home special, be it our biological family or our family friends. -Everything is just better at home.
I love that our home is one that we all picked out together and we have made it a place where we all love spending time together, having friends and family and lots of kids around.
I love the windows in our house. We have lots of them, and they are old and charming. And they stick. I don’t so much love the sticking, but I’ll take it for the sunlight and view.
I have a print in my kitchen that says, ” what I love best about my home is who I share it with.” That about sums it up! So I try to let the house be a reflection of everyone who lives here, not just me.
I love the community here in Chattanooga. I am well loved, welcomed and challenged here!
My home speaks to me each night and welcomes me home. It is my refuge, my safe place.
My favorite thing is our backyard–the bones were great when we moved in but my husband has worked several years and many hard hours moving bushes, etc.–it is beautiful–looks like a park.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I like the neighborhood I live in because it is filled with great people.
I love living in Washington State.
We are close to the water.
Have the Cascade Mountains.
Have desert like climate in the eastern part of the state.
Big city, Seattle.
Love it here!!!!!!
I love that our galley kitchen (I think that’s what it’s called). We have a tiny little place but the fact that everything connects at the kitchen is pretty special. Thanks for the chance to win this great book! xo Joy