I thought it might be fun to walk around the house with the Flip cam and show you guys how each room can look on an average day. You know, before we pick the clothes up off the floor, put away Clara’s toys, and fold the big blankets that we snuggle under on the sofa. So here’s an impromptu house tour (while John and Clara ducked out to the post office and grocery store) in all of its average everyday glory:
Things to note:
- Ugh, I have a cold. Sorry about my annoying voice. Who am I kidding, my voice annoys me even when I’m not crazy congested.
- I’m terrible at walking around, talking, and holding a camera (too much multitasking, pardon the Blair Witch Project-esque jolts).
- For those who requested updated office photos in this post, you can see it in 3-D (well, almost) in the vid.
- Burger is so cute. I love how he comes running in and steals the show (and is later seen relaxing in the window).
- I have no idea why I take the time to explain Clara’s music class kit. It’s so weird what you think is noteworthy.
- You can sneak a peek at John’s behind the sofa console project’s progress. Oh and when I say it’s not level and it slopes away from the wall, it’s because our floors are slanted, not because John’s work is shoddy (more pics and details on the big console build this afternoon).
- Yes, my ceramic pooch is still sitting on on the back patio. I just can’t bring myself to let go of him yet. But I’m working up to it. One day at a time.
- You can sneak a peek at the two 30 x 40″ canvases that we got super cheap at Michael’s (more details on our plans for them soon).
- I have no idea why at the end I’m talking about other rooms while walking back through the house and aiming the camera at the dining room and the kitchen (it’s just odd to show the kitchen and say “the messy playroom”). It’s official: I’m no Spielberg.
- My dramatic ending on my purse is beyond weird. What is wrong with me?
Here’s some bonus “ordinary day” behavior. We always tell people how Burger sleeps like a human (with his head on the pillow and his body tucked under the covers) but people rarely believe just how hilarious this is. So here’s some visual evidence that I snapped this morning. I promise this isn’t staged. John got up first today, so I reached over and took some pics after Burger crawled up from the bottom of the bed to “steal” John’s place and sleep in at least four more hours. What a life.
What about you guys. What would people see if you randomly shot photos (or a shaky nausea-inducing video) of your house before cleaning up? Anything embarrassing out there like a teddy bear in the bed or a man-thong on the floor? Thank goodness I put John’s leopard one away before filming that video. Haha. Kidding. Sorry honey. I know just reading that is gonna make you all flustered.
Shawna says
My chi does the same thing…as soon as I’m out of bed she takes my place. Cute!
Della @ Della Grace's Life says
I randomly googled ceramic greyhound…and found this: http://www.wellappointedhouse.com/Products/150840-the-well-appointed-house-italian-ceramic-greyhound.aspx
I think I was even said when your greyhound lost his face. Sniff.
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!
xo,
s
Melissa says
Love the Burger photos. That is hilarious and so cute all at once. My kitty does the same thing!
Patsy says
Loved this post! Thanks! Is the hanging light in the living room no longer blue? Did I miss something? Also, I’m liking those dining room chairs more and more “as is”, but I’m still liking the green thing better… also we have a pug that is very Burger-ish, does the same things. Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah I wiped that down with a moist cloth a while back. It was casting an odd blue haze on that corner of the room in pics, so it had to go. Thank goodness it was so easy to undo!!
xo,
s
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
It’s always nice to see the real life photos. I just posted a few about our house: http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/musical-chairs/
We always have toys out, most likely a few dishes are out, and pajama pants are always on our bedroom floor. :)
maryb says
my dog tries to steal my place to, i love her to death but i have a feeling shes trying to steal my man lol
Jacki says
I love it when you do videos and being honest about the state of your house. It makes me feel normal haha
arell says
Every so often I tell myself I am going to stop reading your blog because it makes me feel bad for having a “lived” in house. Thanks so much for posting this! It looks EXACTLY like my house (lived in, but not trashed!) — I promise never to stop reading because. of. this. video!! Love that you’re not a crazy stepford wife that plugs herself in at night!!
Bethie says
We just moved into our new London flat and our furniture won’t arrive for another month or two! What you would see today is a couch, lots of empty cardboard boxes from the delivery of new items (vacuum, toaster, etc.) and cloth diapers hanging absolutely everywhere!
pendy says
I have a suggestion for your poor ceramic dog. Is there a place in the back of the yard where he might be incorporated into a garden spot? Maybe at an angle where the gaping hole in his head isn’t so visible? He could be yard art!
I say this because years ago I had a ceramic piece that had to be glued together and I moved it outside, where it (and I) enjoyed many more years.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I don’t know if it will make me more sad to see him not-quite-perfect outside. You know? I just want to remember how glossy and smooth he once was. Haha. I’m so weird.
xo,
s
Kelly says
The Burger pictures maybe the funniest I have ever seen! I laughed pretty hard at those!! Great shots of the house! You are normal :) Was starting to wonder! JK
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
This is my favorite post so far! So glad to know that you guys are normal!
karen @ our slo house says
I assumed that you guys were ‘real’ with ‘real life’ messes, but it was still nice to see.
Oh, and I always put my husband’s man thongs away before company comes over. ;)
Haley says
I have a chihuahua that sleeps like a person, too :). I love your house and look forward to hearing about the canvases. I bought some months ago from Big Lots that are collecting dust in my office. Hopefully your project will inspire me to do something with mine.
Angela says
Oh Wow! This makes a girl feel so much better about herself. I feel like all I do is run around and try to keep our house looking a good as possible with 10 different projects going around the house.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Adriane @ GreenhornLiving says
Hehehe. Great video! And you make me laugh about your voice and such since we all do it (I always hate watching myself on video…I get embarrassed at childhood home movies!) To answer your question, I actually just blogged “My dirty secret about clean clothes.”
ps-that picture of Burger is priceless.
pps-hope you feel better soon!
Ames says
I love this so much! You guys don’t live in a perfect house all the time, yay!
Our little maltese/daschund sleeps under our blankets behind our knees, and then comes up in the morning for air. It is the cutest thing ever!
Sarah says
Great video! Makes me feel so much better about my own house! :)
Quick question- where did you guys get Clara’s foam bath seat? We’re expecting #4 and that looks like a much easier solution than dragging out the cumbersome plastic tub all the time.
Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
That was something like $7 at Target (didn’t see it online, only in stores). We love it!
xo,
s
lauren says
it’s available at buy buy baby, too! 20% off bed bath and beyond coupon, super cheap! :)
Mercedes says
Nice to see a quick run through of your house, and know that I’m not the only one who leaves toys on the floor (though mine are dogs toys!) And Burger looks adorable sleeping there. My boyfriends dogs LOVE to sleep with their heads on the pillows. When he leave in the morning, one of them usually crawls up there with me and I wake up to doggy breath and a cutie pie face on the pillow next to me!
bethany cox says
Good morning! I enjoed this post. Honest and true to life. I wanted to tell you that i have been driving my sweet husband crazy with you two. What i mean by that is that we just moved into our first place that we plan on living at for a while and all i can talk about is… “remember that post on young house love when they did {insert something cool here}? We should do that.” to which he replies… sure babe. I love it!
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
It’s about damn time you showed us that your house wasn’t picture-perfect all the time! Geez. Now I can relax, rather than rushing through the house every night after work, cleaning and nagging my boyfriend “The YHL house wouldn’t look like this, The YHL house wouldn’t look like this. . .
…
of course I’m joking. But thanks for showing us this normal day look. :)
Jessica Z. says
Oh, and a non-house question for you. You have mentioned Clara’s music class in a couple posts. Is it a kindermusic class? I think our 8 month-old would probably love something like that since she’s *really* into making noise right now — whether it’s bangs, shakes, shrieks, raspberries or babbles. I wonder if they have something like that here in Charlottesville.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! It’s called MusikGarten here. Clara adores it! And of course we love it too because she’s so darn smiley whenever we go.
xo,
s
sarah says
There are so many things I’m in the process of doing and making and it drives me nuts when things are done, cleaned up and the way I want them (my mother used to call me the instant gratification child… i’m still working on it, lol)
What a relief to know your home isn’t always picture perfect!
Kimberly says
Thank you for posting this – everyone knows that everyone else is not perfect at housekeeping, but it’s nice to have real reminders. :-) This just makes me love you guys even more!!!
Tara says
Ahhh, (sigh of relief) I’m not the only person who has stuff lounging around the house on a regular day. Love, love, love your blog! I look forward to reading it every morning. Thanks for sharing your life and style with us :)
Jessica J says
Even when you’re sick you still sound good — unfair! :) You’re “average” day messiness pales compared to mine. boo. I recently exposed the madness that is my house too over on my blog. Then my camera broke an I couldn’t take “after” pics. So now everyone will think I’m forever in a stasis of messy house. *sigh*
Belle says
Loved the tour – good to know that we’re not dreadful, i’m just usually comparing how i live to how your place looks after a tidy!
Also you may need to blur the video, someone with fancy pants software could be able to get your address from your mail when you feature that area? Not sure, but better safe than sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for looking out for us! Even at the most zoomed in and sharpened level you can’t read our address off of that mail that we pan over. Whew. Thanks so much for the reminder though!
xo,
s
Angela says
Great video! By the way, where does Clara take her music class? Is it a Gymboree class? I’m trying to decide on something like that for my 6month old.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s called MusikGarten here. It’s a weekly class with songs and dancing. She loves it!
xo,
s
Leslie says
Ha ha! Our dog, Gilmore, does the same thing. And he always uses my pillow and not my husband’s!
Whitney says
Hope you feel better! I have been going through the same thing- everyone suggested a Netti Pot for the allergy portion (and an inhaler for the bronchitis)- now that I know you have one I’ll trust their suggestions! You made me feel so much better about having clothes all over our floor… and that I allow my dog to sleep in our bed with her head on the pillow. You are all wonderful- and a house should be lived in and loved!
Sheela says
It’s always great to see some “Keeping it Real” images from blogland. Our house has it’s fair share of mess on a day to day basis. I actually try to invite people over frequently, since that forces me to make sure that everything is picked up and clean. I feel so much more peaceful if the house has some semblance of order. But more often than not, there are toys on the floor, dishes in the sink, and random purchases (you know, like blank canvases), in corners of the room! Thanks for sharing your “everyday” house with us.
Krystal says
Love this little peek into your “messy” home…it’s keeping it real! I personally am a neat freak so everything goes into its place at the end of the day, but my two pitfalls are the kitchen and bedroom. I don’t care enough about the kitchen to want to keep it tidy, and my bedroom I have no excuse for. I got back from spring break three weeks ago and I’ve still yet to unpack…I’m living out of suitcases in my own home! haha.
Erin says
I’m so relieved to know you guys have little piles and little messes! Sometimes I read your blog and am like “I will never reach that level…sigh.” This makes you more relatable. I think your voice is cute, but I understand–I hate hearing my own voice. I’m always shocked when I realize I sound about 16 when, in fact, I’m 33. I also laughed when I read that Clara likes playing in the trash. I know that’s probably not funny for you, but it made me giggle.
Sarbear says
Burger! Love pictures of that cutie.
jennifer says
YEAH! You guys are normal!!! I once posted about things I had learned and having laundry in the background of every picture was one of them! My poor boys will grow up look back and think I never did any laundry or when I did it was always in a basket!
Thanks for keeping it real!
stephanie says
I spy with my little eye….the “cute little white bowl” that I LOVED and sadly never found:( Now that I saw it, i want those bowls all over again!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw sorry Stephanie! I hope Target brings them back for Easter. You never now…
xo,
s
Emily says
Loved the tour-and the pictures of Burger definitely made me chuckle!
Gina says
Love the video and your house is still much neater than mine. :)
Are you going to paint this fireplace white? I think it was last spring that I found your blog and I painted my fireplace and made the patio firepit in the same day. I was very inspired and then very tired. lol
The problem is we have a brick hearth and it is tough keeping that looking clean and white after a winter of having fires. I just repainted it but can’t see myself doing this every year.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we’ll be painting the fireplace and all that paneling to lighten things up for sure!
xo,
s
Loren says
In our apartment there is usually an embarrassing number of dusty bunnies (I swear it doesn’t matter how often I vacumn) and there is almost always at least one sewing project strewn across the living room floor. Because I am THAT girl.
Kim says
Thank you Sherry for being so honest and showing us your ‘everyday’ house! I was beginning to wonder if you guys actually LIVED in this house or just used it for projects and went home to your real house at night – haha -just kidding. I love that you can be so honest and show us your dirty laundry (literally – heehee) and also hate your voice on video (which really it’s not bad at all!) – I also hate hearing my voice on video so I know your pain! Love your blog – getting so many wonderful ideas for our house. And thank you for putting out the blogs about making your own compost and rain barrel. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time now but was wondering which system was best – they can be pricey and which is easiest to use for newbies. Well, your post on your $7 plastic container from Lowe’s was AWESOME!!! I told my husband we can totally do that! So this weekend we will be doing that. Thanks again!
Caitlin says
my rat terrier, Lucy, does the same thing!! Head on pillow,body under covers. and she likes to block the light so sometimes she’ll even stick her head UNDER the pillow. She’s berger sized too, and all your pics of him remind me of her lol.
Melissa says
How fun! Hilarious about Sue the Napkin peeking out of your purse. I always have some sort of fabric sample or paint chip hanging out in my purse, along with a mini tape measure!
Courtney says
They would see a lot of mail on my dining room table and a hardly ever made bed. I used to be super type A about leaving clutter around, but now that I’m married I am a different person. I usually do a clean sweep once a week. C’est la vie :)
Sarah says
I am so glad you posted that video! I am always feeling so bad that I don’t keep my sons toys put away when he’s not using them. I also have that random pile of everything in my kitchen when it just doesn’t have a home yet.
J'Anns says
Love it! Burger is too cute under the covers.
If you crashed my pad you would find a pile of freshly washed laundry on the couch waiting to be folded (sorry!).
Confessions of a Purse-a-holic
Sarah Higgins says
oh burger….. LOL
too funny.
Dawn says
LOL!!! Burger is too cute. My lil min pin Max does the same thing. But he has this facination with laying on my bf’s shoulder while he sleeps. REALLY weird. He’s the only one Max will do that to, everyone else he just curls up in their lap.
At least now I know, my house…is no messier than yours at any given time…LOL! Makes me feel LOADS better…;)
Threadbndr says
LOL, it’s a lot easier to keep up with the clothes when it’s just you. I try really hard to corral the grandbaby’s toys before he leaves; though at two, he really isn’t ‘helping Mimi pick up’ all that much yet.
With my house, the embarrassing parts would be the random books and crafts projects from one end of the house to the other. There are bookcases in every room (including the bathroom, but I still manange to stack books on most of the horizontal surfaces. Working on that.
Jennifer S. says
Well that was refreshing! Real life snapshot instead of staged photo shoot. Love it.
As for my house, right now I’ve got clean laundry all over the couch waiting to be folded and in the kitchen a big bowl of scrap veggies/fruit to be taken out to the compost pile. These are the two things that make me cringe when I get unexpected visitors!
rashmi says
Oh Sherry , Thank you. For the past two years that i have been reading your blog (religiously) i have really beaten my self up for not keeping things neat around my home. Now i can relax.Thanks for keeping it real. Hope you feel better soon.