Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Guest Post: On the Banks of Squaw Creek!!!


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I am completely fascinated with Katie from On the Banks of Squaw Creek...she is a real life farmer's wife, people...and lives in the cutest and most stylish farmhouse that she and the hubbs have made their own through their own blood, sweat, and tears! Well, I'm totally guessing on that, but judging by all the MAJOR changes, I would say it's true! I think I secretly wish that I was a farmer's wife. Maybe it's all the country music I listen to. (c: Anywho, Katie is amazing and we are in for a treat, country style (c:



Hey everyone!  I'm Katie, from On the Banks of Squaw Creek.  I'm so excited to be on Aubrey's blog today.  She is such a genuine sweetheart.


My husband and I have lived in our 100 year old house for about 3 1/2 years now. We have gutted nearly every room in the house and tried to make it beautiful and functional with a reasonable budget.  From completely remodeling the kitchen to adding two sweet boys to our family, we are truly making this home our own!



Today, I want to focus on one small corner in our living room.







I decided to switch up a few of the accessories in this cabinet and thought it was the perfect opportunity to give you a little glimpse of how we have made our home our own.



1.  We use old stuff.  We love things with a story.  A lot of our furniture is antique or vintage like this cabinet, and the pottery in it is old, too. 







2.  We use accessories that represent our interests.  The antlers represent my husband's time researching tuberculosis in deer at the USDA labs, before we began raising turkeys.



Most of the books in the cabinet are by Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, which is one of my favorite books. 



The "A" represents our oldest son, Adam, and there is an "I" on the bottom shelf for the baby, Isaac.


  

My flute hasn't been played for a few years, but it was an important part of my life growing up, and is on the bottom shelf.    

  


3.  We use family heirlooms.  The book on this shelf came from my great grandfather's farm and is titled "The Farmer's New Guide" (so incredibly appropriate considering the fact that we are farmers!) and next to the book is a set of binoculars that belonged to hubby's grandpa.








Trying to apply these three rules has helped us create a comfortable home that reminds us of the things we love.


Our "big" project right now is a complete exterior remodel.  We are replacing all the windows and siding, but true to our fascination with "old stuff," we will be trying to replicate all the original details.  I'd love to have you follow along!



How cool is all the detailing of that bookshelf??? I just love it when you can do stylish and interesting details with things that really mean something to you...like 10 bajillion times better than buying it all from Pottery Barn in my book! (c;


And up tomorrow:

Shelley from Crazy Wonderful!!!



You've already entered the KOKOON $100 GIVEAWAY, right? Don't miss out!!!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Great intro I will totally be checking her out! Can't wait for tomorrow!

Starr said...

Katie--I have those Little Women books, too! They're all late 19th/early 20th century editions. What a coincidence.

Crazy Wonderful said...

Ok, LOVE, LOVE that not only is everything in that shelf completely gorgeous, but also has some really special meaning attached to it :)

Cam - Bibs & Baubles said...

i love adding the first letter for the name of each child in a prominent space in the home. i'm going to do that one!

natasha {schue love} said...

Looks like a gorgeous house...can't believe it's 100 years old! How neat!

Tamra {ever swoon} said...

Great guest blogger, Aubrey! That house is beautiful and has so much character. Katie has a great eye designing around vintage pieces and I love the story of them renovating their house together while building a family.

L.A. in the bay said...

Love this new series Aubrey!
How are you? Miss ya girly

A said...

I wish I had sweet family heirlooms to display!

Unknown said...

It is so adorable!

Cassie Bustamante said...

i love the rustic look that katie creates- she has such great style!

Bud and Leo said...

It's my dream to live in a farmhouse like this! so charming!

Stacy CUrran said...

It is so much nicer when things have meaning. I love the stories about why these items are on the shelves! Great post...going to check out he blog now!
Stacy

Mary Ann Pickett said...

Katie, you are so amazing at accessorizing...tried to leave you a comment on your blog but it wouldn't let me.