*Happy Handmade Home*

Squeal! Pretty sure that was the exact sound that come from my mouth about 4 o'clock this afternoon when the FedEx guy delivered this beauty. 

I preordered this book the very first day it was set to go on sale on Amazon. 

The authors of this book, Elsie Larson & her sister Emma Chapman, are the bloggers & creators of A Beautiful Mess; a women's lifestyle company focused on creating happiness every day through a homemade lifestyle. On this blog they share home decor projects, recipes, life... all sorts of adorable!

I've been a long time fan of Elsie since 2006 when I found her blog with the help of my beautiful cousin Leah. I was absolutely smitten with her scrapbooking style & when she came out with her own line, Love, Elsie. I collected everything. 

In May of 2009, I had the opportunity to travel to Missouri, by myself, to hang out with Elsie & a few online friends I had made. It was then, that I realized how much alike we really were. So as a friend from the past, I want to say "I'm so proud of you Elsie!".... "And Emma!" 

I've just started skimming through this book and already am so inspired to make our house finally feel like our home. Joel and I moved our little family into this house 3 years ago tomorrow. If by walking in for the first time, you would think we moved in last month. Nothing on the walls.... no paint (other than our black wall... which I love!)... nothing that really shows off either of our personalities. You would also notice that nothing is super functional for our growing family. Everything is cluttered. Nothing has a permanent home & there is clutter everywhere. Our furniture is old, the television stand is about to fall apart, and our closets are stuffed to the max. It definitely isn't a place that I feel comfortable having people over. I love to entertain but when you're not confident in your space, it makes it difficult to want to do more of it. 

I'm not saying that I'm not grateful for our home.... I truly am. I just feel like we haven't given it the attention and love that it needs to be a warm and welcoming haven for our family, friends & neighbors. I want people to walk in the door and see us in every part of our home. I want people to feel comfortable here. 

I think I had the internal thoughts that everything had to be done right away; like a Trading Spaces if you will. That by piecing it together and doing one step at a time would be wrong to do. 

My friend gave me this book a couple months ago and it truly has changed the way I feel about my house. A great read and absolutely beautiful photos. Another friend is always encouraging me to just go for it. Do something. Piece by piece... make it ours. 

Between those & this new book with the how-tos and tons of inspiration, I'm going to be more intention on turning our house into a cozy, happy home.... style-wise.

I'm absolutely ready for this challenge. This beautiful challenge where I'm sure I'll make a ton of mistakes. I'm positive that it will be hard work & require a lot of time but I'm up to it. I'm excited to transform our little casa. 

I'm going to shoot for a goal of one area in the home each month for the next year. I'll be sharing my ideas, inspirations and projects here. Spry's Handmade Home. It's got a nice ring to it. 

If you ever need any DIY inspiration, check out abeautifulmess.com. You'll love it as much as I do!