Bidding Farewell Part 3 ~ Our Dining Room

It's official we have left behind our first home.

We are saying goodbye to our first cottage bungalow.

So to continue on with our tribute to our first home & all the projects we did,

we are bidding farewell room by room.

If you missed Part 1 & Part 2 you can see them here & here.

Part 3

 ~ Our Dining Room~

We updated the dining room in stages to save on our budget.

In time it came together just as I hoped.

If you would like to see the before (or somewhere in the middle) you can go here.

If you go...beware....it was in my early blogging days & those photos are not the best!

Come on into the dining room & enjoy good food, family & friends with us.

The dining room & kitchen for me are the heart of the home.

In this house our kitchen was a little tiny, but the dining room was the saving grace.

This is the view from the quaint cottage kitchen into our dining room.

Directly off the kitchen & dining room is our 4 season back porch, this is the view from there.

You can also sneak back into the living room through the door in the corner.

The dining room turned out to be one of my favorite rooms in our first home.

I will always remember the first time we had our family over after all the updates.

It will be one of those cherished memories that will last forever.

I finally had a dining room that reminded me of home.

Growing up the dining table was where it all went down.

My family always had Sunday dinners at my Mom & Dad's.

Anyone & everyone was always welcome...the more the merrier.

We shared so many memories at my Mom & Dad's dining table.

Boy, I bet that table could tell some stories.

My Mom LOVED to entertain!

The table was ever changing with the season.

We shared good food family & friends.

We laughed & sometime cried & sometimes laughed so hard we hard cried.

Had family game nights.

The dining table was where I can remember planning our futures.

And ultimately bringing home the perfect guy to meet the family.

Then one day soon after, knowing that guy was the perfect fit at the dining table.

So, for me the dining room & dining table really are the heart of the home you see.

Where would all my memories have occured if it weren't for that dining room?

I think those memories helped to mold the person I am.

I hope one day my dining table has that effect on someone.

What is your favorite room in your home?

Is it the dining room?

What do you like most about your dining room?

Do you have a room that speaks to your soul the way my dining room does for me?

Hope you all are having a great week!

I promise, soon I will be posting the first progress pics of our new home

& our next major renovation journey.

I hope you will join us this year as we take on our biggest renovation yet!

Carrie

linking up to

Miss Mustard Seed

The Shabby Nest

Remodelaholic

Funky Junk Interiors

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Decor Chick

Remodelaholic Dining Room Link Up

{Moving Day} Recap

Well...
We Survived!

Moving Day!!!

Saturday was the big day!

We packed up our things and we left behind Our First Home.

It is bitter sweet.

We love our little cottage bungalow.

It was a good starter home.

But it's time to move on.

We loaded up the U-Haul and headed back to our hometown.

I was a little busy...sorry no moving day pics to speak of.

We could not be more exicted to begin the next chapter of our lives.

We our moving to LeClaire, Iowa.

It is a charming little country town nesteled on the riverbanks of the Mississippi River.

It is "Our Town"

You can read more about our town here.

We have a crazy road ahead ahead of us.

We are about to begin the biggest renovation we have ever done.

We will be completely remodeling our next home from top to bottom before we move in.

Here we come new home...we have lots in store!

So, look out Mom!

Your guests have arrived!

My Mom is graciously letting us stay with her while we complete the renovations.

Good times I tell ya!

Good times!!!

I hope you will follow along on our new renovation journey!
Tons in store for our new home!
Check back later this week to as we continue to bid farewell to our first home.

Also ~ this week I will be posting the first glimpse on the progress at the new place!

Carrie

linking up to
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Remodelaholic
Funky Junk Interiors

Bidding Farewell Part 2 ~ Our First Home the Living Room

Hey there! 

Guess what???

Tomorrow is our big day!

Moving day is almost here...

So, tonight in between packing final boxes I thought I would continue on with our Farewell tour.

Come on inside to our Living Room.

If you missed the first part of the tour you can check it out here in Part 1.

For those of you who haven't heard, we are moving out of our first home.

We are moving back to the small country town of LeClaire, Iowa nesteled on the

riverbanks of the Mighty Mississippi River.

We are so excited to start the next chapter of our lives back in our hometown.

This is our living room of our first home.

While there are certain elements I love in this room, the room has definitely taught me a thing or to about

what I want and do not want in our next home and the mistakes I have made & will learn from.

 Goodbye dark Haybail walls!  Sorry to say, you will not be missed!

I love all of the natural wood vintage farmhouse style furniture that we have acquired.

All of these charming pieces, full of character will definitely be making the move with us!

I love all the bright white trim in this house and the large windows that let the sunshine in.

 Definitely a top priority for the remodel in our next home...LOTS of natural light!

I love this little nook in our living room.

It was the perfect space for our gallery wall.

You will be missed!

I will definitely have to find a space in our new home for a gallery wall.

I have a thing for photos.

I always will require a space to display our most cherished memories.

So that is it for our Living Room.

Goodbye cozy comfortable living room.

I know that Travis will miss you the most!

Stop back by for more of our Farewell Tour of Our First Home.

We hope you'll join us as we say goodbye.

Don't forget to come along on our renovation journey of our next home.

Have you left behind your first home?

Were you excited?  Sad? 

I would love to hear about it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Be sure to stop back to watch for the progress on our new home.

Carrie

linking up to

Funky Junk Interiors
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Remodelaholic

Bidding Farewell ~ Our First Home ~ Part 1 {Front Porch}



For those of you who follow along you may know it is time for us to bid farewell to our first home.

Saying goodbye can be bitter sweet.

We have had many firsts in this home of ours.

This was our first home we bought together.

It was the first & last home that my Dad got to see of ours.

It was the first home we came home to as Mr. & Mrs. Corson.

It was the first home that we updated together.

It was the first home and last that we refinished hardwood floors in.

It was the first home that we shared many family dinners & holidays in.

And now it is the first home we have SOLD together.

This home will forever be in our hearts & memories as Our First Home.

Well, this week is moving week!

Agh! 

 I can't believe it's finally here!

On Saturday we will be packing up the moving truck & heading back to our hometown LeClaire, Iowa.  Returning to the small rivertown in the country on the Mighty Mississippi River where we grew up.

We have been looking forward to this day for a while now.

It's funny how you begin to really "find" yourselves & figure out who you will be together as

a couple in the first few years of marriage.  This is who we are.

We are small town couple who enjoy and appreciate the simple things in life.

We enjoy the community of small town living.

We happen to like knowing most of the people in town.

We like that we can walk down main street of our historic downtown and shop locally.

We can go to a nice restaurant with beautiful river views for dinner.

We love that we can drive on the outskirts of town and take a drive through the old country roads.

Anyway........ I could go on about how excited we are to be heading back to LeClaire.

But, I will save that for another post.

I promised we would be doing a recap of our first house this week.

So, come on in!

Here is what our front porch looked like just a few weeks ago.

Summer 2011

Summer 2011

Summer 2011

Stop back! 

We have more on the tour to say Goodbye to.

Carrie

linking up to
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
Funky Junk Interiors

Simply Sunday ~ Mini Green Hydrangea

Welcome to Simply Sunday at The Corson Cottage!

I thought I may never get to this post today....

Better late than never:)

Simply Sunday is a new series where we will be showing our appreciation for the simple things.

It's so important to note the small things in life that just make you happy.

Whether it be some part of nature, a gesture, entertaining family & friends, anything really.

Just take time out to make sure you stop & smell the roses so to speak.

What makes you stop & take a moment to appreciate life?

This week my Simply Special item is

 {Mini Green Hydrangeas}

If you follow along on my blog you may already know I have a sweet spot for any Hydrangea.

I just simply love them all!

Such a lovely natural subtle pop of Spring these minis would be the

 perfect addition to a table setting or vignette.

You also really don't have to break the bank to add a little natural touch to your spring decor.

I picked up three small stems for just $10.

{Tip}

Here's a tip.

 If you simply cut your stems to the size of your container, then gently scrape about

an inch from the bottom of the stem almost like you were pealing off the

 outer layer it will help them last longer. 

 Also remember to pull off some of the large green leaves before

placing your Hydrangeas in a container. 

(I like to leave on a few for looks too even though you can't really see them in this container.)

This will help the nutrients and water go directly to the ball of the flower.

Hope you all have had a Simply wonderful Sunday!

Check back this week...it's moving week at The Corson's!!!

We will be doing a Farewell Tour of Our First Home!

Carrie

linking up to
Between Naps on the Porch
Home Stories A to Z
It's Overflowing
A Bowl Full of Lemons
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
Funky Junk Interiors

~ Hint of Spring ~

It is that time of year again...

I can not wait for Spring to really get here.

I love when the trees start to bud. When you see the peaks of green start to

sprout from the ground and life begins to bloom again in the outdoors.

I added a few simple Spring touches to our house a couple weeks ago.

I just couldn't wait for it this year.

I snapped this shot from one of our shelves.

Be sure to check back next week too.

I think I will do a farewell tour of our first little cottage home.

I hope you will join us as we say our goodbyes.

Have a great day!

Carrie

linking up to
It's Overflowing
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors

Photographing Fresh Flowers ~ Tip

Yesterday, in honor of the first of our new series Simply Sunday,

my post was about the sweet simplicity of fresh tulips.

Simply Sunday is a new series where we will show our appreciation for the simple things in life.

If you missed our first post, I would love for you to check it out here.

Today, I thought it was a great opportunity to share a little photography tip with you all.

Do you photograph fresh flowers?

~Tip~

Well, a great idea is to make sure you have a small spray water bottle handy.

If you just spray a little water on the petals and the leaves

 it will freshen up the look of the flowers instantly. 

Can you see the beads of water on the petals and stems above?

What do you think, does it add to the photo?

I definitely think so.

~Another Tip~

If you are having your wedding photographed it is a great idea to have someone

spray your floral bouquets with a few drops of water just before the ceremony.

It will freshen up the bouquets before the big shots.

Follow the same strategy for the reception or any event using floral decor.

Have someone go through and freshen up your center pieces before they are photographed.

Be careful not to go crazy!!!

For goodness sakes you do not want to have a sopping wet bouquet.

Just a little spritz will do ya:)

Hope you all have a great week.

Carrie

Linking up to
Home Stories A to Z
Savvy Southern Style
A Bowl Full of Lemons
It's Overflowing
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors