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 that my home is where my sweet family is together. No matter the mess or how much mismatched furniture is within the walls, it is my home because of them.
The view into woods out large windows across the back of my house are my favorite thing- an ever changing landscape, yet so familiar!
I painted my front door blue 20+ years ago, and I love it every time I come home.
My kitchen is my happy place. It’s not perfect or organized but it’s where we gather throughout the day. So many memories in this kitchen and especially around the island.
I like the way our family functions together in our house and that we live across the street from the park.
We have a covered patio, almost the length of the back of the house. It was the main selling point and the reason we bought the house.
I just painted part of our bathroom a dark royal blue called Deep Space and hung up a really bright shower curtain…the rest of the room will be repaired gray later, but I already love it! Oh, and my walk-in closet where I hide with a book or my phone sometimes when I’ve had all the PBS Kids I can handle!
*repainted! Should not comment without my glasses! :)
My absolute favorite thing about the place where I live is the people that I share it with. It is an old farmhouse with many imperfections. It is mostly decorated with yard sale & consignment store finds, but our family is what makes it home. I would love to have a copy of this book.
My absolutely favorite thing about where we live is our huge kitchen. We have a small 1950s ranch style house, but the previous owners added on to the kitchen so it’s our “hub” for our little family. We dance around in the kitchen and there’s plenty of room when guests come. Would love to win a copy of this gorgeous book & also love The Nester’s site.
My sweet family… And ample kitchen storage!
I love that my house allows in lots of sunlight.
I love that my home is the place I get to do life with my husband. I love nothing more than to sit around our dinner table over a meal and talk about our day.
My favorite thing about my home is that it’s small and simply furnished, so it’s easy to swap out decorations for holidays or special occasions. (In theory, it should be easy to keep up with the housework, too, but somehow that usually falls to the bottom of the “to do” list!)
I love my view out my windows! Rural PA hills!
My favorite thing right now is my back porch since te snow has finally went away! Hallelujah!
My favorite thing about my home is a little step up to the den. It is a place we often pause and pray before leaving or before my husband leaves for work.
I have totally redone my early 1900 home and it reflects exactly who I am.
I love that my house has plenty of room for my children and grandchildren to come and stay awhile. They live too far away for that to happen often enough but I’m ready when they get here! And I love that I have a room where I can spread out my sewing/scrapbooking and leave it and come back to it whenever I have a minute. My craft room is MY space to create and do something that feels right.
Oh my I would love to win this book! Her blog is so inspiring!
I painted my laundry room turquoise and now I am happy when I go in there. :)
We recently moved to the country. I LOVE the beautiful green space my kids have to run and play. I love having space to raise chickens and seeing my neighbors horses.
I hope I win!!
Big windows!!! Had to have that. But the best thing is that it is the home I have created to shelter and provide refuge for my daughter and I. It may not be as grand as some – boy, a teenager takes up a LOT of space – but it is home.
I love that my loves are here with me. Not a huge house, needs some big time updates :), but it’s still a great place to live together.
I love that our living area is full of natural light from the windows lining the back of the house!
I love my new hardwood floors!
We have a lot of great space but truly, it’s a disaster without the awesome people who live in it!
My favorite thing is that we are in the country and have a wonderful view of God’s beauty.
I love our living room because that is the room we gather as a family.
Love that it’s a home where we are all glad to see each other.
I love our backyard oh so much. We are working on sprucing it up and I get such a kick out of dreaming of the good times that will happen out there in the coming years.
I adore my built in bookcases! We painted the back walls of each shelf in various shades of gray (but not 50) and it makes my heart so happy every time I look at them. #itsthelittlethings
I love the tile work in our bathrooms & the window in my kitchen. Our sweet house is serving our family well & I am very grateful.
I love our newly fenced backyard!
My favorite thing about our house is that it is where my husband is. I love Nester’s blog, too, and I think it’s so sweet that you are doing this giveaway. You are a gem.
I love our front porch and that my husband built this house. We are already planning the next house, and the thought of picking out paint and decorating is intimidating, but maybe The Nester’s book would help!
I love the people I share my home with! Just moved in together last year and three single God-fearing women under one roof has been a blast :)
My favorite thing about my home is that my family lives in it!
I love that my home is a work in progress. It will never be a finished product because it changes as the needs and tastes of our family of 6 change and grow!
I love our current home because it’s cozy. Not too small but small and it makes us happy. I love raising our son here too!
Our home has a lot of windows, high ceilings, hardwood floors and is filled with old comfortable antique furniture from various family members who are no longer with us (but it keeps them closer to our hearts) and lots of love. It could use a little decorating help, but I do not know where to start.
My favorite spot at home is my porch, where I can see my across the street neighbor’s yard which is two lots of beautiful green and trees. :) And I have wind chimes hanging, which I love.
I love that our little townhouse has a walk-out patio- it’s so nice to sit out there in the summer and relax!
I love that my family is nearby. We have awful winters but it makes spring all the more wonderful!!
Sophie, my favorite thing about the place I live is that we, as a family, have worked together to make this home really ours. Paint, flooring, light fixtures – it’s all been changed and so great to work together on it. Really like the house but mainly because Jay & our girls are in it.
My favorite part of our home is the abundance of trees, which provide shade and bird songs all day!
It is a sweet little house where I can feel the loving memories we have created here every time I walk in the door. Talk about a blessing!
My home is filled with windows and sunshine, which are good for my soul.
I Love our house well, first, because, it is the house I grew up in and there are MANY memories here. What I love most though, is the location with tons of children in the neighborhood for mine to play with. So many new memories being made here!
I love that we have a huge yard where the kids can play. The house is a fixer upper still waiting to be fixed up!
I love the comfort and quietness of my farm house in the country.
I love that my home is small and cozy resulting in lots of family interaction!
We live in the woods.
I love that my home is the home my husband grew up in. One of our neighbors still remember him as a boy playing in the backyard and now they are watching our children grow up here.
I love my home because it is cozy. Some might say small but we say cozy and warm. And it reflects who we are and not a store or someone else. Excited about giveaway!
I love that it is big enough for all our family and the kids can play and run outside to their hearts content!
I love the sunroom we made from our back porch. It is a warm and cozy place for us to “nest”.
We just moved to our new home in March, so, we are learning to love many things about the new place. But, the most favorite part of living here is that we are only a block away from family. So great to be able to be together for visits, meals and just plain fun. :-)
I love my bathroom! My husband remodeled it last summer while I was on a trip. He painted it purple, my favorite color!
I love that my home is homey and inviting!
It’s a tie between my wonderful neighbors who are there if you need them, but not all up in your business, and the sunroom we added on 5 years ago…
Our screened-in back porch is our family happy place. The best weekend of the year is when we clean off the furniture and bring out the cushions, then settle in for an afternoon of contentment.
My favorite part of our home is all the sunlight that comes streaming in the windows, making it light and airy! After living in a duplex hidden back in the trees for 2 years, this home has been so refreshing and rejuvenating.
I love that we ripped the carpet up from our stairs, painted the treads red and bought stenciled letters from Etsy and have our “family sayings” on the risers. We Are Loud, We Love God, We Eat Good Food, We Love Baseball, etc.
My favorite part of this house is the back patio. I love sitting back there reading, grilling out, or just watching my kids play. (Def not what I thought I’d say when we picked this house!)
The people, of course! Oh, and all the molding/trim work. Thanks for a great giveaway!
My favorite thing about the place I live is the people in it. But I have a favorite floral accent chair that I would love to use as inspiration to decorate a room. Maybe this will help! Thanks Sophie!
Would love to get this book!
Well, everyone is saying such nice sweet things about their home and family…but I really love that I can walk to Anthro from my house.
I love that it is a small space all on one floor — just what I need!
I love my kitchen and its west-facing windows. The most amazing sunsets are a blessing!
I can’t wait to read this!
My favorite thing about our home is all the windows – lots of natural light :)
Our home was my husbands house before we even met and it has welcomed me and my cats and our two children and a dog and now we have a third child on the way. What you need to know is that this is just a little two bedroom bungalow with one bathroom and a very dysfunctional kitchen. Over the years we hVe talked so many times about moving to a bigger home but we just can’t bear to leave this one. It’s so cozy and warm and we love it. We do home to do some major renovations in the next year or two but it will still be cozy and small and perfect. I just love the whole darn thing. And I’ve LOVED Nester for years, too.
We’ve lived in this house for 7 years this month and my favorite thing about it is that is has been a happy place to host family gatherings for so many holidays. I just love it.
I love that my home is near most of my family!
I love the bookshelves built into the walls of the foyer, and the way we turned it into our own little library. The windows and natural light are also amazing. Thanks for the contest.
I love that we have plenty of room to host friends and family.
That we wake up to owls, loons, and coyotes – gorgeous deep woods of Minnesota!
I love my house because my husband and I work hard to make our home a place where you come in and feel peace. People come into our home and comment on how homey and peaceful it is. That is important to us. We pray over our home and also do practical things like give away things we do not use to keep the clutter under control. If my house is cluttered my mind is cluttered .
I love that my house is close to work & carpet-free!
I love that my house is small! That may sound crazy to some, but it has created a precious closeness that I treasure!
I love the layout of my house. The master bedroom is at the back of the house on the main level. All the kids’ rooms are upstairs on the other end of the house! ;)
My family is there.
I have lots of windows in my house, and I love all the natural light.
I love that our home is in a cul-de-sac and next to homes of very special people!
I love our deck. The view of the woods is spectacular, and sitting out there with my husband drinking our morning coffee is bliss!
My family is currently in a rental house ~ a temporary home, in a two-year temporary location, in a part of the country that we have never lived in before. I spent several months scouting consignment/resale shops and shopping for furniture on Craigslist. Pulling all of this together, along with some family pieces handed down to me, we now have a warm and relaxing home. It’s a place where we can invite friends over and then surprise them by telling how we acquired it all!
I love that my home feels warm and cozy.
I love the deck at the back of our house. I love to spend quiet time there on my swing. I’m also pretty partial to the dining room. We spend hours there together and I can’t think of a better time than there with my kids and their families.
My view. The sunsets are gorgeous.
Love our backyard. Someday I aspire to have a Southern Living inspired backyard and patio but for this season there are little boys’ toys and a swing set and buckets and shovels. And it’s perfect.
Well, my most favorite thing would be, of course, the three men/boys that are in my home with me!! My husband and two sons rock! BUT…I would also say I love my patio. Sitting there on quiet mornings with a good book, a Diet Coke (my morning caffeine fix) and listening to the birds, with all of my potted flowers around me, why, it’s the best! Thanks for an awesome giveaway!
I love that my house has always been so comfortable for friends that they could relax and fall asleep on my sofa during a movie. I love that whether I’m in this house or a future home … that comfort will always be a part of my decorating process.
I love my home because even though we’ve moved a lot, we open it up to others and treasure those times with them. Their lives become part of ours! We are at home wherever we are.
I love the openness of our place now!
My favorite thing about our home is the deck. We have such a short season of summer here in Canada that we take full advantage of every warm day! Weather it’s chatting with our girls on a summer evening, having neighbours pop by for a beverage, or friends over for a BBQ, it’s a wonderful place to make memories!
My sun porch. I have filled it with m favorite chair, my bunny fountain, lots of green plants, my Bible, magazine and books. I call it my sanctuary because it is so quiet and peaceful – a wonderful place to read, pray, meditate, just be still and quiet. I am very blessed.
My fave thing about my little 1200 sq ft house is that it doesn’t take long to clean!!! Bwaaahaahaa! But I do love our stone fireplace and massive mantel that I decorate all year long. And our oak out front. And my violets on the kitchen windowsill. I have too many things I love to just name one. So blessed!!!
My most favorite thing about where I live is my screened in porch! I live in the south where the mosquitos are the size of pterodactyls! My screened in porch allows me to enjoy the outdoors without providing a feast to those wonderful mosquitos!
My favorite room in my house is the sunroom. It is the perfect spot to curl up with a good book!
My favorite thing is that it is where my family is!
My favorite part about our home is that this is where my people are. That and the fact we are in the middle of nowhere; that’s pretty great too.