saturday show & share: from holiday city house to holiday country house

I’m the youngest of four, all born-and-bred in New Jersey … all in the very same red house my parents bought not long after marrying …


… and in the Jersey metropolitan area did we all remain after high school and college and (for my sisters and brother) marriage and kids …



… and then my parents sold that red house.  And relocated full-time to the land down South where so many from up North retire to …


… and it seemed that once those ties were cut, suddenly a whole new country opened up to us.

I was the first to leave.  I followed my heart to Chicago, which I thought was a pretty bold move.

But my sister one upped me and moved her family to Montana.  The very same Montana whose entire state population doesn’t even add up to the population of the city of Chicago …

Once there, they custom built their dream home on a lake (a home, by the way, that sports two – count ‘em – two giant garages to house their enormous cache of outdoorsy ‘toys’). 

Her home is beautifully adorned all year round (and meticulously clean due to her vacuuming addiction), but especially shines at this time of the year.  So I convinced her to send me some photos to share …


The dogs get fully wiped down before entering …

Hmmm … those skates are looking suspiciously unused by someone who has a lake in her back yard …


The fireplace is huge, so I can only image how large this wreath is …


… and look at her taking these artsy fartsy shots with her iphone …


… I think she’s been spending too much time looking at diy home décor blogs …



… I love that giant spindly tree, but can’t imagine getting that inside the house.  My marriage wouldn’t survive that particular scene …




They’re a multi-denominational family, hence the Santa and menorah vignette …


I hope you enjoyed this holiday home tour.  It’s comforting to see that life really is civilized way out west in Montana …

Thank you sis!  Wishing you and your homey and my nieces the happiest of holidays!