Saturday I had close to 30 beautiful, southern {but for two} vibrant, non killer women to my house for the Blessings Unlimited Party. Words cannot describe the kind of nervous frenzy I work myself into in the weeks leading up to hosting a group of women. Much less a group of women that I’ve yet to meet in real life. I have no memory of last week. Did my kids eat? Did my husband have clean unmentionables? Did I shower? What year is this?
In my attempt to have a presentable downstairs, complete with a visit from my mom, Mrs. Clean, who cleaned my house for me, the upstairs became a war zone. I think I saw a small fire smoldering in the corner of the play room, maybe a rat or two scurrying about. Tomorrow I’ll show you all the fun, gorgeous photos of the party, downstairs and tell you all about it, but, I had to laugh at myself today as I woke out of my nervous stupor to find rooms in my house, well…
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It’s a beautiful mess.
i want that little black rocking chair!
Ha! Love it!! Reminds me a little of myself, er, I mean, someone I know.
Yea! You are normal! :)
That sounds just like me….but the downstairs was perfect right?? ;)
oh thank God I’m not the only one that has a house like that after a party!! My daughter’s first communion party was 2 weeks ago and I’m still recovering!!
Bless your heart, for showing these pictures. If it were at all possible I would love you more now than I did before. Love the messy pictures, makes me feel all human and such….
That great collection of purses gives us a hint of the wonderful women they belong to – can’t wait to see the party pics and everything you did to your home to prepare for it!
I definitely know the feeling. We have every family party and holiday at our house and a few extras too. Most events are 30-40 people, so I can relate to every frenzied moment you went through. Love your pictures! Can’t wait to see more of the party.
Take care,
~Karen~
ps…I have been a lurker (not a killer though, lol) of your blog forever and I love it, not sure why I’ve never commented before!
WOW! Look at all those fantastic purses!
I’m with Anita…Yay! You *are* normal! I like you so much better now. :P
Makes me feel so much better about my home in an upheaval right now. But I didn’t host a party this weekend so I really have no excuse…
I’m so encouraged to see that sometimes even fabulous homes like yours have messes too! Thanks!
from experience, i know you were a beautiful and gracious hostess. i know everyone felt welcomed and loved. my house looks like that and i didn’t EVEN have a party. heart you.
Love to know that even the Nester has a mess sometimes!
Thanks for showing these pictures. Its so easy to get the impression you super bloggers have it all together at all times and feeling bad about oneself… your honesty is refreshing! Now I can brag that my upstairs looks just as the Nester’s! :) Happy 17th of May to all norwegians!
You are too funny, great collection of bags in your entry!! Hope you had a fabulous time! Janell
wait, you mean laundry rooms don’t always look like that?!? Mine sure does! Seriously, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful mess. Makes me feel so much better knowing that you’re as imperfect as the rest of us :)
Your house looks like mine. It’s good to know that beautiful homes have messy days, too.
How did you get into my house! Truly wonderful insight that proves it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful!
I’m betting you have really, really happy rats at your house. What a fun place to scurry about. :)
Wish I could have been at your party! Can’t wait to hear about it.
Thank you for showing us the “dark side” of your house! I love love love it! I can’t wait to hear all about the party…now does your mom travel, cuz my house is a mess!
Thank you so much for your transparency, It helps me feel comfortable to try and be the same way. I might be speaking for myself here, but I’m thinking that among my 40 something age group, I’ve always felt a lot of pressure to have everything perfect like the generation before me, or at least fake like I did. I confess I DON”T…. I’ve never even given anyone a whole house tour :)
On a side note, thank you for your post about how important it is to make your master bedroom pretty…it actually made me cry when I read it, because this year is my 25 wedding anniversary and over all these years I’ve never made the bedroom nice for my husband. I feel really sad about it…..
Are there 30 ladies who want to come to my house and help me…haha jk Ohio is a long way away.
God Bless you Nester!!! great post!!
So what does it say about one whose house looks like this and I didn’t host any kind of party???lol
Says they are perfectly normal–unless you have a full time maid, or my mom lives with you, then I would think it’s a little abnormal.
Glad to see that someone else’s house looks like that!! hehe
I just don’t have the 30 ladies for company excuse!
The bags are AMAZING!
Oh I adore the real life.
Come see the project that I finished this weekend. It only took me 23 years.
Oh good, I’m not the only one!
Hey! There’s my bag! The yellow one on the table! It feels so proud.
You are so cute, exposing your messy side. Trust me, everyone, the downstairs was perfect. PERFECT. And we all had a wonderful time. And only tried to kill you a little.
It’s good to know we all have messes. I don’t think I am brave enough to show mine though (ha-ha). Your’s in minor compared to my basement mess.
You are awesome to share those photos! Love that we all do the same thing. When we’re having company I whip everything into the laundry room shut the door tight and make believe my house is always fabulously clutter free! hahahaha
Thanks for keeping it real, from the looks of things a good time was had by all and you did life and had a great time doing it!!!! Blessings as you work on your nest!
The top floor of your house could totally hook up with the ground floor of mine. Just imagine what their kids might look like – it horrifies the imagination!
xoxo
We all knew you had that clutter stored somewhere. You know, I have a whole room dedicated to random stuff that has no home. Having a one story means I have to ’cause someones bound to meander down the hall at some point, especially when it is to chase after kids going to my daughter’s room. I love mess though…its my type A husband who doesn’t. What is that? A totally type B wife, laid back as laid back gets and a hubby that in all of his type A knows everything has a home and should be in that exact spot at all times. ~sigh of long suffering~ God put us together for a reason…humor I guess. :)
I’m so jealous, June Gardens and The Nester in one location. Bestill my heart! I adore you both!
PAH! Love it. You’re awesome.
I was a bit slow (probably more like an “I am”) because it caused me to pause-is this Nester’s creative way of displaying her purses or should I drop my fugly fanny pack at this spot. Lovely host, lovely home, and a lovely time! Thanks bunches!
I know your party was so fun… wish I could have been there. I am so glad my sweet friend Melanie got to go, though, and that you met her!!! Thanks for showing us how normal you are! We love you for that!!! And it has been on my To do list for some time to paint my little rocking chair black. This week. Gotta do it! Blessings!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have this vision of your house being just absolute perfection. To see that you have a room or two that look a little bit how mine sometimes do makes me feel so much better. Add a few Polly Pockets and that could be my house right now. ;)
I’ve always liked you, but I like you more for showing these pictures of the reality lurking behind the scenes at your fab party that you hosted!
Can’t wait to see more pics tomorrow of the party.
Absolutely hilarious! I love it :)
Keepin’ it real! Love it!
I like to see that you are a real woman and you don’t have a spotless house all the time! When I have people come over that is what ends up happening to the other rooms “behind closed doors”. No one is perfect.
I love this! I have people over all the time and I always have one or two rooms that I say “Don’t go in THERE”. I scrapbook, craft and quilt. Need I say more?
My mom told me that when she was a young wife & mother, the first person in their neighborhood that had their laundry washed and hung on the line was considered “a great housekeeper”. She tried and tried to be the first person until she had an idea. She washed her load the night before and had it hanging on the line at the crack of dawn. =]
As long as there’s no bra hanging from a chandelier, I don’t think you need to worry! : )
LOVE to know you’re human!
LOVE your blog,
April
You are too stinkin’ cute. That is all.
am I allowed to say I’m jealous of the meet up?
I don’t care…jealous! :)
Can’t wait to see the rest of the photos!
God bless you for lettin’ it all hang out,girl! I sometimes wonder if I’m the only mom who wakes up and wonders how that laundry pile grew overnight;)Thank you.I really did need to see this today.
this is why people looove you. :)
awe.some.
great post, I’m looking foward to tomorrows as well. now off to find out what a blessings unlimited party is.
Love it! It’s the mad stash-and-dash! Now I know you are for real!! :)
It’s nice to see other “real world” environments.
And I must say—”Oh my goodness” :)
Melinda
Who let you in my house to take pictures? Thanks for showing the backstage. Love you lots in a non-killer, blog follower way.
Love this! I can so relate.
Seems like we are all in agreement that we are loving your mess! Likewise here! My dream is to have both floors clean at the SAME TIME! Is it possible? Not if I have a life in the meantime! Sorry I missed the partay.
Isn’t that what a house is supposed to look like after a party?
And I have to say, it is SO fun to see my big ol’ bag in the collection in the first photo! I came, I saw, I loved your Nest! Not a mess in sight at the party! Thanks Nester!
I love that little black rocking chair!!
And I fail to see what’s wrong with the rest of your house. It looks just like mine does any day of the week!
Thank Goodness…..you’re normal!!!!! I too get frenzied, frenzied, frenzied. Wonder if that will ever end??
Can’t wait to hear about the party.
I love your transparency. Thanks for being so real!
Ha! So real. Well I was happy to be able to attend the party this weekend and the downstairs was beautiful as was our lovely hostest ‘The Nester’. Thanks so much!
Hi Nester – I love the Blessings Unlimited products but can’t find a consultant around here . . . KC, MO. Are you a consultant, and if so, can I buy from you?
Thanks!
Lisa
Lisa, I just emailed the BU authorities with your email address so they can contact you and help!
xo
Nester,
Your fabulousness is unmatched. Thank you so much.
Oh, I can’t wait to hear about the party…..but yes, we all love this look at your beauty and bedlam. :) Now, if only my upstairs didn’t look like that all the time. lol
Smooch!
Hi Nester,
I’ve enjoyed your blog for several months but had to post on this one. Those pics are just amazing in how much they look like my house. Especially the laundry room! Bless you for helping all of us (far) less than perfect people feel like they are not the only ones.
Take care,
- Michiganhome
I love your transparency, girl. Keep it up. Real life happens. I love real life. It means I’m blessed more than I deserve.
My favoritest pictures of all!
thank you so much for being REAL!! it is so refreshing! our house gets like this when i am focusing on preparing for company or a birthday party or… oh, let’s be honest – wth 3 small children it pretty much always looks like that! i do try & know that some day when they are grown i can keep the house as clean as i want… but i sure will miss seeing my daughter’s spelling words written in the dust on the table! :)
Now I now why you didn’t show us around upstairs! Thanks so much for inviting us into your beautiful home! I had such a great time at the Blessings Unlimited party and meeting such beautiful women! I can’t wait to get my cake stand with scripture! Nester – you are so real and transparent – that is GREAT!!
Phew. Now I don’t feel so bad about when my house looks messy. Thanks for revealing that you, too, suffer from “mess cyclones.”
I didn’t have a party, so I have no excuse. :( My mom gave me a magnet that says A tidy home is the sign of misspent life. She is a perfect housekeeper and loves doing it. I have low self esteem about my housekeeping and she was trying to encourage me to be ok with myself. I think I need house therapy though. I wished I lived in a barn. I can keep a very tidy barn. House, not so much.
That is the best quote ever!
Nester, can you pleeeeease get your party-post up before we europeans have to go to bed? (It’s 23:16 pm here.) Now I really sound like a stalker, should I get a life? Actually I have already deepcleaned my living room, and that means I must be really bored…
Thanks for sharing these pictures. I feel better now!