house tour: living room, James' corner

From the moment you enter our home, it is no secret that we have kids. In our living room I have attempted to keep the kid stuff to one corner ("attempted" being the key word there).

The chalkboard is owned by every family with a child within a two hundred mile radius of any Ikea. The previously mentioned guitar has taken up permanent residency in James' corner also.

(Can you tell I didn't clean before these pictures?) I love the random assortment of things James collects in the chalkboard shelf. Pictured here: cards sent from relatives, guitar picks, chalk, and "wild animal cards" from his little kid National Geographic magazines.

I love kid art. But instead of framing it I wanted to have it on constant rotation as James created new pieces. These hanging cords are from Ikea and can be found in the shower curtain section, which, I believe, is what they actually are.

Work bench and Melissa and Doug car carrier. Every time I put these away they ended up back out in the living room. I gave up.

The basket of randomness I daily collect off the floor. Generally composed of: dinosaurs, cars, trucks, and small musical instruments.

Secretly, it makes my heart so happy that we are in a phase of life when toys litter the ground and crayon scribble adorns our walls.

This time, a year ago: a brunch menu... this makes me want to have brunch right now...