mosaic muse {home}

When the Muses decided to pursue a "home" theme, I was interested to see if there were any significant differences in our view of home around the world. As it turns out, we're more similar than I thought. The flickr pool was full of homey images. We saw everything from cooking, to cuddling, to coloring, to playtime. Your images have inspired me to slow down and enjoy those simple moments at home. Whether it be a smell, a sound or just those moments that make is forget the rest of the world exists, home is where there heart is.

 

1. 36:365 Learning, 2. Smug with the knowledge they are making cookies from scratchish, 3. Self Portrait(s), 4. What's Going On Out There, 5. ~277/365~ Bedtime, 6. Home, 7. stackable2, 8. Kitty Paws, 9. The Classic, 10. It's mE agaiN MonDaY, 11. Farm fresh., 12. 25.52, 13. something impossible up your sleeve: 90 of 365, 14. [233|2011-08-21] Chill, 15. on the way home, 16. life with Finn

Please share your favorite "home" shots with us by using the linky tool below. The tool will be open until Sunday evening. And please feel free to use the mosaic muse button on your blogs as you link up.


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Ashley of Ramblings and Photos

nesting

I have spent more time than usual at home over the past few weeks, babysitting my best friend who is pregnant. She has been advised by her obstetrician that because of pregnancy related complications, she needs to be with someone else at all times as she heads into that final trimester. It has been an honour to be with her for these last precious weeks, as she has shared her fears, her anxieties, her plans and her hopes for her unborn baby, making those important nesting plans for her own home and family. And I cherish those moments I have been able to spend with her, as I know they will be few and far between once her son is born.

Here, we share once of those important moments as we enjoy a cup of tea in the kitchen, trying to come up with a shortlist of baby names...it's such fun to savour each name and imagine what her little person will be like. And thank you, Yolanda for providing the cake. This will go just perfectly with our tea...

Where's your favourite place to share special moments with your friends in your home? Is it over a cup of tea? Or maybe over a glass of wine? Perhaps you like to make yourself cozy on the sofa, under a blanket as you catch up on the gossip. Do tell us!

kirstin of fleeting moments.

279/365 diario de vida by butterfly-yolanda

dreams can come true

Other than a four year stint living outside of Philadelphia during my four years of college, I have lived in or near New York City for all of my life. I was born and grew up in a small suburb of the city about a 20 minute drive from midtown Manhattan. My father worked at NBC in Rockefeller Center for over 40 years, and when I was a child my mom and I would often come in to visit him, go shopping, or see a Broadway show. I was lucky to be exposed at a young age to all that New York City has to offer. I instantly fell in love with the bustling city streets and vibrant people and I knew right away that I would live here someday.

I lived in Hoboken, New Jersey for 10 years before finally making it across the Hudson River to live in New York City in 2004. It was a dream come true. I jumped around a bit at first, renting various apartments here and there. But in 2008 another dream came true when my husband and I bought an apartment in northern Manhattan.

Enchanticals writes about how she is enamored with keys and had this to say about them in the description of her photo below, "Keys are one of the most powerful symbols. They are magical and hold great power within". I couldn't agree more with that sentiment. My keys pictured above open the door to the place where I can be myself, where my dog greets me with howls and a wagging tail, where my husband and I have chosen to make our life together. They are a symbol that dreams really can come true.

~christy {urban muser}

keys...love of my life! by enchanticals

home is where the heart is...happiest.

It has been truly uplifting to see how everyone photographically defines the place they call "home."
I'm guessing many of us learned to expand our definition during this theme. I saw lots of tabletops showing the clutter that speaks volumes about our families, and all the foods that keep them going. I saw lots of empty rooms full of personality, and lots of friendly faces and furry friends. I hope home for me soon means a furry friend of my own!

For me, it simply comes down to home being where the heart is. Somehow, that finds me in Kansas these days; quite a surprise for this east coast born, recent New Mexico resident. I know, I know, "there's no place like home (Kansas)" from the Wizard of Oz could ostensibly sum up this whole topic, but it doesn't quite do it. I've had many a discussion with friends on this very topic when we returned to our childhood homes after some time and felt different, as though they didn't feel quite like "home" anymore. I imagine that is what should happen when you find your own home, but at the time for myself and my friends, no place actually felt like a home to us. We were in a transition between the homes of our youth, and finding a home for our adult selves. Since then, I've come to learn that truly, "home is where the heart is." I always thought it a corny expression. But after calling several different states home myself, I realized that, even if it means "home" moves itself to different locations every few years, wherever my heart is happiest is where I need to make my home.  And it seems you all showed us what makes your hearts happiest, too!
journeyswithasimplegirl must certainly be happy about this surprising sight!

by cara of cararosephotos

unexpected by journeyswithasimplegirl

coming home

It’s been hard for me to think what to write about this theme - I pondered for a long time over what home means to me. It means comfort, soft cushions, warmth, good lighting, the smell and taste of home-cooked food, books, music, conversation, a garden, a place of my own to write in, and many other things, but I could have all of these things and there would still be something lacking. Then I realised that home really isn’t about the place I live in, it’s about the people who inhabit that place. There’s my husband, naturally, and without him nowhere would feel good for long, but he hasn’t always been with me and when I was living on my own my pets were the ‘people’ who made the place home.

For sixteen years I had a handsome Golden Retriever called Raffles. He had such a lot of character, along with one of the most loving natures I’ve ever experienced. He loved being funny and would play to an audience, and I couldn’t help but laugh when I was with him. He saw me through a bad marriage – and in those days he was the one thing worth coming home for – and he was with me for some of my single years after I was divorced. I have two cats as well, and when I came home after a day at work all three animals would come running to meet me, Raffles’ tail wagging so wildly that his body got thrown around with the force of it, and one cat underneath him weaving through his legs. I was often lonely in those days, but my pets meant I never came home to an empty house and was always welcomed back. To have three living creatures so pleased to see me was warmth for the soul.

So when I saw this wonderful photo of canadianchick1959’s dog Max, those melting brown eyes brought back many treasured memories of Raffles, who died a few years ago. In our home, in the stairwell, we have a couple of shelves where we place mementos of pets that we’ve lost. Most of them are rabbits – my husband adores rabbits and unfortunately they don’t live very long – but my lovely old dog’s ashes are there too, in a little wooden box, along with his collar and a photograph. In a sense, he’s still there to greet me when I come home.

by gilly of the camera points both ways

me and my shadow by canadianchick1959

handmade with love

All it takes for me to feel at home is a quilt, handmade with love. As I gathered up the quilts in my home for this photograph, I discovered my life story is here, stacked up in these handmade quilts. From the threadbare baby quilt on the bottom, embroidered by my Mom for me before I was born, it steps though the pink gingham of childhood to the blues of my young adulthood. The color-on-black quilt was a wedding gift from my Amish aunts, cousins and Grandma, a hand-stitched, queen-sized masterpiece that is a marker of a major life event. My son's aquarium-themed baby quilt heralds a new phase of life, and a new subject for my Mom's quilting. Each of the later quilts in this stack were made by my Mom as well, marking changes in my life.

When my Mom visited a couple of weeks ago, we picked the fabric for a new lap quilt she is making to match my studio colors. It was then I realized how important quilts are to my life history. Our house is not a home without the quilts. We carried them with us to Italy and carried them back again to Oregon in our suitcases, because we couldn't be without them for too long. It's no wonder when my Mom asked my son what he wanted for his birthday one year he answered, "A quilt that fits me!"

With quilts on my mind, I was happy to see this lovely bundle of fabric in the Flickr pool by Eskimo Kiss Photography. She is making a baby blanket for her soon-to-be-born niece. What a wonderful start to life for her niece, to be wrapped up in a blanket, handmade with love from her aunt. The perfect welcome home.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Linen by Eskimo Kiss Photography

a home

I am a homebody, and that's always been fine with me. Give me an option of a night on the town or pizza and a movie at home, home it is! It's a funny thing, I can pass up a pair of shoes, a handbag or clothes shopping, but a warm throw for our corner reading chair, or a bag of dark chocolate cocoa, for welcoming guest- yes to that! 

Home is everything to me.  Our home by no means, is a fancy one, it's rather lived in. We homeschool at an old farm table in the kitchen, we roll cookies and bread out, on a rickety butcher block. And if you were to stop by {especially during this season} the tea pot would be simmering, books would be sprawled all over, our teenagers might be bickering and fairy lights glow, from many corners. 

I don't worry if you spill your drink or mind if you wear your shoes, it's a comfortable home, and there is always room for one more, at our dinner table. 

When I saw Skiingrn1 photo, I felt at home. The quilt, the book, this photo warmed my soul and welcomed me in, that's what home is all about for me. 

Warmly,

christina {soul aperture}

comforts of home by Skiingrn1

my sanctuary

Instead of planning vacations I string up lights. Instead of wishing I was on an airplane I wish upon the stars. I wish for more time in my favorite room of the house, the backyard.

Living in Southern California has its perks one of them being mild weather. What we lack in seasons we make up for in balmy temperatures. We can eat dinner outside well into November with nothing more than a light cardigan, I can't complain. I spend many evenings gathered under the umbrella enjoying a glass of wine with my camera. I take photos of the wine then the candles then the candles reflecting IN the wine, its all good.

On this particular day we had just finished dinner and the rest of the family scattered. The sun had been down for maybe an hour and there was a beautiful ceiling of indigo happening. If I could paint a room in the same colors I would.

The Mortal Muse Pool proved once again to be a wealth of inspiration when writing. I came across this beautiful image from naomiella I am a big sucker for flare. I love the relaxed feeling something I strive for but seems to elude me in my own home.

Lindsey of modchik-photography

let the sun shine by naomiella

and the next theme is...HOME

Where we come from, our homes, can often define us. It can be a place or also a state or mind. Right now, if you're reading this from your home, take a look around you. What do you see? Perhaps you have built a tidy, manicured nest that you love to enjoy, or maybe instead it's a messy retreat. Really, it's all a matter of interpretation, right?

In my studio by Kat Eye View

Do you live in the country of your birth, or have you emigrated to a new land, maybe for a job, a relationship, or a new life. If you've moved away from your birthplace, perhaps to a new country or new city, you might long for the tastes, sights and sounds of your childhood, and "home" means a special package in the mail, a home-cooked meal or perhaps a visit from a loved one making your new home feel more like the old one from which you've come. 

Visit From Mom by Soupatraveler

Do you live alone, or do you share your space with others, perhaps your parents, a spouse or lover, children, pets or roommates. Basic facts, for sure, but very telling ones which can determine the size of your abode. How many rooms do you have? Who do you share your meals with? What things fill up your home?

the "table" by Urban Muser

But home can also be a state of mind, as in home is "where the heart is" or as the song goes, "...home is whenever I'm with you!" It might not matter to you where you live, so long as it's with the ones you love.

Magic by Cara

How we live from day to day, where we come from, who and what we surround ourselves with, they all come together to create our worlds. Where do you feel most at home? And with whom? Share with us the images that make up your home. They don't even need to be specific, they could just convey that "homey" feeling.

Zander Enjoys a Summer Evening by Ashley Sisk

I look forward to seeing what you turn your cameras towards over the next two weeks! I can't wait to surf the Mortal Muses Theme group to see what "home" looks like to you.

Holly {Soupatraveler}