Today it’s the Summer Home Tour 2014 hosted by The Shabby Creek Cottage.
If you are stopping by from At the Picket Fence….nice to meet you!
Let’s get this party started. 🙂
The other night I parked the car and walked up this sidewalk.
The stars were twinkling in the clear night sky to an entire chorus of crickets chirping in time….
….and with every step the smell of honeysuckle surrounded me.
And I closed my eyes just for a moment and smiled.
And thought to myself…..hello summer…..
…..nice to meet you.
*sigh*
I’ve been waiting for you for like….ummm….ever.
There’s nothing like summer in the country.
Nothing.
I mean winter is awesome with all the cold and ice and potato soup and mittens and sledding and books by a toasty fire.
And spring really brought it with fresh daffodils and forsythia and green grass and flowers in the house.
But summer?
Summer is the real deal.
A time to celebrate.
And so….in no particular order….
….here’s my top 25 reasons summer is a rock star.
1. Sweet tea with lime.
2. The giant aisles of fresh fruit at the grocery store.
3. The perfect pair of black sunglasses with red lipstick.
4. That summer glow that somehow makes you look five pounds thinner.
6. Longer days and extra hours of sunshine.
7. Spitting watermelon seeds from the back porch.
8. Summer outfits….shorts are so much cuter than scarves.
9. The first yard sale of the season.
10. The next yard sale around the corner.
11. Yard sales that sell $5 furniture and fresh corn and green beans.
12. Driving down the winding country road with the sun roof open and Randy Travis on the radio.
13. The smell of a summer rain storm.
14. Fourth of July and sparklers.
15. Fresh strawberries and whipped cream on the porch swing.
16. A happily-ever-after book and a nap on the porch.
17. Drive-in movie theaters and hot popped popcorn.
18. An attic guest bedroom filled with roses from the garden.
19. Blue and white anything.
20. Blue skies and sunshine with clouds that look like lions and tigers.
21. The smell of just-cut hay in the back pasture.
22. The shade of an oak tree.
23. Local honey on fresh biscuits.
24. A milk glass picnic.
25. Oh….and did I mention sweet tea with lime?
After all….summer always begins and ends with the sweet tea. 🙂
PS How about you? What’s your favorite part of summer?
And now….on to the next summer tour house over at The Inspired Room.
Happy beginning of summer to you!
Here’s the entire tour with all the links:
Monday, June 2nd
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Nester
At The Picket Fence (Vanessa)
Thistlewood Farms
The Inspired Room
Tuesday, June 3rd
The Handmade Home
My Fabuless Life
Finding Home
In My Own Style
The Hunted Interior
Wednesday, June 4th
Inspired By Charm
Jennifer Rizzo
Madigan Made
Makely School for Girls
Funky Junk Interiors
Thursday, June 5th
Jones Design Company
Beneath My Heart
The Pennington Point
White Buffalo Styling Co.
Southern Hospitality
Friday, June 6th
At the Picket Fence (Heather)
Desert Domicile
Tatertots & Jello
Home Stories A to Z
Live Laugh Rowe
its like stepping into a Summer Dream.. wow wow and wow.
Beautiful way to start my morning and the summer, Karianne. How about a tour of your red lipstick places next? You know, the wilder, bolder side of your personsality that shows in the guest house and art/craft house. I call those your red lipstick places. And how about a chandalier decorated with fabulous earrings instead of traditional crystals hanging in the center of the room? Wouldn't that just scream Karianne was here?
Oh, I'd love to see that tour too! I loved this one, Karianne.
Completely enchanting!
I never tire of looking at your beautiful home. It's absolutely STUNNING. Now, what to copy first?? Let's start with the painted floor in your guest (shutter) room. Color? Paint type? Thanks for sharing. Barb
A summer welcome unlike any other!!! Wow! Love how you make every season, a work of art! Makes me want to sit with you and drink lemonade together, with our sunglasses and red lipstick:)
OMG!! You Forgot!! Red toenails and flip flops!! That goes with red lipstick and sunglasses :-) I hate covered toe shoes!!!!
Love, Love, Love your home in the country! Country living is the greatest!!
Beautiful! Love your favorites. Mine include smores, corn on the cob and watermelon. :) Hmm, all food. Maybe that explains why I need that "glow that makes you look like you lost 5 lbs." ;) I also love sand as long as it's outside and wet dogs, also outside. :) Have a fabulous Monday, friend!
Just flat out inspiring!! End of story :)
Beautiful as always and I'm drooling over all the gorgeous flowers! Do these all come from your garden?? They are glorious! Happy summer, my friend! xo heidi
Your home is so beautiful! I would love to sit with you on your patio and drink sweet tea with lime...which I have never tried by the way, but am looking forward to very soon :)
Please please tell me you don't have fresh flowers in every square foot of your house every day because if you do, I will die of envy...
I love your blog, home, YOU!!! You are so inspiring and I felt like I was walking up the sidewalk with you!! Thank you for bringing such loveliness to us each day. You are a blessing! A ray of summer sunlight!
I agree with everything you said!! Beautiful home and words:)
PS... I don't think the link to the Inspired room is working ...
Karianne, You know I love this post! Stunning
Ummmm.........Can I move in? Lol!!! I feel so at home when I visit your blog......I imagine everyone must feel that way when visiting you! Happy Start of Summer! L.
I love your beautiful home, Karianne...I'd like to sit down and share a glass of that sweet tea...
Your home is lovely! Your color palette makes it so versatile when adding seasonal decor. I love the pops of pink in your rooms! What fun it would be to experience summer in the county!
Love your home! My maiden name is "Arbuckle" so I especially love the crates hanging on the wall in your dining room. I have one but wish I could find a couple more!
I just want to move in! So lovely, very pretty!
Beautiful summer home tour :)
Loving and enjoying the tour this morning...your home is lovely as always!
Swooning here! Beautiful! I might have stayed to take a nap!
Everything is looking so fresh and lovely! I love all of summer's flowers...thunderstorms....soft summer breezes....walking barefoot, preferably in the sand....and, just sitting on our deck enjoying the warmth! ;)
You've touched on so many things I love! I was even willing to work in the garden hauling wheelbarrow loads of debris to an empty lot because it was filled with Honeysuckle...made the job heavenly - I wanted to put up a bed and sleep beneath the vines! Beautiful home tour - I hope you have a blessed week, Kathy
Soooo beautiful - we so have the same taste. Would love to go shopping with you for just one day - would be so much fun.
Love your bathroom sink...any idea where it came from? Thanks!
You, my dear, have impeccable taste.
Perfection! Happy Summer, dear friend!~~Angela
What a wonderful post! Love seeing these photos all in one lovely combination....like looking at a magazine while enjoying my coffee this morning.
Your #21 is one of my favorites (but I'll take the smell of just the grass in the yard having been cut as well as the hay.) My very very favorite is the taste of a REAL summer tomato with salt and pepper...mmm. I am loving all your fresh flowers. So beautiful! I am also loving all the rooms with color that you have been pinning on your inspirational room board at pinterest. Hallelujah to color!!
#26...being apart of a summer home tour with my amazing friend KariAnne whose home is gorgeous! And someday, somehow I WILL sit on that porch of yours and drink sweet tea with you! :-)
You almost lost me at Randy Travis, but I have to agree about the smell of new-mown alfalfa.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! NO other words for the tour and summer and tea and... oh just everything!!! :)
I'm sitting at my desk imagining myself lounging in one of those Adirondack chairs, sipping that sweet tea - but hold the lime, please. Just add more sugar! ;)
...still having daylight at 8:00 p.m.... ...no papers to grade.... ...reading my favorite blogs whenever I want and not being late to work... :-)
Good Lord Your Home is Amazing and All that You said is True. Some Sweet Tea and a breeze that allows you to smell the flowers are amazing. Just Loved it!! Thank You Lisa
Gorgeous as always KariAnne!! Love all the floral touches in your rooms!
OMG......Sooooooo beautiful.KariAnne I hope you are very proud of everything you do...looks like pages in a book...you certainly were born to decorate.....absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!! :-)
Karianne, I just love reading your posts! They are so heartfelt and bring a smile to my face. And your home is just screaming summer!
Lovely thoughts. But do you make unsweetened tea for your northern friends???????? Oh, and BTW, you can fake that 5# weight loss tan with self tanner &/or Sally Hansen airbrush legs ...
Oh I do love it all. The grounds are stunning and your home is so beautiful. I always drool over those drapes in the dining area.
Summer, summer, summer!!! It's like a merry go round. What a nice tour KariAnne. Luved it... but then you know I luv everything about your home. For me... summer is endless days, bright sunny mornings and birdsong, late evenings on the patio ( Florida... hot days) peach tea, Magnolias and Hydrangeas..... aaahhh summertime!
I loved your list, Kari! My mind always travels back to being a kid and then trying to re-create some of my favorite things for my own kids. Like the last day of school! Waking up to my curtains billowing and the hum of the attic fan. Going barefoot (until my mother found out and yelled from the screen door for me to "Get some shoes on your feet!". Exactly what I yelled from my back door to my own children years later (smiling to myself). Finding a box turtle! Catching lightning bugs at dusk and then letting them go. Bicycles!! Riding our bikes all day and as late as we could after supper. On Saturday or Sundays there was the smell of cut grass, family cook outs, and from certain garages the sound of a ball game was being listened to over a radio. Home made ice cream, the kind you had to hand crank. My grandpa was the one in charge of this, but I was his helper and I would turn the handle until it got too hard for me. We would sit out by the garage on little canvas stools or an upside down bucket since he was a paperhanger. I don't remember what we talked about, but just that we did. I can still see his big smile, his deep voice, his laughter. I adored him. I think the feeling was mutual. ;0) I could go on and on and I know you could too because, well, you savor life - mostly the little things that God gives us and that don't cost much either. Happy Summer, Kari Anne!
Bike rides .... ice cream .... light 'til late!
Your home is absolutely stunning, but your summer list made me weepy. LOVE. IT. xo
Promise me if I go clip flowers from outside my home will become as breathtaking as yours?! Goodness girl... your house is in summer party mode! It's gorgeous!
Gorgeous! You can feel the love you have put in to making the farm home. And the only thing I would add to your summer list would be mason jars for catching lightning bugs.
Snowcones/Sno-Cones, however you spell it. Our fave is a place called "Eskimo Sno", where they have created all sorts of flavors for boys and girls(such as GI Joe green and Princess Bubble Pink, just love the names) About 8 years ago, they began squeezing half a lime over the top of your flavor(add 50cents) This year: $1.00! Just learned that limes are precious this year...cartels? Drought? They are now calling them "green gold". Your first item and finishing is my fave, tea with lime. At gatherings now, i put out a cute small pitcher with simple syrup that I make, so that everyone can sweeten their own and it dissolves into cold tea, no flakes at the bottom of the glass:) It seems to be a hit. Also putting out lemonade, making Arnold Palmer's tea&lemonade combo is a biggie around here. Love that you've arranged the liv area with chair backs to fireplace, perfect for summer :) You inspire the whimsy we all have but sometimes lose and/or forget when our lives are just too too, and we don't think of red lipstick, just slappin' on some BurtsBees or vaseline or whatever is fastest - probably only me doing that... :)
Oh...your post made me smile!! Your pretty rooms always have a fresh appeal that adapts to any season. Add the flowers and sweet tea and Yay!! We are rockin summer the best way possible! :) XO, Jane
Absolutely lovely. No surprise here! :) My fav part is dining outside in the fresh air with friends and family. Look forward to many of those memories this summer!
Hey, I know those chairs on the porch! ;-) Your home looks gorgeous, girl!!! :-) shaunna
Okay, that's it. I'm penciling you in: "Summer at Karianne's." Please and Thank you. The house looks GORgeous, and I am totally trying sweet tea with LIME! xo ~Sally
It looks beautiful! I want to go yard sale (ing) with you! x
Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!
Your home is stunning - I love everything. What a wonderful place to spend summer. Have a great summer and thanks so much for sharing. Mary
Great list ... and I'm lovin' all your flowers!
This tour was wonderful, thank you
Gorgeous home & yard. Truly is beautiful.
I love your list, it's so dreamy. It just shouts Summer and relaxation. How I just want to sit on our deck every day with my Nicholas Sparks book and a homemade strawberry smoothie! Lovely home, so many beautiful flowers! I love the flowers in the jars.
Your gardens & home are like walking through the real {Secret Garden} movie! Happy Summer!! Paige.Rose www.TheQuaintSanctuary.blogspot.com
Oh my I just love to read.. truly listen to you. Such voice and feeling in your writing.. so talented and I am so tickled I found your blog as well as you too!
Summer looks and sounds pretty magical over there, KariAnne. Thanks for sharing your little piece of summer heaven with us! Jeanette
Yes baby red lipstick and sunglasses! LOVE the tour!
Each time I visit your site, I leave with a head full of inspiration and a smile on my face. Your summer decor is beautiful and your summer rock star list is so true! Thanks for sharing, Suzanne Pieced Pastimes
Always love touring your home in any season...love all of your summer touches!
So so so pretty! Love the touches of yellow, red and blue throughout
This is my first time on your blog and I love your house! Aaaah! My favorite detail is probably the houndstooth fabric on your dining chairs. The exterior is also pretty epic. :-)
I just love this to pieces! Absolutely beautiful... and feel good feeling!
Really my friend....you do not disappoint. JUST gorgeous! Lisa~
cool! Nice architects design and interior designing!
I'm with you - rock on summer! Love the navy & white bedroom as well as the aqua, black and white porch.
I always love the peeks that you share of y'alls home! How about I have the very same milk glass pitcher? Crazy!
Oh, Karianne. It's all so very, very beautiful--especially in the summertime! Makes me want to move in with you! (I don't take up too much space, and I make my own bed!)
I'm in love with the drapes in your dining room! Where might I find those?
Absolutely beautiful, Karianne! I must look like I live the life of a pauper next to you in my home tour.... {giggle} Your home and photos are always pristine. Thanks for such incredible inspiration. HUGS!
Seriously?! Wooden box end plate racks? Love them. Really, really love them. You're a genius.
Just beautiful! I absolutely love all of your fresh flowers, looks like a dreamy summer at your house. :)
So, because I love your home so much I am coming over for a sweet tea.
Hi Kerrianne, I'm finally taking the time to follow the Summer Home Tour. Gosh your house is beautiful! I must say I was surprised to see all the white, light blues and greys considering you LOVE color. Every room is styled so beautifully. I love the window shutter wall in your guest room - how creative! I pinned your sidewalk block patio because we're in the process of building one and we can't decide whether to have them all butted up to one another or leave a gap between them. After seeing yours, I'm voting for leaving the gap! Thanks for opening your home to us :)
i Love your painted table runner outside on the porch
Oh My! You just described the perfect summer! I love sitting on the front porch with the breeze on my face and watching the sun set and the lightning bugs come out. Lazy days at the lake soaking up the warmth of the sun then cooling off with a dive in the water. Love your house too! So pretty! Thanks for sharing!
I always feel instantly calmer when I click on your site. Your home looks spectacular and I LOVE seeing it from the sidewalk! And I'm adding one more Summer favorite - fresh flowers from the yard. Just love to be able to cut flowers and bring them indoors - for free!! Yours all look so beautiful. Happy Monday!
ABSOLUTELY. STUNNING.