Cozy Elegant Design by Kimberly Rivera: Creating "cozy" memories brings JOY to your life..

           We have been full up at "The Casa Rivera" this week. Creating lots of memories and eating lots of food... We are so thankful when our house is full of friends. They bring us JOY!

         When I sat down to ponder what to write about today, I was flooded with amazing "full house" memories from my childhood. My favorite times growing up were when we had friends and family come to stay with us. We lived way out in the country, miles away from anyone, so it was always a treat when we had visitors. I have so many memories of laughing our tales off around our dinner table that was filled with students from all different nations. Our family was a part of a campus ministry, so my parents always took in the strays that had no family nearby. That to me is "church".... Friends and family around the table, breaking bread and sharing "LIFE".

       When I became a mom it was my desire to recreate, for our children, the same treasure chest of memories. Unfortunately, we found that when you have small children, it is difficult to get to know people. Especially when we have to leave right after dinner to get our kids home to bed. I realized that the friends we were closest to didn't live nearby and we became close by staying with them or them coming to stay with us. So I thought of a fun way to bond with our friends and family that lived close by.... we began to have them over for "family sleepovers". The whole family comes to stay! The kids play their hearts out while the grown-ups hang out. Then we put the children to bed and have "adult swim" so to speak. In the mornings, we start with a big family breakfast and then more play! In short, we have a lot of fun making memories and our kids... well... they have a BLAST! We are now several years into this tradition at "The Casa Rivera" and we treasure all the families that have been grafted into ours! We especially LOVE that it is our children's favorite past time!
        I find that it is easy in the world that we live in to isolate ourselves. It takes being intentional to develop relationships. They are God's gifts in our lives. They provoke us to change and bring us JOY! While this concept of a "family sleepover" may prove to be uncomfortable for some, ask the Father to give you creative ways to get to know those He has placed in your life. It will richly benefit you!

         I know that none of the above is about design, but to me one of the coziest elements in any home is the warmth left behind by the steady stream of family and friends that frequent it. Memories make for the most beautiful decoration...

I am still waiting to get with my friend who is going to show me the tricks of the blogging world, but I still wanted to implement my ideas to the blog. It may look funky, but I will resist my desire for perfection and clothe myself with peace.


                          "Cleaning/ Organizational Challenge of the Week"
The refrigerator ... Woohoo... now many of you probably have this area in your life all tidy, but mine has been in need of an over haul! Yesterday I had some time so I pounced!
       Out of sheer embarrassment I will not post my before pics...I didn't even take any... but here is the finished product.

Here are a couple other pictures to inspire your project...

"Kimberly' s Finds"

I am always on the look out for pieces that can store my families' "collections"... This country french buffet is huge and has tons of storage. It would also be fabulous with a flat screen on top ;-)... The piece is made by Baker and there is no telling what the original retail price was, as Baker is both amazing and expensive! Now for the price.... drum role..... $700.... for that price and quality, I am trying to find a place for it haha.

"Design Tip of the Day"

We all love to find something for our home that creates warmth. Well, You can find these in most antique malls. "Butler's crumb keepers".. They have great re-purposing possibilities and are inexpensive. I picked a couple of them up thinking I would put them on an easel, then I had another idea that all of us at "The Casa Rivera" LOVE... Candle keepers...

Now since I have been talking about sleepovers ,I feel it only fitting that I leave you with some pics of our ever~evolving guest room (taken with my IPhone so the quality is not the best...) and then a few others guestrooms that inspire me to want to CHANGE mine hehe ...