One of my most favorite houses happens to be owned by a good friend of mine. I asked her if I could do a post with some outdoor shots of her home and she was totally fine with the idea. .. "Come over anytime..." she said. However, every time I thought to go over and get some pics, I was nervous that someone would see me in her yard with a camera and think I was some creepy crazy woman! Summer has come to an end, and I finally got up the nerve to go and get the deed done. It took all of ten minutes to take these pics, all the while listening to stories of extreme heat and hail storm damage... Thank goodness, dear readers, yours truly does not listen to this kind of nonsense. I went right on taking photos so that this beautiful outdoor space can inspire us all...

I love myself a painted brick home... I mentioned in a post about building my own home that painting it would have been my first choice. (here) When I first started loving this house, it was red brick. I remember when it was being painted this gorgeous creamy color, it caused quite a stir... You know, people who drove by occasionally and thought to state their opinion as to the idea of painting this house, as if they were famous designers of homes being featured on the Oprah Winfrey show... "Why in the world would they paint over that beautiful original brick?" they would ask.

Funny thing is, the original house was painted a creamy white! There's a photo of the house shortly after it was built hanging in the front entry, and sure enough, it's as painted as it can be. Somewhere along the way, the paint was power-washed off to reveal the red brick... also pretty, but heaven knows, I prefer the painted.

I mean, it looks like a house in heaven, doesn't it?

I just feel so bad about all this hail damage! (total sarcasm)

Isn't this setting so charming? I drive by this house a lot... almost everyday during the school year. What a treat that is. Such a lovely home... More importantly, a lovely family inside!