Theme Thursday: Rooms

After being a bit of a blogging slacker, I'm trying to get back in the game this week.  And what better catalyst to get my tush off the bench is there than a fun link-up?  So today I'm joining Cari and her photography-loving friends for another round of Theme Thursday.

Today's topic: ROOMS.

Great topic!  There are plenty of rooms in our house that I love to spend time in and would be proud to show you, in all their homey/comfy/put-your-feet-up-on-the-coffee-table/not-quite-Pinterest-material splendor; but when I hear the word "rooms," the one that springs to mind is our man cave/sports room, a two-car garage that we converted into living space over a decade ago (but still tend to refer to as the "new room").

This room is a paean to the men in my family and their love of sports.  They love it.  Their friends love it.  Every pizza delivery boy who's ever seen it says, "Wow.  I want a room like this."

So here we go: the new room, in pictures.

Note my husband's Notre Dame rugby jacket hanging up above the door.  
(He wore that thing for about 20 years, until it got threadbare and  I made him retire it.)
There's also a football signed by Joe Namath in this shot, on top of the fridge.

This area is filled with Red Sox homages.  (And the little red skis there on the wall are the ones my youngest son learned on, and in a Pinterest-worthy move, I re-purposed them as hooks for hanging coats, hats, and bags.)

Of course, our man cave has the requisite 70" flat screen smart TV, with HD, 3-D, surround sound--
and you name a bell or a whistle, it has it.

My only complaint about this room is that I've run out of wall space completely.
(If we ever have to move, when we take all the pictures down the walls will resemble Swiss cheese.)

Our boys' high school football jerseys are among my favorite decorations in this room.The blanket on my husband's leather recliner, with a photo of  him and our twin granddaughters on it, is another favorite.  (And what room would be complete without a Gold's Gym power tower in it?  You just never know when you're going to have to knock out a few dips or pull-ups, right?  Or is that just my family?)

Our boys' high school varsity letters; my husband's cowboy hat collection.

Note the two photos in the middle row, on the left.  The black and white one is my husband during his high school glory days; the color one next to it is our oldest son, who looks like a mirror image of his dad here.

Here's a treasured photo that has pride of place in the room: at our #4 son's Junior Parents Weekend at Notre Dame, we got our picture taken with legendary ND football coach Lou Holtz, who was a speaker at one of the events.

Our oldest son and a buddy once ran into ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt at a bar, and of course
the photographic proof of that brush with fame earned a spot on the wall.

And finally, what man cave would be complete without a bar?

Okay, that's ten pictures.  So...have you seen enough of this epic room yet?  ("Yes, Laura," I can hear you saying.  "We're mature blog-reading women, not teenaged Domino's delivery boys!")

Sometimes I just like to show it off, that's all.  For better or worse, the "new room" is my greatest home decorating triumph.

Go Saints!  (That's my sons' high school team name, FYI)
Go Irish! 
Go Patriots!
Go Red Sox!
Go Bruins!

And go on over to Cari's for more rooms!