Tour Through Blogland at Bless’er House

Happy Monday y’all! For once I’m not kicking off the week with my mischief of the weekend involving some crazy DIY. Today, I’m getting more up close and personal with you (oh my!).

I was invited by my friend Deb at Seeking Lavender Lane to do the Tour Through Blogland. If you aren’t familiar with her blog, and you are a fellow lover of rustic cottage awesomeness, I promise you will want to check her out. I swear we’re kindred spirits.

Here’s a glimpse of her beautiful makeovers:

I’m so jealous of her white cabinets and farmhouse sink.

Can you believe this kitchen used to look like this?

BEFORE

And her cozy living room and white washed fireplace…

…used to look like this.

BEFORE

The woman is a force to be reckoned with!

Just promise me you’ll check her out. She’s incredible. Girlfriend to girlfriend, you have to pinky swear. 😉

Since I agreed to do the tour, I am supposed to answer some questions about myself and my young little blog. Fasten your seatbelt; it’s about to get CRAZY. Not really. But pretend you’re enthralled, ‘kay?

1) What am I working on?

Honestly, I have so many projects sitting in my garage waiting on me to finish or get started on them that it’s sort of embarrasing. Right now on the list is finishing a revamp of all of our downstairs lighting. I am 4 down and 3 to go! (Watch out breakfast nook light. Sleep with one eye open.)

You can see the four that I’ve already done here (each one for less than $20):
Restoration Hardware Rope Chandelier
Mason Jar Vanity Light
$5 Chicken Wire Light Fixture
Industrial Sphere Pendant Light

And I am determined to finish our dining room chairs before Thanksgiving. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew and I’ll be lucky if these 6 chairs don’t lead to my ultimate demise.

2) How does my work differ from others from its genre?

The rustic / cottage / farmhouse trend is huge right now. BUT unlike most fixer-upper loving people who move into an old house to work their magic, my little family of 4 (if you count our furbaby) built a brand new suburban builder-grade basic house because it really made the most sense for our budget and our needs. People probably think I’m crazy for revamping something that is brand new. But I try to think of ways to personalize our very plain space and make it a home. If the builder grade fixtures and the standard wood cabinets aren’t speaking to you, make them more custom. If you don’t love some elements in your cookie cutter home, you shouldn’t have to live with it just because it’s new. Upgrades in newly built houses sometimes cost way more than they’re worth and they’re simply cheaper to DIY than pay off an astronomical price over the course of 30 years on a mortgage. A can of paint can do some magical things if you have the right vision.

3) Why do I write/create what I do?

I love language. That might be corny, but I was an English teacher for 5 years, grew up with a librarian mom who always encouraged reading, and I started writing stories when I was 6 years old. Writing is what connects us as human beings. It’s what can link us back through history. It’s my way to connect to this amazing world around us and contribute to a little piece of the web even if no one reads my writing but me. Writing is therapeutic and always makes me feel complete.

 As for why I create, I think it’s more of a sense of ownership. I love the feeling I get when I step back from a project I just made and can feel truly proud of myself (and the fact that I just saved who knows how much instead of buying it in the store).

4) How does your writing/creating process work?

I wish I had a good answer for that one. The only way I can say it is my mind is constantly swimming with project ideas and topics. I can’t even tell you how many unpublished posts I have just sitting in my folder. I constantly write to-do lists for myself and jot down ideas whenever they pop into my head. And I’m terrible at scheduling posts ahead of time because I just don’t work that way. When you see a post, I typically just wrote it that day.

Once I sit down to write a post it just happens, and I really don’t know how other than what I can suggest to others to help their writing.
1. Always be you. If you’re not using your personality and your voice, you are missing out on the beauty of writing.
 2. Don’t be discouraged by writer’s block. If it happens, take a walk and go enjoy life. Writing a post can wait. No one is pressuring you. That’s the beauty of blogging.
3. As far as creating when it comes to thinking of projects, look around you and see what you already have. Ask yourself how you can make it your style (and preferrably for cheap).
4. Figure out who you are and what speaks to you. Finding direction with your design style can be really discouraging when your Pinterest board is full of a thousand different directions. Narrow down what you think is more your personality and go from there. Not just simply what is pretty but what is you. (I still struggle with this one the most.)

I think with all four of those writing points I’m talking more to myself than anyone. 😉

Next Monday, follow Ashley at 3 Little Greenwoods for the next stop on the tour. Ashley is one of the sweetest people I have “met” in the blog world, and her site is chock-full of inspirations from all over as she hosts a huge link party every week on her blog at Turn It Up Tuesdays. Her Repaired and Revived Hope Chest post already has my wheels turning on some ideas for my own little girl’s room (I adore giving family treasures new life and her take on her grandmother’s heirloom is beautiful). And since I crave Southern cooking constantly, Ashley’s Fried Green Tomatoes don’t disappoint. So crazy good! Be sure to check her out.

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  [I Should Be Mopping the Floor]  [Keeping It Simple] [Sew Can Do] [Huckleberry Love] [Nifty Thrifty Things] [By Stephanie Lynn] [Uncommon Designs]