Greetings all and happy happy weekend!  I’m sitting at my desk looking back on this week and feeling so grateful that Nester, Sarah, Jen, and Marian were a part of this series:

The final topic is finding balance as home bloggers or what I prefer to call it: The Great Juggling Act.  How do you decide where to spend your precious time when you have a family and relationships or another job and a life and you still want to grow your blog?

Last month I invited four bloggers I greatly admire to be a part of this series to kick off the new year, and I need to publicly thank them for their enthusiasm to sign on.  These four seasoned bloggers have been pulling it off for a long time with style and grace, and I think we all want to know their secrets.  So let’s hear what they have to say on these questions and then I’ll offer my two cents.

What are the ways you manage the responsibilities of home life and blogging?  What time management tips can you share?

Read the rest of this entry »

I think it’s important to take stock of what you’ve accomplished in life, which is why I love all the roundup posts we see at year’s end. That’s the great thing about online journaling, we’re documenting our successes, failures, and contributions through the years. I love taking the time to reflect and look back on what I’ve learned and accomplished, large and small. Sure I completed a lot of projects and checked them off my To Do list.  But 2011 taught me a few more important things.

2011 taught me that I have a voice, how to pace myself, how to better juggle home and work, how to take things one day at a time.  It taught me that I need to ignore the naysayers and keep negative people out of my life. How to shed the crippling fear of failure, how to just keep going even when there’s no motivation, and how to let the little things go.

At the same time, it’s also important to look ahead, to make plans, to seize the opportunity to fine tune ourselves and set realistic, achievable goals. You may be a New Year’s Resolutions person and you may not.  Personally, I embrace the idea of self reflection and the desire to improve yourself.  What better time than the start of a new calendar year to declare your goals and pursuits for the future.

source

My resolutions for 2012 . . .

Better Health.  I tend to reach for a glass of wine at the end of the night for relaxation, and I think that habit, and less outdoor activity than usual, is the culprit for those extra pounds that have crept up on the mid section.  Me no likey. 

So now I’m drinking tea at night instead.  As a newbie, I’m looking for recommendations for decaffeinated teas, so I welcome yours. My stepdaughter is so thoughtful she heard me planning to make the switch and bought me this tea kettle for Christmas. She knows me well, I like things clean, bright, and simple. . 

Also, I’m back in my running routine and I just might run another half marathon this year… this one motivates me greatly.  

More of the Mister.   Did you know I’m married to a real estate appraiser and broker with over 25 years experience in real estate who knows everything there is to know about buying a home or getting it ready to sell?  Wow, that sounded like an infomercial. Well it’s true. The mister is a wealth of information, and you’ll see his expertise appear here more this year.  Oooooh, a real estate column!   

Skill.  My sister got me Photoshop Elements for Christmas (again with the thoughtful gifts) and since I’ve been working on a dinosaur version of Photoshop 7 for a few years, I’ve been frustrated with my lack of talent with that software. I’ll be installing and practicing on the latest version soon, and maybe have a few tricks to share with you as I navigate the software, stick with me.  Also, I really need to learn how to sew a proper button hole, and call me crazy, but I’ve always wanted to learn how to juggle, is that wrong? 

Read the rest of this entry »

Today is the day, the very last of 2011.  We will say our farewells to this year tonight with friends, sharing in some sweet desserts, champagne, and a few rounds of high stakes poker at our place. OK, not high stakes, more like free chips on the house for auld lang syne, but it will be very fun and someone will be declared the Annual Poker Champion sometime after midnight while the wee ones slumber into the night having fallen asleep on the fold out sofa in front of a movie.

2011 has been quite a year, and I can honestly say, one of my favorites if not most favorite ever. The ability to create, build, and write about what I love is a dream come true for me, and the list of people to thank who have made it possible is a mile long so I shall save it for more personal correspondence. 

But I cannot say goodbye to 2011 without publicly thanking all of you who visit and subscribe, who link and comment, who tweet and share your projects and stories with me. It means more than you know when you connect with me the way you do, whether it’s on Facebook, through link parties or comments, or in private emails. I cannot get enough of a marvelous DIY project, great makeover, or stylish creation and witnessing all the amazingness that is out there among this talented DIY and home decorating community literally keeps me up at night. I look forward to continuing this crazy fun blogging journey in the new year with all of you and I can assure you it brings much excitement!  

So tonight let’s toast to all of the success, health, happiness, and harmony that 2012 will bring to us all.  To kick off the new year, I’m excited to be a part of this great series starting on Monday featuring some of your favorite bloggers.

The Blog Hop will begin on Monday at Nester’s place and the five of us mentioned will be sharing our insight through the week on topics from monetization to photography to finding balance. The series continues on Tuesday with Sarah, Wednesday with Jen, Thursday with Marian, and Friday with me, I know you’ll love it! 

Wishing you all very Happy New Year !!

xo,

/

Today is my second favorite holiday of the year and it’s all about three of the best things in life: tradition, gratitude, and food!  Today, I am thankful for so many things, for my family, for my friends, for my health, and all the little blessings that bring happiness everyday. Today I am thankful for those of you who continue to visit here, you make my dream job a reality and I am forever grateful to you.   

I’m so looking forward to the traditional meal we prepare every year, and the opportunity to spend the evening with family and friends. Today is a day of reflection and relaxation and I plan to savor every moment and morsel from the stuffing to the pie to the conversation around the table. I’m wishing all of my American friends the very same as we celebrate on this holiday.         

Cheers to good food and great memories!  Safe travels too. 

xo,

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my baby brother Nate today. How cool to have your birthday fall on Thanksgiving, he gets his own personal pumpkin pie all to himself.  Awesome.  

images: 1/2/3/4/5/6

.

Last weekend we had some friends and relatives over and in mid conversation, one of the friends asked me out of genuine curiosity, "Why do you choose to make so many things by yourself?  Why don’t you just buy these things, or pay someone else to do it for you?”  The best short answer I could come up with at the time was “I just like it.” 

The longer answer, and what I wish I’d explained much better, is that DIY projects give me a sense of accomplishment. It makes me feel good to design and create all kinds of things, whether I’m crafting or cooking, styling or decorating. Frankly I’m just one of those people who likes to dream up things in my mind and then make them with my own hands.

I’m not a fine artist or an especially skilled carpenter, but I love working with paint and building things and that makes me a creative. It took me over 30 years to finally acknowledge that fact, but then I realized I possess many of the attitudes of creative people. I believe in reinvention, perseverance, and I have an ongoing curiosity about how things are made. 

There’s always a calculation I make before undertaking any DIY project. Do I have the time?  Do I possess the skill?  Will taking on this project teach me something new?  How much money will I save?  Will it look good in the end?  If you’d asked me ten years ago whether I’d tackle a staircase remodel or install a new stone patio, my answer would have been “Do what?  Heck no.”  How did I end up taking on those projects?  Because I’d read how others had gone before me, I was inspired, and had the desire to learn how.

As a creative, it’s important to surround yourself with people who share your passion so I feed off of the inspiration and knowledge that comes from others in the DIY community. When I read about other creatives using their hands to build something amazing, I can’t help but feel admiration for their skills and DIY savvy, which is why I began the ‘Best of the Blogsophere’ series so many months ago. Not everyone has the time, inclination, or skill to take on major DIY projects, and that’s fine. But I believe those skills can be learned if the ‘can do’ attitude is there.

It frustrates me when I hear people say “I’m not creative.” I don’t agree with that. Every person possesses the innate ability to be creative. The naysayers simply have yet to tap into their creativity. Perhaps they lack confidence. Perhaps they’re afraid they won’t be any good. Mostly I think they just haven’t tried. We’re all creative to one degree or another, it just has to be discovered deep within. Life hasn’t been the same since I tapped into mine. 

That’s my long answer.  What’s the short answer to the question, “Why do I DIY?”

via

Do you see yourself as a creative person?

Why do you or don’t you DIY? 

.