Behind the Blog

Vanessa from The Shimmer recently invited me to participate in a Tour Through Blogland, which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the act of blogging. It sounded like fun, so here we go!

What are you working on right now?

Hmm...define "working on". I have a ridiculous number of projects on my 'to do' list right now, but what feels like not enough time or energy to actually work on them. There's the routine maintenance stuff (pressure washing the house), the nagging tasks (our main floor has no baseboards or floor registers and the same pile of dirt has been killing a large section of our lawn for the past two months), the fun new stuff (future basement playroom, I'm looking at you) and a bunch of half-finished furniture makeovers (and yes, some are only half-finished in my mind). I'm trying to prioritize the projects that need to happen before the weather changes (spray painting, pressure washing), but the resident toddler is pretty distracting.

How does your work differ from those in our genre?

Uh, see above? I'm not an interior designer or decorator or stay-at-home mom. I have a full-time job that I mostly love and a family that I really love, and my blog is like a weird hobby that kind of embarrasses me but obviously not enough to stop doing it. My tastes usually exceed my budget, and not in a 'I bought a $5,000 couch when I really wanted a $10,000 couch' kind of way (I bought my couch for $300 on Kijiji and my cat is slowly tearing it to shreds). There's so much inspiration to be found on blogs, online magazines and Pinterest, but I still prefer reading about what real people are doing with their homes, even more so when we share similar tastes, budgets or lifestyles (pets, kids and messy husbands all pose unique decorating challenges, ha!).

Why do you write and create what you do?

I've always loved writing, although it took me a while to figure that out. I'm fortunate that writing and editing is a big part of my day job, but I also like having a space that's just mine to fill as I please (grammatical rules be damned!). I love interiors, but I'm also disgusted at times by the culture around interior design and decorating, especially the pressure to all like the same things and the unspoken implication that having more and spending more somehow makes us better people.

Anyone with a West Elm catalog and a credit card can have a beautiful room; I'm inspired by people who use their creativity and skills to create unique spaces that reflect their personalities and needs. I like the challenge that comes with DIY projects and the satisfaction of creating something with my hands. I wish I could paint beautiful pictures or write great music, but my blog is my way of expressing myself, as silly as it may be. In terms of my home, I'm always trying to find the balance between spending and not spending, between getting what I want and making the best of what I have. I'm still figuring it out, but I hope others will identify with what I'm doing and maybe find some inspiration here.

How does your writing and creative process work?

I'm pretty unsophisticated when it comes to blogging. I don't have an editorial calendar. I aim to post 2-3 times a week, less if I don't feel like I have something worth sharing. I keep a running list of all my home improvement projects in an Excel spreadsheet, and we tackle them as time and budget allows. I also spend a ridiculous amount of time exploring the internet, so I'm frequently distracted by random projects and cool DIYs I want to try.

Before Hannah, I was more prolific and usually had the energy to zoom through projects at night after work. Now I spend my evenings dreaming up projects, and pick away at them on weekends, either when Hannah's napping or with the help of family watching her. Adam frequently gets asked to watch Hannah for "10 minutes" so I can snap photos of our latest project. I usually edit photos in the evening (nothing fancy, just cropping and a little brightening) and start writing after that. It doesn't take me long to write a post, but I'm a finicky editor and that can eat up time quickly.

So that's me! Here's hoping that I'll have time this weekend to make some progress on a project or two :)

Vanessa also nominated Allison from Love Nest Design and Jane from Modern Jane Design, so make sure you visit them too!