Dead Air

I am sorry for the dead air on my blog lately...there has been a lot of craziness surrounding my life at the moment.

First, my cousin-in-law was killed in a hit and run, my other cousin-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, then my best friend's dad died in a freak accident and then after getting home from his funeral I found out that an old friend from highschool died as well this week. 

It all reminds me how short life really is and how life can change on a dime. 

Sometimes I wonder why on earth I write a blog...I mean does it really matter? 

Does it matter that I tried a new type of paint or that I found the perfect fabric for my new chair?  It all seems so trivial and self-centered. 

I have sat down several times in the last week to write a post and I am just blank...

I have furniture in my garage, ready for me to tackle, and I am just blank...

I have toyed with giving up my blog completely, not because I don't enjoy it, but because I feel it isn't where I should be spending my time.

One of my biggest fears in starting a blog was that people would think I was starting blogging to get attention and show off my crazy, amazing, talented design skills ;-)


If you have been following for any period of time, you deifnitely know that isn't the truth! 

In thinking about all of this lately I realized how much I have missed blogging and creating.

Home decor or any other hobby isn't a waste of time, it's a stress reliever and good for the soul.  DIY projects have become my thing, I never expected it and I definitely didn't possess a natural talent for it, but I am addicted! 

While God, my family, my friends and my work are the most important, somehow without tackling a new project I don't feel quite whole...

I mean who doesn't feel good about a great ugly duckly to beautiful swan project?


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So today I am happy to say that I am back and I feel refreshed and excited to start creating and sharing again!  I even bought some paint and fabric today ;-) 

How to Find your Personal Style

Today I am going to share one of my biggest blogging and DIY struggles...

BEING UNIQUE.

I don't necessarily mean me personally, although that can often times come into play, but my projects. 

Before I was blogging I just went with my gut and painted things and decorated our home the way I liked and I didn't care what anyone else thought.  The down side to this is that sometimes, okay a lot of the time, I created some down right hideous things.  But you know what?  I loved them and that was all that mattered. 

I feel I have grown a lot in my tastes and talents from blogging and truly researching all the great ideas out there. 

However, I have realized that I often question my gut when it comes to making a color or design choice because it may not be the trend or my readers may hate it.

The thing is...someone will most likely always hate something I create, but hopefully there will be someone out there that will like it.  Either way, if I love it, that is all that matters.

I often find myself conflicted with what to create, especially now that I have started selling items.  I really start to second guess things when I compare myself to others and especially when something that I love sits for a while.  

For example, this hutch has sat for quite a while in my booth and makes me question my judgement...but it is a unique piece that will not work in every home.  I wish it went with all my decor because I would switch it out with my other Hutch in a second and that one would probably sell much more quickly. 

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There are some things that I have transformed, like our dining room table that I am sure gets very mixed reviews...

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But I have to tell you that this piece makes me so happy because I didn't listen to what logic was telling me, I just went with my gut. 

I have been trying to pin down my style this past year and I honestly cannot.  I love so many different things and I change my mind everyday from what my ideal home would look like.

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I mean, really, who wouldn't want an entryway like Mandi's?!  The modern and cool vibe is just amazing!

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Or what I would give to have Donna's stairs!  Everything in her home is so unique and amazing it makes me green with jealousy...yes I admit it 100%.



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But then again, I love the tranquility and little pops of color at The Nester's Place, it gets me every time!

See why it is so hard for me to make a decision about my decorating style? 

I have always been one to love drastic changes.  I might just pick a style and then sell all our furniture and start over...well maybe in my dreams ;-)

For now, I will enjoy all the different styles in creating and let each piece of furniture speak to me and try to find my own creative vision for our home.

Styles and trends will come and go...I am choosing to decorate one day and piece of furniture or accessory at a time and only pick what I truly love, no matter what anyone else may think.

Ultimate Blog Party

 

If you are stopping by for the first time from the UBP12 I'd like to take a minute to introduce myself.

My name is Brooke, I'm a mom to two adorable daughter's and a wife to the most patient husband who puts up with all my crazy DIY ideas :-)

I started my blog last year on a journey to make our house a home.  I am always on the search for creative, unique and budget friendly ways to decorate.

One of my absolute favorite things is to garage sale hunt and turn someone's trash into someone else's treasure.

Here are some examples of my favorite projects...

Click on the links below each picture to be taken to the original post. 

Dresser with Ribbon Pulls

 

Tea Light Wall Art

 

Wall Decor from a Dresser Top

 Hutch Upcycle

Pinterest Inspired Bathroom

I hope you'll grab a cup of coffee and stay awhile.  I would love it if you choose to follow along and I absolutely love your comments, I read each and every one and respond by email.

Have fun at the party!  There are so many amazing blogs linked up!

Stats ~ More Than Just Numbers

For me stats are not about looking to get an ego boost, or more commonly in my experience, to be humbled ;-) they are about much more than that...

Without looking at my stat page I would have no idea what posts you all are enjoying or where my projects may have been featured.

Without my stats I would have never known that my post popular post on Pinterest has been my tea light wall art, or that it was featured on The Styleist Section of the Huffinton Post!!

Or that my hutch was featured on the HGTV Blog!! 

There have been times where I almost didn't hit the post button because I thought no one would care about the silly review or project I did and it turns out it is one of my biggest hits?! 

Who would have thought my Air Freshener Review would have been even read by one person, let alone be one of the top 3 posts I have done!? 

Of course stats can be disheartening when I hear the crickets chirp when I post something that turns out to be my favorite piece in our house, like my Wall Decor from a Hutch...

But that's okay...my stats don't rule my posts or what my home decor will look like.  I only post when I feel that I have something worthwhile to look at or to say, which you all know is not everyday ;-) 

I do however think it is a fabulous thing to have the opportunity to feel like I can get into a my reader's minds a bit by seeing what they like. 

Thank you to all of you who read my posts and surprise me by Pinning my projects!  I am amazed every single day of the kindness and loyalty you all have.  I never imagined in a million years that I would have even one follower, besides my mom ;-)

Linky Followers Blog Hop!

As I mentioned yesterday I have added the Linky Followers tool to my site...Cheri from It's So Very Cheri started this awesome blog hop so we can all try to keep are GFC followers!

RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–

just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE

Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri

You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

…So do ya want to go Cruisin’?

I plan on HOPPING from BLOG to BLOG to follow everyone who follows me.

Every Wednesday I will rotate the Linky Follower Party Hop and my PIN tag party here at Its So Very Cheri.
This is a Blog Hop!

Linky Followers

Well I gave in and added the Linky Followers tool to my side bar. 

I am sure most of you have heard about Google getting rid of the Google Friend Connect option for non blogger platforms...I am with Blogger so I thought this was of no interest to me.

That was until I read the very in depth post from At the Picket Fence. 

I definitely think it is a wise move to add the Linky Followers tool, even if you are with Blogger.  Google Friends Connect may disappear on Blogger all together and if you are like me and may want to convert to Word Press in the future, you will lose all your followers at that time.

I hope you will consider following me on Linky.  Also - their reader is wonderful!  You can even categorize the blogs you read!

Just click on the Follow me button right over there ;-)

Liebster Blog Award

Last week Liza from Happy Lizard Hill gave me the Liebster award!  I am so grateful that she chose me to  be one of the 5 recipients out of all of blogs out in blogland! 

Here is a little info about the Liebster Award...

"If you are curious what Liebster mean, well it is a Greek word that means “favorite” in English."

"The Criteria: The Liebster Blog Award is meant to showcase bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. This is all done in the spirit of pay-it-forward.

 

The Rules: You must mention and link to the person who awarded you with Liebster, and mention 5 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers who you think worthy of the Liebster!"

 

"‘Liebster’ means ‘favorite’ or ‘dearest’ in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers! In accepting this award, I agree to:

• Thank the person that gave me the award and link back to their blog
• Copy and paste the award to my blog
• Reveal the 5 blogs I have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog
• Pay it forward by awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor"

Here are the five I chose to receive this award, please stop by and check out their great blogs...

1. Decorating with Cents

2. Emerald Cidade

3. Farm Girl in My Heart

4. Why Cuz I Can

5. The Brown Eyes Have It

Versatile Blogger Award!

I am so excited today!  First off, I have had some fabulous features this last week for my  tea light wall art(Nifty Thrifty Things,  Too Much Time on My Hands,   Addicted 2 Decorating,   and Flamingo Toes) and I can't even begin to tell you how it makes my day to get a feature, and then I got this!!

From 2 wonderful ladies!!!

Kelli @ The Turquoise Piano and Laura @ Our Prairie Home picked me along with other fabulous bloggers to receive the Versatile Blogger Award!  I am super flattered and so grateful :-))  To have them pick my blog out of the million out there means so much!

The rules of this award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave the award to you.  (Done - twice)

2. Share 7 things about yourself.  (Stay Tuned)

3. Award it to 15 other bloggers (Kelli did 10, so I too - this part is so hard!!)

7 Things about myself...

1. I {love} candy!  I don't mean it's good and nice when I can have it, I mean I can spend $10 at the Sweet Factory and eat the whole bag in an hour kind of love!  Especially sour candy...Zours, sour gummi bears, sour balls, lemon heads, those sour tape thingies, etc.  I also adore chocolate covered gummi bears!!!

2. I use to show horses and dogs.  I grew up riding horses and showing in both Western and English and then sold my horse before college.  After college we bought a barrel horse from my cousin and he was amazing!  I got addicted to barrel racing and was having a blast, but we decided to sell him a couple years ago because I just didn't really have the time or money to invest in it that I needed after having our girls.  I miss it everyday, but I wouldn't change a thing. 

"Just" My old barrel horse

3. My husband was a bull rider :-)  Not really about me, but it was a huge part of our lives when we got married.  Our first couple years were spent traveling all throughout California and Nevada going to PRCA rodeos.  It was a really fun experience and we spent so much time bonding on those loooonnnngggg car rides.  I miss that world a lot, but it is so nice being home on the weekends and having our house and family now.

4. My husband and I have known each other since we were youngin's (sorry about the poor picture quality)



Weren't those McDonald's B-Day parties the best?!

5. I have a super big fear of heights!  I'm not afraid of skydiving or hot air balloon kind of heights, but standing on a ladder or jumping off rocks scared the jeepers out of me!  It is super embarrassing to admit, but when I climb up some of the playground equipment with our girls, I get a wee bit nauseous and only continue to go on because I would probably scar my girls for life if I backed out ;-)

6. I love Christian music, especially K-Love!  I blare it loud and sing along with a voice only God could love (when no one else is in the car of course).

7. I HATE to bake!  I love to cook, but me and baking just don't get along.  I will fully admit that I tried to make these cupcakes that I blogged about earlier this month and they came out so poorly that I was almost embarrassed to have the kids take them.  They did taste good though, so I guess it's not all bad.




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Now on to the good part!  The 10 other well deserving bloggers that I am passing this award onto...

1.  My 1929 Charmer - she is so sweet and does fabulous makeovers and has recently started a new link party!

2. The Essence of Home - I absolutely adore every picture she shows of her home!  It is just fabulous, you must check her out!

3. Rolled Up Pretty - Don't you just love the name of her blog!?  Her blog is just as fun as her name...some fashion, some personal, some sewing, some DIY - just love it!

4. Hello Lovely - if the ballet shoes on her header to get you hooked, her posts sure will!

5. White Whimsy - I got hooked on her blog when I saw her Halloween black and white mantel.

6. Huge Love - Not only is Tiffany one of my bestest friends from elementary school and my old horse showing days...she also has such a fun and inspirational blog.  If you are looking for a mood boost, get you tushy over to Huge Love today!

7. Emerald Cidade - Stephanie's blog just makes me smile when I go to her home page!  Her blog is crisp and clean and full of great inspiration!

8. The Salvage Collection - I just became a new follower today :-)) after seeing an adorable dresser she re-did.  My jaw about hit the floor when I started viewing all her work, she is amazing!!

9. Mom's Fun Money - Katie is so great!  She found my blog when looking for blue hutch inspiration and now has let me do a weekly post on her blog.  She has great money saving tips and coupons practically every second!

10. Adventures in Creating - Rachelle has wonderful cheap and simple DIY projects that are beautiful!!

Well, that's it!  Please go check out all these amazing ladies, included the generous ones who awarded me this award.  You will not be disappointed!

Blogging struggles

As you all know I am a baby blogger with not even 45 days under my belt...This has been one big journey so far and I have learned so much! 

I must say I had this naive vision about blogs before I started my own.  I had a few blogs that I followed...The Nesting Place, Thrifty Decor Chick, and Liz Marie . I foolishly thought that I was entering fresh ground, having no idea that there are thousands of blogs on DIY ideas alone!  I am actually quite thrilled that I was so naive in this process, because I most certainly would have been too scared and discouraged to start my own blog. 

I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, the only thing I knew is that I was so inspired by these other women and was having so much fun creating my own DIY projects that I wanted to share my adventures in creating and trying new projects. 

I must say I am completely shocked at how much time it actually takes to create and maintain a blog, the pros make it look so easy ;-).  I am not in the least bit techie, so it definitely takes me time to research and implement new features on my blog.  Due to my silly pride in starting out, I wanted my blog to look amazing and I wanted to be the one to say that I created it all by myself...it is funny how the devil gets in my head like that sometimes and makes me deviate away from the things that really matter. 

I had an awakening moment when I realized that just like my insanity about doing laundry naked, I should be focusing my time and energy on the important things.  It is much more important for me to do fun projects and write a good post, than spend the time on html code.  Therefore, I have hired Kendra at Key Lime Designs to do a blog makeover for me.  I am so thrilled!!  I can't wait to show off my new design in a few weeks!

My biggest struggle with entering the blogging world has been trying to figure out how to allocate my time between my full time job, my husband's business, and my family.  Hiring Kendra was my first step, now the next step is going to be making a schedule so that I can ensure that my blogging doesn't take too much time away from my family or my other jobs ;-) 

I just found a fabulous series from Tara at Taradara,What I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging!  She has feedback from some of the top bloggers and I must say I am so thrilled I found this series before I was too far into my blogging.

Hope everyone enjoys their Holiday weekend!  We are going to the lake this weekend.  I can't wait to show you my new dresser project when I return :-)