{Tour Through Blogland}

A behind the scenes look into making it in the mountains

 

 
Good morning!!!

I am absolutely thrilled to be taking part in this Tour Through Blogland that’s been taking over the blogging world! It’s SUCH a fun way to get a glimpse at all of the talent behind my favorite blogs! I was SO excited when Shonee over at Hawthorne & Main invited me to join in the fun!!! If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Shonee’s beautiful blog, let me tell you, it’s chalk full of super fun DIY projects and home decor ideas! This gal is SO crazy talented, you should definitely pop over and see for yourself!
 

Here’s a sneak peek of her latest project – this DIY Barnwood Frame

 

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Before jumping into the interview questions, I though that maybe I should start with a little bit about myself:

I’m wife to my junior high school sweet heart, Mommy to the sweetest little man and a substitute teacher when I can find the time. We live in a lovely little mountain town full of rustic charm, friendly faces and a ton of mountain biking a skiing to keep us busy! We purchased a new home last fall, which is beautiful, but much too polished for our rustic tastes. This blog has been a place for me to chronicle our journey as we make this builder basic home into our own rustic mountain retreat. If you’d like to learn more about the gal behind the blog (and my family), check out my about page.
 

 
 
Welcome to our home!

First of all, I must say that our ENTIRE house is a work in progress – so please consider each and every picture a “before” shot! If you’d like to see more before pictures of our house, you can check out my house tour.

Come on in:

 
The Living Room and Kitchen really are the heart of our home. If we’re not outside enjoying everything the mountains have to offer, you’ll probably find us spread out on our Living Room floor playing cars or doing puzzles with Carson.
 

This room still needs A LOT of work! Notice the missing fireplace mantle, the rug that’s much too small for the space (not to mention the wrong colour) and our TV, which is currently sitting on our old IKEA coffee table from our University days. Nothing but plans for this space!
 
At least we’re slowly getting a few of our Living Room projects crossed off the to-do list – you may remember this DIY Wood Plank Clock project.

 
And my Gallery Wall.

 
My favorite part about this room is the view of our beautiful (but still totally unfinished) backyard!

 
Another room that we spend a ton of time in (often more than my I’d wish to) is our Kitchen. I absolutely love that our Kitchen is completely open to our living room, so I can easily watch Carson sprawled out on the carpet playing while I’m making dinner.

 
 
And now, time for some questions:

What am I working on?

I always have far too many things on the go … ALWAYS!  As I mentioned earlier, I have BIG plans for each and every space in our home!  More ideas than time really!  Right at this very moment, I’m finishing up work on one last Kitchen project (for now anyway).  You may have noticed the chairs missing from around our kitchen table – that’s because they are currently down in the garage getting a much needed overhaul!  Here’s a before shot, you’ll have to watch for the after pictures next week!

 
Next up on our list will be putting together a big-boy room for Carson.  I’ve had nothing but ideas spinning around in my head about this for months and I cannot wait to finally get started!  Here’s what we’ll be starting with …

 
And here are just some of the fun things I’ve found to include …

 
We also want to use this furniture that we had made for his nursery …

 
And lastly, we’d LOVE to hang this charcoal drawing that a dear friend of ours made!

I picture it having an old rustic, mountain cabin feel. Stay tuned for all sorts of fun projects and updates through the weeks to come!!!
 
 

How does my work differ from others of it’s genre?

There are SO, SO many creative and talented bloggers out there – I am absolutely surrounded by inspiration! To be honest, I feel like the thing that sets me apart is that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing! Hubs and I hadn’t done much more than hang a picture on the wall before buying this house, so we are definitely learning as we go! Together we’ve been able to create projects like our DIY Ladder Shelf or this Pottery Barn Inspired Table that I never would have dreamed possible! I think the best part about our story is that we have no more knowledge or skill than anyone else out there (if anything, it’s probably less than most of my blogging counterparts!), so it’s really true when I say that if we can do it, YOU can do it!
 
 

Why do I write/ create what I do?

I’ve been pinning away on Pinterest for years now – admiring projects and ‘pinning them for later.’ Though I absolutely loved each and every project I had pinned, I’m not sure I ever really had any intentions of actually making anything myself – after all, I certainly wasn’t creative or crafty enough for that! It wasn’t until we purchased our new home that I finally decided that maybe I should try a project or two. In tackling my very first DIY project, I learned that I was far more capable than I had originally thought. It turns out I could create! And better yet, I really enjoyed it! You know, in all of my Pinterest exploring, it hadn’t really occurred to me until I actually sat down to make something that almost each and every DIY project I was pinning had been created by a talented blogger who chose to share their idea with the world (clearly I was blinded by these amazing projects!). I started to think about the journey that I hoped to take and how much fun it would be to keep a record of it to look back on … and so making it in the mountains became the story of our journey to transform this house into our own rustic mountain retreat.
 
 

How does my writing/ creating process work?

Everyone that knows me, knows that I am obsessive about all things in my life being neat, tidy, clean and organized (think Monica Geller, though it’s somehow less charming in real life). Blogging of course, is no different. My head is CONSTANTLY spinning! My desk and computer are consistently littered with post-it notes so I can keep track of anything and everything (I am forever grateful to the post-it note company, without which my head would surely explode!). I also keep a running list of projects I hope to complete someday because, as it turns out, I’ve got FAR more ideas than time. I’ve even organized my list into rooms and prioritized which projects I’d like to do first in each of those rooms (seriously, you asked!!!). In addition to the paper overtaking my desk, I’ve organized my Pinterest boards into rooms to help me keep track of what I’d like to do where as well. Finally, I keep a blogging calendar that usually runs a month or so in advance of what I’d like to tackle or write about and when, but this is really an example of my dream world as it never, ever works out the way I’ve planned it. That’s a-okay with me though, because I’ve got a life outside of blogging that I enjoy too!

It never fails that the rest of my creative process takes me about ten times longer than I think it will. In between playtimes, housework, 1/2 marathon training and the rest of my life, I am always working on something. Sometimes it’s a quick little DIY other times it can take what feels like forever (remember that never ending Kitchen Table Makeover?!). The planner in me always has to start with a really good idea of what exactly I’d like to do, but I have learned to let things evolve through the process when they inevitably don’t work out exactly according to plan.

Finishing a project is really just the beginning though – I then have to photograph, edit, & of course, write and re-write my post a zillion times before I can finally sit back and enjoy all of my hard work. Blogging itself is SO much more difficult and time consuming than I ever expected, but I’m absolutely LOVING every single minute of it! Not only is it encouraging me to tackle all sorts of new projects, but I’ve made a ton of fabulous new bloggy friends to share this crazy blogging journey with!

 
 

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Well, surely that’s enough about me – let’s move on to three more wonderfully talented bloggers:
 

Doree from Top Notch Mom

Hello! My name is Doree. I was born and raised in New Jersey. My husband’s job re-located us to Maryland and we’ve been here for about 2 years now. On March 8, 2012 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Matthew. He is truly the best and most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us. We are so blessed. I am temporarily stepping away from being a Dental Assistant to be a full-time mommy to our son. I want to be there for every milestone he goes through.
Top Notch Mom is not just a blog for moms, but all those that share the same passion for food, entertainment and family as I do! This blog features simple and easy recipes, DIY projects, food & product reviews, photography and my personal experiences as a new mom to my adorable two year old son.

 
 
 

Erin & Emily from Elizabeth Joan Designs

Hey! We are Erin & Emily, two sisters that share a passion for creativity. We originally started this blog as a way to share our DIY adventures with each other, as well as our family/friends. We are not experts, just regular people like you. Our approach is trial and error and we enjoy the process of learning along the way. Come learn from our mistakes and successes as we remodel, refurbish, and upcycle.

 
 
 

Krista from The Happy Housie

Being a housie means that houses are my passion and my hobby! I have been “this way” as long as I can remember… when most girls were playing Barbies I was redecorating their dream house (and van) and when other girls were reading BOP and Sassy magazines I was spending many a fabulous hour with my IKEA catalogue and house plan books…creating to-scale drawings of my “dream” home on my big old pad of graph paper.

As an adult I realize that there is no such thing as a “dream” home and that every home we have lived in (four in twelve years) becomes our “dream” home when we add our own imprint upon it. Whether we are decorating (or re-decorating), completing DIY projects, crafting, organizing, or just having fun living – there is always something new happening around here, and this blog is all about my journey through life as a born’n’bred housie.

 
 
Be sure to visit each of these ladies next Monday for a behind the scenes look at their own creative blogs as the Tour Through Blogland continues!!!

Thank you SO much for popping by!

*Our wedding photo was taken by the VERY talented Jeff Wilkings of Jeff Wilkings Photography! Our family photo was snapped by my VERY talented Father-in-law!*

Shared with: A Bright & Beautiful Life, Huckleberry Love, My Pinterventures, Carrie This Home, I Should be Mopping the Floors, That’s What Che Said, Creative Pink Butterfly, Delineate your Dwelling, DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, Denise Designed, View from the Fridge, Think Pink Sundays, It’s Overflowing, Six Sisters’ Stuff, The SITS Girls, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Be Different Act Normal, Pieced Pastimes, 3 Little Greenwoods, The Girl Creative, Tatertots and Jello, Classy Clutter, My Snippets of Inspiration, Domestic Superhero, My Romantic Home, The Bold Abode, The 36th Avenue, Mamas Blog Central, Love of Family and Home, Play. Party. Pin., The Golden Sycamore, Tidy Mom, The Grant Life, Katherines Corner, The Charm of Home, Chic California, Imparting Grace, Life in Velvet, Jennifer Rizzo, A Vision to Remember, All Things with Purpose, Average but Inspired, Everyday Enchanting, View from the Fridge, From My Front Porch to Yours, Saving 4 Six, Posed Perfection, The Style Sisters, The Blissful Bee, Mostly Homemade Mom, Crafty Allie, My Paper Craze, SNAP!, Crafty Wife, Ducks ‘n a Row, Maison de Pax, A Savory Feast, Oh My! Creative, Thrifty T’s Treasures, Just a Girl and her Blog, Tiny Sidekick, Bigger Than the Three of Us, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Mabey She Made It, Lou Lou Girls, Epic Mommy Adventures, It’s a Ginger Snap, Designed by BH, Cupcakes & Crinoline, Ladybug Blessings, A Stroll Through Life, Elizabeth Joan Designs, Joy in Our Home, Denverista & My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia.