Touring Through Blogland: A Prudent Life

Have you been enjoying all the Touring through Blogland posts this summer? I know I’ve really liked having a behind the scenes glimpse at some of my favorite bloggers.
If this is the first Blogland post you’ve seen, I’ll tell you how it works. Each Monday, a new group of bloggers are nominated. Those bloggers answer four questions about themselves, and then pass the torch on to a couple of their favorite bloggers. The newly nominated bloggers answer the same four questions the next Monday and then pick some of their favorite blogs to tag for the next week. And around it goes!

Angela from Blue i Style shared her answers last week and was sweet enough to pick me for this week. If you have never read Blue i Style, Angela is AMAZING. She’s probably most well known for her son’s bedroom – an adorable gentleman’s lounge complete with argyle wall!

But she doesn’t just do major makeovers. Angela shares my love of labeling everything and comes up with the most clever ways to do it, like these leather labels she made in under 5 minutes!

About Me

Ugh, now is the part where I’m supposed to write about myself. So, the first thing I’ll tell you is that I HATE writing about myself! I’m happy to give you instructions on how I made projects all day long, but it is torture to write things like an “about me” page or a bio for a media kit. When Angela asked me if I’d be interested in doing a Touring through Blogland post, a huge part of the reason I said yes was because I think we should do things that help us grow, even when they are uncomfortable. I mean, assuming they are legal and healthy 🙂

Now that I’ve shared one of my biggest dislikes, I’ll get to the more basic stuff. I was born in Minnesota and still claim to be Minnesotan, but really have been in Oklahoma since before my first birthday. I got married on my 19th birthday, following the tradition of my Aunt and my Gram. That was 15 years ago, so the family tradition worked out great for me! Now, when I was 19, I had no idea I’d grow up to be a blogger, but I picked the perfect spouse anyways. He works in marketing and has super helpful graphic design and web skills. Score! I’m also fiercely independent & stubborn, so sometimes I waste a lot of time before asking for help. But, it’s amazing to know I always have someone on standby.
We have  a four year old German Shepherd, Maddie, who loves to sneak into photos on the blog. It looks like we posed her in our office reveal, but she was just looking for attention!

What Am I Working On Right Now?

I’ve been staying busy with smaller projects while I replenish our house project/decorating fund. I depleted it when I purchased the office bookcases, dining room buffet, and a chair for the living room that hasn’t been revealed yet! I have been busy scheming things in my head for most rooms of the house, but I think an organizational & style makeover in the laundry room is going to be next up on the list.

How Does My Work Differ From Others in this Genre?

Some people have a very well defined style, but I have a hard time committing because I passionately love so many different things. Mid-Century Modern – LOVE! New England Coastal – OBSESSED. Industrial Touches – CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT. Farmhouse Charm – ADORE! Bright Colors – YES, PLEASE. Calming Neutral Palettes – A MUST.

So basically I want to live in a colorful, yet neutral, mid-century coastal retro farmhouse with industrial touches. Hmm. I think that unique blend makes me different from others. The biggest challenge is making all those styles work together in one home without ending up with “theme rooms”. How awkward it would be to have a 100% coastal office, with a MCM dining room and farmhouse living room?

I’ve actually just started narrowing down and applying my crazy style over the past year. One way I’ve found the balance between color and neutral has been putting the pops of color in unexpected places.

Like my bathroom closet:

And my coat closet:

How Does My Writing/Creative Process Work?

I’m very visual, so I have to start with images. Sometimes those images just appear in my head, like when I recently looked at my empty dish soap and saw a gorgeous rope vase just waiting to be made.

Or sometimes I draw out the end result to make sure everything is accounted for, like I did in my mom’s kitchen office. Although I’m  definitely not afraid to tweak things as they evolve.

For our home office, I sat on a bench outside the double office doors and stared at the room for a LONG time, trying to visualize how the space could work better. I got out a notebook and drew a few different furniture layouts until I found one that made the most sense. Without drawing, I NEVER would have put a desk in front of the window. But when I sketched the room and furniture, I realized it was perfect.

For the craft room, I really should have had a plan but everything just came together piece by piece. I think the only reason it worked was because I did have a goal for the space. I wanted the craft area to tie into the guest space enough that guests didn’t feel like they were invading my craft room. On the flip side, I also didn’t want to feel like my craft space was an after thought in the corner of a guest room. With every decision, I made sure the result would fit with my goal. In fact, my favorite part of the room came out of the goal. I made a gallery wall that combines super functional storage with decorative art.

Why Do I Write/Create What I Do?

I love showing others how to organize and decorate without blowing the budget. I was always the girl at work making sure all my friends understood the importance of signing up for the 401K. Inspiring people to make choices that improve their life is so rewarding.

I’ve come to realize that living in a home decorated with things you love and organized in a way that makes sense is a legitimate way to improve your day to day life. Feeling happy in your space can improve your outlook & attitude, which in turn can improve your relationships. So pretty much I write to save the world 🙂 Hmm. Maybe that’s a stretch 🙂

Passing It On

Whew! That is ENOUGH about me. Now I have the honor of introducing you to two of my favorite bloggers. I have even met BOTH of them in person and can vouch that they are just as awesome in real life as they seem on their blogs.

First up is Shelly Dolen from Dolen Diaries. I was virtually introduced to Shelly through her awesome link party. Once I realized how much we had in common (like big love for office supplies & Jared Leto circa My So Called Life), I became an even bigger fan. We started Facebook chatting before the SNAP conference in April, and I realized she is hilarious!

Shelly is also crazy talented. I love her kitchen makeover:

And the amazing Monogram Marquee she created:

Here’s a little bit more about Shelly in her own words: Hi, I’m Shelly from Dolen Diaries! I’m a Washington girl {greater Seattle-ish area} married to my high school sweetheart and mama to 3 crazy, fun boys! I adore rustic industrial design and have about 99% of my date nights in my garage with my husband. If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would be having dates I actually enjoyed in our garage I would have laughed! Now I look forward to wielding those power tools! We bought a small fixer upper with an even smaller budget and through our adventures of making this house our home we have found a passion for DIY. When we aren’t working on bigger house projects, I love getting crafty as well as doing crafts/activities with my boys. Creativity is a way of life here in the Dolen household and I want to inspire others to create, too!

The second person I’m nominating is Ursula Carmona from Homemade by Carmona. I meet Ursula when she posted that she needed roommates for one night at the Haven Conference. Katie Cleveland from Addicted 2 DIY and I were already roommates, but after a quick review of Ursula’s blog to make sure she seemed sane, we decided she’d be a super fun addition to our room. We shared some great laughs, and she blew us away with her awesome business cards!

But her talent isn’t limited to business cards, her printable menu planner is amazing:

And her new  functional laundry room makeover is gorgeous!

Here is some more from Ursula in her own words:
Hi, I’m Ursula from Home Made by Carmona. I’m a homeschooling mom to 3 beautiful and super girly girls, I’m a lover of all things beautiful (although my wallet’s creed is “just say no”), and an organizing aficionado (although my house didn’t get that memo), and I’m pretty handy too (ignore the rattling of the dryer I just fixed). That sort of makes me a DIY junkie; after all, when you really want something but can’t afford it, what do you do? You guessed it! Seriously, I probably say “hey I bet I can do that myself” about 20 times a day…which is balanced out by the 1 out of 3 projects where I realize that it was a lot harder than it looked. Lol! I hone my expertise with each project, and if I can do it so can you!
My blog Home Made by Carmona is about more than just bringing order and beauty into my home, it is really about using tools such as DIY, organization and décor to cultivate a home where the family can grow and develop positive character traits. I started blogging to share this process, and my journey, in hopes that it will help someone along theirs!

Shelly & Ursula will be posting their big Touring through Blogland posts next Monday, so be sure to hop over to their blogs and follow them so you are the first to know when their posts are live!

 

Post shared at: The Makers