So here’s the thing….. I never thought I would be here doing this. By here, I mean behind my computer. By this, I mean blogging and designing and cooking and mom-ing. But I LOVE it! And I love that you are here. Because it means that I’m not alone in this love. It means that you too want to create a beautiful home and care for your family and have a career at the same time.
I think being an interior decorator and enthusiast has always been inside of me. I remember sliding my furniture across my bedroom to rearrange it almost monthly, especially during the cold winter months in Connecticut. My parents would come in and say “she’s at it again”. I’m lucky nothing ever toppled over on top of me! But I didn’t know that being a decorator and designer was a real thing. Growing up, I just thought it was a hobby.
I went to school to be a teacher and landed in Charlotte, NC. I love kids and wanted to watch them learn and grow. Needless to say, with so many restrictions on teachers and what they can teach and how they teach these days, that was a short- lived career. I took a temporary job with a new home builder and eventually I got my real estate license. For almost 10 years I made a good living selling houses. But I realized that my favorite part of real estate was looking at houses, not listing them. I loved bringing buyers to homes that they could make their own. Although, I was continuously shocked by how many of them couldn’t see past the current décor. I found myself saying things like “if you just painted a different color”, or “the room isn’t that small, it’s that this sofa is WAY too big”, or “with a little updating…”, and even “if you tear out these cabinets”. I was always up to something in my own home whether it was repainting a room, rearranging décor or just dreaming up a new idea for a space. I didn’t realize that everyone didn’t do it!
When the market tanked in 2010, I Ieft real estate behind to be a stay at home mom. But I wanted more. I started painting furniture when the kids were at school and I experimented with new recipes and I found a few blogs that I began to follow. I realized that there were people out there like me! With the encouragement of my husband, I started my own blog and here I am today. Cooking and cleaning and decorating my little heart out. And I get to share it all with you!
So when I say that I never thought I’d be here, doing this, I mean that in the best way possible. I get to decorate to my heart’s content. People even hire me to do it for them! And I cook. Every night. Because I love to and it allows me to share it with you. But I still get to welcome my children home from school and race around to their activities and be there. Because being there for my family is my top priority. Recently, because of this little blog, I convinced my family to renovate a house. I wanted to make it our own and it is close to school so I could work more instead of being in the car and my kids wouldn’t feel like I had left them for my career. And I loved every minute of that renovation! (I’m not sure I can say the same for my family.) The outcome is that we have a home that is 100% ours.
Here’s a little secret: I want to do another one. Wouldn’t that be fun?! I promise to take you along for the ride!
Truly, I thank you for being here with me and sharing all of these adventures. I couldn’t be more grateful. Because if it wasn’t for you (yes, you, staring at these words on your screen) I wouldn’t be able to continue doing this.
So in 2017, I commit to providing more great interiors for you to look at, easy recipes for you to cook and inspiration for living a happy life surrounded by the things that matter – family and friends.
I am reintroducing the weekly menu so that we can all have quick and healthy meals to make amidst our busy schedules. Make sure you click on the Weekly Menu under the Cooking tab. There will be clickable links to the recipes. There will also be entertaining ideas and tips. Lots of home organization and plenty of decorating ideas as well.
2017 is going to be a spectacular year. I can feel it! You all deserve nothing but spectacular things. Don’t you agree?
