A Post Without Pictures.

So it’s pretty clear the blog has been super quiet for a while now.  I used to carry around maaaaajor blogger guilt {it’s totally a real thing...I’m assuming it’s similar to “mom guilt”, just on a much smaller scale} about it, but I’ve come to terms with the pace of my blog.  I wish I could be a blogger with a set number of posts a week.  I’d love to promise you guys amazing new projects, multiple times a week, and inspire people every day.  But let’s be serious...with a full-time day job and trying to be somewhat present in my non-Internet life, it’s not a possibility.  Do I find that disappointing?  Of course!!  But I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll post when I have time and have something worthy of posting.

In this sometimes-crazy-competitive-world-of-blogging it can be very easy to get caught up with feeling inadequate.  I don’t post enough.  I didn’t pin enough.  My pictures aren’t professional enough.  My image isn’t pin-worthy.  I don’t have enough followers.  I need to join that new social media platform.  I need to catch up on my blog reading.  I need to respond to comments.  I need to answer my emails. 

I found myself feeling like I was always falling short.  My day job was draining and the pressure to “keep up with the Joneses” of the blogging world was starting to build...so my inspiration went right out the window.  Things that used to come so easily and freely just stopped.  I found myself doing things because I felt like I had to, not because I wanted to.  I lost my focus and needed to step back.  So I did.

I never announced I was taking a blogging break.  I never set a date when I’d start posting again.  I just stopped.  If something inspired me to write, I did, but for the most part…I just backed off from the blogging world and it. was. awesome.

Removing the “pressure” and the “have to” felt fantastic.  It even refreshed my inspiration and motivation for the stuff I used to love.  I’ve got a million and one ideas stirring around in my head, and I want to tackle and post about each and every single one.  Will that happen?  HA, no way!  But the fact that I even feel that way is a big deal.

I’ve accepted that blogging is not my job.  It doesn’t pay my bills.  I cannot keep up with bloggers who do this for a living.  I cannot post regularly.  I do not post stellar pictures worthy of a thousand pins.  I’m just me.  I love to share our home and my passion for pretty things.  I want to inspire others to create a home they love.  I will always keep this space honest and real.  And I’m thankful for amazing people this outlet has brought into my life.

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To visually keep up with life happenings…follow me on Instagram.  I have noooo problem posting there. ;)

Disappointments...& A GIVEAWAY!

Spring has finally arrived and I am so thankful.  The temps are warming up, the birds are chirping and the grass turns more and more green each day.  This change in season always inspires me to change up our home décor.  I crave new accent colors to warm up the cool blues that dominate our home.

So when I was asked to be a part of a spring décor and giveaway post with 14 super talented bloggers, I jumped at the opportunity.  I thought this collaboration would give me the swift kick I needed to finish spring-ifying {yes, a new word} our home…a process I started here and here.

Well that was my plan, and unfortunately plans do not always go as expected.  My work schedule has been a bit hectic lately, which caused more stress and less time for me.  Booooo!!  Instead of making things even worse on myself out and cranking out something I didn’t love, just for content, I decided it would be best if I didn’t submit a project.  I know it’s a lame, but it’s the truth and I always promised to keep it real with you guys. :)

Buttttt, to show how much I love each and every one of you, I am still sponsoring the amazing $150 Tar-jay gift card giveaway!!  And I’m sharing 14 awesome spring projects below, so you can get your fill of eye candy for the day.  You must check them all out!

Hopefully we’re still friends… ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

The Turquoise Home | Tiny sidekick | The Blissful Bee

Making Home Base | One Krieger Chick | Design, Dining and Diapers

Just a Girl and her Blog | Designer Trapped in Lawyer's Body

The Happy Housie | Place Of My Taste | Create Craft Love

This Is Happiness | Homey Oh My | House by Hoff

The Glamorous Life. Not.

In the spirit of keeping things real...here is the non-excitingness around our casa lately.

I have been in the midst of swapping out our wintery decor for something sunshine-y.  I'm trying to force the whole "if you decorate it, spring will come" thing.  That means we have accessories galore, sitting all over the place...just waiting to see if they make the cut or go back into the closet.

On top of that, our "craft room" aka our second guest bedroom has looked like a bomb went off for weeks months now.  I decided it was high time I emptied it {obviously onto our living room/dining room floor} so I could sort through things and organize my project list.

And then there was the electrical work.

You see, back in October, when stupid Sandy left us without power for a week...we decided to invest in a generator.  Then we thought it'd be a great idea to hardwire it to our house.  For that, we'd need an electrician...and unfortunately, it took until this past week to get that electrician to the house.  Of course, while we had him, I figured it'd be a great time to move an outlet and add another.

The hubs and I love to have string lights on our mantel {especially during fall, Christmas, winter...and well pretty much all the time}, so having an ugly cord hanging off the mantel and plugging into the wall just wasn't a cute look.  Plus, if we want to plug things in on the buffet {like when we put Christmas lights on there this past year}, we had to have our plugs hanging off the buffet to the same outlet we plugged the mantel lights into.

Easy, and much more attractive solution?  {Okay...so the solution was only "easy" for us because we just paid to have someone do it.}  1) Add an outlet on the mantel and 2) move the outlet that was showing on our wall, to an area that would be hidden by our buffet.  Woo-to-the-hoooo...no more cords hanging all over the place!

And why haven't I cleaned up and put our furniture back in place?  Well you DO see the horrendous drywall tape bubbled up in the picture near the fireplace don't you?

Yea, that ugly eye sore.  Ugh.

That crack was there when we bought the house.  I asked our contractor to take care of it while they were doing the other major things in our house.  They did, but the tape soon started to pop off the wall.  I'm no expert, but I feel like it has something to do with the fact that we have plaster walls, and sticking drywall tape on there might not have been the best solution.  I hopped on Angie's list to find a professional with a great reputation, and had him come by to give me a free estimate to fix the crack.  He said he'd need to cut that area out, use fiber glass mesh tape, and then patch/sand/patch/sand/patch/sand. 

He also said it's something that may come back every few years because our house is old, and well, has plaster walls.  {The proximity to our fireplace could also have something to do with the crack.  Changes in temperature = expanding and contracting...makes sense to me!}  The repair seemed easy enough, and I thanked him for stopping by...and then I made a list of materials I'd need and went to Home Depot.

I have grand plans of patching this crack {along with a smaller one in our hallway ceiling} myself.  I figure if I screw it up, I'll need to have a professional come in anyway....so why not try it first and see if I can save the $200.

Wish me luck.  I will probably need it. ;)