Structured Freestyle'n

Hello friends, and happy Friday!

Yesterday, as I gave a shout out to fellow bloggers who have sent some love my way, I also gave a small preview for what I would be posting today.

Though it's nearly been one year since my first official blog post, I didn't actually release my site to anyone (not even friends or family) for five months.  As awkward as it was to pose questions like, "what do you think?" when no one even knew I existed, I felt it was important to have some content available for readers when I did finally get my name out there...and so, for five months I built content, structured site features, and developed my brand.

My original plan was to structure the site and develop content during the month of December 2010, and release my blog to the masses on January 1st 2011.  I'll pause while my fellow bloggers chuckle and shake their heads.  I soon realized that blogging isn't as easy as you might think.  It's challenging to come up with content that others will find interesting.  Not only that, web design takes time and energy, and when you're also a full-time employee and student, those two things are difficult to come by.

Am I complaining?  Absolutely not!  I'm just stating that my eyes were quickly opened to the reality of blogging...or perhaps better said, the reality of blogging the right way.

Once I realized what it would really take to make a good site with valuable content, I gave myself a deadline to have my site ready for release in April 2010.  Even though I still felt the site was in its primitive stage (and I still kinda do), on April 10th, 2011, I felt the site was ready to be released to my friends and family.

Because of that, I consider April 10th to be the birthday of A Happy Place Called Home--and that means October 10th is my six-month-iversary!

Man, I've come a long way since those first few posts...but honestly, I've been flying blogging by the seat of my pants this entire time!  I haven't really had a game plan, and I realize that my posting is a bit unreliable.  

At first, I had the mentality that I didn't want to be held to any sort of posting structure.  I thought my blog would feel more true to myself if I posted when I wanted to, and about what I wanted to at the time.  I can't really say that it hasn't been nice to give myself that flexibility, but as more-and-more people have started to visit my blog, leave comments, and offer encouraging words, I've gained an increased commitment to blogging not only for myself, but also for my readers.

While my priority will always be to blog about things that make me happy (because trust me, you don't want to read about the things that don't), I also want to offer more valuable content and feature things that speak to you too; and so, I'm making a new commitment for how this blog will be managed.

Here's what will change:

• I will no longer be posting on a whim, or go missing for 2-3 days at a time.
• I will make more of an effort to feature content from other bloggers, through guest posts, Blogland features, etc.
• I will be introducing monthly themes.

Here's what will stay the same:

• I will still be posting about things I love, and adventures I have.
• I will always value your input, thoughts, and comments!

So here's my new posting strategy:

Monday--I will be introducing a "Tip of the Week" that will be posted each Monday.  These tips will feature information that I found to be helpful or inspiring.  The sources could be from anywhere, Pinterest, HGTV.com, Marthastewart.com, Better Homes and Gardens, other blogs, but also from you!  If you have found a tip worth sharing, please use the Suggestion Box to send me information you would like to see featured.

Tuesday--Here's where the freestyle'n part comes in.  I'm leaving Tuesday's open on my posting strategy to post about whimsical things.  Most likely you'll see the projects I'm working on show up here, but I may even decide to take a breather on this day, or prep upcoming posts.

Wednesday Rotation--Here are the types of posts I will cycle through on Wednesdays

• Best of Blogland--A highlight of great projects from other bloggers around the web.  I will use these posts to build up the Best of Blogland library, which houses many great ideas from the blogging royal family.  (Here's an example)
• Trend Alerts--This will be a new feature that I will be adding.  Trend alerts will focus on what is popular within the interior design community.  I'm hoping this content will take me back to my design roots, and help me to stay current with where the design industry is headed.  While DIY/home improvement and interior design are very similar, they also have some unique differences.  I'd like to share an inside peek into the world of professional interior design in addition to the do-it-yourself philosophy.  (Here's an example)
• Shout Outs/Great Artists to Check Out--I've submitted posts like this before, but I think there are a lot of great blogs, companies, and artists out there that deserve some love.  I like to talk about people who are doing their thing, and kicking booty!  It's so inspirational for me to see the power of creative minds!  (Here's an example)
• Inspirational Spaces--I love gaining ideas from others who have created truly inspiring living spaces.  It's honestly one of my favorite things to do, so I'll be featuring more of them on this blog. (Here's an example.)

Theme Thursday--I mentioned it briefly above, but I'm introducing monthly themes!  Each Thursday, I'll post new content about the theme for that month.  This should be totally fun!  Tomorrow, I'll be introducing the theme for October.  I bet you can totally guess what it is (it's pretty common sense for October), but I'm still excited to give it a go!

Friday Rotation--Here are the types of posts I will cycle through on Fridays

• Window Shopping Finds--You've seen me post about these adventures here, here, and here, and whenever a window shopping trip turns into an actual shopping trip, we'll play the guessing game where you can tell me what you think I bought.
• Kelli's Top Ten--This will be a new feature where I'll post about the top then things I'm digging at the time.  It might be products, pins from Pinterest, places, or whatever!
• Monthly Guest Post--This will also be a new feature I'm going to try out.  I'd like to have other bloggers submit content to my site at least once per month.  I love how interactive the blogging community is, and I believe the more ideas shared, the better!  If you have a blog and are interested in submitting a guest post, please contact me and we can arrange the topic and deadline.
• Lunch Break Adventures--These might be more fun for me than for anyone else, but when you work a corporate job, it's nice to get out of the office for an hour to do something fun.  Usually my friend Jana and I make a run for it, so I'll share some of the adventures we have, and the great deals we find all within 60 minutes. (Here's an example)

Saturday--You might have noticed that most of my projects are completed over the weekend.  Because of that, I'm leaving Saturdays open.  You may see a post show up here-and-there, but just remember, creative Saturdays will lead to fun projects to read about later on in the week.

Sunday--This day will be dedicated to building up the Idea Center.  I will be alternating between creating a new color scheme (since there's only 4 in the library right now...boo!), and inspiration boards. I'm hoping to this will help to make those sections of the website more valuable and inspiring.

So there you have it!  That's the new game plan...

It might be the death of me, but we'll give it a go.  October will be my test run, so I hope you'll follow me through it, and let me know if it's working out.  Your input is always appreciated, so please tell me what you think!

Featured, who me?

Wow!  I've only been blogging for a few months, but I just can't get over how supportive the blogging community is!

Many of you followed my failures and triumphs when it came to my chandelier project a few weeks back.

Since that time, I've been incredibly fortunate to have the project featured by some power-house bloggers out there.  I feel so grateful for all of the kind words, encouragement, and positive feedback I've received from this project--and for that I wanted to say thank you!

It all started when Sherry from Young House Love pinned my chandelier to her "Stuff to DIY" board on Pinterest.

Sherry and her husband John are the American Idols of blogging.  I'm not kidding!  Their blog is so fun and energetic, it's impossible to not become a true follower!  Needless to say, I was quite honored to have a project of mine noticed by blogging celebrities like them!

After being pinned, somehow the project was found by the writers at Curbly.com, which is an awesome site featuring DIY projects, inspiration, and ideas.

When I saw that they had posted about my chandelier I almost fell off of my chair!  It was amazing because I use their site as a source of inspiration, so it was awesome to see that people might be inspired to tackle this project for their own home!

Next, I started to get some shout-outs on Twitter:

...and then some love from Tip Junkie!

Seriously?  Tip Junkie!!  Talk about another member of the blogging royal family!  Holy smokes!!

Then, I made the cut at Homepodge.com!

...and was featured in the article, "When to splurge vs. when to save," at Sheknows.com

Today I found that I was featured by a new up-and-coming site, Knock-off Decor, which features DIY projects that were inspired by expensive brand-name products.

I know I will definitely be following this new blog to find more money-saving ideas!  That's what I love about blogging!  It's a place where ideas spread like sunshine!

...and, to put the icing on the cake...today I received an email from Cass at Remodelaholic letting me know that the chandelier would be featured on her blog next Tuesday, October 4th (so be sure to check it out)!

In case I haven't said it enough, I can't believe how supportive the blogging community is!  I am so thankful for the kind words I have received from bloggers and readers alike!  I hope anyone out there who has been thinking about blogging will seriously consider it!  Trust me, it surprised me how much I actually enjoy it...but I'm totally hooked!  

October 10th will mark the 6 month-iversary of the date I released my blog link to family and friends, and I've learned so much along the way.  

The main thing I've learned about blogging is that you truly have to be passionate about your subject matter.  You have to blog first for yourself, and allow others to experience your adventures along with you.  Sometimes it's difficult to be vulnerable, but you have to be true to who you are and share both your triumphs and your failures. 

It's like the journal that talks back to you!  How cool is that?!

I'm hoping this post can begin to say thank you to everyone out there who has been so supportive!  It comes nowhere close to expressing the gratitude I feel, but it's a small token of my appreciation and optimism for my blogging experience thus far.

Tomorrow I'll be posting about my new blogging game-plan that I hope will bring some great content to this site.  It's been a good start, but I've been struggling to find a good posting routine.  I'm hoping to change that moving forward, and hope you'll check out the ideas I've come up with.

A Few Small Things

This week I said goodbye to something that's been with me since I was about 12 years old.  I'm a little sad about it, but I also feel good about it.

Yes.  My trusty ol' bedroom set has found a new home.  I'm sad because this bedroom set went through my crazy teen years with me, but happy because it is going into a home with two teenage girls who will be putting it to better use.  Plus, it clears out some space so we can find the items we truly want.

Mark and I have been using this set in various bedrooms since we first got married, but we decided it was time to transition to furniture that fits our new style preferences, and is appropriate for estrogen and testosterone alike.

One of the reasons I've been putting off selling the set was because I didn't think that I had anywhere to put the things that we were storing inside of it--but when I actually started going through the stuff that was in there I realized I had a place to put things after all.

Most of the things I was storing in the drawers and cupboards were either clothes, blankets, or....

...HOUSE DECOR!!!

I know it's pathetic that I've lived in my house for a little over two years and have only hung a few pictures, but seeing this pile of picture frames has inspired me to start hanging what needs to be hung, and accessorizing what needs to be accessorized!

Yesterday, I created a wall display near the kitchen (which I fixed today by swapping out the sideways pictures in the photo frame):

So today, I decided to touch up the accessories in the guest bedroom.  It's not quite done, but I think I'm liking the direction it's headed.

To finish it up, I just need to find an image that I want to place in the frame on the desk.  Right now, it's just the stock photo that came with the frame, so you'll see me changing that out soon.  Otherwise, all I did was hang a star that I bought from Ross last fall and add a book and a jewelry box.

Has anyone else made some small changes to your decor?  Is anyone decorating for fall?  Tell me all about it!  I know that we're technically in the fall season right now, but I'm still waiting for it to feel like it's really fall.  Maybe the temperatures will start to drop soon.

A Spoonful of Sugar

Am I the only one who's totally ga-ga for flatware art?

A few days ago, I found these inspirational ideas on Pinterest, and I've been thinking about making my own version ever since.

For a while now, I've been wanting to create an art arrangement on the little wall near the kitchen, and I thought something like this would be simple enough to work with the decor in both the kitchen and the family room (since they're adjacent to one another).

It's a perfect little place to hang the chalkboard I made for my friends bridal shower, but I also wanted to tie in a key holder that Mark and I were given as a wedding gift.  We've had this key holder in every single place that we've lived, and it's not that it's sentimental, it's more that it's just so functional!

Well, the key holder is red, so I thought it might look pretty sweet if I painted some spoons to match it...but I didn't have any spoons that would work.  So, yesterday I dropped by Savers on my way home and I found the perfect frames and some pretty cool spoons!

The frames were $2.99 each and the spoons were about a dollar each.  I was originally thinking I would frame three spoons in the larger frame, one spoon in the smaller frame, and arrange them something like this:

But then I found that the back on the little frame was super-glued nice and tight.  Boo!  You'd think I'd learn to check that first, but somehow I still am surprised by these things.

I tried to pry it off with a screwdriver, but I was just tearing off the top layer.  It reminded me of the issues I encountered during my chandelier project, so I figured that I should stop before I destroyed my chances of returning it to Savers.  I was bummed that it didn't work out and has to be returned, but I just couldn't see these little fish fitting in anywhere...

I guess they'll have to find another home somewhere.  Hopefully somewhere with a kids room. 

But, anyhoo...I moved on and found another arrangement that I liked.

Obviously, I will need to change out the pictures in the frame on the right, but I figured I'd take care of the spoon project today and find new photos later.

First, I gave the spoons a coat of primer.

Then, I mixed some paint to match the key holder, and painted the fronts of the spoons.

It took about three coats to clear up all of the white streaks, but it didn't require that much paint. 

As I waited for the paint to dry on the spoons, I used some leftover paint from the guest bedroom samples and painted a piece of canva paper (the same kind I used for the heart art I made for the shower) to use as the backdrop.

When everything was dry, I used some glue dots that I had to secure the spoons to the canva-paper.

I could have just used my hot-glue-gun, but I was too impatient today to wait for it to heat up.  The glue dots seemed to hold the spoons just fine though.

I really like how the red and the black tie together within the arrangement.  I'm thinking when I change out the pictures in the frame I'll try to incorporate a touch more of red in the three bottom openings.  I'm thinking some numbers, probably our anniversary date or something, but I think that would give it just the right balance.

Now we can leave each other love notes, plus we won't lose our keys anymore!  Talk about a functional art display!!!  What do you guys think?

Does anyone else lose their keys all of the time?  I am terrible!  Between my keys and my cell-phone I think I'm always looking for something that's lost!

The Places I've Called Home

Most of the time, I'm pretty happy to live in Arizona.

You can't beat the weather from October through April, but from May through September you had better be able to stand the heat!  I noticed this year that I feel more-and-more acclimated to the Arizona climate.  For some reason, 105 doesn't feel that hot anymore.  Maybe it's because I've lived in Arizona my entire life.

Yep, I'm a native...but I've bounced around the state from time-to-time.  Here's a little trip down memory lane for the places I've called home:

1.  LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

Well, it wasn't really on the prairie, but it was a little house in a small farming community.  

The house was a cute two bedroom that my dad designed for our family. There's only me and my sister, so it was perfect for the four of us.  I was just a little girl, but I remember the house had a big backyard with grass and a tall tree (I think it was an oak tree, but my folks will need to help me out on that one...). 

I remember that we had a lot of cats at that house, and we named them all after Disney characters--Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Bambi, Thumper, etc.  I think we had so many cats because my sister and I would explore my grandpa's barn (which was nearby) and bring home all of the baby kitties we found in the haystack.  Now that I'm older, I think about those poor mamma cats that went out hunting and came back to find that their babies had been stolen by two little country girls--but at the time I remember thinking that we had saved some lost kittens from their doom.  Maybe that's why I'm so nervous about being known as the cat-lady of blogland (click here for more deets on that).

We also used to have a really mean dog named Nina, but imagine that with the little squiggly ~ over the second N, and pronounce it "Neen-ya" (with attitude).  I think that we should have named her Mean-ya because she would always chase us when we would go outside.  She was only allowed in the portion of the backyard that was closest to the house door, so I remember running for my little life from the back door to the "safe zone" that was out of reach from her snippity teeth.

I'm not sure why my parents had such a mean dog, but then again I'm only remembering it from a toddler's perspective.  It might have been that I was just terrified of dogs and over-dramatized the whole thing.  It seems that I did the same thing with the shed that we had in our backyard.  I remember thinking that thing was huge, but a few years ago I visited the old house and couldn't believe how tiny it actually is!  It's crazy how your perspective changes with time.

2.  THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK DAD (AND MOM) BUILT

You might remember this house from the bridal shower pics I posted a few weeks ago.  This is the house I would technically say that I grew up in, only it didn't always look like this.  

When we moved into the house it was completely unfinished.  It had wood floors, but not the kind that real-estate agents brag about!  The entire thing was basically sub flooring and sheet-rock.  My parents got a great deal on the place and bought it mid-construction.  Too bad blogging didn't really exist back then, because I'm sure they had some interesting adventures as they turned the house into what you see in the picture above.

It was at this house that my dad used the backyard to build a huge BBQ pit (that I posted about here); but, our backyard also had a horse corral for our pony Tory (yes, we had a pony!), and a practice mound for when I was a pitcher on the softball team!  All I can say is...only in a small town is this stuff possible...

We'd never get away with having a pony in the city!

3.  THE CORNER HOUSE

My first adventure away from home started at a house that was practically in the center of my college's campus.  I lived there the first semester with Breezy, Kileigh, Mary, and Trish; but for the second semester Mary and Trish moved out and Dre, Shawna, and Kristy moved in.  Talk about a mad house! There was always something going on!  Because we lived so close to the campus, we always had people stopping by to say hello.

I remember one time we came home to find all of our sinks and toilets filled with goldfish.  It was a silly prank that some boys played on us, and what a terrible prank it was!  Never, ever, ever, fill your toilets (or anyone else's) with fish!  Pretty self-explanitory, I know...but try telling that to college freshmen.

4.  APARTMENT 1 (2 BEDROOM / 4 GIRLS)

After my first year of college, I transferred schools and moved to the Phoenix area.  I moved with my roommate Kileigh, and her sister Lexi moved in with us too.  Then Elisha moved in to make it four.  

I remember thinking that apartment was so nice when we moved into it, but it quickly went down the shoot.  But we soon found that many of our college friends lived in the same complex (apparently it was college student budget friendly), so it wound up being pretty fun even though the garbage disposal didn't work, and pigeons laid eggs on the balcony.

I had a pet fish at this apartment, but sadly I accidentally killed it.  I put the bowl near one of the windows, thinking that fishy would like some sunlight, but sunlight in Arizona doesn't have the same effect as sunlight in other places.  It's like the scorch of death, and sadly the fish got over-heated. Poor little guy!  I felt so terrible!

5.  APARTMENT 2 (3 BEDROOMS / 4 GIRLS)

There's really not much to say about this apartment, other than it was much nicer than my first apartment.  I lived here with Lexi and Elisha, and then we had a girl named Kasha living with us for a while.  We were all really busy at the time, so not a whole lot went down.

I do remember that Lexi and I used to share groceries, and one time we accidentally ate Kasha's jam. Lexi thought that the jam was mine, and I had seen Lexi eating it, so I thought it was hers.  We woke up the next morning to find a "love note" from Kasha requesting that we stop eating her food immediately.  I felt terrible, but now that I look back it's funny how different it is to live with roommates, vs. family.

6.  APARTMENT 3 (2 BEDROOMS / ONE HAPPY COUPLE)

This was Mark and I's first apartment, and it was kinda gloomy.  Not because of us...just because it literally was gloomy.  All of the finishes were straight from the 80's (yeah, that's right, we had metal doors that were painted to look like wood and were accented with brushed-gold knobs and trim. Jealous??)

The apartment was on the first floor, and each of the windows were shaded by the patios from the second floor.  That made for cooler temperatures during the summer-time, but after a few years of living there we decided that we needed some sunlight.

The funniest part about this place was the washer and dryer.  It was a stackable set, that could literally wash about four napkins at once.  It wasn't even worth the water it used.  I remember hauling all of our laundry to the laundry rooms they had at the complex.  If no one else was using them, I would take up all four of the washers/dryers to get all of our laundry done at once.  It was like laundry on steroids!  I kinda miss it, and wish that I had four washers now!

7.  APARTMENT 4 (1 BEDROOM / ONE CROWDED COUPLE)

Because we needed sunlight, we moved to this charming apartment that had a lot of natural lighting.  It was a little smaller than the first place, but instead of having a second bedroom it had a dining room. I'm not sure how we crowded into that place, but we both loved that apartment!  We loved the neighborhood, the complex, and everything else! 

I was in my senior year of my design program by this time and I remember having all of my samples spread out across the floor when I would work on my projects.  We didn't have a table, so I got in the habit of finding any available space to work.  It's a habit that I still have today.  I'm trying to learn how to blog in an ergonomic way (you know, something that doesn't destroy my muscles and joints), but it's still more comfortable for me to lay on the floor than sit at a desk.

By the way, if you're living in a tight space, like our little one-bedroom, check out my article on space saving tips for small spaces!

8.  MY HAPPY PLACE CALLED HOME

Home-sweet-home.  

This is where we are now (click here for the story behind our first home).  I don't think it will be our last move, but we definitely plan to be here for quite some time.  I'm loving having our own place, and being able to turn it into a home.  It takes time, but I love to see how each room evolves.  There's a lot more to do, but you know I'll be sharing every detail along the way!

So now you know about the places I've lived.  Tell me about some of the places you've lived.  How many times have you moved?  Do you feel like you've finally settled into the place you'll call home forever?  I'm anxious to see who's moved the most.