Touring Through Blogland

Hello there! Today is a fun day because I'm participating in a blog tour. I was invited by Kelly at The Essence Of Home. I love Kelly's blog and cottage style decorating. She is a pro at decorating with a neutral palette, yet still incorporating subtle touches of color with flowers and pretty decor items. In fact, Kelly's beautiful home is one of the reasons I've been leaning toward more neutral colors in my own home lately. I love having a neutral base to work with when decorating. I'm finding it's really easy to change the feel of a room just by adding in different pillows, flowers, etc. Kelly is also the mom to two boys (just like me) and both our husbands are fire fighters, so we have a lot in common. :) 

Now for the tour...

Here are the four questions I'm supposed to answer:

1. What are you working on right now?

Well, right now I'm working on getting a home tour up on my blog. I really want to add a "home tour" tab at the top so people can get a quick glimpse of what my decorating style is. I started working on it right after the holidays, but then I had the feeling we would be doing a couple of major projects soon, so I decided to wait. As it turns out, we DID do a couple of major projects like Painting Almost The Entire Interior of Our House a Lighter Color, Doing a Makeover on Our Master Bedroom and Bath, and most recently, Painting Our Kitchen Cabinets White. We've had a busy year! The only other major project I can think of that's on the horizon is replacing our kitchen back splash with subway tile. It might be a few months before we get started on that though.

2. How does my work differ from others in this genre?

Hmm...that's a tough one. I'm not really sure, but I can say that I'm really just doing this for fun and I love making new friends through blogging. I love the interaction with readers. I've gotten so much inspiration from others and it really makes my day when I get an email from a reader saying I inspired them in some small way. I don't think my blog is all that different from other home decor blogs, but I do try to inject my personality into it. And of course, my blog includes the adventures of the one and only Holly The Cat. ;)

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

This kind of ties into my answer above. I think the main reason I write what I do is because I'm hoping it will inspire someone else. I can't tell you how many ideas I've gotten from other blogs. I've also saved a lot of money by learning how to diy things from other bloggers. When I find a good deal or an easy and inexpensive way to update my home, I can't keep my mouth shut. :) I'm one of those people who feels the need to tell everyone I know about a great sale or easy home decor project. I could never keep all that to myself. :)

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

When I first started blogging, I would have probably a month's worth of blog posts in draft. I had every post scheduled for the next 3-4 weeks. Of course, things would always come up that I wanted to share, so I'd end up doing "filler" posts in between those scheduled ones. As time has gone on though, I've started blogging more "in the present." I don't have nearly as many posts in my draft folder as I used to. I sort of have an idea of what I want to write about, and sometimes even jot the order down on a piece of paper, but mostly I go week by week now. I try not to stress if I don't have the entire week planned out. :)

Now it's time for me to spotlight the three wonderful bloggers I've chosen. They will all participate in the tour next Monday, June 30th, so be sure to look for that. I'm very confident you'll love all three of these ladies. They all have such wonderful ideas and are just the sweetest bloggers!

1. Selene at Restoration Beauty

Selene is on a mission to add some style and personality to her cookie cutter home in the form of diy projects and crafts. She's also obsessed with homemade natural cleaning solutions and organizing. As long as something is being restored back to beauty, she is a happy gal!

2. Maria Elena at Our Home Away From Home

Maria Elena started her blog a little over two years ago. Although her career has been in Early Childhood Education, she has always loved to decorate. Her blog is mostly about home decor and diy projects. She loves sewing and crafts and her husband's hobby is to build furniture and make home improvements, so there's always something happening at their home. 

3. Stacey at Poofing The Pillows

Stacey's blog is all about home. She enjoys decorating, gardening, and good home cooking. She loves to spend time with her husband and two grown sons. 

I hope you'll visit these wonderful ladies. I've been following their blogs for a long time and am constantly inspired by them. :)

Enjoy your day!

~Lisa