Three Years Later

Last year, on the day of my second blogiversary, we entertained a team of photographers (at the old house) for a photo shoot. It wasn’t clear where the images would land because the photographer planned to share them with many publications, but it was a fun experience, and having a fresh set of eyes on our belongings was really, really inspiring. This month, clearly in celebration of my third blogiversary, the photos were published in Small Room Decorating. SUPER EXCITING!

It was just last week when we finally saw the issue in a local Wegmans. To say our house was photographed beautifully is an understatement; it’s the best it ever looked. (Julia moved all of the copies to the forefront of the mag display too, which is probably breaking some retail code of conduct, but I didn’t care, and I didn’t discourage her from doing it again.)

I’m so happy to be celebrating my third year of blogging today, even if it’s in the midst of a quiet streak as I enjoy time with my new daughter. I think I fell more in love with managing Merrypad this year, and ironically, the reason I love it more is because because I’ve allowed myself to be more lax about the pressures that come with being a full time blogger. I took longer “vacations” without stressing about planned filler content so that I could focus on real life during my winter wedding and honeymoon. I slipped on managing a tight editorial calendar when I became pregnant, because I was too tired to keep up. I stayed hush-hush about our house-shopping-buying experience until it became a sure thing, both because it was a stressful and uncertain process, and also because I knew that writing about the soap opera of home financing wasn’t my style (plus, it was dramatic and reiterating the same stink over and over felt boooring to write). And because of the move, I didn’t spend a ton of time investing in projects tied to our old house between last November and this past June, because (can’t argue with this) it doesn’t make sense to over-invest in any way if you’re going to be leaving the place. That money saved was much better spent on things like LED lightbulbs and maple hardwoods in our new house.

Less is more sometimes, and I think finding a better rhythm for myself will continue to translate into being able to produce the type of content I enjoy, and enable me to dedicate enough time to do the types of projects I want to be doing. It’s still about finding the time and resources to improve and customize and make things for our home. You’ll see more of our living room next week. Boy, if I looked that tired before having the baby, I’d hate to see how I photograph now.

Wedding, new house, baby aside, it has been a really awesome year, and it’s you guys that I have to thank for that. Your comments, emails, and general excitement and encouragement is what keeps me enthusiastic about continuing to do all of this.

Being more liberal with my editorial style and learning to blog on my own schedule has been amazingly freeing, it’s back to feeling like less of a “job” and more of a hobby. I like to think this has a positive effect on the overall blog, because now I’m excited to write. The words come more easily. The content is effortless. The posts are more genuine. It’s the direction that I see the blog going.

Opportunities seem to be more and more abundant too, which isn’t what I set out to achieve originally but have been pleasantly surprised by. My contract work with DIY Network has continued to be especially awesome, and in the last year it launched its new blog Made + Remade which really opened up more opportunity for creativity on my part. I’ve accepted a few sponsorships too, those of which I’ve written about I’ve been pretty selective but have enabled me/us the chance to experiment with some great products and hopefully give you ideas for your own home. More recently, I’ve had the opportunity to create guest ideabooks for Houzz, which allows me to imagine my home and, in essence, “shop” in a new way.

For all of that, thank you. Off to have some celebratory apple pie!