Over the past month, I've been taking Holly's online course, Blogging Your Way 2.0, and I wanted to share some of what I've learned. Maybe some of you are thinking about taking a similar course in the future, or maybe you're just wondering what the heck someone learns in a blogging course.


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After sharing her story, one of the first things Holly asked us to think about is why we blog and what our goals for our blogs are. Several years ago, I was sifting through a box of old schoolwork that my parents had saved for me. In report card after report card, my teachers all commented on my enthusiasm for art and creative writing. As I pulled painting after drawing after short story from the box, I remember thinking to myself, what happened to this person? Somehow, somewhere along the way, I had completely detached from my creative side without even realizing it.

Nothing much changed at the time and, years later, I had graduated from university and completed a masters degree, I had started my career and I was living with the man I planned to marry. Life was good, but something was missing (it wasn't a baby).

And then I discovered blogs. I'd been refinishing furniture for a couple of years at this point and I was driving Adam crazy with constant ramblings about my decorating plans for our apartment. I started reading and commenting on blogs and quickly discovered an entire community of people who shared my obsession with decor and DIY projects. Before long, I decided I didn't want to just comment on other people's projects and ideas, I wanted to share mine, too. For me, blogging is a way to nurture my creative side. I blog because it allows me to write, share, connect, create and express myself.


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Before taking Holly's course, I'd been too scared to really think about my goals for this blog, because having goals means taking responsibility for achieving them (or not). The course pushed me to not only identify my goals, but also to write them down and feel good about it.

We talked about the emotional aspects of blogging - overcoming jealousy, writing from an authentic place, facing our fears of failure - alongside the very practical - taking better pictures, Photoshop tips and tricks, creative post ideas and ways to monetize your blog.


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As it comes to an end, I'm excited to put what I've learned into my blog - into improving it and making it more enjoyable for you to read, but also into growing it into something that I can really be proud of.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I got started on the Great De-Clutter of 2012 - one of three major home goals I set for myself this year. I've still got A LOT of work to do, but getting started has totally motivated me to keep going (as does daydreaming about what my life will be like once my home is orderly and organized). It feels good.

In the spirit of finally getting around to things, two lovely ladies - Tanya from Dans le Townhouse and
Meg from Nutmeg & Company - tagged me in a fun little bloggy game that's going around. My apologies for the long post, but hopefully you enjoy reading my answers to their awesome questions (I've combined a few to keep it as short as possible)!

1. How much time do you devote to blogging each day? What is the best thing about blogging?

I probably spend an hour or two on each post I write and I try to write three posts a week. Since blogging is a hobby and not a career for me (as in, I have a totally unrelated 40+ hours-a-week day job), I try not to put too much pressure on myself to spend a certain amount of time blogging. Of course I can almost always find the time to read and comment on other blogs - that's the really fun part!

To me, the best thing about blogging has been discovering a whole community of people who are similarly obsessed with home decor, renos and DIY projects. My husband sometimes complains that I always have home improvement projects on the brain, so I can't imagine what I'd be like without you guys to share my obsession with!

2. What do you think is the best room in your house/home/apartment/lean-to? Which room in your house reflects your style the most?

These are tough questions! Even though I recently moved everything around and it's completely unfinished (picture tape on the floor to mark the site of a future rug, a half-dismantled gallery wall, and pieces of furniture waiting to be moved into and out of the room), the living room/dining room is definitely my favourite place to be. I don't have any pictures of what the room looks like now (well, you wouldn't want to see it now - give me a couple of weeks!), but I am so excited about this space's future. You'll have to stay tuned to see what I'm talking about!

3. What project are you working on in your home right now?

Do I have to pick just one?

4. What makes your house a home?

I think we're still in the process of turning our house into a home - it's really what this blog is all about - but to me, a home tells you something about the people who live there and a house is just a building.

5. What is your favorite colour? favourite season? favourite fabric? favourite band/musician?
Blue. Fall. Is there such thing as wrinkle-proof linen? Obviously my favourite band is my husband's - Glory Glory! I also love TV On The Radio and I've been known to blast a Rihanna tune or two in my car.

6. What is the best thing you cook?

My husband is really the cook in our family, but I make a pretty mean sweet potato ravioli.

7. Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla, provided I can add a mix-in of my choosing.

8. What skill would you love to learn?
I don't know if this really counts as a skill, but I have always wanted to speak French fluently. I'm an intermediate speaker, but I need to get my butt in gear and start taking classes again. I definitely plan to enroll my future child in a French immersion program, so that's some more motivation for me!

9. Are you sentimental about stuff, or can you de-clutter with ease?
I think I can de-clutter with too much ease! My husband will keep anything as long as it still works (and he has a pretty loose definition of "works"), so I like to think that we balance each other out. He stops me from tossing stuff we still need and I keep him from appearing on an episode of Hoarders (OK, he's not that bad).

10. What was your childhood nickname?

Growing up, everyone called me Amy. This was largely due to the popularity of the Amelia Bedelia books. They say everyone loves Amelia Bedelia. I disagree.

11. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A professional traveller? One of my favourite pasttimes was looking up places I wanted to visit in our set of encyclopedias (this was before Google people) and copying down key points like population, national bird and/or flower, and major exports. I also used to make my mom (a teacher) grade these 'reports'. I was obviously a pretty cool kid.

12. How do you organize your books? By colour? By theme?  Some personalized system?
I organize books by author, but I choose books by topic (e.g. I feel like reading a book about China, the Civil War, etc.). It seem like most people I ask choose books by author, so I'm wondering if anyone else out there is like me.

13. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Growing up, my mom always stressed the importance of being able to stand on your own two feet, especially as a woman. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and I can't imagine my life without him, but I'm proud of the work I've put into my education and career. My independence is my most-cherised accomplishment.

14. Do you buy yourself fresh-cut flowers?

I used to and I firmly believe they're worth every penny. Last year I was able to cut them from our garden, which was awesome, and I'd love to get back into the habit of having fresh flowers around the house.

15. Do you screen your phone calls?

Does not answering your phone, no matter who calls, count as screening? It drives my family crazy.

I'm not going to pass this one on, since I think a lot of bloggers have already participated. If you have, leave me a comment with a link to your answers - I'd love to check them out! And a huge thanks to Tanya and Meg for tagging me!

Style-ING w/Children was nice enough to think of me and my little ol' blog for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you! I've really enjoyed getting to know other bloggers through this award, so I'm kind of excited to share seven things about me. Here it goes:

1. I have a Masters degree in Public Administration and work full-time as a small business lobbyist, which means you can sometimes find me in the paper or on the radio advocating policy that supports the growth of entrepreneurship. It's definitely not what I pictured myself doing for a living (my background is in healthcare), but I feel very lucky to do the work that I do. I've found that every small business owner has an inspiring story to tell and I have so much respect and apprecation for the incredible amount of hard work and dedication it takes to run a business. What can I say? I love small business!
2. I also love Kraft Dinner. I've been known to eat an entire box on my own, with chopsticks (the chopsticks make it better somehow). In fact, whenever my husband's band is on tour (like now) you'll find me with Kraft Dinner and chopsticks in hand.
3. I'm a dual citizen. My parents are Americans who came to Canada to go to university and decided to stay. I was born and raised in Canada, but I went to university in Massachusetts and lived in Boston until I started dating my now-husband and moved back to Canada to be with him. Now I have family in Nova Scotia, Florida, Wisconsin and New England. Yes, holidays are complicated :) 
4. I have a serious daydreaming problem and my daydreams include running my own business (hopefully related to interior decorating and design) and making a documentary (topic TBD). Someday.
5. I'm obsessed with documentaries (hence #4). I'll watch a documentary on any topic, but I especially love crime documentaries (as a teenager I probably watched every episode of A&E's American Justice and City Confidential...I can't believe I just told you that). They're also my favourite thing to have on in the background while I'm working on a project. It's why I signed up for Netflix.
6. I detest, loathe, absolutely cannot stand the song 'Black Velvet' by Alannah Myles. Just thinking about it makes me angry.
7. I once accidentally joined a half-marathon while going for a weekend run. As I rounded the corner on my usual route, I noticed groups of people on either side of the road cheering me on. It was slightly embarrassing, but also incredibly motivating (although not motivating enough to make me want to formally enter a race).  

That was fun. So many of the blogs I love to read have already received this award, so I think I'll hold off on passing it around for now. Thanks again to Style-ING w/Children for letting me get in on the fun :)

Update: Beatrice from The Crafty Bee was nice enough to nominate me too. Thank you so much!!

Katie from Creative Outlets gave my blog some love with the Liebster Blog award yesterday! Thanks Katie!!

The award helps promote new or growing blogs and the idea is to thank the giver and pass the love along to five other deserving blogs. With that in mind, here are five blogs I love to read and hope you will too (if you don't already):

1. Nette at This Dusty House
2. Shannon at 8foot6
3. Emily at Lucite + Lavender
4. Heather at Interior Groupie
5. Linds at Little Orphan Aggie

Hopefully they'll pass the love along to five more blogs and we all find some new inspiration!

Notice anything different? My blog has a fresh new look thanks to Sorren of Sorren Isler Creative (she's got a super stylish blog too). Didn't she do an awesome job? I'm pretty giddy about it :)

Hi guys,

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted anything in awhile. There's a lot going on in my personal life right now, so I've had to take a short break from blogging. The reality of having a full-time job and a part-time volunteer gig means that I can't post here as often as I'd like (and I can't transform my house that quickly either). The good news is that I've got lots of DIY home improvement projects on the go, which means that I'll have lots of updates to share with you soon. So please bear with me as I figure out how to fit this whole blogging thing into the rest of my life.

Love,

Amelia xox