I planned to do a blog about the new house before I even knew which house it would be (and THAT’S kind of a long story, that I’ll tell sometime). We had no idea we were even going to move until around this time last year. In fact, around this time last year we were simultaneously FINALLY getting around to some long neglected projects at the old house (we were doing a quicky bathroom renovation just before Christmas last year) AND trying to decide if it was for us or for whoever the new owners would be. And then things picked up speed.

I knew I wanted things to move more quickly, reno and decorating-wise, in the new house than they had in the old house. And I knew I found reading about such things fun in other people’s blogs and that I would likely enjoy writing about such things in my own blog. And, hey, I was right! My favorite things so far about doing this blog:

1. Motivation: even back when I hadn’t really told anyone about the blog and no one was reading, knowing it was out there was a huge motivating force. “We have to finish something THIS weekend, so I can take the pictures and blog about it!”

2. A place to write stuff: I like to have somewhere to write stuff. I had the homeschool blog for years before this, but it never felt very….creative. I know some people are great at having creative homeschool blogs that are fun to read, but I usually felt like I was writing some variation on, “and then we did some math and read some stuff” over and over again. Which is probably partially a reflection of how we do school….we don’t do a lot of crafts that are fun to take pictures of. We….read stuff. And talk about it. Which is lovely, but not terribly visual.

When I was in high school, I had a zine. My zine is still more google-able than my real name is. Apparently one can find copies of it in Box 94 of the “Alternative Traditions in the Contemporary Arts: Periodicals and Zines” collection at the University of Iowa. I wrote lots of teen angsty stuff about war and The Brady Bunch and whatnot. Blogging is kind of like having a zine, only without all of that copying and going to the post office. And you can just click on a button to see who’s reading instead of walking all the way to the mailbox. The landfills are thanking the internet, too.

3. Other blogs: Before I had this blog, I read Young House Love and Making It Lovely and poked around on Apartment Therapy.

Did you know that there are way more blogs than that out there?! It’s true. And finding my favorites and reading them has been so much fun.

I found Decor and the Dog’s posts about blogging super helpful when I was first starting to write (link parties? who knew?) and later had a fabulous time when they teamed up with Newly Woodwards, Maybe Matilda, and Two Twenty One for the Holiday Dare to DIY link party. I found it really doable and approachable, but it also made me do some things I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to otherwise (and started me reading several great new-to-me blogs regularly).

And making some blogging friends whose blogs I never miss reading and with whom I regularly exchange comments and ideas has definitely been one of the best things about blogging. Broke Ass Home, Interiors by Kenz, Middle Class Modern, and Shift Ctrl Art in particular have all been great fun to “meet” as well as being constantly inspiring with all their great ideas.

4. Becoming braver about craftiness: I have mentioned my poor spatial reasoning skills before. Parking terrifies me. I sew the legs on pants wrong. But reading about other people’s craftiness has inspired me more than I thought possible. I made a mobile! And no sew curtains! And it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought! And they didn’t look like a 4 year old made them! It is possible I’ll even break out the sewing machine one of these days. It’s also possible I’ll just single handedly keep the Heat N’ Bond people in business instead.

And now I’ve written this whole post with nary a single picture. There should probably be a picture so people don’t get bored. Here you go:

ETA: I totally forgot my number 5!

5. Benjamin Moore paint: okay, I didn’t need a blog to find this (though the internet in general was certainly a big part of my color searching), but I’m so glad I stumbled across Nantucket Fog to start my love affair with Benjamin Moore. Before that, I was always a “pick out something that looks good on the card at Home Depot” kind of girl. But I remember vividly the moment when I painted my little sample of Nantucket Fog in the dining room next to the samples from Home Depot. Oh, Benjamin Moore! Your colors are so much richer and more complex! And your paint is the same price! I will never go back! I don’t think I’ve ever loved a paint color the way I love my Nantucket Fog. Although Newburg Green is giving it a run for its money. It’s also very helpful that the closest Benjamin Moore dealer is 5 minutes from my house….even closer than Home Depot!