If you get tagged, you:
a) Answer my questions to you on your blog in the form of a post.
b) Ask 5 questions of your own.
c) Tag some people. No minimum. No maximum. Just tag!
d) Come back and comment in this post below with a link to your blog post once you've tagged someone else so I can see what you wrote.
1. Where do you go for decor inspiration?
Blogs, first and foremost. There's so many things I pick up from other bloggers. This one has the best inspirational images. This one has fantastic taste and style. This one, this one, this one, and this one - supermoms with beautiful homes and beautiful children. Increasingly, I find myself drawn to bloggers who write not just about decor, but also about their family, cooking, fashion, photography, and life - because all those facets inspire what their homes look like, what their tastes are. Like this blogger, I see bits and pieces of her home on her blog, but reading about her creative fun exploits with her family leaves no doubt that their house is cozy, warm, and full of love. I mean, c'mon, just reading about their photo-booth adventure and superhero mother's day makes me want to show up on their doorstep and ask to be adopted!
2. Something you've learned this past year?
Over the past year, I've gone from being a stay-at-home mom on maternity leave to one back in the working world, working from home in a new job, having my daughter in part-time daycare, and exploring creative ventures on the side. Through that transition I've learned that life is momentary, fleeting, and ever-changing. I've also learned that things I thought were important really aren't and that what I choose to spend my limited time on should be the things that matter. I've also learned to slow down, to relish this moment, to stop pursuing (somewhat) the things I want and start appreciating the things I have - in abundance.
3. What inspired you to Blog?
I started this blog way back when we searching for our first house. My HGTV addiction was well-entrenched at that point, and since I loved writing, why not combine the two and write a home & decor blog? What has kept me blogging though is entirely different... I love how I've made some new friends through this blog and maybe inspired a project or two along the way. Mostly though, it is YOU folks with your kind comments and emails that keep me here.
4. If you could live somewhere else in the world, where would it be? Why?
Paris. In a heartbeat. It is HandyMan's and my most favourite city in the world. We went there on our honeymoon and it is a place we promise to visit every five years. What is it about that magical city? From the homes people live in to the food on your plate, from the stylish clothing to the striking architecture, it encapsulates beauty, art, history, modernity, and graceful living all in one.
5. Name something you wish you had more time for.
I wish I had more time to pursue my own creative business. When I was on maternity leave, I had grand plans to start my own business, a business* that would be personally and financially fulfilling enough to enable me to walk away from my day job as an IT strategic project manager. But if you've ever cared for a baby, you soon realize that the naps, feeding, diaper changes, and play times leaves little time for all the lunch meetings, conference calls, business plan writing and networking required for a start-up. And though I'm back at my day job, the business is still there in the background and I'm determined to make it work. Somehow. If only that Chloe could learn to schedule her naps around my conference calls :)
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That was fun, Lisa, thanks for the tag! I'm going to cheat a little and reuse some of your questions:
1. What inspired you to blog? What is your favourite blog?
2. If there was a fire in your house, and you only had time to grab 4 things (excluding your family!), what would they be?
3. If you could live somewhere else in the world, where would it be?Why?
4. If money were no object, what would your dream house look like?
5. Name something you wish you had more time for.
And I'm tagging these fine folks:
Lisa at Just Over The River
Londen at Sixty-Fifth Avenue
Kelly at Tearing Up Houses
Sharstin at Me and Mine
Edited to add: and if any of you readers feel like playing Tag too, just answer the questions on your own blog and leave your link in the comments so I can come and visit!
*what's the business you're wondering? I do strategic consulting for creative firms - architects, designers, graphic artists etc. In writing our book and organizing design events, I've come into contact with a wide variety of creative individuals - but have found they sometimes need a bit of help with their operations, goal setting, business and organizational planning. That's where I come in :)