Are there days when you ask yourself the same thing?

My blogging started as a way to journal our home improvement, decorating before and after projects. When we bought this old house, I discovered a ‘register’ where previous owners recorded their home improvements.

before

after

My blog is my ‘register’. It’s easy for us to see all that’s not completed and the long list of home improvements that still remain unfinished. I don’t know that our list will ever not have something on it. It’s pretty long. But if that day should ever arrive, I have a feeling it will be so far in the future that we’ll be starting over because my style evolves and changes so frequently. We’ll never be done. The good news is, I never get tired of playing with my life-sized doll house.

before

in progress

after

My blog is a place where we can see all that we have accomplished. When we look back through our home tour, we always feel a big sense of accomplishment and can’t believe how far we’ve come.

We saw potential in this old house, had no idea it’d take so long but love turning this neglected old home into “our home”.

before

after

before

after

{see more before and after DIY in our farmhouse home tour}

But, blogging developed into more than ‘just us’ and our home. I started meeting others who shared our passion for budget friendly DIY solutions. I made friends! Most of which I’ve never met face-to-face but the friendship is still just as real.

Can’t wait for the Haven conference!

I’m inspired by you. And you push my creativity and skills to a new think-outside-the-box level. It’s motivational. What would I do without you? I look forward to our projects. I look forward to YOUR projects. I know I can share with you and you appreciate the labor of love just as much as we do.

Then opportunities started coming in.

It’s exciting!

It’s work.

But it’s so rewarding. Not in a BIG financial way. There is a little financial incentive for blogging on occasion and I love that part too.  It’s extra money to work on more do-it-yourself projects (more blog content too). It’s fun trying new products and sharing the experience with you. It’s exciting that our opinion and experience is reputable and companies are realizing there is value in our blog voices. For me personally, it’s not enough to pay the bills but it is enough to sometimes purchase materials and check another DIY project off our list.

Another reward is inspiring others, teaching others that a home can be beautiful without spending a lot of money, that we can be successful in do-it-yourself home improvement. And that perfection isn’t always necessary.

I love supporting and encouraging you too. I love seeing your homes transformed, your creative ideas and hard work. I love ‘showing off’ your do-it-yourself, giving you a big congratulatory pat on the back and high five!

These are the things that make my heart swell and make me smile. That’s the key. That’s the gift that makes me blog. I know you feel the same way too.

And there are so many blogs and so little time but if you’re here today, if you’re visiting me regularly, if you’re leaving me a comment…I just want you to know that it doesn’t go un-noticed.

HIGH FIVE…um, “low five”…

{source Kalyxcornucopia – sweetest doxie photos ever!} {Check out her awesome etsy shop} 

Even while preparing this post, I met a new friend. See the image above? You guys know how much I love doxies. You know I’m still heartbroken and miss our girl, Niski. Well, I stumbled across a new-to-me blog and I’m definitely staying in touch with Kalyxcornucopia to get my doxie fix. Her blog and her images make me melt. I can’t get enough of those big brown eyes.

Comments and visitors are the biggest reward, aren’t they? I may not always reply to your comment (questions are the exception). But you’ll notice that I try to follow you back to your blog and comment on what you’ve been up to so that you have that same feeling of “I have company!” when you see your stats show one more visit, when you get that email saying you have a comment and you can know that someone cares.

So, welcome to our home…

our blog…

Thank you for stopping by. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for participating in the weekly DIY Project Parade and submitting your projects to be featured.

Thank you for making me feel like this everyday…

{source}