The Age Old Question.... To Blog or NOT to Blog?

I ask myself this question every day and every day I get a different answer.   I know I don't want to completely walk away from my blog, but I need to find a way to continue that will make me happy and feel good about myself.
I have those days, weeks, months where I say, "I'm just going to walk away and forget about blogging."  I feel there is no way to keep up with all the hundred's of thousands of great blogs just in my niche alone.  How can I fit in and find my spot?  Maybe this niche isn't for me?

I know I'm not the only one in saying that I constantly am comparing my site and writing to all the others out there.   You wouldn't be human if you didn't have those thoughts or doubts.   It's a matter of getting past all that, and doing the best I can to move forward.

I've been doing this long enough to know what I have to do and how to do it.   It boils down to content, commitment and confidence.

Ya know what?   I think I just I answered my own question.  I'm not giving up.  I don't know exactly how it will all turn out in the end but i'm going to find a way.   My way!

Sunday Style - Loving The "Beachy, Shabby Chic, Rustic Cottage" Style

I can't believe summer is coming to an end.  I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped.  While we did get two vacations in, it went by way too fast.  As far as I'm concerned there's never enough time for hanging out by the pool, sitting on the beach or just doing fun stuff with family and friends.  

While on our beach vacation at the Connecticut Shore my mother, sister and I stopped into a cute little shop called Grace in Niantic.  Ahh, it was so gorgeous in there. I spent over an hour just walking around looking at everything. I can't explain why, but it's just very soothing to me.  I'm bummed my phone battery had died or I would have taken a bunch of pictures to share with you. They have everything from clothing, accessories, gifts, home decor...you name it, you could find in there.   I could have done some real damage if I had a bottomless wallet.  (No, this is a sponsored post of any kind.  I just really loved the store) It wasn't just the items themselves, it was the whole "feeling" you got from just being in there.  It was that mix of new pretty things with weathered wood furniture and random antique objects.   It really got me thinking about that beachy, shabby chic, rustic cottage kinda style of decorating.  I absolutely love it when I see it in magazines, online, on tv and in person like at Grace but I'm not confident enough that I could pull it off in my own home.  Maybe one when I live by the water and there's no dirty boys or men around.  A girl can dream, right?    

Until then I thought I share some of my favorite rooms inspired by that "beachy, shabby chic, rustic cottage" kinda style. If there is such a thing?  

This living room is done by Joanna and Chip Gaines from the HGTV show Fixer Upper.  

Photo HGTV.com

Traditional Kitchen by Elk Grove Village Carpet & Flooring Signature Innovations LLC

Beach Style Bedroom by London Furniture & Accessories Cabbages & Roses Ltd

Other

Inspiring and Inexpensive Interiors....Picking the Perfect Sofa

As I started to write this post, it made me go back into my archives and check the date of the last time I posted in this series.
June 7th.
Not June 7th of 2014....but 2013!
Holy crap, it's been a year since I wrote about redoing my living room? I'm embarrassed to admit that, and even more embarrassed to admit that a year later, NOTHING has gotten done in that room.
It honestly doesn't even seem like it's been that long.   It's been such a crazy, stressful year that in a weird way it's flown by.

So here I am AGAIN searching for inspiration to finally get this room done once and for all.

I am going to start off kinda where I left off.  Finding new sofas.  It really is the first step in putting together a whole living room redo.   You've got to find the perfect set and then build the room around the style and color you choose.    

I've always known I wanted grey couches.   I have been looking this past year at furniture stores and online but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  I would like the look of something but then go sit on it and it just was not comfortable at all.  I really didn't think it would be so difficult to find a sofa set I liked in grey. I mean, sure I could custom order a couch with the fabrics of my choice but I can't justify spending that kind of money.  Even if I did have it. Well.... maybe if I did have it. But I don't.  So, moving on........

First, there's the age old question "sectional or sofa/loveseat combo?"   I have a sofa, loveseat and giant recliner right now and thought, it could be a nice change to get a sectional.   I'm pretty sure I have enough space.  Of course I would have to measure.   Sectionals don't look as big in a furniture showroom, but could totally over power a room if you don't measure correctly.

Then there's the question of  "a recliner or a couch with a chaise?"   For me, these are not decisions that come easy...what-so-ever!   I knew didn't want a recliner that was big and poofy like the one I have now but they really don't make comfortable, affordable, clean looking recliners that also happen to come in grey.
I tried a few sofas with a chaise, but they can be a bit awkward to get in and out of, if the chaise part is too long.
I told you, this is not an easy decision.    And if you are like me, who lives and works in your living room you know that it really is a big deal to make a choice that you won't regret in 6 months to a year.

Now let's talk fabric.   Again, something you wouldn't think would be such a hard decision but there are so many choices out there.    Options include leather, cottons, wool, blends, micro fiber, etc...
I'll just say I knew I didn't want leather or micro fiber.  The set I have now is a beige micro fiber and I'm sick of it.  I want a different look and style with this new set.    

So which one did I pick?  drum roll...................

I chose the Kasey sofa and loveseat from Bob's Discount Furniture.    It has everything I was looking for style, color, comfort and price wise.  For the two pieces it's $799.  That's a great deal! The chair and ottoman would be another $500.  I haven't decided if I'm going to get the matching chair and ottoman just yet but this is a BIG step for me. It's not about the money, I'm just not sure if I want all that furniture in my space.  I really don't need that much seating anymore.  
I don't know if you can see by the photo but the throw pillows that come with the set have some purple in them. Can I tell ya, I love them.  It's not something I would normally be drawn to.  I thought I wanted yellow with the grey but in person they give the set a bit of a feminine, modern feel.

Wheww... thank goodness that decision is made.    Now I just have to build the rest of the room around these.   Next up, paint for the walls and trim.  

Did You Know April is National Decorating Month?

I'm not exactly sure who decided April was National Decorating Month, but it does seem like the perfect time of year to freshen up your home decor.  After being cooped up in the house during the long, cold winter it's something we can all look forward to.    Spring is the time of year we are cleaning and organizing our homes, so why not do a little redecorating while we're at it?  
  
I am what you would call a "seasonal" decorator.   I decorate my home more so for the seasons then holidays.    I have fall decor that is more harvest colors, leaves, scarecrows and pumpkins (no Halloween). Then my winter decor is snowmen, snowflakes, greenery and lots of lights tucked everywhere (nothing overly Christmas other then my tree)   This time of year is a little harder, all I seem to see is Easter bunnies and eggs, so it's a challenge to find accessories that just say "Spring."

I do plan on doing one big redecorating  project this Spring and that's my living room.   It's long over due.. I mean really long over due!      The whole room needs to be repainted, new furniture, lamps, curtains and a good 'ole fashioned decluttering.    I can not wait!    

In honor of National Decorating Month, here on The Decorating Dork I'm going to have several posts this April to celebrate.    I'll be sharing the process of my living room redo, ideas for making little changes to freshen up any decor and even a giveaway to help with your redecorating.

So, I hope you'll come back and celebrate with me.        

Happy Decorating!    

   

Carpet One's New iPad Magazine

Beautiful Design Made Simple is a new digital home decor magazine for your iPad.
Created by Carpet One,  this quarterly magazine is packed with interactive articles, videos and slideshows with the latest tips and advice for decorating your home.

The premiere issue is filled great advice for finding inspiration.  Within the next few months I want to redo my living room.   New furniture, paint and all around design of the whole room.    I'm constantly looking at paint colors, couches and wall art hoping something will just "speak" to me.  I'm still on the hunt, but it really helped me focus on what I want and don't want.

The issue also has a great article on how to incorporate Benjamin Moore's 2013 color trends into your home for an updated look.  There is a trend for everyone's style, Artisan, Urbanite, New Traditional, and Coastal all have such beautiful pallets to choose from, I couldn't even tell you my favorite right now.

I think you need to just go check out the totally free app for yourself.   You can download it for your iPad at  
beautifuldesignmadesimple.com 

I'd love to hear what you think about it.  Did it help you with ideas for your home?

Personalizing Fake Pumpkin For Fall Decorating #TBCcrafters

I was so excited to hear that The Blogger Connection was doing this awesome weekly Blog Hop for craft lovers.    I'm not what you would call a "hard core" crafter at all.   I love to putz around with small, easy home decor kinda things.    So for the first week of this blog hop we are going with all of the above.   

I'm not going to get into some long tutorial because as you can tell it's super simple to do.   

First I started with  fake foam pumpkins from Walmart, Mambi Stickers from Michaels, polka dot ribbon and raffia.   For my bigger pumpkin I used the numbers for my home address and put the pumpkin outside in the flower box with some mums.   

For my next project I used the littler pumpkins as personalized place settings at a brunch with my high school girlfriends.  I even found black and white polka dot napkins to complete the whole look.  If I really wanted to be O.C.D., I could have brought a matching tablecloth with me too.  All the girls were excited to take home their little personalized pumpkins.    I figured they would be cute on their desks at work.        

See, I don't think cute crafts and home decor projects need to be involved to make a big impact.   

Do you have a Thrilling Thursday craft you'd like to share?   All you have to do is put the link to your blog post in the linky below AFTER commenting on this post.  Then make sure you add the button somewhere in your post.  

<div class="#TBCcrafters" style="width: 125px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.thebloggerconnection.com/"> <img src="http://www.thebloggerconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TBC_Crafters_hop_button.jpg" alt="#TBCcrafters" width="125" height="125" /> </a> </div> <!--end button code box-->

What's Your Decorating Style?

I get email newsletters from Better Homes and Garden almost every day it seems.  I save them until I actually have the time to read them and click on all the links that interest me.  

Well, today was the day I was able to check out a few.  I saw a link for "what's your decorating style?" and figured what the heck.   

I really do like most decorating styles, except super modern.  I'm just not a fan of it.  

I was curious to see what this quiz would say my style was and the answer .... Cottage.
I do love Cottage Style, but I'm not sure I could live with it.  It's a lot of white if you ask me, and I'm just too much of a slob to be hanging out on a white couch (slipcovered or not)
I did wonder if that's because I chose hydrangea as a flower you would find on my coffee table, or that I chose the slipcovered chair?  I didn't really hate any of the options it gave as answers, So I went back and did the quiz again.  
The 2nd time it said my style was..... Polished Casual
That sounds more like my true style. Although,  I don't think that if you walked into my house right now you would call it "polished" anything!

What is your Decorating Style?  Do you know?  Do you want to know?
You can take the quiz yourself, as many times as you want til you get the answer you like best! LOL

 

My Decorating Dilemma

photo credit

I have a couple decorating dilemmas, but I really struggle with decorating walls.
I've always found it one of the hardest parts of putting a room together.

There are so many different types of wall decor out there from art, metal, clocks, mirrors, plates and decals it can be hard to choose.  Then when you find what you love and what you think will work in your room, you have to figure out where and how to hang it.   Is it the right size for the space?  How high or low to hang it?  Does it coordinate well with all the other colors or theme of the room?  Ugh, I'm stressing myself out just typing this.  
My living room has a vaulted ceiling, which to me makes it much harder to plan out wall decor.  In my ideal house all the rooms would have perfectly symmetrically walls, windows and doorways.

What are your decorating dilemmas?
Do you have any ideas or tips for decorating walls?  

That's Pinspiring

I get a ton of inspiration from Pinterest.

I get a ton of laughs from Pinterest.

Do I even dare to say I get some recipes from Pinterest.  If you know me, you know I'm not a whiz in the kitchen.  I like to keep everything simple!  If I click on a recipe and it has more then 4 or 5 main ingredients, I'm outta there.  And if there is flour, baking soda or baking powder in it, you've lost me completely!

So I was thinking I'm going to start a series of blog posts focusing on Pinterest Pins that have inspired me in some way.
They won't all be projects or crafts.  Although, I do have several of those that I've already completed and even more that are on my "to do list" that I really want to share with all of you.

It will just be me sharing with you anything and everything that I come across on Pinterest that I love. 


This series will be every Friday, starting this Friday May 25th.  So I hope you'll come back and check it out.


Do you use Pinterest?  Do you have any pins that inspired you or that "Pinspiring?"
Leave your Pinterest link in the comment section so I can follow you, and here's my Pinterest link if you want to follow me too.

How Do You Like My New Look?

 
I wanted to give a BIG shout-out to Emily over at Blogaholic Designs for my new look.
I had been searching and searching for a design that was both my style and affordable.  I really didn't think that it would be so hard or take me so long.   I actually stumbled across Emily's site by accident.   I had been searching Google Images for  header designs that would give me inspiration.   Now, if you ask me what keywords I searched, I couldn't tell you.  I believe it was fate that I came across her site that night.    
In no time at all after I filled out the form to request a blog template/design (and some extras), Emily got to work and had it up the very next day!  I am one for instant gratification, so I was quite a happy camper! 
I hope you enjoy my blog design as much as I do.  If you are interested in great designs, great service at an even greater price you HAVE to go check out Emily over at BlogaholicDesigns.com .   I'm glad I did!  

Pottery Barn, Here I Come..

I am constantly getting emails from Pottery Barn, it is usually to inform me of sales. ( Which unfortunately I can't even afford "sale items" ) Today I got one about this "Design the Perfect Bedroom" class and ya know what, I am going to go to it. What the hell right, what do I have to lose, it is free. I am sure it will be fun, and even though I can't afford 80% of the stuff in their store I know I will learn something I can use in the future. (when I hit lotto) Who doesn't love to be around gorgeous home accessories ? I think this is just what I need to make me feel better.
So if you have a Pottery Barn near you, go check out if they are offering any of these decorating classes. If you have gone to one, let me know what you thought of it.
Thanks
xoxo