I have always loved getting gifts.  Bring on Christmas and birthdays, special occasions and pretty packages! And an unexpected surprise of this blog has been gifts.  Even my mom, who knows how thrilled I get at a present, commented on it.  “Well, you certainly got into the right business!” These gifts are from readers who have become friends over the years of following my journey and want to send me a token of that friendship. Last week, I received several unexpected packages.  One contained notecards with my name on them and a little blue bike with a basket… Just like the one I learned to ride on and recently sold at Lucketts… Another was a grain sack with blue stripes and an “MM” monogram. This custom sign with an excerpt of “my” verse on it… And a local reader brought me this rusty metal doll bed that she fetched from the trash…

If you haven’t figured it out, I am definitely the “creative type”.  I get lost in my art, whatever it happens to be that day…sewing, refinishing, painting, music…and I tend to forget appointments and I run late for things and I burn dinner and I realize I worked on something that stirred my soul instead of something that really needed to be done. It’s been a bit of a challenge to balance that desire to create and the discipline it takes to run a business.  And, when a lot of my creative endeavors are tied up in my business, I can start to feel like the creativity is caged.  It can happen within these parameters and those who are creative know that’s just not good for creativity. You need an open field, room to stretch, time to play and fiddle. So, I’ve been working on creative things that don’t have anything

When someone sends you an e-mail asking if you would like to try out their robotic mop and vacuum, you say yes.  You just do.  Because it’s a robotic vacuum AND mop! Before I had the studio and I worked from home, I felt like I was able to keep the house cleaner, except when we were in the “fuzzy-floor-days” of Lucketts prep.  The studio has relieved my house of the duties of being a photo studio, storage facility, and headquarters of Mustard Seed Interiors, but it’s also meant that I’m not here during the day to do some spot cleaning when the house needs it. I’ve had to schedule my cleaning for evenings and weekends, just like I did when I worked in the corporate world.  Just like most of you do, I’m sure!  It’s been an adjustment and Jeff and I have been working together to find ways

If you’re clicking over from Mom 4 Real, welcome!  Everyone else, you’re welcome, too! I have a backlog of furniture makeovers and projects to share, but today I am sharing about the upcoming Haven blog conference. I posted a couple of weeks ago that I am a co-opening-keynote-speaker with my dear friend, Shaunna, and I’m also a Haven Maven Mentor along with some amazing bloggers… The whole idea of having mentors is that we can be available to you to help you squeeze the most out of your time at Haven.  I love encouraging others, so I’m stoked about being a mentor. As a mentor, the Haven team asked me four questions and here are my answers… 1. How many years have you been blogging? I first posted to my blog August 2009, so that means almost seven years!  Wow.  I didn’t even realize it has been that long.  Those seven years translates

This week has been about diving in and getting things done.  Chairs that have been sitting around for over a year?  Done.  An old mirror frame that has gone unsold at sales twice?  Revamped.  Stuff that is just stuff taking up space?  Pitched.  It feels pretty awesome. I have to admit that one of the pieces that was pitched was a piano stool that beat me.  It’s the only piece I can think of that just outright defeated me. I worked on that thing off and on over a three year period and it didn’t do anything I wanted it to and never looked remotely close to good.  The pink stain bled through three coats of sealant.  The paint clumped and peeled in the most atrocious way.  I couldn’t stomach even looking at it, so I heaved it into a dumpster yesterday without remorse.  I pity whoever dives in to get it,

Jeff and I have been talking a lot lately about what “makes us tick” or, more eloquently put, what makes our heart feel alive. I think society encourages us from an early age to be sensible and doing the things that make your heart feel alive don’t always sound sensible.  Get on the honor roll.  Your SAT score will dictate how successful you’ll be in life.  Go to college.  Get a job with a retirement plan.  Settle down and fall in line.  I wonder how many people are living a “plan B life” because they were told to be sensible? Now, I’m not talking about throwing caution to the wind, shirking responsibility or just doing whatever you want at all cost, no matter who it hurts.  I’m not talking about selfishly pursuing whatever makes you happy.  I’m also not talking about what moves you emotionally or the depth of love you feel for