Thursday, June 25, 2015

10 Years Blogging! - Show and Tell Friday

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10 Years of Blogging!

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!  This week is a very special week for me. It's my 10 year blogging anniversary!   Sorry this is sort of a wordy post but 10 years deserves that!

When I started my blog on June 23, 2005 most people didn't even know what a blog was!  My very first post was of my living room and I cringe when I look at that photo now but I'll share it below just because I think I've come a long way baby! 

I was actually so excited when I started my blog that I did 3 posts in one night! haha

I always loved decorating so after getting hooked on reading knitting blogs I decided to start my very own blog and it was going to be a combination of things I loved...knitting, home decor, baking and flowers.  Well, I think I only shared 1 knitting project and that still isn't finished after all these years!  

I'm not certain but I'm pretty sure I had the very first home decor blog around. I could be wrong but I haven't seen any others that started prior to June 2005! (please correct me if I'm wrong)

 I didn't post much in the beginning because no one was reading it and it felt very self-absorbed to be writing about myself as if I were sharing things with the world and yet no one was visiting.  It wasn't too much longer after that that some other home decor blogs starting popping up. Back then it was a very small community and we all got to know each other and that was a very special time in my life. It was so nice to connect with other women (and a couple men) that had the same interests as me! I know some of you are still around and some of you even left and came back to blogging.  You all know who you are and I apologize for not visiting as much as I used to. I'm sort of a bad blogger that way now but I wasn't years ago.  The truth is my life is so much busier now with work, going to the gym and spending more time with friends. I was at a time in my life back then when my daughter was young and I was divorced and had her full time. I didn't date when she was between 8 and 18 because I didn't want her memory of her childhood to be of her mom bringing different men around so I just stayed home with her. This blog and decorating was my love life! ha!  It was the perfect distraction for me.  Now I date (off and on) and I go out a lot with my girlfriends. My daughter is now 22 and still lives at home but she's hardly home! It's hard to believe she was only 12 when I started this blog!

For years I did 5 posts a week! I don't know how I did it! It exhausts me just to think about it but I was loving every minute of it at the time.  I only post once a week now and I'm so thankful that so many of you come by each week...week after week!  It's really hard to think of new content after 10 years!  I've had some rude comments telling me I should give it up and that I'm only doing it for the money. If that were the case I would still be blogging 5 days a week because I was making a lot more money through ads when I was blogging more often. The fact is, this has become like a child to me and I just can't give it up...I've thought about it but it makes me really sad just thinking about it.

To wrap this up I just want to say that when I started this little blog I had no idea so many wonderful things would come my way because of it!  So many "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moments!  Being in Romantic Homes Magazine back in 2010 was just a dream come true! Being featured on the front page of the Home and Garden section of my hometown newspaper The San Jose Mercury News on Valentine's Day 2010.  Being on HGTV's Rate My Space TV show (ugh, I was about 80 lbs heavier back then and I can't even watch that video without wondering why I let myself get like that)!  Being in Women's Day Magazine!  Romantic Country Magazine! An Italian magazine and a Malaysia newspapers both of which I heard of but never actually saw. Being interviewed on the radio!  I honestly don't say this to brag, I still don't believe this all happened to me!  If you've ever seen the movie "Sliding Doors" this part of my life sort of reminds me of that.  The movie is about how if you do one thing different in your life, how if you take a different path how your life can be so different.  Had I not started this blog none of these wonderful things would have happened.  Had I not started this blog I would have never known that there are so many of you out there that love home as much as I do!  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by and being my "friends" week after week, month after month, year after year and now into the next decade! It's really quite amazing! My longest marriage (yes two divorces) was 9 1/2 years and my blog has lasted longer than that! ha!

Ok, I'll end this now but as I promised....here is the photos from my very first posts.... 

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/77/6558/640/living-dining.jpg
My very first post photo (makes me cringe now)

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/77/6558/640/cindy_art.jpg
My 2nd post was a drawing I did (I never draw anymore but at the time dreamed of doing more of it and getting really good at it)

I think in this next decade I will draw more and finish knitting that scarf!


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Thanks to all of you that join in on Show and Tell Friday every week and thanks to all of you who leave such nice comments! 

 If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog.

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Thursday, June 18, 2015

Mirror Menu Board - Show and Tell Friday

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Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!

I was going to turn this mirror into a chalkboard so I could use it to write a menu out when I had friends over but I saw this great idea on Pinterest to just write on the mirror!

The one on Pinterest was for a wedding reception and they had the bride and groom's name on it with the wedding date.  I decided to use that same idea for a menu board!


They used a white dry erase marker but I used a white paint pen that I got at Michaels Craft Store. I found the pen up by the checkout behind locked doors (in case you are looking all over the store for one like I did). It was only about $7.  


The best part is that it just wipes off easily with a paper towel and some Windex!

 

I used a stencil for the "Menu" at the top and wrote the menu items out free hand...although my handwriting is not the best...

It actually took a couple tries before it looked somewhat acceptable.

















I find THE BEST ideas on Pinterest! My daughter even loved this one!  The possibilities are endless for what you can use this for.  Special messages for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  A special "I Love You", Happy ___ (whatever the holiday is), Candy Bar, Cocktail Bar and I could go on and on but the best part is you can just wipe it clean and still have the mirror which looks a lot better than a chalkboard...at least in my house anyway!

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Thanks to all of you that join in on Show and Tell Friday every week and thanks to all of you who leave such nice comments! 

 If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog.

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Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Wine/Champagne Bar - Show and Tell Friday

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Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!  

You may have seen this little tray table that I have next to my fireplace in previous photos but I don't think I've shared it on Show and Tell Friday before.



I've had this table for probably over 10 years now but just used it for this purpose in this apartment.  It sort of came out necessity. I bought those "Celebrate" champagne glasses last December at Marshalls and I didn't have any cabinet space left in my kitchen to store them so I re-purposed this table as a wine/champagne bar. 


I also have that huge vodka bottle on there because it doesn't fit in any of my cabinets.  My daughter bought that at Costco during the holiday season.  It's really cool because it lights up!  We were so excited when we saw it! What a great idea!

 The silver plated champagne bucket was originally from The Pottery Barn but I found it all tarnished at a thrift store years ago. I'm thinking it was probably a wedding gift and when it tarnished they probably got rid of it.  I'm happy I found it!  I haven't been to the thrift store in a very long time because my little apartment is so full but I think I should stop by there more often!  There are treasures to be found!

This little bar table is fun to have when friends come over...it just makes serving wine or champagne a little more elegant!

Someday this is what I really would love to do...maybe I will turn my blue cabinet into a bar but I'll have to find a place to store everything I have in there! Isn't this beautiful?

photo: Country Living.com


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Thanks to all of you that join in on Show and Tell Friday every week and thanks to all of you who leave such nice comments! 

 If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog.
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Thursday, June 04, 2015

Summer Decoration - Show and Tell Friday

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Welcome to Show and Tell Friday! 
 
I started bringing out my shell collection and filling dishes and jars and whatever else I can find to put them in. Nothing says summer like seashells!
 

 
Filling this tiered dish with shells has become a beginning-of-summer ritual for me!

 
This tiered dish has so much sentimental value...my mom bought it when I was really little in a shop at Disneyland and passed it down to me before she passed away.  Because of that I'm very careful and I line it with paper towels before I place the shells in it.  It's in perfect condition and it's probably close to 50 years old.

 
 
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Thanks to all of you that join in on Show and Tell Friday every week and thanks to all of you who leave such nice comments! 


 If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog.
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