Blogging made me do it! Featuring Abby Manchesky

It's Friday friends, and I'm proud to report that we officially made it through the first week of summer break and I only heard "I'm bored" every time I made them turn off the TV once or twice! That's a small victory, right?

I'm pumped that Abby from A Delightful Design is sharing with us today. She doesn't know this, but Abby was the very first blogger that I ever corresponded with. She's the one who brought blogging to life for me. I stopped blog stalking just reading and realized bloggers are very friendly and approachable. She even showed a picture of my dining room on her blog before my own blogging days. You never know the impact you'll have on someone else's life...a simple reminder that it pays to be kind at all times, friends!

Moving on to what you're really waiting for...let's see what Blogging has made Abby do!

Blogging has changed my life.  Truly.  

When I sat down to write this post I really didn't know where to start.  I could ramble on and on--because if I hadn't started blogging my days would be drastically different.  I considered just taking pictures of my messy house with toys in the most random places, but changed my mind last minute.  Blogging takes time away from cleaning. ;-) 

 In the end, I'd have to say that blogging made me fearless.  I refuse to design or make decisions out of fear.  If I fail then I'd rather fail big. 

A year ago this fearlessness led to a start of my own design firm and I'm still thrilled beyond words that I have huge projects with local clients and a waiting list of e-design clients.  I don't take it lightly that strangers trust me with their home.  

Here are some examples, from my own house, of what I was not afraid to try this year.  

First up is our guest bedroom.

It used to look like this.  Yikes!  I'm not sure I would have had the courage to trust my gut and paint the bedroom ceiling coral before blogging.

 I found this Drexel piece for $50 and knew it was just what we needed as our TV stand.

Now it's one of my favorite pieces in our house.  There's very little high gloss white and bit of vintage brass hardware can't solve.

Finally, this hallway was so depressing to me when we bought our house.  I'm not sure I would have trusted myself ,before blogging, to make the changes I made.  

But blogging can be the great encourager, and the stripes turned out even better than I expected.

Huge thanks to Dana for inviting me to be part of this series!  It was fun to think about my choices through the lens of blogging. My house can get messy, but I've become friends with clients all over the country, and it never feels like work.

Thanks for sharing, Abby. I've really enjoyed watching her house evolve along with seeing her work her magic with clients. Hop on over to A Delightful Design and tell Abby hello!

Hope you all have a restful weekend. We're dropping kids off at various camps. One is a seasoned camper and the other is a little nervous for his first adventure away from mom and dad. Say a little prayer!