blog hop: a tour thru blogland

Happy Monday one and all! I hope your weekend was all you had hoped for. And if not, I hope you at least got to take a nap. Thank each and every one of you who commented and emailed me about the office reveal. Y'all know how to make me smile, that's for sure. And now whenever you imagine me working away, you know exactly where I am. Although, I doubt you ever imagine me working, but you know what I mean. That took a turn.

So today I get to play in the latest round of blogging musical chairs with the now well known blog hop. I was tagged by two lovely girls that I've long admired. First up, my dear Kimberly from Swoon Worthy.

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Kimberly and I have been buddies since the early days and we share a deep love of color, and a good stiff drink. Her taste and skill is inspirational and I've loved watching her take England by storm as she gives them a big dose of expat style.

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She is pretty much a big deal, and I will never stop twisting her arm until she opens up her Etsy shop, because on top of her design prowess, girlfriend is an artist!

And the other person who tagged me is the one and only Sarah M. Dorsey. If you don't know Sarah, let me be the first to congratulate you on finally crawling out from under that rock and give you her URL ASAP.

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Sarah is pretty much the MacGyver of DIY. Anything you could think of Sarah can make and chances are it will look a million times better than the inspiration piece that she started with.

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And she does it with such ease, and explains things so perfectly that she makes me completely believe that I could do those things too. I've learned so many invaluable tips and tricks from her, and to top it all off, she couldn't be any sweeter.

Thank you ladies for having me join in on the fun. Now to the questions...

Why do I write?
I don't really know how best to answer that (ironically, since it is a question about writing). Why do some people dance, or paint, or sing? Because it feels good and it feels natural. I've always written stories, I just didn't always have a forum in which to share them. I write in much the same way I chat with people in person in an attempt to be as authentic as I can with you because what is this whole virtual community about if not to build relationships, right? But with that said, I've always treated this blog (and the writing) as a selfish act, something I do purely for myself about something that I truly enjoy: design. So I write because I love to do it and I love to talk about design.

What are you working on?
For the first time in Little Black Door's life I find myself with far more going on outside of my home than I do inside of it. I have a few projects planned for this fall that include some renovations and repurposing but mostly I am working with a lot of amazing families in St. Louis and beyond on some pretty awesome projects. This will be a good test for me, because as I've discussed before, (here and here) I tend to want to talk about anything except myself. I've always focused the blog on my own house rather than talking about what I do for others. But as I get busier with others, the time to do stuff just 'for the blog' gets harder and the cat continues to chase its tail. So I'm just going to have to cut that tail clean off and move forward. Eww. So I guess that is a long winded way of saying, I'm working on living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. And I swear I'll get off my arse and start sharing them.

How does your blog differ from others in your genre?
I probably mention cocktails more than anyone else. Does that count? This really is a hard question as I think one of the things that is so valuable about reading design blogs and being apart of this community is that every single person is different in the way they express their style. I would say I'm more color heavy than some and I do my very best to attain something out of the box, but relatable. I'm very drawn to things that have already been around the block and have a story to tell and I hope to encourage others to try a local antique or consignment shop before going out to buy new.

What is your writing process?
Well, I'll tell you, it is not one that sets a good example, that's for sure. Everything I've read about blogging, and to be honest it hasn't been much, says you should have a schedule and plan out your posts in advance etc. And well, I'm the opposite. I am a fly by the seat of my pants type of writer. Any time I've tried to follow a schedule I find I don't have much heart in what I write. It begins to feel more like a task rather than a pleasure, and that is when you've lost me. So because of that, I write when I feel inspired and when I have something to share. I'm of the opinion that you'd much rather like to read something with some teeth two or three times a week rather than a bunch of filler 5 days a week. Am I right?

So there I am. This was a great exercise really, I'm glad I did it. Thanks again Sarah and Kimberly!

And to keep the ball rolling, Sarah at 702 Park Project and my dear Albertina at Mimosa Lane, I want to hear your answers to these questions next Monday.

Do you like a good old fashioned Q&A? Who would you interview if you had the chance? Does a constant stream of questions from your children count as an interview? No wait, that's an interrogation.