a ten year anniversary

Ten years ago, I started a blog. I barely knew what a blog was, but I was newly married, home with a baby and I found myself longing for a creative outlet. Somewhere that I could write and indulge my creativity, share what I found beautiful in the day to day of living. I had no idea how much this blog would grow me. How much it would push me to find and nurture my tastes. I had no idea the sense of community I would find, women who share the same interests and passions and sense of style.

I've always had an idea to as to where I would like to take my blog. Seemingly grand and lofty dreams that have always seemed like things I would tackle in the future, when the boys were grown and I had more time to focus on it.

But the truth is, while I'm not ready to fully jump into anything full-time, I do think that it's important to work towards dreams.

Over the past decade, I've watched my tastes evolve and in the last couple years, settle. Settle in a sense that I've learned to trust my instincts and do things in a way that makes me happy. To know what I want to do, and be confident in how I want to do it. Over all these years, I've found inspiration in so many other fellow bloggers and how their blogs have evolved. Catherine of In the Fields gave me the confidence to paint an entire house white like I envisioned, and a love for beautiful old things. And Tessa of Nine & Sixteen pushed me to layer patterns and that blue and green are neutral in their own beautiful ways. And Jenny Steffens Hobick of Everyday Occasions has inspired an embracing of the seasons and how to celebrate them in your home. Maria of Dreamy Whites showed me that you can take something you have a love for, like collecting beautiful old things, and grow it into a beautiful business. And Heather Bullard helped me realize what styling was - that it is an art - and that doing it can take you to the most beautiful places. And of course those many, many (many) back issues of Martha Stewart Living magazine. And these are just some!

There are so many other Instagram accounts that bring inspiration and feed my creativity every single day. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way, but I feel like I've found my people. Others who just get me, who's brains work the same way as mine. We are drawn to the same things. Who love words and wrapping pretty packages and browsing antique shops and setting tables and matching fabrics and fluffing pillows and painting rooms and arranging flowers and styling outfits and reading books and travelling to quaint towns and capturing life.

One of the reasons I've always been hesitant to make some dreams a reality, is because honestly, I have so many dreams. I want to cook and entertain, I want to spend my days curating antiques for a little shop in some little town. I want to write a book. I want to write for publications and share some of the beautiful people and places I've stumbled upon. I want to travel and explore. I want to design beautiful spaces as I envision them.

But, I don't want to miss a single moment with my boys.

I don't know how many of you know this, but years ago, I would host a yearly sale. I would collect and store antiques and vintage finds for an entire year, and on Thanksgiving weekend, pull everything out, set it all up (which was really my favourite part), and then have a sale.

While I don't have the desire to do any sort of show, I miss collecting. I miss setting the things I find up in a way that shows them off.

So, in an attempt to begin to work towards some of these lofty goals of mine, I've decided to start collecting again. Well, in truth, I've already started.

I'm going to start hosting a small online sale - a collection of antique and vintage items, curated for each season.

My first collection will be

The Summer Collection.

Classic blue and white. Nautical inspiration. Timeless and natural.

I'm still working out all the details, but essentially, a date for the collection would be set ahead of time. I will feature all of the items in my stories and then launch the collection the following day. If you purchased an item, a paypal invoice will be sent and I will ship the items off for you to enjoy!

I will list the items available for this collection later today in my stories. The sale will go live on Saturday morning at 11 am AST/ 10:00 am EST.

So, I have no idea what the next ten years will hold. It's hard to imagine they can top these last ten!  For now, I know I want to start slowing working towards some of these lofty ideas of mine and for now, I'm thankful that I can share with you.

I want to live simply. I want to live intentionally. I want to live beautifully.

With so much gratefulness,

Maria