We are so excited to introduce to you our first guest blogger this week, Erin from House of Turquoise. Erin inspires us daily on her many decorating blogs. We LOVE to go there for inspiration and daily eye candy. She is introducing to you our first category, LOVE. If you notice, we have created four categories that all of our posts will live under. LOVE is the category that is total inspiration…art, design, decor, bits & baubles, fashion…you get the idea. As we prepared for Erin to come, we got inspired to create something new. The Turquoise Tree of Life Necklace is a new addition to our SHOP. And guess what?! We are giving one away. Today, if you join our RSS feed (see the tag at the top right corner) and leave a comment, you will be entered. There are more fun gifts we will give away this week so come back!
Thanks for joining us today! Now, here’s Erin…
I’m so excited to be guest posting here today at LoveFeast Table! It’s an honor and a delight to be a part of the launch week! My name is Erin and I run the blog House of Turquoise. Every day I share photos of beautiful rooms featuring shades of my favorite color. Since I started my blog back in 2007, I’ve had some wonderful opportunities come my way and I’ve meet so many really amazing people…including Chris Ann & Kristin! I’d love to share a little bit about my journey in the blog-world with you!
I initially started blogging back in 2003, mostly as a way to journal my day-t0-day life, but also to keep my friends and family up to date. I loved how easy it was to share inspirational things I’d found online. My blog had no theme at all, just a mishmash of things I loved and my life. Eventually the “I love this!” section grew out of control! I was sharing great handbags, colorful bedding sets, shoes I’d love to have, and pointing my readers (well, lack of readers!) where to buy them. That’s when I decided I was going to create a shopping blog devoted to colorful clothes and things for the home, all the stuff I found and loved. It was so fun!
It only took me a month to realize that the turquoise items being shared on the blog were outrageously disproportionate….my obsession was pretty clear. That’s when I started my shopping blog, Everything Turquoise. I didn’t think people would necessarily buy anything I found (although I hoped they would!), I just thought a collection of turquoise things would be visually appealing and fun to look at. Little did I know, people did end up buying stuff. So I eventually expanded my shopping blogs, one at a time, rolling out new colors and combos every few months. Today I have 11 shopping blogs which I collectively call Decor by Color and working on them is my full-time job. Not surprisingly Everything Turquoise is still my favorite, and I update it more than the others with 5 new turquoise-hued items every weekday.
Around the same time I was starting Everything Turquoise, I was decorating a new apartment. I’d scour the web for inspiring images, then spend countless hours going back trying to find the photos. It seemed when I put them in my computer, they were as good as gone. I was having so much fun working on the turquoise shopping blog, I thought it would be just as fun finding, organizing and sharing beautiful turquoise-infused rooms. So that’s when I started House of Turquoise. I had no idea how many other turquoise fanatics would discover the blog and become loyal readers, and in some cases, even my good friends. Moreover, the opportunities that have come my way because of the blog…to travel around the country, meet people in real life that I’ve long-admired, in addition to meeting new inspiring, creative people! It’s beyond anything I’d ever imagined!
My favorite thing about House of Turquoise is knowing that the images I find influence people all over the world. Every day I receive emails from people who say my blog gave them the courage to paint a room or try something new. How awesome is that?! And I’m always hearing from readers who say visiting House of Turquoise is like taking a mini-vacation, it relieves them from their worries and takes them away…if only for a few minutes. I also love bringing opportunities to new designers or photographers. Hearing back that being featured on my blog opened incredible doors for them makes me feel so good!
A lot of people assume I’m an interior designer, as a lot of design bloggers are. Decorating has always just been one of my many hobbies. That’s really what I love the most about my job, it encompasses every single one of my hobbies. Photography, decor, web and graphic design, shopping and bargain hunting, statistics, writing, really everything that I love! Of course working from home and owning my own business definitely has its challenges, but the benefits greatly outweigh them! People often ask me if I want to pursue interior design. Of course you never know, but right now what I love is simply igniting the passion in people and giving them the tools to follow what is in their hearts.
And yes, I honest-to-goodness absolutely love turquoise, I have for as long as I can remember. There’s just something about the color…just looking at it makes you feel instantly calm and gently invigorated! Like a trip to the beach! Not only that, but it goes well with pretty much any other color, the possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating or fashion. What is not to love?!
A million thank you’s to Chris Ann & Kristin for allowing me the opportunity to share my love!! I do hope you come say hello over at House of Turquoise, or visit my shopping blogs at Decor by Color!
Contest closes at midnight July 29th. The Contest is now Closed.
