Saturday Spotlight: Jane from Blondie's Journal

Spotlight: REAL LIFE BEHIND THE BLOGGER 

Hi, everyone!  Myself and (Kris) Junk Chic Cottage wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been
 done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

Today's featured blogger is Jane from Blondie's Journal.  Jane blogs about all kinds of different topics,  but one of my favorite things to read about is her gorgeous 'vacation' lake home!  (Do you detect a little jealousy there? Ok, I have to fess up...I'd LOVE a place like that! And while I'm fessing up, I wouldn't mind having those beautiful blonde locks, either! :)  

Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know her a little better-I know I did!  Then hop over to Kris's blog to read more about Laurel from Chipping with Charm.

Hi, everyone!  I'm Jane from Blondie's Journal.  I want to thank Susan for inviting me over for her Saturday Night Feature...The Blogger Behind The Blog.  I admit I was a little hesitant to write a post, my followers can tell you that there is little you won't know about me if you visit my blog!  I love to talk about my everyday life, my interests in cooking, gardening, decorating, reading and just about everything else under the sun.  It's all a mixed bag at Blondie's Journal.  So, I thought I would just focus on my life up until I joined the Blog World.

I started blogging over four years ago when I was on the hunt for something floral~like to hang over my mantel.  Yep!  That started it all!  I picked up a copy of Romantic Homes magazine for the very first time to get ideas for this space and some of the online shops I visited had blogs, which led to other blogs, which led to me to brilliant idea to start my own!  I jumped in head first.  And it still amazes me that my blog had a little blurb in the Romantic Homes August issue...who would have thought?!

We'll start in my twenties (sorry, no baby pictures here).  If you must know, I was a quiet and shy child that suffered terribly from asthma,  I was rarely allowed to run and play like most children.  So I read and wrote and drew pictures in sketch pads and had a lot of imaginary friends.  In high school I took a lot of elective English and art classes and they were going to be my focus in college.  However...I put that off for what I thought would be a year and well, life just swept me along.

I took a job in an office as an insurance adjuster, which was amazing since I couldn't even type!  It was an interesting job, I had a lot of friends through the years that I worked with, and I even met The Husband, an attorney, through this job, so I have to thank that employment agency!  Oh, and I will reveal for the first time in this post that The Husband's name is Al.  Just for this post only, since I'm revealing so much! lol!  So, I worked in this field right up until I had my first child eight years later.

I had a little studio apartment on the north side of Chicago and prided myself on my independence, after all, I had grown up surrounded by wheat fields.  (Pictured above, me in front of my apartment).  My real dream was to travel and I figured my best bet was to become a flight attendant.  I applied and was interviewed by many airlines, but would never get called back.  It may have been my height (I'm 5'2), or the fact I had asthma (is that even real air in a plane?).  Or it may have just been that they didn't like me.  Finally, I was hired by TWA, which is no longer in business, but alas, I had started to date Al (The Husband, as a reminder).  So...I turned it down.  I guess I was in LOVE!! 

Actually, Al and I had been friends for a few years.  He was a young attorney who's firm did legal work for our office.  He was married then and had two small children, Jeffrey and Kevin, and he used to show me pictures of them that he carried in his wallet.  Sadly, his wife of ten years died from breast cancer when their boys were just two and three.  I was so very shocked and saddened by this news.  Eventually, one of his law partners mentioned to me that Al was a little down and lonely and maybe since we had been great friends, I could cheer him up.  So, we started doing fun things together; lunches, dinners, shopping and even more fun things with his boys.  And then it turned romantic.  In December of 1986, we were married!  I wish I had more pictures, our puppy ate almost the entire wedding album!

Going from a working girl to a young mother wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done.  We soon added Emily and Abigail to our little family and life hasn't slowed down since then.  I do know that I developed a lot of the interests I have now while we were raising them.  While Al worked long hours at the office and even Saturdays, I did all the lawn care...mowing, edging, weeding, fertilizing, it was something I could do and watch the children outside as well.  Soon I started gardening and I haven't stopped.  I also took a keen interest in cooking, I mean, if I had to make meals for the six of us, I wanted to have fun!

This was taken a few years ago but the four of them pretty much look the same.  Jeff, top right, is 31.  Kevin is 30, Emily is 26 and Abby is 22.

And here's me and Al around the same. 

Many of you don't know I come from a large family...six girls and one boy!  I wish I had a recent picture of my brother, John.  He's the oldest and lives in southern Indiana.  He visits a couple of times a year.  We girls are about 2 1/2 years apart.  We love dressing up! lol!  This was Halloween, 1985 with Mom and Dad.  I am the Flapper Girl.

I don't get to see them much, they live in the western suburbs and I live right in Chicago.  I do have some great memories and pictures of our holidays and get-togethers!  From left to right in birth order starting with the youngest: Chrissy, Yvonne, Moi, Lynne, Nancy and Leslie.

In 2007, we went from six to five.  I know many of you have seen the picture of my sister, Leslie, on my sidebar.  She passed away that fall.  This is her on the bottom as we recreate our cheerleading days.  Many of you have asked about her.  Well, she was terribly funny, very good natured, beautiful and smart.  She loved all the things I do now except cooking!  She loved crafts and she was always into changing the decor of her home, well ahead of the trends.  I'm sure she's be a great blogger right now.  But it was tragic to all of us.  She went to the E.R. after having days of limpness in her hand and arm.  Hours later she was diagnosed with advanced cancer in her brain, lungs and spine.  She died six weeks later.  The picture on my sidebar is of her just a few weeks before her diagnosis.  She didn't look ill at all.  Cancer pulls the rug right out from under you.  We will never get over our loss.

You all know that Milo and Layla are the light of my life, but before them came Shadow.  He was a puppy when we got married and was our family dog during the kid's early years.  Shadow was a befitting name, not only for his shiny black coat, but he actually followed me everywhere.  One time we went for a boat ride without him and he ran along the shore and then jumped in, swimming to follow us!  We loved him with all our hearts, but we sadly had to put him down when he was 11 for a myriad of health problems.  It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I stayed with him and the vet so I could hold him. 

We also had a Dalmation, Sparky, for several years.  Here he is with Abby when she was about two.  He was a wild beast but absolutely lovable.  We were however, relieved when a fireman friend and his family offered to take him.  Peace was restored to our home!

In addition to birds and the occasional turtle from the lake, we had a bunny.  It's hard to see in this picture, but Emily is actually reading the book The Hungry Bunny to Abby!  Bunnies are stinky and messy and have very little personality, so he didn't last long either. 

In 1991, after staying in rental cottages on various Michigan lakes for our summer vacation, we took the leap and bought our own lakehouse.  This is what it looked like that first winter.

This is it now.  It's been a long road of happy times and hard work.  I do get my fill of country life there after having been away from it for so long.  The kids learned to swim, water ski, fish and just about everything else you can do on the water.  In the winter they snow skied and ice skated. 

I don't think anyone believes me, but I like to fish, too. 

We also like to just anchor on hot days and enjoy a few cold ones!

And Al and I both love to garden, when we aren't arguing over plants and fertilizer, watering and weeding.  We both have competitive natures. 

Here's a view of the peaceful little bay we live on.  The big lake is just a little inlet away.

We like to travel, nothing fancy.  Small to mid size towns all over the country.  I think our best time was in Martha's Vineyard.  We'd go back except there are so many other places we want to see!

We explored the island in this cute little jeep when we figured out we'd probably get run over on bikes! 

Not sure where this was, but this is what we love to do on vacations or anywhere we go.  It's great that we both enjoy scouring around antique stores and going to flea markets. 

I'm going to wind this up if you haven't stopped reading already!  Son Kevin got married two years ago to Mary Clare.  The happy couple live a few blocks away. 

And Emily married Mike just this past May.  They have a house just a few blocks away, too!  Yay!  Jeff has a very successful job and just bought a home that he is renovating from top to bottom.  And my little caboose, Abby, is just about ready to graduate college.

We added this little guy, Milo, to our lives after we had recovered from losing Shadow.

And then Emily brought home this scraggly little girl, Layla, and it was love at first sight.  They're the best of friends.  And yes, they like the dining table!

So, Al and I continue to enjoy our time at the lake, even if the children are only up just once in awhile  As Al gets closer to retirement, he's seven years older than me, we spend longer weekends there. 

I don't think I am ever going to  adjust to an empty nest, my best memories involve those four darling, frustrating, funny, lovable kids.  But I know that the most special person I could ever have in my life is staying behind with me.  And I see a lot more adventures to come!  And you know, he had me at..."Don't take that job with TWA!"

Thanks so much, Susan.  I loved my walk down memory lane!  And anyone that's reading, I'd love for you to visit me at Blondie's Journal!

XO,
Jane

Jane, thanks so much for sharing more of your personal story with us!

Now please head over to Kris's blog to read about Laurel from Chipping with Charm!

A Magazine Photo Shoot and Color

(Thank you to One More Time...Events for featuring this post!)
Hi, everyone!  Hope you're having a great week!

I had an exciting couple of days last week!   When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I just wanted to share my passion for hunting for and decorating with 'good junk'!  In the back of my mind, though, I admit that I secretly wished to someday have my home in a magazine.  Well, my dream is slowly coming true!

It's been baby steps... first my blog was published in Romantic Homes....next pics of my dining room accompanied by an article I wrote was published in the wonderful magazine Creating Vintage Charm in the Christmas/Winter issue...then last week I had a team of photographers in my home on an official photo shoot for a National Magazine!!!

YAY!  I can't tell you how honored and excited I am!  (It will become more 'real' when I actually see pictures of my home in print!)  I will let you know more details closer to the publication date.

The photographers wanted to add a few pops of color to my mostly neutral palette.  They brought these cute pop bottles as props and I was thrilled when they told me I could keep them!  Aren't these vintage-looking graphics so fun?

These are now 'jazzing up' my mostly black and white kitchen.

I've always loved red and have used it in different rooms, especially our master bedroom, which you can see here.  And I've always favored green, too, as you can see in my dining room here.

But blue?  I don't think I've ever bought anything blue (to decorate my home) in my life!  I like it in other people's homes-I've just never been drawn to use it in mine.  So I was a bit apprehensive when the photographers added a few blue accents to my living room.  But when I saw the 'rough' pictures, I was impressed (and intrigued!)

So this past week on one of my 'junkin' trips I found myself stepping out of my comfort zone and buying a few...gasp...blue things!  This wood box/tray is the prettiest shade of faded, chippy blue.

You know I love anything with words/numbers on it, so that was an added bonus!

I also found 2 gorgeous, pristine grainsacks-I couldn't resist these babies!  They have a touch of blue in the stripe as well as the monogram.

I've placed the tray with the grainsacks on the shelving unit in my living room (for now.)

This is a big step for me, people!! :)

I also bought this pretty tablecloth and an old air mail letter from 1945. They tie into my spontaneous new red, white, and BLUE color scheme!

I can't promise that I'll  keep the color blue around...but for now it's a welcome change!

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a fantastic day!

 (Oops, I just realized that I accidentally watermarked some of these pics with my shop name "Home Sweet Home"...oh, well, just pretend you didn't see that!)

I'm linking up to these wonderful blogs:            Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olsen
                                                                      The Vintage Farmhouse
                                                                      Rooted in Thyme
                                                                      One More Time Events
                                                                      Common Ground

Dining Room Tweaking

(Thank you to Cozy Little House, Green Willow Pond, and The Style Sisters for featuring this post!)
Hi, everyone!  Hope you're doing well!
Last time in this post I showed you my new farmhouse table centerpiece...

 And you've already seen the changes that I made to this area...

I've been tweaking other areas of the dining room as well...just a few small changes here and there.  (To see the room's 'before' go to this post.)

For a different look, I brought my collection of green seltzer bottles down from the top of the barn wood cabinet, and gathered them in this wire basket on my buffet.

These bottles are one of the first things that I started collecting when I really got into 'junk'!  I bought my first one for a couple of bucks at the flea market many, many years ago!  I have a collection of clear ones, too, but I especially love these for their green hues.

I got this shabby old apple basket for a steal at an antique mall.  Now it holds a burlap coffee sack and a dried bundle of...something.  Looks kinda like baby's breath but not sure what it is...??

 Once again my little helper (Bobbi aka Bob) found her way into my new vignette! :)

 The barn wood cabinet in the corner is the one that my dad (with my mom's help) made me a few years ago-I cherish it!

It had been awhile since I played around with these shelves, so I decided to switch things up just a bit (even though I kept most of my ironstone collection displayed here.)
I opened the cabinet door so you could get a better look...

I think it's fun to add the unexpected and the whimsical to my displays, so I kept my glove molds on the top shelf...

...and to the second shelf I added a Dundee jar with some old, tarnished forks and a placed a plant inside this tureen...

...then on the next shelf I stacked a little pile of linens onto a platter and grouped 3 'jars' together...

...and on the bottom shelf I added a sweet Madonna next to an enamel sign held up by a flower frog...

...and that's the newly tweaked inside of the cabinet.
My banana crate that I was using as the dining room table centerpiece is now filled with dried plants and has a new home on top of the cabinet. I moved my plate rack with the ironstone platters from the other wall to beside the cabinet.

 So that's this corner with its 'new look'...

 I pretty much kept this cart on the opposite wall the same.

And just for a different perspective, here's the view from our front hallway looking into the dining room...

There you have it!  My newly freshened dining room.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your kind comments!  They really brighten my day! :)

I'm sharing at these wonderful blogs:  i should be mopping the floor
                                                                Sunday View 
                                                                Coastal Charm
                                                                Dwellings
                                                                The Farmhouse Porch (The Scoop) 
                                                                Knick of Time
                                                                Green Willow Pond 
                                                                Savvy Southern Style
                                                                Ivy and Elephants
                                                                Lavender Garden Cottage
                                                                Cozy Little House
                                                                The Style Sisters
                                                                The Vintage Farmhouse