Friday, June 20, 2014

Saturday Spotlight: Lin from A {tiny} Cottage In The Woods

Hi, everyone!   Kris from Junk Chic Cottage and I 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. 

      



I'm so thrilled to have Lin from A {tiny} Cottage In The Woods as my guest today!  Lin is such a sweetie and I'm a huge fan of her gorgeous, French style!  Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know Lin better.



Hi. I'm Lin from 'A {tiny} Cottage In The Woods'. I was delightfully surprised when Susan invited me to share my story on "Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind The Blogger" ~ thank you so much, Susan!

Today I'm sharing the story of how we came to live in a tiny cottage in the woods. A story of childhood dreams ~ and of a dark cloud with silver linings.

Dreams

When I was a little girl, my family spent weekends and vacations in the Colorado wilderness, and it was always a dream of mine to one day live in nature.
 
 ~ my twin brother and me in the Colorado wilderness ~

I also loved art, and was that happy kid with paint splatters on my clothes and little pieces of paper and glitter glued to my hair.

At 17, I received an offer to audition for a full scholarship at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, but instead chose to follow my heart and study Fine Arts. As the years passed, marriage and babies and responsibilities took priority, and my childhood dreams fell quietly aside.

A Dark Cloud

 ~ a dark cloud... the recession ~

Fast forward to 2001, my husband and I both worked in software development and we lived a comfortable life in the suburbs. Our two older children were grown and living on their own, and our youngest daughter was in private school, finishing her senior year of high school when the dotcom crash and recession hit. We saw software companies and jobs in our area evaporate into thin air, and for the first time in our lives we were unable to find work. We'd been through recessions before and thought we'd be able to weather this one out as well, but after two years of living on savings, we had to face the facts. We put our home up for sale, put our belongings into storage, and moved to our undeveloped mountain property to live in a small travel trailer.

Silver Linings

At first I was overwhelmed by fear. What would we do? But in time those feelings began to lift. I found comfort and balance living in nature's beauty,

 ~ surrounded by nature ~

and I came to see that my husband was absolutely right. We hadn't "lost everything" ~ instead, we'd gained so much more.

We became closer and we learned to live simply. We built business websites and sold artisan products that we'd made. And knowing that we couldn't live in a trailer forever, my husband suggested that we design and build an off-the-grid tiny house ourselves ~ learning how to build a home step-by-step, paying cash for materials while we built, and trusting that it would all come together in time. We started drawing up the floor plans and with help from family, two years later we received the certificate-of-occupancy and moved in.

~ building our tiny cottage in the woods with a whole lot of patience and love ~

On my blog I share DIY decorating projects, nature photos, and new work we're doing on our cottage. This year we plan on installing walkways and a patio, adding more plants to the cottage garden, doing some interior finishing work, and I'll be refinishing some furniture pieces. The years I spent studying art and classical music greatly influenced my decorating style, which is a mix of rustic and romantic French-Nordic farmhouse-cottage style.

  ~ flowers from my garden, my refinished DIY French basket, and crown embroidery ~

And I'm once again that happy "kid" with paint splatters on my clothes and little pieces of paper and glitter glued to my hair, so I share some art, crafts and tutorials as well.

 ~ Valentine rose wreath, paper butterflies, and a couple of my watercolors ~

Today, our eldest daughter works for a newspaper, co-owns and operates an outdoor cinema company, and writes freelance in her 'spare' time. Our son is a carpenter/landscaper, and he and his wife live in Japan with their one-year-old baby girl. Our youngest daughter lives in CA and has two little girls.

And my husband and I will be celebrating our 33rd Anniversary together this year ~ happy and so very grateful to be living in a tiny cottage in the woods.

Thanks again, Susan, for inviting me to share my story!
xo,
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Lin, thank you so much for sharing with us!  You are such an inspiration, and I adore your 'tiny cottage' and your beautiful style!
Please visit Lin then head over to Kris's blog to read about Diane from Cottage Wishes.
Have a great day :)

37 comments:

  1. Lin,
    I love your story and what a great amount of inspiration for what you have gone through and where you are now. Love that I have known you on my blog and this was so much fun to get to know you even better. Thank you my friend for sharing. Love your tiny cottage in the woods.
    Kris

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  2. Somehow, every dark cloud seems to have a silver lining if you just look for it! Great story of finding that lining :) Blessings, Cindy

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  3. Such an interesting talented blogger...thanks for sharing! Heading over to visit...

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  4. Nature is a free gift and it brings such joy to our lives. I am retired and we realized we needed to simplify and it agrees with us. I love my home.

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  5. I love Lin's tiny cottage in the woods and all the creativity that comes out of it. Thanks for featuring Lin in Saturday Spotlight Susan. Her story is very inspiring.

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  6. What a wonderful story and life existence, full of appreciation for what was and is! Thanks for sharing, Lin! Thanks for hosting her, Susan.

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  7. What a wonderful post to learn more about Lin, Susan! I really enjoyed reading this and while sorry to hear about how they got to their little cottage, it sounds like Lin and her husband are very happy. I love her decorating style and the ideas she shares on her blog. I am glad to call Lin a new blogging friend and have been following her blog.

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  8. Thank you so very much for inviting me today, Susan. I am honored that you thought of me for your 'Life Behind The Blogger' series ~ you know your blog is a favorite of mine! :)
    Hugs,
    Lin

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  9. What a lovely story with such a happy ending. It is so nice that you ended up in a place that you love.

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  10. This post hit home in so many ways - we had much the same experience ( except as fabric agents when China took over we were left scrambling as well ) sold - downsized - sold again - and now are gutting a fixer upper ! )
    What a lovely lovely post - we have so much to be grateful for - coming by to follow
    Hugs from Montreal
    Suzan
    ( Susan - I took a 10 minute break from painting floors to come read you ( and Kris's ) posts today - 2 of my favorite reads ! )
    xox

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  11. This is a great post!! So many of us have been affected by the recession in one way or another, and Lin has such an inspiring story. Can't wait to see more of the inside of their cottage.
    Mary Alice

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  12. What a delightful story Lin! I am so happy dreams really do come true!
    tot

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  13. Susan, thanks for the spotlight about Lin. I recently discovered her amazing blog and style and became a follower. This spotlight was a very nice introduction into her life.
    XO,
    Vera

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  14. Hi Susan and Lin,
    LOVE this post. Lin, your life sounds sweet. I'm coming over for a visit!

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  15. Hi Susan, I love Lin's blog and I just started following her recently and so glad I got to know her a little better. What a lovely post and wishing you a nice weekend.
    Julie

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  16. I love Lin's blog and her story! She is such an amazing and kind woman.

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  17. Oh, what a wonderful story. Thanks for introducing me to Lin. I am headed there right now.

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  18. What a wonderful, positive story! I can totally relate to being hit by the recession, since our family felt it, too. And in some ways we still do. It's so inspiring that Lin and her husband could turn things around by having faith in themselves and having such a positive attitude. I'm on my way over.
    xo Kathleen

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  19. Hi Susan,
    Thank you for sharing in the spotlight little Lin's petite cottage, what an awwww! Inspiring view of Lin's life and the beauty she creates in her tiny cottage. I have been a long time follower of her and her blog and never am I disappointed with a post.
    I am honored to own a piece of Lin's tiny art, the sweetest black ink penned next and eggs framed in a silver frame. Lin is a artful blogger who touches my soul deeply with her tiny cottage in the woods.

    See you soon my beautiful friend.

    Xoxo
    Dore

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  20. Such a touching life story. Thank you so much for sharing, Lin. (And Susan)

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  22. What a great feature! Lin is a new to me blogger, I loved learning about her, especially her silver lining! What a treat it must be to live in beautiful Colorado. I'll head over and visit her blog today:)

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  23. What a wonderfully inspiring feature! I have have enjoyed Lin's blog since the early days. She has such a beautiful and soulful approach to all she does.

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  24. Lin's blog is one of my very favorites. I've so enjoyed reading this post, Lin. The story of how you came to live in your little cottage in the woods is inspiring and encouraging. Dark clouds can have silver linings. Beautiful!

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  25. I enjoy Lin's blog. She did a great job sharing here. Thank You!!

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  26. I love Lin's blog, and I enjoyed learning more about her. Thank you, Susan.

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  27. What an inspirational story, full of hope and love. This is a great addition to your 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' series.

    Judith

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  28. Oh how I loved reading this story about Lin...so happy that she is able to realize her dreams as a child...such an inspirational story and one we can all learn from!

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  29. your creations are darling, lin:) i esp love that you built your own home! your story is very inspiring--what started out as an necessity, you've turned into a beautiful place to spend your life:) tfs, susan!

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  30. Oh how I enjoyed getting to know Lin just a little bit better...her story is inspiring!

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  31. I am a follower of Lin's and so enjoy her beautiful blog. I am so happy she has found her 'silver lining' and continues to have hopes and dreams for her new life. She is incredibly talented and inspiring. This is my first visit to your lovely blog > new follower. Karen

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  32. Susan, I am so glad you have featured Lin. She inspires me always! xoxo Jen

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  33. Lin, I loved reading about you. It is wonderful how you found so much when you thought you had so little. And now to share your adventure with us is very generous.

    Big hugs
    Elizabeth

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  34. So glad to see Lin featured here. She's a talented, and sweet blogger. I'm a follower of hers. It's so nice to come here to get to know the bloggers we follow a little better.
    thank you Susan.
    xo

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  35. It was wonderful seeing one of my favorite bloggers featured. I love Lin and she and I have been blogging friends for quite awhile now, and yet, I learned so much today reading this.
    Great post dear Lin!
    hugs from here...

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  36. Love to see what other tiny home dwellers are doing to fluff their nest. My tiny house is 8' x 24' including the front porch, so great use of space is really important. Lin has a sweet cottage with lovely decor and a wonderful sense of style that seems rare in tiny homes. The thing is that most tiny home owners have a next to naked home or are minimalists. Hers is inviting and is just adorable. It was nice to read this inspiring post here on your lovely blog. Many blessings to you all.

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