It’s time for some annual goal declaring (because nothing lights a fire under your arse like a big ol’ public proclamation). Let’s do this thang.
Goal #1: Find Balance- We mentioned that we were aiming for more balance in our lives during this 2011 resolutions post. We basically said that we’re going to try our darndest not to fall into the trap of putting all of our time, money, and energy into the house to the point that we have no life, no savings, and Clara is trapped in our casa for her entire childhood (we actually haven’t been on a big vacation since our honeymoon four and a half years ago other than some low key road trips and family beach weeks). Well, we’re bringing it up again because we need to be better about it.
We’ve had a very busy and exciting year (John came on full time, we moved, Clara is running and talking, we’re writing columns for BabyCenter and Do It Yourself magazine along with a 260+ page book, we’ve tackled tons of house projects, we redesigned the site, etc). But what has slipped to make room for all those amazing opportunities is recharging away-from-the-computer time. Since the internet is 24/7, we’re still plugged in on nights and weekends and even on vacations and over the holidays. Heck I had a baby last year and didn’t even miss a post. So one reason that we started Young House Life was to remind ourselves to take a minute to actually live and have fun and be spontaneous and step.away.from.the.laptop.
Goal #2: Not drone on in every post. This actually might be the key to accomplishing more of the balance that we crave above. See, some of our favorite posts don’t have 2,000 words and 20 pics. We even admit that we skim each other’s posts when they’re too long. So we know everyone at home probably doesn’t read every word of every post that we write either. The point is that sometimes short and sweet is a-ok. And not every post needs to be a novel. Sometimes an update is quick, or we buy something simple that we want to share, or something funny happens and we catch it on video and slap it up. That’s the joy of blogging. Not everything has to be super polished and verbose. Ooh, I just used the word verbose. Ten points? Anyone?
Goal #3: Bring back before & after inspiration. A year ago we used to share Reader Redesigns twice a week along with two weekly giveaway posts (one to announce the giveaway and a second one to announce the winner) and a little poll post on Fridays that we called a Burning Question (about something decor-related, like if you prefer painted cabinets or wood ones, or if you’re a wall-to-wall carpet person or into tile or hardwood floors). But at our last blogiversary we realized that five posts a week about not-our-house stuff was really taking our blog away from the good ol’ DIY diary feel (which is definitely how it started, and something that we wanted to maintain).
So during our last blogiversary we decided to turn the focus back to our house (since we had a big move ahead of us, and a lot to talk about). We eliminated those Friday Burning Questions, along with our weekly follow up giveaway winner post (we just post that info as a p.s. at the bottom of another post), and we bid a fond farewell to both of our weekly Reader Redesigns (we invited folks to share their before & afters on our Facebook page instead). We didn’t miss the giveaway winner post or our weekly Burning Question, but we definitely mourned the loss of Reader Redesigns since they’re so inspiring and full of eye candy and ideas. So we’ve decided to bring them back. Not two a week, and maybe not even once a week – but they’re going to be making regular appearances again. There’s just too much amazing stuff that can leave us all inspired/encouraged. So if you have any awesome transformations to submit for consideration (like the stunning card-catalog-turned-buffet seen below), just send them to [email protected].
Goal #4: Be Secure In Our Own Bloghood. Sure, we’d love for every single person who drops by to love every single one of our 2,000+ posts, but we’d also love a goose chihuahua that lays golden eggs. The truth is that in putting our lives out there for everyone to see, we have to be ok with not everyone loving everything, or even anything. And in turn they’ll hopefully understand that projects, decor choices, and post-writing is as subjective as favorite foods and hairstyles. So there’s not really one right way to do it.
This is just our personal DIY diary of sorts (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the blissfully mundane). One day we’re gutting a bathroom & one day we’re organizing a junk drawer or even talking about breastfeeding (tangents definitely occur). Strangely enough, four years of that “blogging formula” is exactly what got us here. Over four million hits a month?! We’re humbled and so very thankful. My brain actually threatens to explode when I think about it (I pretend I’m writing to ten people to combat blog stage fright). So sure, some folks might do things differently if this were their blog, but that’s the beauty of blogging: everyone can do it in their own way.
Goal #5: Be Grateful. Sometimes the stress of a harder-than-we-thought project or 150 pending comments to respond to can make us momentarily forget that this is a dream job. Because as much as we love what we do, at the end of a day it’s still a job. We do it because we love it (heck, it was born from pure never-thought-we’d-make-a-dime passion), but we also currently rely on it to feed our family – so there’s definitely pressure sometimes (as anyone who runs their own business will tell ya). So this goal is more of a mental shift than anything else. Whenever we’re feeling overwhelmed by looming projects or mounting comments or magazine assignments and book chapters to complete, we just want to remember to stop, breathe, and remind ourselves that we’re living the dream (corny but true). So in those oh-crap-I’m-stressing moments we just have to think about how geeky giddy we are over this amazing opportunity that has somehow materialized (no one is more surprised about where we have ended up than we are – and we lay awake in bed at night perma-smiling and excitedly chattering about our next project). Life is good. Even when it’s busy and full of chaos. We are oh so grateful.
Goal #6: Try New Things. Whatever they are. Maybe it’s just having an open mind about some weird half-baked decorating idea that pops into our heads. Or embarking on some other new adventure like House Crashing or Window Shopping (who the heck knows what that could be). With our book coming out next fall we imagine that will open up a ton of new (aka: potentially scary) experiences for us (starting with a bunch of photoshoots in the next few months for hundreds of secret projects that will be photographed). So we just want to be open to those new (aka: potentially scary) experiences. And try not to fear them or dread them or turn into a big ol’ ball of stress. I guess this goes hand in hand with being grateful. We want to remember to try new things and take chances and be spontaneous (all of which are what got us here in the first place).
So there they are. Six probably-won’t-all-be-accomplished-but-we’ll-try-our-darndest goals for year five of blogging our pants off (figuratively speaking). While we’re on the goal tending topic, we also like to annually revisit the prior year’s goals to see how we did.
You can read them a bit more in depth right here, but we thought we’d just summarize the ones from last year in bullets to evaluate our progress:
Last Year’s Goal #1: Move On – This goal was all about moving into a new house and enjoying it and documenting our adventures and projects and tribulations, which we definitely did. Yay. The verdict: Mission accomplished.
Last Year’s Goal #2: Loosen Up – This goal was about feeling less machine-like and blogging in a looser more real-time format (we were doing projects so far in advance that things sat in the hopper for up to two weeks before we could share them) so we could get back to posting things as they happened. Now things usually go up a day or two after they’re done (just because editing pics and post writing takes some time). So we definitely accomplished the less-lag-time thing. Score! But we also mentioned getting back to the balance of long meaty posts interspersed with quick updates and small real-life details that weren’t 2,000 words long (sometimes short and sweet beats heavy and wordy, so we wanted to get back to a nice balance of both). The verdict: Still gotta work on that. Hence goal #2 this year.
Last Year’s Goal #3: Get Real – In the first year of blogging we shared ordinary in-progress and spur-of-the-moment stuff all the time (like this, this, this, this and this), but somehow we fell off. So we couldn’t wait to get back to chronicling those real & random moments between before & after (you know, the stuff that you don’t get to see on 30 minute makeover shows). This year we definitely kept it real (sharing messy house tours, fridge before & afters, and even a cloth diaper update) but a lot of the fun off-the-cuff posts that we linked to as inspiration were quick and random (everything doesn’t have to be 20 photos long and full of wordy breakdowns). The verdict: 50% accomplished. Still gotta work on tossing things up that are light and spur-of-the-moment like the good ol’ days.
Now we’re turning the love train in your direction. We appreciate you all so much and thank you violently profusely for dropping in on us. Without you guys our goal would be: get back into the advertising thing because we’d be out of a job. Haha. All in all we can’t believe where we are four years after starting a tiny blog for friends and family members to watch our little kitchen makeover back in 2007. Life is crazy like that. But I better stop waxing poetic about the whole who-woulda-thought-we’d-be-here thing. We could talk about how shockingly random our little blog’s evolution has been for days, but this post is already 1,819 words. Looks like we’ll have to keep working on the old “short and sweet” aspiration. Is anyone really surprised?
Psst- First image found here and last image found here (without our heads on them of course, we added those). Oh and that cute photo of the bean was taken by Katie B.
Psssst- We announced this week’s big $500 West Elm gift card winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
Kristin says
Just wanted to say I love you guys :) Thanks for being awesome.
Stefani @ Try To Enjoy says
YAAAAYYYYYYY! I LOVE Reader Redesigns and I’ve missed them SO MUCH! I love your house but we always have to wait for you to actually do projects – which you do a lot of – but with the Reader Redesigns it’s such a nice instant gratification before and after BAM! There it is! You know what I mean? I love watching/reading about the whole process of projects in your house on your blog but sometimes a quick immediate before/after is so great.
They are so fun and often so impressive and inspiring. I’ve been wishing and hoping you’d bring those back. Thanks :-) Plus hopefully those posts are a little less time consuming for you since it’s somebody else’s pictures and info? So maybe sprinkling in some RRs can help you meet your goal of having a more balanced life? Some RRs in exchange for a little R&R? haha :-)
Marta says
WOAH! This just blew my mind! I’m from Calgary so just wondering…are you guys Calgary Flames fans??? I didn’t even expect you to be hockey fans haha!
Thanks for all the time and effort you guys put in! I love reading your blog :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we just got that image from google. No loyalty, just needed something with two people – one of whom was playing goalie!
xo,
s
Lesley says
I love your blog but when you mentioned to be less wordy I had a huge happy grin. Don’t get me wrong I love that you explain everything and some of the tangents make you guys ‘real’ but I do find myself skipping some b/c I just don’t have the time to read all my favorite blogs. I only have about 8 that I MUST read as soon as they pop up in my reader but there are others I like that I can’t get to. As the old saying goes….Less is more. right?
Karen J says
Really enjoying your week of review. But, if I may, just laugh a bit. Goals #1 and #5 are soooo related, but maybe not in a way you realize. You should be grateful because you already have balance! OK, I’m sure you realize this, but you two are the luckiest (and, of course, most deserving and hardworking) people on earth. If you were both working full time and Clara was in daycare, THEN you would need balance. Nothing would get done at home decor-wise, you wouldn’t spend any time with Clare, your house would be a wreck organization-wise and you would have no time to spend with each other. You already have the most balanced life possible. And more vacations?!? I know your trips haven’t been “unplugged” but I think most “ordinaries” would take your life in a heartbeat. Sorry if this sounds cranky/mean because it’s really meant in a lighthearted way. And I can’t wait for your book!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, there’s no doubt that to some folks our life would be the perfect balance! We’re more just referring to the whole working until 1 or 2 in the morning thing (after Clara goes to bed we burn the midnight oil when it comes to projects and posts) so I think we miss the days when we worked in advertising and got to sit on the sofa after dinner and just unwind for a few hours (and spend weekends and vacays without being glued to the ol’ laptop)! The grass is always greener I guess! But there’s got to be a way to get back to a little less laptop time and a little more family time- just because we know it makes us better bloggers and better parents too!
xo,
s
Jennifer C. says
Love the new goals and good luck to accomplishing them! I second, third, fourth, fifth the comments above about you all taking a vacation once in awhile. I will miss your posts dreadfully (first thing every morning I scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog list in google reader to see if there’s a post from you all and I read it first!) but EVERYONE needs a break! Keep doing what you do cause I love it all!
Meg@Keeping up with the Jenks says
I love how humble you are that you get “blog fright” when writing particular posts. I experience that all the time (and have none of the fame or support to get me through it!).
You always connect with us because of your sense of humor and humility. I was actually lying awake at 3 am last night (ugh.) and thinking, “how can I be more like Sherry? She’s so relateable”. (so sorry if it creeps you out that I think of you at 3 am. I think about lots of other things too, promise!)
Oh, and wordy and verbous- right up my alley!
Keep doing what you do, it works (but do take some time to breath-ya’ll deserve it. Might I suggest a Charleston getaway??)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh Charleston sounds awesome! Haha. We’re in.
xo,
s
Maureen@ This (Kinda) Old House says
I am excited about the reader redesigns! Really looking forward to that. I, too, like that you guys put yourselves out there and sometimes go off on tangents. Ir’s what makes your blog so real and so much fun to read; it makes you relataeble (a made up word :)).
Maureen@ This (Kinda) Old House says
That was supposed to say relate-able. LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I knew what you meant!
xo,
s
Mary@TheGoodLife says
These are great goals. You guys are rockin’ it. I love the idea of more off-the-cuff less fleshed out posts. I loved that one you linked about painting the ceiling- that stuff is great! One carefully placed joke and a few photos, and we are sold. Especially since you post twice a day. I think we (the royal we, ahem) just like “being” with you guys. So if it’s a quick check in to say how &$%*ed up this project is so far- thats hilarious and wonderful.
Hey- about the intern thing. I totally get the in-the-family grass roots thing. But say later, you find yourselves hating that you ever made that “sweeping declaration” (did you see Mondays How I Met Your Mother? Love that show)… maybe an intern could do less personal stuff- maybe JUST editing photos and setting up tripods and doing photoshoots. Anyway. Just highlighting an “out” if you ever want more time to approve comments. LOL.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, we have learned that we should never say never! Who knows where we’ll end up someday!
xo,
s
Cindi says
Congratulations on an amazing 4 years! You are at the very top of my Google Reader list!
Love that you are bringing back the reader redesigns! And less wordy is great too if it makes less work for you. I do have to admit that I *sometimes* just skim the REALLY long posts, but I always look at all the photos!
I personally would love to see the mood boards return, or at least an update on the ones that you did. I know you said they are very time consuming, but charge appropriately for your time! If they were selling out in 2 minutes at $250, charge $350-$500 for them! People will buy and you need to be compensated for your time! Have you ever figured out your hourly rate? It may surprise you! Now that this is your livelihood, you need to treat it as such and charge accordingly :) I am a professional photographer and when I did a day of mentoring with a very successful photographer, this was the best advice she gave me. My hourly rate with what I was previously charging was less than $10 per hour – pathetic! Now I charge what I am worth and I am SO much happier! And you guys are DEFINITELY worth it!!
Best of luck to you guys!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Cindi! We actually never killed Mood Boards (the service went away because we just don’t have time for it, but we still liked doing them for fun and sharing those along the way for general inspiration). Sometimes we just get tunnel vision and do a bunch of projects and forget all about them! But then I remember and we pop one up! So those are still on the agenda!
xo,
s
Heather says
now I want to go set some goals and make some lists… Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! Lists = my jam.
xo,
s
Nikki G says
“My wife could write lists for days..” -Clide, Modern Family. Hahahahahaha…. Just popped into my head when I read this :)
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahahahaa.
xo,
s
Teresa says
Although I am a new follower.. I am DEF. a convert to your blog. YOu guys have adone an amazing job at this. Kudos to you both for following your dreams and making your lives what you want them to be. And kudos for posting your goals!! That takes some guts for sure.
I am really excited about your reader redesigns!!! I have been trying my hand at a few DIY projects, and more decorating. Maybe one day I will have something I can submit, but until then, you guys are constantly giving inspiration.
And Clara is one lucky lady… what a wonderful home to grow up in! (Burger is a lucky fella too… lol silly little dog).
Emily Anderson says
I hear you about balance! I still can’t believe that you guys respond to all these comments. That would probably be a big way to save time and we would all understand. ;-)
Maia says
You guys are amazing! When i’m stressed out or frustrated during the day, i just go to your YHL page and it makes me feel better. I look forward to reading about your latest home renovation projects and Clara’s latest accomplishments. I really enjoy reading your blog everyday. It’s turned into one of my “things i have to do”. Keep it up!!
Meredith says
I agree with all the other fans who promise we won’t abandon you while you’re on vacation!
I’m sure one of the reasons you try to keep up a constant presence on the internet is security… I mean, if I’m going on vacation, no one really cares. But if the Petersik clan goes away, the whole world knows! That must be a bit scary.
So why schedule annual vacation days for the same time each year? That way, you could be spending your anniversary week in Hawaii or at home, and no one would be the wiser. The only way this would work is if you establish in advance what days (or weeks) you will not be blogging. You might experience withdrawal, haha.
Sure, it will likely get hairy leading up to the time off (if I only had a few hours, I could finish up this one thing!), but that happens with traditional jobs too. I stay late at work each time I’m getting ready for vacation. But then I actually go on vacation. ;)
Just imagine how much decorating inspiration you guys could get in Italy! And how awesome the posts would be when you return home!! Yes, I am daydreaming for other people. People I have never met. Don’t judge. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, there’s definitely something to be said for taking a little break and coming back super inspired and raring to go! We definitely really want to make the whole balance thing happen this year!
xo,
s
Meredith says
um, I meant to say, “So why NOT schedule annual vacation days”… oops :)
Good luck with all of your goals!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks!
xo,
s
Megan says
I am loving all of your posts this week. They are definitely inspiring, and feel very real. Thanks for being so open with us, and sharing what works (and what doesn’t). I really enjoyed reading your “day in the life.” In fact, I probably should have commented over there! :)
Veronika says
You know it’s really crazy, four years is enough time to get a bachelors degree so I guess your blog is now officially out of college and definitively going for Masters!
But even the best students get summer breaks,so just in case you decide to go on a week or even two week vacation, I want to let you know that I’m sure we can all survive a couple of post less YHL weeks for the sake of you guys getting some quality fun family time! we’ll always be here when u come back just like u’r always here for us! so hit the road!
Veronika says
wow, i didn’t read other comments before I posted mine, but I guess everyone is saying that we will still be here if u go on a vacation! Amazing! I love the readers of this blog just as much as I love the blog! It’s such a cluster of nice sweet people in here!
YoungHouseLove says
ISN’T IT AMAZING? You guys make our day, every day. Smooches to everyone. Best readers ever.
xo,
s
Samantha @ Mama Notes says
Yes, I def. think a lot of your posts are really really long. :) I do skim through a whole lot of them. I find I can’t keep up with the length of the posts and amount of posts. Just personal opinion :) Whatever you decide to do will be great :) and we all love before & afters!
my honest answer says
So excited to have reader redesigns back!!!!
Rebecca says
I think hands down the worst decision you have made blog wise is getting rid of Burger. It’s just that he is so much funnier than you guys! Haha.
In all seriousness, I would love to see some posts on small spaces and how to design awkward spaces.
Thanks for keeping me so entertained at work through the years. I so did not want to come to work Monday and my mood was instantly reversed when I realized it was blogiversary week.
Adrienne says
The first photo and first line had me cracking up! And it always makes me happy that you leave your dork flag hang high and proud…. coming from a fellow nerdy dork (and mother of a one-year old).
Y’all are doing a great job, and it’s also wonderful that you take the time to reflect on how to keep things fresh and interesting for both yourselves and your readers. Your enthusiasm is apparent in everything you do, and it’s so infectious – a reason we all keep coming back to read!
Anne G. says
I’m enjoying all of your blogiversary posts! One thing I love about you guys is how “real” you are. You are honest, down to earth, and not afraid to tell it like it is, but you ALWAYS stay positive and never veer over to the dark side (snark, negativity, etc) You also don’t hide stuff from us. You share the whole shebang (at least about whatever you happen to be writing about), which feels really welcoming and, well, REAL! So, although I love the idea of shorter and more-to-the point posts, please don’t lose your real voices, which are sometimes rambly and go off on tangents. This is a good thing, I think!
Jill.. yah, THAT Jill! says
Nice calves, Sherry! Wowzers!
Did my gravatar show up? It’s the only pic I have on my work computer. That’s my Godson, Gabe, when he was a newbie. He’s a whopping 7 months old now! He’s the best thing that’s happened to me this year, that is FA SHOW!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, yes! He’s so cute.
xo,
s
Stefanie says
I have a question for you: What will happen to this blog when you run out of projects in your own house? I know this rarely ever happens because there is always something that needs to be upgraded or changed eventually. But what happens when you are completely content with everything one day and you will only work on, let’s say, a couple little projects a month?
YoungHouseLove says
Well our last house took us 4.5 years to be “done” with, so we figure we still have a few more years on this one (since it’s bigger and we have bigger plans). Then I guess if we run out of stuff to do in 2015 or something we might try to go in on a rental house with a few relatives (or a beach house, we toss that idea around too). In the end we had no idea that we’d be here five years ago so it’s kind of hard to guess where we’ll be in five more!
xo,
s
Kate S. says
First, I wanted to say that the picture of Clara spying on Sherry is fantastic–I love the huge happy grin you can see on Sherry’s face. That’s definitely a keeper.
Second, on the subject of “being secure in your own bloghood,” I wanted to remind you of what you said in your Q&A video–for every nasty comment, there are 200+ good ones. I’ll add that for every nasty comment, there are mature readers that can express opinions without being rude and insulting. I’ve been reading your blog for over 2 years now (you were refinishing your hardwood floors at the same time we were in 2009 and that’s when I started reading) and I loved nearly every design choice you made in your first house. When you moved, your style changed pretty dramatically from my point of view and I haven’t liked a lot of the choices you’ve made . . . but I like you guys. I like reading your posts and seeing what you’re up to, so I’ve kept reading, day after day, even when you made choices that seemed crazy to me.
So, know that however your style diverges from that of your readers, many of us would stick around just for the side show: ) I’m not one of those readers that fancies we could be BFFs in real life, but just as I wouldn’t walk into my friend’s home and insult her new wall-to-wall carpeting, I wouldn’t come to your blog and insult your home. I hope you understand what I meant to convey here–that the readers who matter are the ones that aren’t taking time each day to demean your decor choices, but rather the ones that come back no matter what.
Jackie says
I think it would be cool to incorporate your goals into some DIY office art! Then you could look at them every day!
Amy @ this DIY life says
I’m so jazzed about reader redesigns coming!
Jennifer says
Just have to chime in – I love the natural, chatty voice from your blog. And I understand you wanting to loosen up a bit and not chatter on so long – but here’s one fan who enjoys that! I’ve even started to go backwards through your blog, because it’s fun to see how your style has evolved. I first came across your blog this past spring, through the Apartment Therapy annual blog awards. And I’m so glad I did! I think it’s helped my husband and me to think about how our own home style has evolved – especially as we’ve made an international move (coming back home to the U.S.) and had to downsize by clearing out about 2/3 of our stuff, which has actually been a cathartic and ultimately grateful experience – and your blog ideas have been instrumental in helping us branch out and go for more patterns! I was so pleased that day when you posted about how many patterns you had in your living room, and I realized we had 12 different patterns in ours! My personal faves are the House Crashing and Window Shopping posts. And any goofy personal pics – those are the best! I’m also glad you’ll be bringing back some inspirational Reader Redesigns! (And this is a small thing, but I really, really appreciate that all your links open into new tabs.) So Happy 4th Anniversary, and I can’t wait to see where this new year takes you! :)
Sarah says
Do you think you’ll do a book tour??? My friends and I would skreech with excitment if you did! You’d have SO MANY people show up to book signings!
YoungHouseLove says
We would love to! We’ll definitely keep you posted!
xo,
s
Crystal S says
YES YES YES!!! You would have to come up north, either Chicagoland, or South Bend/NotreDame area!!
Michelle H says
I love that you talk about how even a dream job has its challenges. It’s so important to remember that nothing is ever perfect, and that we’re all just humans striving to do the best we can. Perception is everything :). I think God purposely makes some things challenging so that we have to look to Him for strength and guidance :).
Katherine says
If you do go on vacation, can you promise not to have “Guest Bloggers?” I used to think Guest Posts were great ways to “meet” new bloggers and check out their spaces; I found a few great blogs that way. But, it seems that many bloggers don’t screen their guests very carefully; one blog in particular (and it’s a BIG blog) frequently has guest bloggers and I’ve seen them pimp their Stella & Dot business, including unlabeled affiliate links; put a long list of their past design projects up linked to their own blog, rather than a real post; and one guest blogger was so scathing when describing her ordinary, average and not-that-ugly pre-remodel kitchen that I left my first and (to this day, only) nasty comment on a blog post! All that on top of the strange change of pace and tone that come along with a guest blogger. I’ve stopped reading a few blogs that are always populated with guest posts and have appreciated your lack of those here. In fact, I’d rather the blog feel silent for two-weeks than have to skim over a dozen guest posts.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, we love Reader Redesigns since we can write those and spotlight things that we think you guys will love, but we’ve never gotten into the Guest Post thing- probably because we’re such die-hard DIYers that we hate not to do things ourselves. Haha. I think if we traveled we’d either post quick live updates from wherever we’d be or share some archived favorites like many readers have recommended in the comment section of this post. But I think we’re happy to hog the microphone in general. Haha.
xo,
s
Linda says
I love that you used a picture of the Calgary Flames…. absolutely fantastic, thank you!
alex says
Gosh, I love you guys. seriously, you should soak in the fact that you have made 1M+ people take on projects intheir home and made them see that not everything has to be expensive or replaced, just some paint and elbow grease. Its a wonderful thing and you may not be saving the world or stopping world hunger. But you are truly helping people be happy in their homes. Thank you for that.
also, maybe I missed something somewhere…but, like any toddler, does Clara ever have just total melt-down days where its almost impossible for either of you to really work? she just seems so happy and content.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah- we’re having one of those days right now. Haha. She’s getting two molars. Nightmaaare! So John actually took her to the book store this morning to try to help me focus on the blogiversary stuff and to hopefully appease her. She came home very tired and ready for a nap, so here’s hoping she wakes up a little happier in an hour or so! If not I’ll be going on a nice long walk with her so John can tend the afternoon stuff!
xo,
s
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
I have to say the first picture really cracked me up. Especially, your legs Sherry!
I am also excited about your goal #1. After reading the day in the life of blog post the other day I almost felt guilty for enjoying the blog so much because it keeps y’all so busy. Finding that right balance is important. Who knows it might also help when looking for new post ideas.
Anna says
I think you should keep in mind that part of the reason you get so many hits is not just that you have great ideas but you also appear to be such charming genuine people. Mean commenters are lame but it seems to be a problem. As far as work life balance — it is a struggle for everyone. But I think even more so when you are self-employed. An idea I got for a friend you might want to try is creating a list of small random goals with a set time frame (mine is 50 in 500 days) and then document as you accomplish them. Things like “go to a farm and pick our own food” was on that list and last week a friend and I took our kids berry picking ($3 a pound raspberries, um yes). Anyway just a suggestion but that little trick has helped me accomplish some of those “I’ve always wanted to do that but never make time” type of goals that get pushed aside for things like laundry, computer time, work, etc…
Now I just need to make time to go on that tandem bike ride I’ve been talking about for years…
Andrea Roberge says
LOVE THE CALGARY FLAMES PICTURE!!!! Go Calgary!!! I love your new goals- I hope you are able to stick with them and able to take a vacation- maybe to Calgary to watch a Flames Game????
[email protected] says
As a new blogger, I love your behind-the-scenes posts. It’s great to see how you’ve made the move of turning blogging into a job. Loved your goal update, especially the one about not making posts so wordy. My husband gave me the same advice when he said he liked my shorter posts better. Of course he couldn’t even get through the whole first Harry Potter book, but still . . . it’s good advice. As a writer you feel like more is better-it makes it more legit and professional. But as a reader, I agree, short, sweet and visually stimulating is great.
Still, you guys are awesome, and my blogging and home decorating inspiration! You’ve nudged me into doing some projects I would never have dreamed of attempting, and helped evolve my style. So thanks!
Lisa S says
Ok, first of all, I read every word and you are on the top of my reader too. So make the posts shorter only if you want…I think the way you both write is so funny, entertaining and revealing.
I also play a little game by starting to read a post and then try to figure out who is writing it…you or John. I’m right 99% of the time! You two have your own voice, I love it
I’ve been loving all the “over-sharing” this week…keep up the good work!
Gwenalyn says
I don’t think your readers would be upset if you took a break from blogging for a family vacation! We would miss you for sure, but you deserve a break, too! When my son’s daycare lady took a vacation every summer, people gave her a hard time about how she was making their lives difficult, but I disagreed! That was a great week for me, I had an excuse to stay home from work and hang out with my kid. Your family taking a (much needed) vacation might inspire your readers to do the same. Just take lots of pictures so those of us who don’t get to travel can live vicariously through you! ;)
lisa m says
Take a vacation!! Just schedule some of your old favorite posts to come up. I LOVE looking back through the archives! I’ll still be here when you get back. Promise! Love you guys too much to walk away due to a week or two off of posting!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lisa! You guys are sweet. We’d love to go to Hawaii for our five year anniversary (with the bean of course, and leave Burger with grammy since he would get quarantined over there) so we’ll have to make it happen!
xo,
s
Patti says
Yay for less verbose blog posts! Love you YHLovers!
Julie says
I’m going to join the chorus and say that I’d love if you guys took a vacation! It sounds creepy and stalkerish, but I feel like I know you guys and it seems like you work way too hard, so I’d love it if you took off to Hawaii or something for a week. Like everyone else has said, I’m willing to bet you could easily find a week of guest bloggers or entertain us with some throwback posts.
GreenInOC says
I vote for 4 posts a day! Not broken up, just for long windy posts – I love them!! Usually I see a long post and just skim or click away but yours are always so entertaining and useful so I relish them.
Take a vacation after the book – perhaps as a celebration maybe?
Polina says
Great idea to bring the reader redesigns back! I know i am in the minority but i still miss the good old moodboards :-)
Please, please, please take much deserved family vacation! We went to Hawaii back in January with our toddler and had a fantastic time! It was a blissfull time to just build sand castles together as the sun was rising and splash in the pool and the ocean without thinking about work or other ccommitments for a few days.
I loved your 20 minute video! You joked that you can rename your blog into “young at heart” house love, i actually made the same EXACT same crack in the comments when a similar question came up in the post few months back :-) Great minds think alike :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah mood boards were never actually supposed to go away! Haha. We discontinued the mood board service because we didn’t have time to offer that with Clara around, but we still wanted to share random just for fun ones that we made with random inspiration here and there! It ended up being just a once every month or two thing because we’d somehow get in the DIY zone and forget about them, but adding more in there is definitely on the list!
xo,
s
Kara says
I have been a devoted follower for the last one and a half years and I come to your site daily. I’ve used quite a few of your projects (DIY baby book, lining a dresser for the nursery, painting the closet in our nursery etc) and have quoted your work many a time to my friends!
I will agree that your posts can be somewhat long and to be fully transparent sometimes I lose interest because the commentary on word play, or inside jokes, make it longer. But that is also what makes this blog fun, so it’s hard to suggest that you scale back. Maybe I need a better attention span. ;)
My favotite things are what you do best – projects and before/afters. It’s inspiring and fun to watch play out (almost) live on this blog! You can’t please everyone, so be sure that you two keep doing what makes YOU happy!!!
Kara says
Also, how ironic that I said I didn’t love the long posts, but yet I wrote a LONG comment. HA!
Kristi says
Stumbled across your site about 6 months after you started the blog and have followed every since. You are my one and only “Soap”! I have really appreciated you sharing your experiences as DIY’ers, bloggers, as a couple, and now parents (love Clara and cloth diaper posts). What a great week of reflection! You deserve a vacation! Don’t worry, we’ll all be here when you get back!
Michelle M says
Great post! I’m so excited to see the reader redesigns make an occasional comeback.
Claire says
i like before & after inspiration!