Inspiration can be found all around us. You can find it in a picture, a color, nature, a particular scent and even in a person just to name a few. No matter what your medium of creativity is, you have to draw inspiration sometimes in order to grow as a person. Inspiration sparks new ideas and gets us excited. I am a very creative person. If I didn’t have an outlet to create with, I’d be quite miserable in life. When I lose my follow through drive, I turn to some of my favorite inspirers to get me back on track.
There are several bloggers/creators that I have discovered all within the last six months and I have come to rely on them for daily inspiration in one way or another. Almost like they’re holding me accountable, and I don’t want to let them down… even though they have absolutely NO idea who I am or that my blog or channel even exists. Sometimes it’s just rewatching a video they have shared or maybe I just have to reread a blog post of theirs. It’s not about taking their ideas, it’s simply about being inspired by them. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and I’m ready to just give everything up I’m working so hard on. Well, failure isn’t an option at this stage of the game so that’s when I turn to people I admire to help me get myself back on track and finish what I started or simply push myself through my doubt and fear and come out on the other side a much better person for following through. I want to share with you my top 5 bloggers that I admire in so many ways. And trust me when I say they deserve the recognition I’m sending their way! If you haven’t checked out their blogs and channels, I suggest you do after reading this post. I’m going to start with my number five spot and work my way down to my absolute favorite blogger.
5.) Chloe Mackintosh – Boxwood Avenue
I found Chloe’s channel before I found her blog. I was absolutely smitten with her amazingly gorgeous farmhouse, so I started watching her videos. I just absolutely love the vibe I get from her. I want to sit on her enormous, covered porch with her, sipping sweet tea and chatting the afternoon away about everything from blogging to interior design, Paris and being a goat mom. She’s young, beautiful and vivacious. Her home aesthetic is beautiful and calming. Her world isn’t full of clutter, and I can tell she is very purposeful with everything she does. I admire her cooking, her decorating and her drive. Her mercantile (which you can find on her blog) is to-die-for. As in Shut-The-Front-Door to-die-for. Picture a high-end antique boutique in the heart of Paris. That’s what her mercantile reminds me of, not that I’ve ever been to an antique store in Paris, in fact… I’ve never been to Paris, but I feel as if I’m there every time I “stroll” through her mercantile. She really seems like the girl next door. One I could have an amazing friendship with if I lived even remotely near her. But I don’t so I will continue to admire her through her blogging and her videos. And even though I cannot afford anything from her mercantile, it won’t stop me from strolling through it weekly to dream a little dream. Check her out on You Tube at Boxwood Avenue – YouTube and definitely give her blog a read through.
4.) Laura Ascher – Our Oily House
Laura is another favorite of mine. I absolutely admire her minimalistic style. Laura’s niche in life is essential oil and I feel completely comfortable calling her the Queen of Essential Oils. I have actually learned so much from her regarding the use of essential oils for cleaning, cooking, and air purifying. Laura is one of the most organized people I have even seen and that’s also a trait I admire, because I am the exact opposite. She has given me the inspiration on more than one occasion to organize different areas in my home that desperately needed it. And it felt amazing once they were done. I actually find myself opening up my linen closet to admire my organizational work and then I find myself smiling, which is something I never did before when I would open my linen closet. Usually, I would put my hands over my head for protection from falling objects in there, but not anymore thanks to Laura’s inspiration. She lives a natural life and that’s something I strive to emulate. I’m totally not there yet, but I’m trying. She’s also the mother of a gaggle of children. I admire how she can get it all done: blogging, videos, wife, mother, and entrepreneur. She has a calming, laid back vibe which attracts me to her. I could definitely see her on Chloe’s porch chatting the afternoon away with us. If I remotely lived near Laura, I think we would also be friends. Check her out on You Tube at Our Oily House – YouTube and definitely give her blog a read through as well.
3.) Sarah Jean- She Holds Dearly
I also found Sarah on You Tube before I discovered her blog. I absolutely fell in love with her relaxed farmhouse style. I adore how she mixes vintage finds in with her decor for that effortless look we all strive for. As a previous interior designer myself, I admire her design work and her words of advice that she shares with her subscribers and readers. My interior design business was based on getting a high end look for a fraction of the cost. Sarah also follows the same rules and I so love that about her. Sarah lives in a real farmhouse and one she is striving to DIY her way through, making her mark on it and making an inviting home for herself and her family. It’s a beautiful mixture of new and old that just flows together seamlessly. Sarah is a mom, a wife and an entrepreneur as well. She offers classes on design so everyone can learn to have an eye for what they are doing as well without having to hire a designer to come into their home and decorate it for them… which I think is fabulous. There’s so much more to interior design that just picking a paint color and a few pieces of furniture. There’s a way to make your home flow and Sarah will guide you through that process making it less scary and more attainable for the average person who doesn’t have a degree in interior design. I can also envision her on Chloe’s porch with us all, chatting the afternoon away. I really wish I lived closer to these amazing souls. Check her out on You Tube at She Holds Dearly – YouTube and her blog is also one you’ll want to subscribe to.
2.) Andrea Francavilla – Pine and Prospect Home
As with the others on this list, I found Andreas’ channel on You Tube first and I have to say I feel a kindred pull to her. She is truly the end all inspiration for DIY’ers out there. Her and her husband bought a cottage that they have been renovating and changing themselves… and you’d never know they didn’t hire someone to come in and do it all for them. It looks straight out of a magazine! Andrea is a preachers daughter with a heart of pure gold. She’s beautiful and the mother of four little boys… Bless Her Heart. I love watching Andrea show off the latest DIY her and her husband have done. I also enjoy seeing all of Andreas thrifted finds she shares with us for her collected home as well as her antique booth she shares with her mom. Andrea is an AMAZING artist.. and I mean seriously amazing. You can purchase her artwork on her blog. I have my eye on a couple I’ll be adding to my own home. As with the others on this list, Andreas’ home is timeless and effortless. When I’m in the middle of my own DIY and I’m losing my focus, I’ll turn to Andrea and one of her videos and I’ll find the inspiration to plug on and finish my project. I feel like a welcomed guest into her home when I’m watching her videos and I enjoy her blog, as I do everyone mentioned above, immensely. She is also on Chloe’s porch sipping sweet tea with the lot of us. Check her channel out on You Tube at Pine and Prospect Home – YouTube. And make sure you go to her website and check out her amazing artwork. It’s quite affordable and absolutely magnificent. She is one talented Mama!
OK. So, we are now at my all-time favorite, most inspirational blogger that I have discovered. But before I give you that name, let me tell you a little story…
I will be 50 years old this year. I am the mom of three grown, amazing children (Nikki, Chris and Jessi) and a Nana to my 4 little treasures in life (Ryder, Summit, Rosalie and Emery). Throughout those 50 years, I have been searching for myself. My TRUE self. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, or a freelance writer. But my fear of failure has stopped me. Instead, I started an interior design company called Subtle Changes Interiors. I gave my clients the high end look they wanted for a fraction of the cost (Sound familiar?) This was my creative outlet, and I was great and successful at it. And for a while it fulfilled and sustained me creatively…. but it wasn’t enough, and I decided to close the doors after 5 wonderful years. From there I decided to go to hair school and get a full cosmetologist license. My goal was to open my own shop one day. I graduated and started working immediately. I gained a faithful following of clients and once again I was wildly successful at it. I really enjoyed it. But then I was diagnosed with RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and cutting or even styling hair became a painful challenge that I just couldn’t do anymore. It was too difficult on my hands, which is where my RA is severe. I was bummed. Seriously bummed. I finished up my month and ended that phase of my journey and once again I needed to discover my niche in life. I was always good with numbers, so I went into the financial part of office work. I worked for the largest medical malpractice law firm in Boston. I worked for a major construction company and even for the government working in the defense industry with a security clearance. My financial career (which for the record I absolutely HATED. Legit loathed) ended working for an absolute highbrow, arrogant, blowhard. I was his ONLY employee and I worked from home. Completely remote. My home was my office and that is where I served our clientele and monitored their portfolios and the Stock Market. And then the virus hit us. The world slowed down and states locked down. I remained working from home, so it didn’t affect me much. Everything was fine and then one day in August of 2021 my boss asked me to drive to Hingham where his office was located so that I could file his personal bills in the filing cabinet 12″ away from his left hand. Obviously, I told him absolutely not and reminded him I was not a personal assistant but a portfolio manager and doing his private work was not part of my job description. Not to mention the filing cabinet was literally 12″ away from his left hand where he sat at his desk. His office was quite small. Now mind you I had been in his employ for 4 years at this point… Next thing I knew it was 1 week later and I received a Fed-Ex package from him. I kinda knew something was up when I received it (I have amazing gut instincts and I’m usually spot on) and sure enough when I opened it my jaw hit the floor and all I could do was laugh… and then I yelled. Mr. Elitist was demanding that I receive the vaccine “For the safety of our staff (remember, I’m his ONLY employee) and our clients (they don’t come to my home for anything. I never see them) and provide documented proof that it was a completed vaccine by October 6, 2021″, or I was terminated. I knew this was retaliation for refusing to do his personal work and he was aware that I was against the vaccine at this point in time which is why he did that. So, in that moment I got angry… really, really angry, and I decided I’m done. I’m done working for someone else. He could literally take this job and shove it. That was the final push I needed to get back on track with my dream and I seriously started to consider starting a blog. But I was still intimidated and quite lost about the process. I’m not tech savvy in the least and I wouldn’t know how to set up a website if my life depended on it. (As you can clearly see if you are here reading this post) Well, I discovered YouTube for the first time in November 2021. Yes, you read that right. It was my first time on YouTube watching anything. And the absolute very first video I watched was from my number one blogger. I ended up watching about 8 hours of her videos that day and I was just amazed. This person was living the life I was too scared to. I found her playlist on blogging and watched those as well. Thats’ all it took. Listening to her words I knew I could do it. It wouldn’t be easy or instant, but I could do it. After all, Julia Child was in her 50’s when she finally manifested her dreams after years and years of committed labor mastering her craft. So, I started a YouTube channel thinking I could just vlog for now. I did a video on canning for Canuary and I went from 6 subscribers to 1,050 in less than a week. The video received over 8,000 views. I was loving it, but it still wasn’t the equivalent of writing a blog. It was going to be my starting point, however. Fast forward 6 months and my blog is now up and running. It’s a work in progress as you can see but I am eagerly learning all I can and I’m moving forward. Everyone on my top 5 bloggers list has played a part in my decision to stop being scared and just do it. And my number one spot played the biggest part in my decision to dive right in. So, without further ado, let me introduce my number one blogger that gives me the inspiration I need to start living my dream….
1.) Lisa Bass – Farmhouse on Boone
Lisa literally does not need an introduction. If you familiar with the world of blogging than you’ve come across her blog, just as I did. I found her channel first as I stated. Honestly, she is a younger version of myself but better. I really felt a connection to who she was, what she has done and what she continues to do. I receive inspiration from Lisa on every single level. She has 7 children. She homeschools them. She has a farm with animals. She has a YouTube channel a blog… I mean there’s still so much more she has accomplished so far, but the point is she did it. She didn’t whine. She didn’t throw in the towel. She plugged forward with long hours and late nights to get herself going. She started and took a chance on her dream finally and look at the level she has reached today. Now I am by no means comparing myself or my success or failure off of her accolades. But it’s admirable and inspiring to me that she gets it all done. Every. Single. Day. She does have help and her husband Luke is at home helping Farmhouse on Boone to function smoothly, but this lady has one full schedule and one a wildly successful brand. She makes me want to strive for the same with myself. She makes me feel that it is actually possible. Why can’t it be with perseverance and hard work? And it doesn’t matter if her level of success ever comes my way… It matters that I tried and gave it my all. You can’t win if you don’t play. Lisa inspires me to treat this like a real job even though there is no paycheck. It still deserves the same attention if your serious about it whatsoever. She taught me to not worry about the things I don’t know yet, and to just start. My blog will evolve just as I will, and she’s right. I know what I can bring to the table, and I know what I can share with others. I’m truly excited to start this journey and I don’t think I’ve been more serious about anything before. I want a blog and a channel that go hand in hand with who I am and what I’m sharing. My style can be yours. My recipes can be yours. Your home can look like mine if that’s your style… I’m just a simple country girl born and raised in Massachusetts, and I have a dream that Lisa Bass made me feel was entirely possible. Even at my age. Check out Lisa’s YouTube channel at Farmhouse on Boone – YouTube
So, there you have it. I wish I could have lunch with these amazing ladies… just once! The reason you are reading this in the first place is entirely owed to these amazing bloggers and the inspiration they give to me. If I never went on YouTube that fateful day, would I be right here right now? Don’t know. Would I have ever found any of these amazing bloggers? Not sure. I believe everything happens for a reason. God knows when we need a little help finding our way and I believe He made sure that I found each of these ladies right here so that I could take a chance on myself and just start living my dream, regardless of my fear of failure. I have no followers yet, but people are finding me. You found me and that’s honestly good enough for me.
Please check out these amazing ladies and their wonderful blogs and channels if you haven’t already. I’ll guarantee you’ll find inspiration in them. And if you’re interested as well, check out my YouTube channel at She’s In Her Element – YouTube
XOXO – Shawn
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