Spotlight The Real Life Behind the Blogger

Susan from Must Love Junk, and myself (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 Susan's and my blog. 

Good Saturday Morning to all of you.  Thanks for coming by to meet and learn  about another blogger in the Spotlight Feature.  I have the wonderful opportunity today to introduce you to Jennifer from Town and Country Living.  Jennifer lives near me but we have not yet met in person but I am hoping that will happen one of these days.  I have been following Jennifer's blog for awhile and love her decor style. Jennifer lives in a 140 year old farmhouse that is so full of charm.  I am always excited when I see that Jennifer has a new post on a room in her charming home.  

 Please grab your coffee and sit back and get to know this special blogger on a more personal level and then jump over to visit her blog.  It is beautiful and so full of inspiration. 

Hello Everyone! I'm Jennifer at Town and Country Living and I'm so honored Kris asked me to be in the spotlight here on her beautiful blog. I've been following Junk Chic Cottage for quite awhile now and am quite envious of Kris' garden and home. So thank you, Kris, for this opportunity to share with your readers! My little blog was born on November 30th, 2011. †After stumbling across so many inspirational decorating blogs, I decided to try my hand at it. Was I nervous? Heck yes! I had a point and shoot camera and knew nothing about photography, but I was determined. My thought was that blogging would motivate me to get stuff done around the house ... so I'd have something to blog about!

This is my humble home, a circa 1875 farmhouse that lives where the suburban streets of Chicago meet the country cornfields of Illinois. I have the best of both worlds where I live - the suburban towns and Chicago to the east, and God's glorious country to the west. And that's why my blog is called Town and Country Living.

 

Next to God, my family is the most important thing in my life. My 3 children are grown (upper left corner) and both my daughters were recently married. My daughter Bridget married Zac (upper right) at a country farm wedding while daughter Stephanie married Matt (lower right) in a formal hotel wedding. My son Cory is pictured at lower left with Amy, his adorable girlfriend of 3 years.

 

My grandchildren are the light of my life and keep me young. I always wish I could spend more time with them!

 

Here I am with hubby Robert walking down the aisle at Bridget's farm wedding. It was a gorgeous day! Robert is my soul mate and he really keeps me grounded. When I'm trying to make everything perfect, he brings me back down to earth and reality!

 

On my blog, I mostly write about my home. There's a lot of upkeep to a 140-year old house! Floors and doors are crooked, the exterior clapboard siding needs to be painted every 10 years, and it seems something needs to be done with the plumbing every year. But I love our charming old home and overall it's surprisingly solid.

 

In addition to decorating, I also love to cook! I'm a vegetarian but I do cook meat for the rest of my family. I'm a bit of a foodie and prefer making meals from scratch whenever possible. I also enjoy using fresh produce from local farm markets in my recipes.

 

Since I love to cook and eat, I need to work off those calories! †One of my passions is running and here I am at the start of the Fox Valley Marathon 2 years ago. A marathon is 26.2 miles and you burn a lot of calories training for this event! This November, I'm running my 6th marathon - the Naperville Marathon. I'm running it with my daughter Bridget, it's her first marathon!

 

Here are some of my running buddies (that's me in the orange sweatshirt), early in the morning prior to the marathon, which is why we're still smiling. We won't be smiling at mile 20. But once we cross the finish line, all the blood, sweat, and tears will be worth it. I absolutely love running and wish everyone would do it! It just takes that first step ...

So when I'm not running, blogging, or spending time with family, what do I do? I work here:

This is the home of Aquascape, Inc, the largest water gardening company in North America. †We call this building "Aqualand, a workplace utopia." I am truly privileged to work in this LEED Certified building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) where we work with contractors and retailers to help create beautiful water features in backyards across the USA and Canada.

 

This is my view from work every day! I'm the marketing communications manager for Aquascape, which means I'm in charge of the company's social media, PR, and various communication vehicles like e-newsletters to pond installers, retailers, and consumers. I've written a book, The Pond Builders Guide to Break Even, and I write articles for various trade magazines in the landscape industry. I love my job and am so grateful to do what I love every day!

So ... back to my blog, Town and Country Living.

Last year my home was featured in Casa Chic magazine, which is sold in France and Italy. Remember when I was talking about that point and shoot camera? I traded it in for a Nikon D3000 and worked really hard on my photography. This all paid off when the editor of Casa Chic came knocking and asked if I would share my photos of my home with the magazine. Um, YES!! I was so honored to have my photos published! †And earlier this year, a photographer for Country Sampler Magazine was in my home taking photos, which should appear in their March 2014 edition. These are my biggest claims to fame from my little old blog!

 

My latest blog post at Town and Country Living showcases a Fall table setting in my kitchen's dining nook where I lined up Baby Boos and acorns on a French bread board for the centerpiece. My decorating style is a mix of farmhouse and cottage.

The last thing I'd like to share is ... keep working toward your goals and don't let anything or anyone deter you. In a marathon, you put one foot in front of the other until you reach your goal. The same is true with anything in life. When you hit a roadblock, learn from it and figure out what to do differently to overcome the obstacle. This is the stuff that makes you stronger!

Thanks again, Kris, for allowing me to share a little bit about myself, my dreams, and my goals with your readers!

I hope you'll visit my blog over at Town and Country Living.

Or you can follow me via email or on the social sites below!

†Facebook † † Pinterest † † Twitter

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Thanks so much Jennifer. I loved getting to know you better. It was fun to see your wonderful pictures and learn more about you and your family. 

Now after learning about Jennifer on my blog you can hope over to Susan's blog and meet and learn about Jann from Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.