Saturday Spotlight: 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. 

Saturday November 16

Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique

Good Saturday Morning.  I am really excited to introduce you to this week's Spotlight featured artist and blogger.  Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique.  She is our international blogger from down under.  I met Kerryanne a little over a year ago when I first started to blog.  Kerryanne asked me to be in an issue of her beautiful Shabbilicious Magazine. I was so new in the blog world and felt so honored to have been asked to be in her beautiful magazine.  I fell immediately in love with her beautiful blog, her creative talent and how warm and kind she was.  So get your coffee and sit back and enjoy learning more about this beautiful and talented blogger.

Hi, I’m Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique.

I was delighted to be invited by Kris to be part of her Saturday Spotlight… and then at the same time a little nervous about the theme, ‘Spotlight the real life behind the blogger’. I’m an intensely private person, so I don’t say a lot about myself on my blog, preferring to keep it mainly about my creative journey. 

But here we are. . . so let me now welcome you ‘down under’ to enter my world on the east coast of Australia.

Let me make a few introductions…

This is my gorgeous family. My husband Mark is my best friend, my rock, my soul mate. We’ve been together for 28 years and married for 23. We have two beautiful daughters; 19 year old Jessica and 16 year old Aimee. Completing our family are our two fur babies Gypsy (Bichon Frieze) and Milly (Toy Poodle), who continually entertain us and love us all so unconditionally.

We live in a small coastal town (population 77,000) on the east coast of Australia, half way between Sydney and Brisbane. Port Macquarie boasts one of the best climates in Australia, described as a temperate climate, averaging 20 – 30 degrees C (68 – 86 F) all year round. It is also a very popular destination for holiday makers (vacationers for my US friends).

I haven’t always lived in this coastal town we now adore. I grew up in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city. I was a city girl… but always felt like a fish out of water. My extended family lived in the country and it was there that I felt at home. 

My friends would probably describe me as an ‘old fashioned’ kind of girl. Even when I was young I was drawn to old things. I was I guess, considered a bit eccentric. As time went by and I became a wife and mother, I set out on a path that felt comfortable for us. 

I baked, I cleaned and I wore aprons (vintage of course).

I grew my own vegies, made jam and relished being a stay-at-home-mum.

And [giggle] I was even a mumpreneur. Who knew that years later this would be the term to describe mums that work from home? I was just doing my bit to help the family finances, while indulging my need to be creative and raising a family.

I started my creative business Woodberry Designs back in 1992 and I’m pleased to say that 21 years on it is still going strong. It may have changed directions a few times, grown and even been put on hold a couple of times, but it has remained my main employment all of those years. 

Six years ago I decided to start my blog Shabby Art Boutique, so I could share with my customers some of the things that were happening in my studio. I did so, kind of on a whim. I really didn’t know much about blogging and I certainly didn’t know then just how important this new blog thing would become in my life.

At the time, life was super busy with careers, kid’s activities and just generally living life to the full. Mark’s work often took him away from home and we were starting to feel like we were on a treadmill that never slowed down.

Then in 2008 a series of events changed our life. To keep it brief, I have a bone disease that rendered my pelvis unstable. During a surgery to correct this condition my pelvis shattered. The outcome was a 12 month long recovery and several surgeries and bone grafts to rebuild and grow bone. 

My parents unselfishly gave up their lives to move into our home and raise our two young daughters, while Mark worked to support us. Following 4 months laying flat on my back, 4 months in a wheelchair and another 4 months non-weight bearing on crutches, life for us had become very different. Life was viewed with a different perspective.

We had the ‘light bulb’ moment!!

The treadmill stopped for us. . . we just didn’t need the same things anymore. The decision was made to sell everything in 2009…. Mark left an amazing career… we moved 1200 kilometres away to that coastal country town where my extended family have lived since 1841. A place that always felt like home and where we chose to live a very simple life. 

We were following our dreams!

Our little family of four set off on a sea change adventure.

The 12 months I spent recovering made me a different person. I guess I discovered who I am. That, and I think when we get to our 40’s we become very comfortable with the person we are.

I now strive to live a simple, relaxed and balanced life here in my coastal town. I try to be mindful and find inner peace with walks on the beach, yoga and meditation. 

I’m passionate about creativity and relish the time I spend in my studio every day. I also love thrifting, DIY, furniture transformations and home décor make-over’s…. which of course means our home is forever changing.

I love all things shabby, vintage, romantic cottage and French inspired and these are the beautiful things that fill my life and blog.

This year I started a new project, the Simply Shabbilicious magazine… with the intent of putting together a magazine filled with ‘shabbilicious gorgeousness’ to inspire and connect a community of liked minded friends. Just like my foray into blogging, I naively jumped in fueled with passion and dedication. As it turns out, it is way more time consuming than I imagined, but I love every single minute of it.

Recently, my husband and I set in motion stage 2 of our sea change adventure. . . we became owner/managers of a holiday resort here in Port Macquarie. 

Our adventures and life journey will continue now at Shelly Beach Resort and we couldn’t be happier.

Life got a little crazy here these past few months with a new business to settle into, a new house to make-over, creative business to run, blogging and a magazine to produce. The beach walks, quiet time and life balance were out of kilter for a bit, but now it is all settling into a new rhythm.

If you’d like to follow some more of my creative adventures, please feel welcome to wander over to my blog Shabby Art Boutique 

Thank you Kris for shining your ‘Saturday Spotlight’ on a little Aussie chick!

Thanks so much Kerryanne for sharing your beautiful family and your inspiring story of recovery and your ahhh ha moment that changed your life.    Ahhh the pictures are dreamy of your resort and life on the beach.  It was fun getting to know you better.

Now that you have gotten to know Kerryanne you can jump over to Susan's blog and meet and learn more about another very talented and fun blogger Becky from Timewashed.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone.  Enjoy the week end.
Kris
:)