Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger

Susan from Must Love Junk, and myself 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. 

October 25
Courtney from Golden Boys and Me

This week I would love to introduce you to a sweet blogger that I have recently found and love her blog. Meet Courtney that blogs over at the  Golden Boys and Me.   Courtney has a beautiful blog, home and I am excited to introduce you to her.  Sit back and enjoy getting to know this very sweet and talented blogger.

Hello and Happy Saturday!  My name is Courtney and I write a blog called Golden Boys and Me.  I was so honored to be asked by Kris to participate in this series.  I think I am like many home bloggers in that we like to "hide" behind our homes.  It's so much easier to share pictures of a project in your house than it is to talk about yourself!  But, I also think that the absolute best part about blogs is that, unlike all the perfect pictures in a glossy magazine, the reader also gets to know the people who live within the home.  So here is a bit about me...

I started blogging about a year and a half ago.  I had kept a teeny tiny "blog" since my kids were young, but I basically used it as an online scrapbook.  Even my mother didn't read it!  Then, last spring, I decided to share a few pictures of our master bathroom project on that little blog.  I stepped outside of my comfort zone and shared that post in a link party, and just like that I was a blogger.  My partner in every project featured on the blog, and my most dedicated reader, is my husband, Billy.

We have been married for 18 years.  Billy works as a police officer in the same town in NJ that we live in.  Together, we have renovated 3 homes and learned so very much along the way.  We have 3 boys, ages 16, 13 and 9.  I have been a stay at home mom since our first was born.  After a short stint as a second grade teacher, I knew that my main job title would always be "mom".

 Having 2 teenagers can make deciding what to share on my blog difficult.  I am very careful about not sharing too much about my guys, which proves difficult because they are my whole world.  Our other 2 "kids" are our Golden Retrievers, Forrest and Keeper.  I share lots of pictures of them on the blog (and even included them in the blog's title).  They never complain!  In fact, Forrest tries to get into every picture he can.

We live in an expanded split level style house about 20 miles from New York City.  But, we dream of living in the country where life moves at a slower pace.

We chose this home based mainly on its proximity to Billy's job and the excellent schools in this area. As a police officer, Billy works many evenings and holidays.  Because he lives in the town where he works, he can stop home for his dinner breaks and we can keep some degree of normalcy for our kids.  I think the decision to move here was probably the best decision we have ever made for our family.  However, the house hadn't been updated since the 1980s.  It needed help!  Good thing we trained our kids to help with all of our projects :)

We wanted to make this place a home we could be proud of, but we needed to do it on one income.  I have always been a big fan of home design magazines and, later, blogs.  I could invision what I wanted our home to look like, but I had to find affordable ways to achieve it.  I had to think outside the box, and together with Billy's ever growing DIY skills, we created our home as it looks today.  In our kitchen, we used Ikea bookshelves to create an island where we took down the wall between our living room and kitchen.  Not only did it open up the space, but it gave it lots of open storage.  

I loved the high end look of over-the-range mantel shelves, but they were out of our limited budget when we completed our kitchen project 6 years ago.  We recently removed our microwave from over the range and DIYed a mantel shelf.  I think little changes like that can make all the difference in a room and, if you get creative, it can be affordable.

I mentioned earlier that our DIY master bathroom propelled me into blogland.  Having our bathroom featured in Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen+Bath Makeovers was a highlight of this past year.  By shopping on both the internet and big box stores, as well as doing all the work ourselves, we created this space for under $7,000.

Our very favorite times are spent together in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate NY in a town called Schroon Lake.  Our parents have a cabin there and we escape up there whenever time permits.  

We have no internet or cell service at the cabin and that has been a huge blessing for our family.  Well, maybe the boys wouldn't always agree with me on that:)  Depending on the season, we can be found boating and exploring the trails on foot, snowmobile or ATVs.  For us, there is always something to do in the mountains.  

 I also love taking pictures, reading a good book and cooking.  I am always planning our next DIY project and I love to decorate for the different holidays and seasons.  Like so many other bloggers I have gotten to know, I love the simple things in life.  Billy and I often feel lucky to be among those who can be happy with a "quiet" life full of simple pleasures.  Now that the cooler weather has arrived, I can be found reading by the fire in our family room.

I would just love if you stopped by to say "hi" at Golden Boys and Me!  Thank you so much for letting me share some of my life with you.  I look forward to getting meet some new friends.


Thank you Courtney for sharing yourself with all of us.  This was so much fun to get to know you better.  Now that you have met Courtney please stop by Susan's blog and meet another wonderful blogger Joni from Jasper's Cottage.

Happy Week end Everyone.  Enjoy.
Kris
:)