Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind The Blogger

 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.

Gay from Canterbury Cottage Designs
February 21st

This week I am introducing you to Gay Van Beek from Canterbury Cottage Designs Blog.

I found Gay and fell in love with her beautiful blog and wonderful style not to mention she writes for my favorite magazine Romantic Homes!!!!  Please take a minute and get to know Gay on a more personal level and then check out her beautiful blog.

Thank you Kris for inviting me to be a part of your fabulous Spotlight Series!

Hello, my name is Gay Van Beek and I am the name and face behind 

Canterbury Cottage Designs.  

The cute little furry guy in the photo is Riley, my

ever-faithful companion for the past 12 years,

I've been married to my husband John for almost 27 years and

we have two children - my son Alex is 24 and my daughter Julia is 21.

I am a proud mom and we all have each other's backs, always.

Canterbury Cottage Designs began in 2001 

when I started selling vintage and antique items on eBay.  I loved the "thrill of the hunt" 

and was very passionate about the quality and type of antiques that I offered

to my customers.  I sold for about 9-10 years and can honestly say it was

a wonderful experience and I loved every minute of it.  I made so many friends 

and mentors- some who are my best friends today.

This was all done "back in the day" as they say, before blogs, Instagram,

Twitter, and Pinterest.  I am not sure how we all survived!

I decided to take off the next few years so that I could be more

involved with volunteering at school while my kids were in

High School.  After they graduated I wanted to get back into

the business - but in that small span of time so many things

had changed.  The electronic world had exploded - but all for the better. 

It was time to learn the ropes and catch up with

the rest of the world.  

I wanted to keep the same name I had began with for two reasons;

I liked it, and it was unique.  I researched the world of blogging 

and, with the encouragement of my family and friends, 

decided to take the plunge and start my blog in September 2014.  

Shortly thereafter I was offered a wonderful opportunity - 

 to write for Romantic Homes Magazine.  

My column is called "Details" - please check it out if you get a chance.

Those are my pink wellies on the cover of the March issue. 

My aesthetic is simple and clean - not too fussy and not too trendy. 

I do love an all-white decor but I also love color and try to incorporate it 

in my home through accessories and flowers.

One thing most people do not know about me is that I am an absolute

health-fanatic.  I love cooking and I read and research food blogs just as much as I 

read design blogs.  I try to incorporate new dishes into my diet each week

and have a huge notebook book full of tried and true tested recipes.  I firmly

believe that our health and well-being is based on what we put in

our bodies and how much we move every day.  

{this is my very popular Fall Detox Salad}

Please visit my blog at www.canterburycottagedesigns.blogspot.com.

Thanks again Kris for this wonderful opportunity.

Thank you Gay for letting us know more about you.  Please hop over to check out Gay's beautiful blog.

Have a great week end.

Kris

:)