Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Hello!!

Welcome!  Let me start by introducing myself.  My name is Samara and I am a wife to a wonderful husband and a momma to two little girls.  They are my "realities" and what I focus my energies on daily.

I'm going to try to blog about "life" here.  That may be a DIY project, a party that I'm creating or just random thoughts here and there.  I'm one of those people that usually has a mess of things circulating in my head and has big plans for all of them.  Then life happens.  I think we are going to have to let the cards fall where they may on this one.

Let's start with a little background info, shall we?

I've introduced myself to blogs over the past year or so.  I honestly didn't realize the extent of them prior to that.  I really like the learning/sharing/camaraderie associated with them and decided that I wanted to become a part of that community.  It's part of the "branching out" promise I made to myself.  Every experience offers the ability to grow and I need a little bit of growth in my life right now.

If I could describe myself as an extra-curricular activity, I would say 100% that I am a DIY'er.  I have been since I was a kid (although then it was referred to as being "crafty").  There was the cross-stitch phase and the latch hook rug making days of the 80's intermixed with friendship bracelets and strategically ripped jeans with colorful threaded detailing...and I can't look back on my childhood without touching base on all the baking that I did.  Loosely translated, I'm referring to my infamous banana bread and Chex mix (seriously the only two things that I make REALLY well).  I could have hosted the first Food Network show on making banana bread using only my mother's kitchen and a tape recorder.  I was that good.  I've since graduated to coffee filter wreaths and fabric buntings, and my baking skills are more about the presentation than the actual "baking".  It's all about evolution.

I enjoy making my family's surroundings pretty and fun.  By no means does my house look like a page from a magazine or anything (because it is a far cry from being magazine worthy-think circa 1960's with a pink bathroom and room-to-room wallpaper), but I do enjoy decorating for holidays and making the place homey.  The big stuff (such as the de-pinking process) will come in time.  My hubs and I have already re-trimmed, re-painted, re-carpeted...you get the idea...our starter home.  We basically had just gotten it to where we wanted it and ended up selling out it for more space.  Baby #2 was going to require more room than what our 900 square foot ranch was able to provide.  So, here we sit in all of our wallpaper glory trying to muster up the energy to tackle the "forever" home.

More recently I have become a fan of sewing.  I'm not good, but I like to dabble.  I've held my own with a few blankets and a handful of burp cloths to date.  I've had material for a pillow case dress and skirt for months but haven't actually sat down to do it (see...ideas galore but no execution).

I have a deep rooted love for designing/planning/organizing a good party.  My biggest time investment right now is on a small business that I am developing that stems from this addiction.  Beautiful Realities Paperie.  I create custom invitations ranging from children's birthday parties to weddings.  It is small and slow going, but I'm determined to make something out of it because I enjoy doing it that much.  I have always wanted to do something that I both love and can make money at (don't we all), so I really, really want it to succeed in some form.  I just want to have fun doing something that makes people smile.

Well, that sums it up...a little bit.  This is going to be an interesting journey.  I hope I'm up to the challenge.

Oh, two more things.  I have a slight Pinterest obsession and my 1 year old is running around in footy pajamas with her sister's underwear on over the top of them.  Just keeping it real.

Until next time...Cheers!