I’ve never done a “blog hop” before. It was one of those curious things that happened on other people’s blogs but this was the first time I was invited to do one myself and I have to say, I’m rather excited.

The lovely Julia of Cuckoo4Design invited me (you can read her blog hop here) so let me tell you a little about her first. She’s German but living in Pennsylvania in the US, so an ex-pat like myself (which always makes perspective that much more interesting) plus she lives not very far from where I grew up! I’m absolutely in love with her colourful and fearless home and her endless array of DIY projects that amaze me. Here’s just a little sneak peek of her stunning home:

Fabulous, no?

Well, the same four questions have been posed to a huge number of bloggers around the blogosphere and now it’s my turn to answer them. Perhaps through these, you will get to know me and a number of other bloggers that little bit better.

So without further delay, on to the questions…

Why do I write?

Strangely, it’s something I’ve always done at different periods of my life. In my childhood, I used to write silly rhyming poems to make my friends’ laugh and I started writing a ‘teen novel’ when I was about 13. I think I got about 50 pages into it before I became bored with it (it was truly terrible given that I was making it up as I went along). I also went through a phase of writing a ridiculous amount of poetry between my mid and late 20’s during a turbulent time in my life – I think I fancied myself to be the next Sylvia Plath or Anne Sexton and used to go to spoken word meetups and poetry slams. Once life settled down a bit, the poetry waned but it makes for quite interesting reading so many years later and I’m grateful I kept it all as a sort of representation of that difficult time. But it wasn’t until I started my blog in 2010 that the joy of writing returned to me. I don’t actually consider myself to be a gifted writer by any stretch but I do enjoy letting my random thoughts spill out onto my keyboard and of course talking about interiors is something I love too – the combination of both seem to work hand in hand.

What am I working on?

Currently, I’m in the middle of a revamp of my dressing room including paint, wallpaper, Ikea book shelf hacking, new lighting, building a new vanity and finding a new rug. Once that’s complete, we’re going to be starting work on the guest bedroom/office (a total gut job and remodel).  Plus I always have a few little projects on the go like getting something to fill a blank wall in my living room and deciding whether or not to repaint a chest of drawers! Aside from that, I’m going to be going part time in September so I’ve started to amass of list of things I want to accomplish on those 2 “free” days a week!

How does it differ from others in its genre?

I think as an American living in the UK for the last 13 years, my aesthetic is a curious mix of British sensibilities with extroverted American flair. Being heavily influenced by American design, I struggle to find the products and styles I love readily available here. And so living in a country where the predominating interior styles are so dissimilar to my own, I’ve found myself creating a look that’s unique using British products in a distinctly American way. It creates a very strange alchemy but one that I’m pretty happy with.

What is my writing process?

Ha! What writing process?? I pretty much decide what I’m going to write about as I finish different projects (so things haven’t changed much since I was 13 years old). It really just depends upon my mood and my inspiration or what is going on in my head at that moment. There’s really no process at all. Which probably explains why I’m not that talented a writer!!

So now, it’s time for me to nominate two other bloggers to join in the fun and keep the blog hop going.

First, I want to nominate the wickedly funny and talented Elizabeth from The Little Black Door. Elizabeth has a knack for taking traditional style and infusing it with personality and humour. Her eclectic style is out of this world and as an interior designer, has an incredible eye for finding sad, unloved pieces and making them absolutely out of this world gorgeous. She mixes pattern and colour with reckless abandon but always ends up with spaces that look stunning. A real inspiration – but also an incredibly down-to-earth totally cool person. I’d totally want to go to St Louis, Missouri just to get completely sh*t-faced with her – is that weird?

Secondly, I want to nominate my dear friend Carole of Mademoiselle Poirot who is an incredibly talented stylist and photographer… and crafter and cook and painter – honestly, when they were handing out talents, they must have fallen for her sexy French accent and gave her the whole lot. Our styles are very different but our sensibilities are very similar and I’m forever awed by her incredible eye. She’s also completely down to earth with no airs and graces and we have a rather wicked laugh our in daily email exchanges. Check out her gorgeous blog for more of this kind of goodness!

Both Elizabeth and Carole will be posting responses to the same questions on Monday, 1st September so be sure to check out those out next week!

I hope you enjoyed our little blog hop today, got to know me a little bit better and that you’ve discovered a few blogs you may not have been aware of before! All of these are definite favourites so do go over and say hello!