BLEUBIRD BLOG

THIS PLACE.

how cool is this house? it reminds me a lot of a house that we looked at here in nashville that i can't stop thinking about. the house does not have wood paneling and brick like this one, but it is big and open with vaulted ceilings, giant windows and is in the hills above the city. it is an option for us, but is not our first choice. it is a little too removed and i think it is important for us to be in the city for at least a year or so. i want the kids to be able to meet friends easily and there is a really great homeschooling community here in town. we are looking at another couple of homes today, but one of them is a little more than we are wanting to spend and the other is in an area that may not be great for kids. there just aren't a lot of homes available right now that are big enough for our family. we're hoping that a few more options will open up after the holidays. fingers crossed.

on another note, i cannot believe christmas is just three days away. we need to get home soon so i can wrap presents and prepare for christmas eve with our friends. we were planning on leaving nashville tomorrow morning but aubrey thinks it might be best to leave tonight and drive half way since it took us twice as long to get here as it should have. road tripping with a toddler and a newborn has been... interesting. :)

SPONSORED POST: A FAMILY TRADITION.

every year we bake christmas cookies. sugar cookies, molasses cookies and if we are feeling really adventurous, we make gingerbread too. this year we planned to bake all three but only got to one on the list. the sugar cookies. truth be told i am not a very good baker. i am not sure why since baking is an exact science, but i have managed to master the sugar cookie. here is my recipe...

what you will need:

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender. stir in lightly beaten egg, cream, and vanilla. blend well. chill dough for to hours before rolling. lightly dust surface and polling pin with powdered sugar. roll out dough to be 1/8 inch thickness. sprinkle with white sugar and cut into desired shapes. transfer to baking sheets and bake for 6-8 minutes.

we also like to make holiday potpourri every year on the stove top. it makes the house smell incredible.

you will need:

one orange
one lemon
two bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup whole cloves

cute orange and lemon into thick slices. put all ingredients into saucepan and cover with water. simmer on stove top adding water during the day as needed.

thank you for supporting the sponsors that help me run bleubird.

vaseline has always been a staple in my home. from the time i was a little girl up until now, we have always had a jar of vaseline in the medicine cabinet. my mom used vaseline lotion every day after her showers and so of course growing up, i did too. it's a classic name found in most homes. they sent me a bottle of Vaseline Intensive Rescue Lotion to use this winter to help heal dry skin, which i tend to get from washing my hands often. i usually need a very expensive lotion to keep them moisturized but was excited to try something with a lesser price tag that provides the same great results. i am a fan and keep a bottle by my kitchen sink. 

 this post brought to you by vaseline intensive rescue. it relives dry winter skin after just one use without leaving skin feeling sticky or greasy. for more information please visit www.facebook.com/vaseline.

BITS + PIECES.

bits + pieces.

hello from nashville! we are here house hunting and exploring what will soon be our new home. it is my first time to visit this city and i must say that it is lovely ...and it's cold which is a nice change from the 80 degree weather we have been having in texas. we drove here (it was a crrrrazy trip) and are hoping to find a house before we have to leave early sunday morning. ::fingers crossed.:: the people here are so friendly and welcoming and i am getting really excited for our upcoming move. i will be sure to keep you guys updated on the house hunt and if we find anything.

1. birdie is officially in love with our hotel shower. 2. answering emails from the hotel. 3. my mini mark wahlberg. 4. barista parlor. 5. & 6. makeshift bed. 7. i love this sweet boy. 8. and this blue wall. 9. burger up. 10. husband. 11. possibly the best burger i have ever had. 12. my happy little bird.

we're off to grab some ice cream with some new friends.

SOME THOUGHTS ON BLOGGING.

i wanted to touch briefly on the subject of this blog, what it means to me, why i blog and bring up a couple of other things that i feel should be addressed.

first and foremost i want to say that i love my readers. you guys make doing what i do possible and i thank you for coming back here time and time again to see what we are up to and leaving your comments and encouragement. you have given me the opportunity to connect with you all and share my experiences, to discuss things that are important to me and to ask for help when i need it. you guys are awesome and i thank you for that.

eight years ago i started selling vintage clothing online, it was how i helped support my family and i did very well for myself. a couple of years later i went through a divorce and continued selling vintage as my only means of income to move julian, milla and myself to texas to live on our own. eventually i moved my myspace blog (ah, the good old myspace days) over to a real blog to grow my business and to help market my brand. selling vintage clothing was great, but as time went on, more and more people started to sell and the market became saturated and soon i was working 50+ hours a week to make the same amount of income that i used to make working less than ten. 

blogging was fun and eventually i started to share more than just my weekly shop updates. the more i started blogging about my day to day life and my family, the more i started to really enjoy it and the relationships with readers and other bloggers that i had formed. i became passionate about the blog and a lot less passionate about my vintage shop. eventually i decided to offer sponsor spots on my blog. i traded spots with other bloggers and charged a small rate to small businesses to help support them while bringing in a little extra income for myself. over time people started approaching me and then my blog was generating almost as much as my vintage shop was. that is when i reevaluated things and decided to take a break from selling vintage and started to focus strictly on my blog.

my point is that i have grown. i have evolved. my interests have changed over the years. when i started this blog i was 28 and a single mother of  two children that i had in my early twenties. i am now 33, am remarried and have had two more children in my early thirties. i have found a way to do two things that i love, stay home and raise my four children and to make money doing something that i love. i spend all of my time with them. literally, all of my time. i am a busy person. i don't have a lot of time to blog or to social network. i chose this life, to homeschool, to raise a big family and i absolutely love it. but i have to make a living in order to stay home with them. this is how i support my family. this is my business.

this means that i have to have some sort of incentive to come here and blog day after day, because as much as i love this space and love taking the time to share my thoughts and experiences with all of you, it takes a lot of time. this means that i work with sponsors and take opportunities that come my way so that i can continue to stay home with my kids and continue this blog. that does not mean that i will only blog when i am paid to blog. that does not mean that i say "yes" to everyone that wants to work with me. in fact it's quite the opposite, i try to only work with brands that fit my aesthetic. i have integrity. i do not blast my pages with giant ads for "this giant corporation" and when doing sponsored posts i maintain creative control. the posts are never full of giant logos and paragraph after paragraph of product descriptions. not that there's anything wrong with that. i turn down way more than i take on because this blog is important to me. you guys are important to me and i want to keep this space a place that i can be proud of. i will continue to blog the way i love and to do my best to try and keep my readers happy.

i am writing this in hopes that some of you will understand why i blog and also why i take on occasional sponsored posts and advertisements. i will always state clearly when a post is sponsored and i will never suggest something to my readers just for the sake of a buck. not everything that i post or link on this blog is because it is paid for. i love to share brands that i discover and things that i love with you via the blog and instagram because i love them.

i have been trying to blog a lot more lately and i am still trying to find a balance between regular blog posts and working with clients. i have a lot of goals for bleubird in 2013, including some new features, the return of some old favorites and an exciting new blog design that is in the works.

i welcome constructive criticism on my blog. i know that i cannot please everybody and i know that while some people may really enjoy my blog, others may not and that's okay. what is not welcome are hateful, mean spirited comments. those comments hurt and while i want this to be a community where opinions can be shared, please be respectful.

i feel very fortunate and privileged that i am able to do what i love and help support my family. thank you again, so much, for everything.

love, james