Behind the Blog

Happy Friday!

I really don’t know where this week went, do you?  I was asked by the lovely Sabrina over at Hands and Hustle to participate in her Behind the Blog series.  In her own words “The point of this series chain is to de-mystify “the blogger” and reveal the true person behind the blog. As bloggers, we so often hide behind the posts and become mysterious unicorns — do we exist; are we real? So we’re aiming to answer a few questions about our daily lives as honestly as possible in order to get a better understanding of who we really are.”  So here goes and be sure to visit the other bloggers involved, linked to at the bottom of this post!

1) Be honest: What time do you wake up and what’s a typical breakfast?

I usually set the alarm for 7:20 but then hit the snooze button twice which means I am up at 7:38. 🙂  Doesn’t everyone do that? It used to be much earlier when I had to get my daughter ready for school but now that she is 12 she gets up and gets herself ready on her own (oh and having a school uniform avoids “Mom, where’s my…”) We meet downstairs for breakfast and a chat and we are out the door at 8:10.  (If I don’t have to get to a client meeting first thing, I usually drop her off at school pre-shower, sans makeup and just pray I don’t see anyone I know.)

Here I am showered and with make up 🙂 :

Photo credit: Kelly Horkoff

I usually just have juice or a smoothie first thing and then eat a gluten-free cereal with lactose free milk around 10:30. (Yes, I have food intolerances and it sucks!!)

2) Do you have a day job? If so, what do you do? How do you find the balance between blogging and work? What are the pros and cons?

I am an Interior Decorator and I have my own business Vanessa Francis Design. I was in Human Resources for many years before I went back to school for interior design – best decision I ever made! If you are doing work that your heart isn’t truly in, make a change – it will be so worth it!

Blogging always takes a backseat to work. I don’t feel right about blogging when I have a long list of client work to be done.  I always say I am a Decorator first and a blogger second. The balance comes from being OK with not blogging. You have to be.  Blogging is not my main source of income (although it has brought amazing opportunities and I work with stellar brands) and I don’t have sponsors any more so it takes the pressure off. I basically blog to inspire and I do that when I can. I will never be a prolific blogger with a huge following and I am OK with that. Making time to exercise, cook healthy meals or chill with my family is something that has to come first as well.

My living room:

3) Where did you grow up (what city/town, do you have siblings, can you share any stories about your upbringing)? And where do you currently reside?

I was born in London, England and came to Canada when I was 7. (I wished we had stayed a little longer because then I would still have my accent, saying “cyke” instead of cake and calling my braids, “plaits.”) We moved to what was then known as Bramalea and I lived there until I moved away for university. I am the middle of three sisters. We had a pretty normal upbringing but my Dad was adventurous so we had a camper trailer and travelled all over the US and out west as far as Lake Louise.  And I vividly remember a rather traumatic experience driving our camper uphill through the winding Smoky Mountains. That’s probably when my fear of heights kicked in!

Here are my sisters and I in the late 80’s with big hair and big earrings (This was pre digital cameras so it was pretty common to print a photo of someone with their eyes closed! I’m in the middle, btw.)

 

I currently live in Milton, ON and I love it here. We are 20 minutes from the Escarpment and picturesque hiking trails. We always buy a yearly pass to the parks so we go hiking as often as we can.

4) Outline your average, typical day. Be as transparent as possible.

Because I don’t have a day job that requires me to be somewhere all day, every day varies. I have finally learned to keep Monday and Friday as work at home days and not book any client meetings that day (unless it is something urgent, ie a kitchen reno requiring me to be on site.) Working at home can be challenging and discipline is required which I have to work at!  I am being very selective about the clients I choose to work with and the jobs I choose to take on. Before, I would say yes to everything which takes its toll on your health. You can’t do everything.

So a typical work day can include meeting with clients for an initial consultation or as part of an ongoing project, sourcing product, drawing floor plans, developing concepts and doing the dreaded paperwork (invoices etc.)

My daughter is home at 3:15 and we spend time talking about her day and then homework starts.  While I’m helping M with her homework (and there is a substantial amount in Grade 7),  I prep dinner. We try and eat healthy meals as often as we can.  I sometimes post what I have made on my Instagram feed.

M has dance a few nights a week and the studio is right across from my gym which means there are no excuses!   If the weather is nice out, I usually go walking with a friend.  Exercise and catching up with a friend at the same time can’t be beat.

My dancer:

In the evening after homework is done, you may find all three of us are on our devices (I’m usually sourcing, reading blogs or on Pinterest on my ipad) but in the same room – at least we are hanging out together right?

I usually get to bed around 12:30-1:00 am which I need to work on (see below.) My bedroom (a work in progress):

5) What’s your dream job/career? How are you working towards that?

I’m lucky to be doing what I truly love – again, with the right clients on the right projects. Hard to explain what that means in a few words so maybe I will do a post on that.  And I would love to work with a client who has a home in the Bahamas, Hawaii or other such warmer clime. Know anyone? Also, clients with unlimited or healthy budgets would be a dream.  You can really do a lot of cool shiz if you have the $$$$.

PS Look for this kitchen in Style at Homes’ special reno issue coming out in a couple of weeks.  So excited!

 6) What would be your dream dinner-party guest-list? Explain why you chose each person.

I was just talking to my Dad yesterday about his Mom who I never met. He said I would have loved her. So I would love to have my four grandparents (3 of whom I never met which is so sad really) together to find out more about their/my past. I would then add in Adele who is pretty cool and maybe she would break into song after some wine, or most likely beer. And definitely Oprah – no explanation needed. And wouldn’t you love to have the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela altogether in one room? I’m feeling at peace and with a heart full of love just thinking about them. And then I would include Billy Baldwin because he was a design genius (he detested being called a designer, he was a decorator – love that!)  Sarah Jessica Parker because I have always adored her and writer Susan Vreeland because I just finished reading another of her books which was so fascinating. Oh, and my husband and daughter because they are my everything.

Wise words form Mother Teresa via Pinterest.

7) What’s one thing you’d like to start, one thing you’d like to stop, and one thing you’d like to continue.

I would like to start going to bed at 11:00 (but I have been saying this for years!), stop procrastinating and continue to work on being a “good” Mom, eg. remaining calm when your tween is dishing out the attitude.

8) What’s your current obsession?

I can’t stop thinking about this image  for some reason. I think it’s the layers and the moody vibe and is a good lesson in decorating.

And I am obsessed with anything kitchen related at the moment as I am working on my own kitchen and have been pinning like crazy to my kitchen board on Pinterest.

9) Link to 5 websites/blog you can’t go a week without?

Amber Interiors

Lauren Liess

Christine Dovey

Rambling Renovators

Decor magazine sites: House and Home, Style at Home, House Beautiful, Lonny to name just a few.

And of course Instagram and Pinterest – I need my daily fix of those.

10) Tag and mention one blogger who you would like to participate in this feature.

I would like to see Lauren participate. Although she shares a lot on the blog, both personal and business related, I’m sure we would learn a little more about her.

 

Below is a list of other bloggers who participated this week in the Behind The Blog series. Be sure to visit them as well:

Sabrina Smelko | handsandhustle.com
Brittany | mydailyrandomness.com
Brittany | Gallerynoeight.com
Kelly | glitterdiaries.ca
Shawn Lovering | wildandlight.com
The Party Girl | thepartygirl.ca
Renee | reneemleblanc.com
Katie Rose | wildrosebuds.com
Hilary Ramsay | houseofher.weebly.com
Jordana | WhiteCabana.com
Me

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!