You asked….He answered :)

First of all, thank you to all of you who asked questions. My husband and I talk about blogging a lot but there were some questions that you asked that we had never discussed. It was so interesting to read through his answers.

He took this so seriously in the sense that he took 3 hours to write the post. He is a very detailed oriented person and very thoughtful in everything he does. His post was FOREVER long! He basically wrote a novel. You can expect his e-book to go on sale soon titled “How To Be The Spouse Of A Blogger”.

Just kidding :)

But truthfully, I did have to edit it down.

Here we go!

1.  What do you think of your wife’s blogging passion?  What is your favorite part?  What is your least favorite part?

    a.)  I am proud of her for her “blogging passion”.  Stacy has always been a focused person – when she puts her mind to something she tries her best to make it happen :)

    b.)  My favorite part of the whole blogging world is the community it creates. The blogging world that Stacy is a part of is full of people who are there to encourage others around them to try something new.  There is a learning curve for everyone.  You don’t have to be good at designing your own room, choosing the right paint color, or even knowing the right bedspread for your room, but what you can do is to try something out of your comfort zone.  If it turns out to be crap, oh well.  Just try again until you hit it right.

    c.)  My least favorite part has got to be the crunch time before a new room reveal is to come up.  Our house is not huge – around 1600 sq. ft.  Whenever there is a new room transformation there needs to be some place for everything that was in that room to go so we can repaint, change a layout or whatever.  A typical room transformation has typically taken at least a couple of months to finalize, but even then Stacy has to “get in the zone” with photo shoots, staging, and especially lighting for each individual shot.  It’s exhausting.  I do love the finished product, but it can be draining at times.

 2.  Do you ever get overwhelmed by the number of projects?

 Strangely enough, no.  It’s probably because we are getting a little bit closer to having our “fixer-upper” home complete with each project, but more than anything, I don’t mind the new changes because there is an overall sense of satisfaction that we figured out how to do something else we didn’t know how to do before we began.

 3.    What do you think of all the time your wife spends on the computer?

 This is an interesting question to me.  She doesn’t actually spend as much time as people think.  I have been asked this question several times, but a typical day for her is more in the realm of 2 – 3 hours.  The longest time comes after the photo shoot and she has to get on Photoshop and edit photos for her post – that can take all afternoon and into the evening to finalize.  Luckily those kind of posts only happen once in a blue moon.

 4.    What is the one thing that has changed the most because your wife is a blogger?

 There really isn’t much that is different.  That may be weird to hear, but it isn’t.  As I said in a previous answer, Stacy was born to be doing this.  We didn’t just decide one day that we would have to make a life change to start doing projects for her blog because it’s the way we were already living.  The only real change comes from her cataloging and presenting it in photos.  Some people put money into a new car, or go on trips – we plan the next renovation project or furniture build.

 5.    What is the one thing you just can’t wrap your mind around to whole blogging thing?

 Well, I guess it would be the new attention she gets outside of the internet.  It’s fun to do projects and for Stacy to present it on her blog, but it’s a little surreal when I am talking with someone and they bring up one of Stacy’s posts like it was an episode of a TV program.  The funny thing is that we know on our end that people read her blog, but it’s another thing when we meet people who recognize Stacy in the store and they B-line it over to us to tell her they read her blog.

6.    What is your favorite project that your wife has tackled?

It’s got to be our latest, the Living Room.  She spends a lot of time dreaming up each space (the seating, the storage, the displays, and even the little surprises).  I do help collaborate with her on what to do, but when it comes down to it she is the one who has the complete idea in her head.  I guess that means I am the nuts and bolts helper- I helped  but Stacy came up with the ideas and did most of the projects.

7.    How do you support Stacy in all her blogging endeavors?

I support in it all.  But to be more specific, I try to alleviate any extra stress when I can (like taking the kids out to the park or to the store when she needs to finalize a photo shoot).  Really, my helping comes off minimal because she tackles more than she probably needs to, but I help where I can.

8.    What is your favorite meal your wife prepares?

Her Spinach Lasagna.  I have always been a sucker for lasagna, but I still can’t make it as good as she can.

9.    What is it about Stacy that drew you to her?

Her charm, her wit, her smile, her “beautiful eyes” (add a Sid the sloth voice to that one), her love of children and the fact that we had the same goals and love of life. She’s easy to love.

10.    What is the best way to eat shrimp?

Grilled and in pasta!

11.    How is the world of architecture doing now?

I can’t say that I am a great source of information on that line, and it depends on what area of the country you live, but architecture did take a huge hit.  It will take some time for it to come back, but it will.

12.    If your sons were entering college now would you encourage or discourage them to be architects?

It’s hard to answer this question in a way that expresses how I really feel.  I love architecture, I love design, and I love creativity, but it better be something you love.  It can be very discouraging with this kind of economy, but you have to see things as they can be and not how they appear.  There will always be a need for architecture, even when things seem as bleak as they do now.  I think I would still encourage my kids to go to school for it if that’s what they want to do because I believe you should pursue your passion.

13.    What do you love most about your wife?

Her tenacity.  She can be very persistent about jumping in and getting to work. She seems to make things a lot more interesting and fun to do. And I love her commitment to the things that mean the most to her (God and family).

14.    Would you ever start your own blog?

 I am not a blogger. I don’t have the drive or the motivation for it all. Like I said before, I do see the value in them, but it really does require a commitment in time and sometimes resources to maintain.  I’ll leave that to Stacy :)

15.    Who is better at DIY? You or Stacy?

 How much trouble did you want me to be in?  Just kidding.  Of course its Stacy.  I am the grunt when it comes to projects.  (Or as I call it…..eye candy! -Stacy)

 16.    What advice do you have for other men whose significant other has just started blogging?

 Be patient….   That’s the best I have for that one.  It’s tough to get started, and there are a lot of ladies (or men) out there who have to jump into dark water, hoping it will be something worthwhile.  For us it all made sense as it was transpiring, but I have heard of many who can’t see beyond that.  Be patient and run with it.  If anything it’s a great way to put some more creativity out there for someone to see and hopefully inspire others to try something new.

 

THANK YOU honey for taking the time to do this for me. I though it would be interesting to share a man’s point of view of blogging and the behind the scenes stuff :)