Another one of my inspirational role models is young couple John and Sherry of “This Young House.” I was driven to their beautiful blog when I caught an episode of HGTV’s “Rate My Space” and got wind of their uber-talents in interior design. Soon after, I was hooked! And following my first successful attempt to email a mentor (see previous entry below), I was less afraid to take the plunge and try it again.
Well, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with Sherry’s response! She was kind, SO cool, and just like I’d imagined her to be-full of energy and passion for what she does-a true inspiration to me. Read an excerpt of Sherry’s email below to find out what her secrets are for getting to where she is today. I’ve broken it up into themes by what factors helped get them on their way.
1. Luck & Gratitude. “We have definitely had a series of lucky breaks to end up where we are today in the blog world, and for that we’re eternally thankful. We never solicited these mentions, people found us and liked what they saw- which is truly amazing and we still pinch ourselves when we think about it!”
2. Opportunity. “It might not have been the job that we always wanted, but once we started to grow and get such a great response it quickly became clear that it was what we loved doing, and we’d do anything we could to keep it going and help it grow even more!”
3. Talent & Hard Work. “I also think a lot of our success has to do with the fact that we’re actually writers (I used to be a copywriter and John’s still in advertising to this day) and we truly love to write (we ENJOY it and it’s never a chore) and we try very hard to come up with creative and unexpected approaches to decorating that won’t break the bank (which is really something that people can relate to these days). I’m not gonna lie- it’s the hardest job we’ve ever had. We work weekends and nights and we’re never really “off” because the internet is 24/7 and someone always has a question or places an order that we have to fill. Our to-do list is always eons long- and of course we still have to find time to write posts and complete house projects to keep people coming back! In short, it’s definitely a lot of work but it’s also rewarding and creative and challenging too. And we love a challenge!”
4. Passion. “I have no idea what I would be doing if I didn’t have the blog to keep me busy. Probably still writing copy for advertising (which I also enjoyed, I even wrote some celebrity stuff for the Got Milk campaign when we were in NYC). But the blog brings a different sort of independent satisfaction. We do it all and we’re the boss and we decide everything that happens with it and that’s very satisfying and empowering. Plus I’m just crazy about design and decorating and online shopping and color and art so it’s a great combination of a ton of things that really float my boat!”
5. Dream. “I think our dream was to create a place that we’d love to drop in on (a site with tutorials and info and nice people who actually answer questions and emails), so we created the thing that we hadn’t found yet and people really seem to be happy that we did.”
The other day, I took a walk and noticed a big sign that read, “Road Work Ahead.” Then I thought, what a great representation of life. Right when you think you’ve got life figured out, some obstacle, a roadblock, challenges you to rethink your life and you’re stuck asking yourself that age old question, “Why me?” 
I bought these great Self-Care cards from Cheryl Richardson ($10.85 from 