guest blogger!!

Hello all, sorry I've been MIA.. still up in Washington with my family, but I've wanted for some time to spotlight someone that has some major talent with refinishing furniture.. we have a random connection and I recently discovered her blog, and it's awesome....!

Hi Emerald Cidade friends! 

I am Julia, the girl behind the blog 551 East Furniture Design.

Stop on by some time and I'm sure I'll be talking about some ugly duckies,

or beautiful swans

or maybe a little about this little man or my handsome hubbster 

and in general other experiences about crazy beautiful LIFE. 

---------------------------------------------

I'm thrilled that Stephanie asked me to guest post today!

I LOVE all of her fabulous pictures and inspiration. 

Her ideas are all over my Pinterest. :) 

She sent me a series of questions that I'm excited to answer.

I restore furniture and I LOVE it! 

So here we go! 

Q: How long have you been refinishing furniture and how did you get started? 

I started restoring furniture a couple years ago as presents to give to friends who were getting married. It's kind of hard to start married life with no kitchen table. :) It was a sporadic hobby, but I LOVED it. Sadly, despite my best matchmaking efforts not enough friends were getting married to sustain my restoration addiction. So when my son was born and I needed a hobby beside watching Desperate Housewives. I officially started 551 East about 4 months ago and it''s become one of my favorite things. 

Q: How do you find time to work while having a toddler?

Ummm...sometimes I don't shower? I'm kind of just kidding, but seriously I've had to let some things go so that I can spend time with Rhett and sand/prime/paint/stain. I try to do most of my work during nap time and after he goes to bed. My husband and I are also partners in crime in this endeavor. We support each other and that helps us get a lot more done.   In all honestly I just have to be realistic about how much I can take on.  Q: How is the business part of it? Do you have any advice for people wanting to make some extra money from home? I wrote a post on this a couple of weeks ago on this subject! Here's a link to that post. It's kind of untraditional advice, but definitely worth knowing. An important thing to remember is that it's really hard to separate business from personal life,so make sure whatever business you want to start will complement or even enhance your personal life. Starting a business is hard, so unless you love what you're doing it might not be worth it.  As far as earning extra income, we have been blessed that 551 East has helped us do that. It's a great feeling knowing that I can help pay our student loans etc. It's not a steady income and you will work oh so very hard for every dollar, but it can help.   
Q: What are some of your favorite pieces you've done?   One of my favorite things about restoring furniture is watching how my style changes over time. These are some of my favorites and I am always so excited to see how they turn out. 

 Q: Where do you get your inspiration?  

I suscribe to a lot of free home decor magazines. Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Pier 1. I follow blogs, use Pinterest, and just try to think outside the box. I don't buy a piece unless it speaks to me. I know that probably sound silly, but I need to see what it could be. 

Guys, thank you so much for reading and I hope you come say hi at my part of the blogosphere sometime soon! 

And Stephanie THANK YOU for letting me come over! 

PS We have a $50 CASH giveaway going on right now on our blog running until October 3rd so come check it out!