family
I'm so excited to share another one of my favorite blogs with you all today! Salsa Pie is such a lovely blog from my good friend, Caroline. Someday, we will actually meet in person and have a wonderful conversation over a delicious cup of coffee in a beautiful place. I just know it. :) Anyway, Salsa Pie is a blog that inspires me EVERY SINGLE TIME I read it. Caroline is one of the most creative women I know, and is creating such a neat lifestyle for her children, by surrounding them with creative experiences. Seriously, they will grow up and look back with such fondness for the things their mama did with them when they were babes. Anyway, here's a bit from Caroline. Make sure you check her out!
Tell us a little bit about you and your blog...
I'm a designer of creative family projects, a crafter, tinkering painter and mother of four children. I write about project ideas for the whole family and how to encourage creativity in kids on my blog, Salsa Pie. I'm originally from South Carolina where I got my first big break in the art world working as Assistant Curator of Sculpture at the world renowned Brookgreen Gardens. I moved to Maryland ten years ago and am married to a husband who supports all my wacky, crafty projects.
Oh gosh. I love so many things about blogging. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how blogging is a conversation and I love having conversations with people. But to be honest, when I started my blog, Salsa Pie in 2009, it was for other reasons. I think at first I was just talking and not having a conversation. Later I realized how interactive it was and how much I loved that aspect of it. I build my plane while flying it, but I've learned so much along the way! I enjoy both creating and sharing but connecting is what keeps me going. Blogging gives me the platform to do so many things and I really feel like I've embraced the future.
What's your best advice for writers?
How do you and your family "live on love?"
I've written about the fact that I'm often uncomfortable with the term "writer" to describe myself (I'm much more cozy with the word blogger) but lately I've been embracing it more. I'll have my first piece ever published in a new (to be launched in September) Kids Craft 1-2-3 magazine so perhaps after that hits stands I'll be much more comfortable with the word "writer." My best advice for writers would just be to write how you speak. To write without thinking too much about it. Then walk away. Go back and edit with a new perspective and fresh eyes. The best writers (of which I am not) are those that are fearless. They write about their experiences and observations of the world in an honest and courageous way, often to the extent of making readers a bit uncomfortable. But when readers are honest with themselves, they realize the writer is telling their story, too. Because that's what really great writers do-- they tell stories and connect with something universal and often unspoken that lives deep inside of people. Write like you mean it and never look back! Wow, maybe I should heed my own advice?!
We really try to keep it simple. When you have four small children, no matter what the socioeconomic status, it's tricky to navigate just about everything. A trip to the grocery store with four small children can be wild! Dinner out with four children? Crazy. Getting everyone ready to make it to school on time in the morning? Tricky. Now, think about birthday parties and play dates and even holiday shopping. It gets a bit nutty! So we've found that when we keep things simple and just focus on what really matters, we are the most happy - all of us. For us, that's focusing on family time. We spend lots of time just being together. We have family games we play (like all of us play hide and seek. It's a trip!) and this year my husband started teaching our older children how to play chess. Kids are never to young to learn the basics. Even our five year-old understands and knows the names of each piece and the style of movement. We also love being creative together. All six of us love drawing (even my husband) and on many Sunday afternoons we spend a part of the day just being together and all of us with a piece of paper, doodling. For me, just being with my family in the time I've been given on this earth is what life's all about.
