Two Stunning Blogger Homes
Alternate title: When two worlds collide. As you all know by now, I work as the Digital Content Manager for O.Henry magazine here in Greensboro, NC. I began my job last November and haven’t looked back since – I adore it! I love everything I get to do. This job feeds my soul creatively, plus allows me time outside of work for life, kids, my own endeavors. And I love everyone I get the chance to work with. I’ve met creative writers, go-getter sales people, and my superiors are kind, humanistic and appreciative. My editor and I had a connection from the beginning and I am so appreciative of her friendship, wit, wisdom and guidance. I couldn’t have landed in a better place. I still owe you all the story of how it came to be – or rather, how I manifested it. While I am not yet a writer for the magazine, I do offer up any ideas and connections when I have them. Turns out after just a couple of years in Greensboro, I actually know a lot of people. Each month, we feature a different local house. Two months of the year, we do a bigger Home & Garden issue and April is the first of these. I am thrilled to share with you that two of my long-time blog friends are in the pages of O.Henry this month – one is even on the cover! With permission from O.Henry, I am sharing a couple of photos, but I would love for you to check out the issue for yourself.
Cover Story
Do you recognize that face on the cover? That is none other than Ursula of Home Made by Carmona, a beautiful DIY blog. Ursula and her husband have completely transformer their Kernersville, NC home into a beautifully stunning place to live. I met Ursula years ago at a home blogging conference. We had plans to get together when I moved here, but everything was thwarted by Covid. Hopefully we will meet again soon.
Cynthia Adams did a beautiful job with this cover story and I learned so much about Ursula that I didn’t know before. When the magazines arrived last week, I squealed with delight when I saw the cover! I know that Ursula has hit it big time with national publications, but this one was personally exciting for me.
Long-time Blog Friend and Neighbor
When we found out we were moving to Greensboro 2.5 years ago, I reached out to the friend I knew here: René from Cottage & Vine. René and I have known each other for years through blogging and even met once for brunch when I was visiting NC. She was so helpful to us and put us in touch with our agent. We ended up moving just a street over from her and we often see each other out walking. Her home has long been a favorite of mine – it’s such a charmer!
When I started to get comfortable enough to offer up suggestions at work that were outside of my line of duty, the first thing I did was mention René’s home, which I knew needed to be featured. My editor fell in love with it, too, and they got in touch. Maria Johnson wrote a piece that truly captures the heart of who René and her husband Rick are. I especially loved reading his quotations because I could just feel how proud he is of his wife in his words. Amy Freeman captured the home itself in photography and it’s absolute perfection! You’ve got to see the whole spread, because it’s a big one!
I mean, isn’t that house just the cutest! Side note: René and I now have the same front door, too! Just goes to show what a different color and hardware can do to change its appearance. (Um, also, her exterior is way cuter than ours, but hopefully one day we’ll get there.)
I just wanted to pop in and share because it was an exciting moment where my work life and blog life kinda came together in one issue of O.Henry. Be sure to check out their home tours on the magazine site because there are so many more photos. You’ll want to read the columns as well. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, plop down somewhere comfortable, and enjoy!
