Last week we shared a fun new series that we would be kicking off: Behind the Blog, where we introduce you, our friends, to some of the fabulous bloggers behind the blogs they write! We were so honored when one of our favorite bloggers agreed to help us kick off the series and ask her all kinds of nosy questions! Please help us welcome the classy, fun and talented:
Rhoda from Southern Hospitality We know y’all will give her a warm welcome here At The Picket Fence!
Rhoda from Southern Hospitality We know y’all will give her a warm welcome here At The Picket Fence!
Hi Miss Rhoda! We are so happy to have you here with us today At The Picket Fence! We are huge admirers of you and your fantabulous blog Southern Hospitality and we are honored that you would spend the morning with us here at the fence to have a cup of coffee and let us find out a little bit more about you and your thoughts and advise on blogging!”
“Hi girls, so excited to be here today, I think y’all are fantabulous yourselves…”
Ok, so who are we kidding? This part of of the interview didn’t actually take place, but we can always pretend right? Now onto what we know you all are really waiting for…the questions!
Up first we asked Rhoda to share with us the “Ins and Outs” of her blogging experiences
What prompted you to start blogging in the first place?
“I have long been involved with decorating boards online, since around 2000 or so, where we shared design inspiration & our home projects too. It was all private back then, pre-blogging days, but I had so much fun making friends with girls all over the country who were as obsessed about their homes as I was. Blogging was just a natural fit when it came along.”
How long have you been blogging?
“I began on a whim in Feb. 2007 and haven’t shut up since that day. It’s been a thrilling ride and I still love it.”
What is the story behind your blog name?
“Since I’m a Southern girl, it just seemed like a good name to describe what I wanted to share on my blog. I knew it wouldn’t be just about decorating, so Southern Hospitality seemed like a good name to describe all I wanted to embody with my blog.”
“Since I’m a Southern girl, it just seemed like a good name to describe what I wanted to share on my blog. I knew it wouldn’t be just about decorating, so Southern Hospitality seemed like a good name to describe all I wanted to embody with my blog.”
What is one piece of advice you would give to a “new” blogger?
“Be yourself and don’t try to copy anyone else. There are SO many fabulous bloggers out there that it can be quite intimidating to anyone just getting started. I still get intimidated by some of my supah-star blogger friends who do this blog thing much better than I do. But, I just tell myself that there is only ONE me and I have so many faithful readers who stop by to see what I’m up to, so I stay true to myself and blog about those things that are important to me: my family, food, friends, and of course decorating projects and DIY inspiration. So, one piece of advice would be to follow your heart and blog your passion and that is what will come through as “real” and genuine to your readers. That will bring them back for more. They will want to know what YOU are up to!”
“One more thing! Be careful of blogging addiction. It’s a very real thing and will suck the life out of your time. J“
(Ha! We couldn’t agree more with Rhoda on that last point…not that we are addicted to blogging or anything…ahem…nope not at all…)
What is one piece of advice you would give to a “seasoned” blogger to avoid the dreaded blogger burn-out?
“As hard as it is, try to stay away from the competitive mindset. Blogging has evolved into much more of a community these days, with bloggers helping each other, promoting other blogs and reaching outside themselves and that is very healthy in the blogosphere. I’m happy to see that and strive to do that myself. I do think that burn-out can be a very real thing and I get very worried about those mom’s with young children who try to do it all. Don’t kill yourself to be a huge blogger, let it come naturally. Most blog growth is slow and steady, like the tortoise in the book. Not many blogs shoot up to the stratosphere right off the bat. It takes hard work, determination, and passion, but burn-out is very real too. There are always going to be bigger bloggers than where any of us are at any given time. Enjoy your space, where you are for the moment!”
(Enjoy your space..that is such good advice. We often become discontent with a room or even lots of rooms in our homes because they aren’t exactly like we envision them to be. Learning to enjoy where we are at the moment is something we probably all need to practice!)
Rhoda, how have you learned to balance blogging with the rest of your life, which we are sure is something all bloggers struggle with?
“I’m very fortunate in that my blog started off as a hobby, turned into a part-time business and now that I’m single and supporting myself solely again, I can really pour myself fully into blogging fulltime to see where it will take me. So far, God has opened a lot of doors and opportunities and I’m just going to enjoy it and go where He leads. I still love the process of blogging so very much and now having it turn into my primary stay-at-home business is just a blessing each and every day. It’s growing every year and for that I’m grateful. I do tend to stay on the computer WAY too much, but it keeps me out of trouble. I don’t have kids or a husband to worry about. J“
What are your top 3 favorite things about blogging?
“Definitely the friendships I have made through blogging has been the biggest blessing in my life. It’s just amazing that we can meet up with other bloggers that we have never met before and feel like they are lifelong friends. That’s the beauty of blogging. I’d say the friendships are first, then sharing projects and inspiration and finally, the fun perks that come with blogging in this home niche. I’ve been blessed with a lot of perks along the way, from free products to monetary perks.”
Up next we asked Rhoda to share a little bit about her own projects.
What has been your most popular project with your readers?
“Probably my beadboard wallpaper projects have been the most talked about all over blogland. I discovered that stuff 2 years ago and began blogging about it and have done several projects with it.”
“Still love it to this day and just finished up another bathroom using it. Now I have it in my online shop and that is another blessing. It’s selling very well and that is because I’m SO passionate about it and love the product!”
What is YOUR favorite project you have ever done?
“Without a doubt, it has to be the ugly stairs I refinished last year. I ripped out ugly carpet, added molding, caulked, primed and painted, then finished it off with a jute striped runner that looked fantastic. It was one of the hardest projects I’ve ever taken on, but definitely the most rewarding. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but I was so dang proud of those stairs when I was finished.”
(Oh yes! We love this one too. We both would love to copy your staircase project for sure!)
Have you ever had a project that completely failed and you did not show it on your blog?
“You know, I’ve been really lucky and never had anything go REALLY bad, so bad that I couldn’t show it. There’s always a first time, I’m sure.”
We call this next round the “If You Were Stranded On A Desert Island” Set of Questions! (original we know…)
If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you?
“Now that’s a tough one. OK, I’ll say TV, books, and plenty of snacks!”
(Gasp!…no TV would equal no HGTV and Design Star of course you have to have a TV!)
If you could only have one person with you on that island, whom would it be?
“The one person I’d want with me. This might sound strange, but I’d take Jesus with me. I wouldn’t want to be without Him, especially on a deserted island! 🙂 “
And last but certainly not least, we’re going to put Rhoda under the magnifying glass with Our Reader Questions..cause we know y’all are as nosy as we are!
We had y’all submit some questions you would might ask another blogger if you had the chance…here are the two we selected for Rhoda to answer!
“When you were 8 years old, what did you want to be/do as a grown up?”
“As an 8 year old, what I wanted to be when I grew up was not even on my radar. I was too busy being a kid, especially a tomboy girl, who loved climbing trees, riding bikes & playing in the creek. I enjoyed my childhood and didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do/be when I grew up!”
“If you were going to a movie what candy would you HAVE to have?”
“Candy at the movies? I do love candy and some of my fave is candy corn or malted milk balls.”
“Candy at the movies? I do love candy and some of my fave is candy corn or malted milk balls.”
Thank you so much Rhoda for taking the time to answer our questions and letting us get a glimpse at the Blogger Behind the Blog! We want to say again how much we admire you and your dedication to the craft of blogging and to your readers and the bloggers who admire your work and passion! You inspire us!
And thank you to our readers who joined us today for our first installment of Behind the Blog! We will be featuring another fabulous blogger next Monday so join us then to find out who our next Blogger Behind the Blog…
…cause you never know who might show up next at the fence!
Wonderful interview! I enjoy these types of series. I think we can all learn something from them.
Great interview and it was fun getting to know more about Miss Rhonda!=)Thanks for sharing! XO ~Liz
Great interview. I love learning so much about the person behind the blogs I love to read.
Hi Vanessa & Heather,
Fantastic new series!! It was so nice to meet Miss Rhoda on a more personal one to one basis.
All the Best,
Christine
I loved the interview and I love Rhoda and everything she’s done! Thank you Vanessa and Heather for this fabulous idea and the questions are perfect because being a little blog I think I’ve
experienced every one of those emotions. If it weren’t for you guys I would probably be still figuring out what HTML was! Thank you so much!
xoxo
Jeri
This is such a great feature. I enjoyed learning more about Rhoda. I have enjoyed her blog since I started blogging and she is such a lovely person. Hugs, Marty
Heather & Vanessa, thank you both for doing this series & letting me kick it off. I really enjoyed the questions & being over here on your yes, fantabulous BLOG! You 2 are so sweet & friendly & I wish you all the best in this blogworld. Hope you can both come to the Haven conference next June! Now that is going to be a fun time, for sure. Thanks again!
Thanks for featuring Rhoda. She was the first blogger I started reading on a regular basis. I didn’t know how to follow for a long time. I don’t remember how I even found her. She’s great.
great feature and great advice. thank you!
Thank you for this great new feature. I love it, and Rhoda was the perfect person to feature.
Terrific!
lovely interview!
xoxo, Chrissy
The Perfect Palette
What a great series! Rhonda seems very sweet and I love her projects that you showed, I think I need to check out that beadboard wall paper. 🙂
Thank you again!!
xo
Thank you for featuring Southern Hospitality…she is one of my favorites. I love this new feature of yours!
Heather and Vanessa, This is a WONDERFUL idea. I just love it and super enjoyed reading this interview. I’ve long been afraid to try to tackle decorating but have decided to give it a go rather than hire someone. Rhoda’s blog was one of the first places I turned to for ideas. Great blogging Girls!!! Have a great start to your week…
Rhoda is a class act. Love her blog.
Great interview, Heather, Vanessa and Rhoda !! Love learning more about fellow bloggers, and I can’t think of two better gals to host such a great series. I look forward to getting to know many others, too !! xoxo
Rhoda is amazing! She has a great blog! This was a really good interview. I really like hearing from other successful bloggers. It helps those of use that are just starting out. 🙂
http://lifeofasoutherncouple.blogspot.com/
Thanks for letting us get to know Rhoda, she’s such an inspiring positive influence! Looking forward to getting to know more fellow bloggers!
Debbie
What a lovely interview!! Thank you for sharing:):)
What a nice and interesting interview. I enjoyed reading it very much. I like what she did with her bathroom, and the stairs. The runner looks fantastic on the stairway.
That was fun!
Weren’t y’all smart to start with Rhoda? Honestly, that woman REALLY lives up to her blog name. She doesn’t just talk about Southern Hospitality–she practices it! She is kind and helpful and really goes out of her way to
encourage others. I love the fact that she has one of the longest-standing home decor blogs–it’s fun to see how many people said that hers is one of the first blogs they ever read. Thank you so much for featuring her here. What a great idea for a series!
Great interview girls!! Love Rhoda and her blog~ great questions too!! 🙂 What a fun series!
Ladies, congratulations on a successful “first in the series” of posts! Rhoda always has such great ideas. I’m glad you interviewed her. I especially loved the answer to the “when you were 8 years old” question. Notice she didn’t say she was being chauffeured to a different sport/music lesson every day — she was just busy PLAYING and being a kid! I love that!
Great feature! Rhoda seems as down to earth and sweet as she is talented.
Happy Weekend!
XO,
Anne
I loved this article! It was very insightful for my new blog! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for that delightful interview with Southern Hospitality!