Celebrating Four
Four years ago, I started this blog.
FOUR YEARS! Holy moly – just typing that makes me wanna take a nap.
And I figure that almost 1500 days of blogging deserves a mission statement for good ole Bower Power so here she blows:
- THIS BLOG IS FOR ME
I blog for me. Not for readers. Not for income. Not for fans or friends or family. I blog because God has put that desire in my heart. The rest of the reasons are just major perks (HUGE! GIGANTIC!)…but not the reason to come back every day for hours on end. It is probably the most selfish hobby I have ever had…and the most gratifying because of the people in my life. In the end, if it ever stops being “because I want to” and starts being “because I have to”….well….this too shall pass. And I will celebrate the ending with a clinking of glasses and a carb-laden hoedown. Yeehaw.
- THIS BLOG DWELLS ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF LOVE
I like to tease. I like to joke about celebrities - Trump’s terrible hair, Brit-brit’s famous umbrella, and Ceelo’s pimp cat. I like to make 14-year-old boy jokes about private body parts and any sort of pork product. But at the very core of this blog, I want to love. I want to pour out kindness and smiles and rainbows on everyone who reads these words. I want you to be encouraged and uplifted. I want the words that pour from my fingertips to never be out of anger or malice or hate…but to be wrapped in a pink bow of love…and inspiration…not just to improve your home or to pour yourself into a chandelier makeover…but to have love flowing freely into life, your preciousness, yourself.
- THIS BLOG IS REAL & OPEN
For the past four years, I have made mistakes. I made bad jokes, I said things that hurt folks or were taken out of context or misunderstood. I have been imperfect. human. flawed. And I let it all hang out. literally and figuratively. I don’t put on airs to pretend I am more gracious than I am….or act like I’m funny (I totally admit I’m really not funny at all in person)…I don’t think of myself as a designer or a professional or above-average-at-anything. I struggle with real life. I get sad and hurt. I have good days. I have terrible ones. I am who I am. And that is okay.
I put myself out there, mistakes and all, because I am a believer in that if my one statement or opinion can encourage or uplift ONE person…then it is worth dealing with any reprecussions…positive or negative. And that is why I don’t remove things from this blog….I don’t delete mean comments….I take the good with the bad. There have been times when I (or someone else) wrote something out of a knee-jerk reaction….something I wish I could erase…something I wish I could remove forever from my blog and the minds of those who read it. But real life is full of mistakes. real life is admitting that nobody is perfect. And I want this blog to be real….not watered down or carefully post processed….I want this thing to be unfiltered and imperfect….because that means it is a true reflection.
- THIS BLOG IS LESS THAN THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT
All blogs are less than the people behind them. So this reminder is for me. I have to remember to be slow to judge….slow to spend other’s money….slow to form opinions….quick to forgive….quick to appreciate….quick to love. I am so lucky to live in an age where people open their lives, their minds, their hearts to share with complete strangers. I want to remember that this blog celebrates my life and what I choose to share….and that is just a slim and scarce glimpse into me and mine….God created more in me than this blog. Thank goodness.
- THIS BLOG IS NOT FOREVER
One day, blogging will come to an end. And when it comes down to it, this blog is part of what I choose to do but not who I am. I have been given the precious gift of life and this blog doesn’t hold a candle to the most serious things in my life. I don’t know when it will end….or why or how…but I know that investing ourselves in the eternal things matters most. And for the time being, blogging is one way I get to share all those things…small and big.
All that is what we are all about here. Pretty serious stuff huh?!
Now let’s get back to the not-so-serious….like how funny was it on the Bachelorette when one of the best friends asked the dude with the egg named ‘Shelly’ if he fertilized it himself?! I wanna be friends with that girl.
p.s. random old photos were taken between 2005 – 2007 when Jer and I dated 
And yes, I self-take-pictures of my hematomas…so glad that’s normal
Happy Anniversary, Katie! I hope you don’t let the negative comments get to you. I think the huge majority of your readers admire your candor and sense of humor. I know I do! May the next 4 (or 40) years of blogging be rewarding and fun.
Hi Katie! This is my first ever blog comment, but I felt it was time to stop merely lurking and let you know I am thankful to have your blog in my life
Thanks for all the tips and smiles.. here’s to many more! Happy blogiversary!
I’ve not been commenting long, but I’ve been reading foreverrrrr. One of the things I most appreciate about your blog is that you are authentic. It’s not all sugar and spice every day of the year and I definitely believe in keepin’ it real! xoxo
This is so great! It’s good to remember who and what blogging is for.
I, for one, totally enjoy your blog!
Happy Blogiversary! Here’s to 4 more! I know you said you do this for you, but thanks for all you do!
Four years of some great work this blog is amazing keep it up for another 4!
Happy Anniversary! You rock.
Thanks for your blog! I came across it while searching for a yellow floor rug back in April. Anyway, I started reading and thought to myself, wow, this person is really funny, sweet, and smart. It is great to see how much work and love you put into your home.
Bella in Japan
Congrats on four years of blogging! I think I’ve read just about every post and enjoyed each one!
And for these reasons is why I keep coming back. Don’t ever change. Happy 4th anniversary!!
Happy anniversary, Katie. You being you is what makes it work so very well. Thanks for the laughs and cries and inspiration- keep it up!
Congrats of FOUR crazy years Katie! I’ve been around for almost three of them, and will be here til the end. xo
Well said, Katie. WELL SAID! I feel the same way about blogging, you just are much better at explaining it. Cheers to 4 years!
Congrats, Katie! Thank you for inviting us into your life, your family & your home over the past 4 years. You always brighten my day with your posts, inspiration & adorable pictures of Will. Can’t wait to see what happens this year
Happy 4th Anniversary!
Happy 4th Anniversary of your blog!! I found you this year when you when in the finals of
best blog. I was looking up the top ones and got stuck on yours. I have so enjoyed looking back and reading many of your past postings. You are hilarious and i sit here at my laptop and laugh out loud at so many of your daily posts!! Love your new office, by the way. It turned out so cool!
I also have a daughter named Katie B., who has such a quirky sense of humor and keeps me laughing every day. God bless you and your little family and hope you have a wonderful day!!
I know I am the black cloud that follows this blog. SORRY!!!! I love the new lighting!! Looks awesome and what a great deal you got. The pic of Will sitting on the counter did scare me a bit!!! Just don’t want to see him fall and crack that sweet noggin’!!!!
Congratulations on four years of your blog! Hope you never stop blogging; if you did, if would be like losing touch with a good friend.
Happy Blogiversary! Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to share your life and ideas with us. I love reading your blog and enjoy reading it so much. I hope the end is not near, and that there will be many more years of this journal.
When you quit blogging do you think you will still “update” people on your lives somehow? Id be so sad if you just disappeared!
I don’t know! That’s not in my immediate future…just was noting how nothing is forever
xo – kb
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Why did this have such a defensive and somewhat bummer feel to it?? Have you been getting mean comments? That is not the Katie we know and love! I get that you were being honest but it just felt so…blech. Like, I want to give you a hug and tell you not to get down about the negative comments or something? I don’t know. Andplusalso, I sent you an e-mail about how to make a bacon bouquet and you haven’t responded and I am kind of sad because I thought I would get an award or something from you since you are such a bacon lover!
It’s definitely easier to be jokey when it comes to something not so serious (like me or my kid) but I do take the racism thing seriously. and bacon. Don’t you dare make a bacon joke that you can’t deliver on
xo – kb
Usually I get your humor so I think I am missing something? Racism? Huh?? And I totally did send you a how to make a bacon bouquet e-mail! Should I re-send?
YES – Resend
xo – kb
Yeah Katie! Please write a post about that huge knot on your head in the pictures you’ve posted! (It can or can not include bacon and pirates- your choice!)
Love your blog and your honesty in this post. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Anniversary, Bowers! Can’t wait to meet y’all!