Time To Grow

How wonderful it is to back! Through what has turned out to be a hairy two weeks, I have missed you terribly…
Our blogs are essentially our virtual homes, and from time to time they start to feel a little shabby (and not in a chic way). And so it was with BrocanteHome. While it may have looked fresh to the occasional visitor, to she who lived in it, it had become dusty and unwieldly. Full of treasure that needed to be trashed and a lot of treasure that deserved to be displayed more prominently.
And so in the month of January 2012 I took it into my head to start a little blog restoration. To re-invent my virtual home, so we could all see the blossom for the trees, and once again re-inspire myself to blog with all the same passion in my eighth year online.
It’s no mean feat living in the same old  virtual house for almost eight years you know? The urge to scrap it and start all over again raises it’s ugly head frequently, something I have seen quite a few of myfavorite bloggers do recently, and yet it wouldn’t feel right to erase my puttery, tumultuous history and offer myself the blank slate I deeply crave because at it’s heart BrocanteHome is about layering our lives with loveliness, gathering new experiences, creating homes full of history and embracing opportunities to grow within our cosy, blissfully safe domains…
So it was necessary to perform the virtual equivalent of a Seasonal Scrub instead. To establish what matters and chuck the rest in the trash. To hang new wallpaper and lay out a pretty new welcome mat and to dig deep inside virtual cupboards and junk drawers and take a long, hard look at how this little on-line house of mine is supporting me emotionally and financially, while providing you my precious, loyal readers with words to treasure, advice to inspire and products worth paying for.
To me blogging is a priceless gift and I can barely quantify the joy and beautiful freedom it has brought to my life. But despite my me, me, me nature, it ISN’T all about me is it? Brocantehome will only continue to thrive if I frequently remind myself that this site isn’t a self-indulgent whim, it is both a business and a retreat for you, my readers: a place I know you have come to rely upon as a source of home-making inspiration, strength when the world falls down (as mine so often has) and a reminder that we are here to grow, not just as vintage housekeepers but as women with passions and dreams all of our own.
I know all this, but I also know that in the more turbulent era’s of my life I forget it, and lose focus so this here right now is my promise to you that from from this day forward I will (try to) remember what Brocantehome is for: ~to share my passion and provide inspiration for our own beautiful survival in the domestic realm so many of us cherish.~
Blogland is a different world to what is was eight years ago. It has in fact become incredibly difficult terrain to negotiate. Where once there was a comment box, now there is Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and much, much more. The conversation has become scattered, difficult to follow and occasionally broken altogether. Pictures pinched from other places pass as posts on a huge number of new blogs, all style and no substance, and I know I have been guilty of doing the same thing occasionally, but no more.  As bloggers it helps to be in the social know. To donate time to chasing our pretty tails across social networks, showing off and shouting out our worth to anyone who will listen. But sadly in the midst of this we can become lost. Lazy. Too busy focusing on dragging in readers to cherish the ones we have and reward them with writing worth reading. Because in the end, to me, this is what blogging is and should be about: writing. Doing the work. Saying something new and true.
You know me. You know me don’t you? You know that I have in the past eight years made promises impossible to keep, and resolutions to be something I am not. I am ever hopeful that life will bring about the kind of change I suspect I need in order to grow. But in actual fact despite promises broken and resolutions abandoned, growth happens regardless. Time has brought to my door a wealth of wisdom about that which I am passionate and a pile of muddled up new interests I am terribly keen to understand, embrace and share. This is growth. So too is the kind of clarity that says this is important, that is not, and uses this wisdom to forge a way forward so that each day brings the kind of inspiration we so desperately need to keep passion alive. This is growth.
This is growth. Having the courage to make necessary changes is growth. Garnering the wisdom to face the truth about what is working and what is not is growth. Following your dreams where ever they may take you, all of it is growth. For I have said it before and I will say it again, it is only when we stand still that we find muddy fallows encumbering us forever after. Our unique perspective shapes our days and it is only when we allow our perspective to shift that we can expect life to feel joyous and our blogs to reflect that joy.
So welcome to my new home Darlings. I have decided to stick with what I’m good at, s0 all the bells and whistles have gone, there is no longer an unwieldly long list of categories and the archives are now easily accessible, but much remains the same regardless. Brocantehome is still scented with lavender, ritual and celebration, still sprinkled with the beautiful art that has come to define it, and still very much about the pretty,  but I want us a tightly knit group to make a new commitment to following our hearts, hushing the noise, listening to the softly spoken voice of shy new passions and understanding that we will be better Vintage Housekeepers, bloggers and women in our own right if we are willing to practise extreme self care and make our own well-being a priority. And yes, I definitely believe the occasional violet creme remains essential…
Oh what it is to still feel inspired after all these years! BrocanteHome isn’t a website, it’s a way of life…

A Quick Round-Up of What’s New…

* Same polka dots, new navigation system, better archives and sensible categories.
* Quick links to the Downloads, Bookshelf and Puttery Treats Store…
* My Instagram, Pinterest and Tweets in the sidebar so you have a complete view of my life on-line.
* New features and more housekeeping, food and well-being posts.
* A SPANKING NEW free subscription weekly letter to inspire your way of life.
* Less promises, more action and much more besides…

I do so hope you like it…