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Bethann Renee

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An Identity Crisis & a New Direction

At Home· Business & Blogging· Home Decor· Lifestyle

10 Aug

Hello Friends,  

Have you ever found yourself in a bit of an identity crisis?  While today I am specifically referring to a home decor identity crisis, I feel like I’m having a bit of an identity crisis of my entire life right now.  Could this be my mid-life crisis?

identity crisis and a new direction

As the pandemic raged last year, like so many of you, I was given time to slow down, sometimes even pause and take a good look at my life.  That time allowed me to clearly see the things that I felt were most important and spending so much time alone with B, we both went through the same revelation of sorts.  Ultimately, that’s what led us to buying the beach cottage. 

For me, it was also a time where I could see a hint of what life would be like if my stationery business wasn’t such an overpowering part of my life.

As this year slowly began to look like “normal”, I once again found myself back in old patterns where my business controls my life rather than the other way around.  This has taken a toll on me metally and physically.  Fear is holding me back from changing things too much but I finally feel like it’s time to take a big leap and alter course for good.

While I’m thankful to have such a thriving business, it’s not where my heart truly is these days and while I’ve had to take time away from the blog this summer to focus on my business, it’s given me time to think about what I want this space to be at this moment.

While it may take a little time this month to get things moving along again, I think things around here are going to look and feel a little different and I’m excited about what I have in store for you!

new direction at home

New Direction at Home

Our home has been in a state of limbo for the past year while we’ve put most of our energy into designing and rebuilding our beach cottage.  It’s been such a great experience and one I think we’ve learned a lot from.  The time we’ve just “lived” in our home, free of projects, has opened our eyes to some things we want to change or improve and you’ll be hearing more about this to come.

One of the biggest takeaways for me is that I’ve realized that while I have felt self-inflicted pressure to follow certain styles for the sake of the blog, designing the beach house has made me much more aware of what we like vs. what everyone else is doing or what we think others will approve of.  We’ve designed the beach house without any pressure, solely on our own tastes and it has been so much fun.  It’s not just one style, it’s “our” style and I think that’s why B keeps saying we are moving in when it’s done.  All of this has made me look at our home here in PA differently.

I have always loved vintage and antique items mixed with modern and while B’s style tends to be a little more modern overall, we both lean towards a traditional style that is classic and timeless and much less about trends.  While we love color and pattern, we don’t like too much fuss or formality.  We are small town people in a rural area and our lifestyle is simple and casual.  

As we’ve seen the beach cottage take shape in recent months, B has been joking more and more about us moving there full time.  Over time, it’s had me thinking more and more about what he likes about our beach house that he doesn’t like about our  home and I think a lot of it is that we did renovations here at home, but never really “styled” our house.  

I want to change that, give B a place to come home to after a long day of work that he’s happy in, that he feels reflects us and feels comfortable.

sunday scones and pretty dishes

New Direction on the Blog

The day to day won’t really be changing here on the blog and for the most part, neither will the topics I’ll be writing about to share with you.  I will be eliminating some of the topics I’d originally planned for the blog and I will finally be finishing the blog design with a proper home page.

Because we already have a million and one things going on and B has been traveling more again,  I’m giving myself till the end of the year to make all the technical and design changes as well as some other things I’ll mention.

updated summer mudroom

I will also be updating all the old posts starting from the very beginning making sure I’m providing as much information, source lists, etc. that I possibly can.  I’ve not always done the best job with this.

I guess the key here is that I won’t be going in a completely new direction, only making it better and I think the quality of content is going to take a large jump forward too.  I’m really excited about all my ideas and I think you will be too!

summer master bedroom

The Future is Bright

The takeaway for today is understanding that we all go through phases in our lives where we have a bit of an identity crisis.  Maybe it relates to decorating your home, maybe it relates to your career or the people in your life..  Whatever it is, listen to yourself, pray, allow yourself the time to go through it, to learn, and grow.  I’m confident that when the answers do finally come, you’ll be so much better for it!

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bethann renee

I’m so glad you are here!

Hello.  Welcome to Bethann Renee Home & Lifestyle (formerly Twig & White). My name is Bethann.  I’m a child of God,  a wife, mom to two basset hound rescues, a designer, business owner, blogger and creative.  I just a regular woman with realistic budgets, doing my best to create a beautiful home and life through thrifting, creativity and lots of DIY.  If you’re a regular gal trying to do the same, let’s be friends.  Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and get inspired.

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