Blue Happy Living

It’s been a hot minute since I sat down to write a blog. I don’t need to tell you how 2020 has played out over here. I’m sure you have your own stories to tell, your own moments of quarantine OMGs, and we all know that life has been changed forever by all of this craziness. I laughed at the phrase that was on repeat on social media and TV commercials “we’re all in this together”. Ain’t nobody sharing toilet paper when it went missing from local store shelves. So stop pretending that we are all in this together. We are friends until you need toilet paper. Haha, okay that was my quarantine funny. None of this has been a joke. It has been hard for many people. I’ve prayed more in the past few months than I have in my lifetime. I’ve watched as people lost elderly members of their family, without even getting to say goodbye. I’ve watched others empty their bank accounts and lose their jobs. So many sick, so many without and still I’ve seen so many give. In the end of all this I hope we will look back and see the gift of giving, the cherished moments of more time with our families, and the strength of the people in our communities.

I stepped away from blogging for a while because it just didn’t seem important. What in the world would I say at a moment that our world was turned upside down. I truly was at a loss for words. Who in the world would care about refurbished anything when there is so much worry to carry on our shoulders. So the BHL blog took a step back to gather thoughts and plan for the future on the other side of this pandemic. So I waited and waited for the other side of this pandemic to show up. It hasn’t and looks like it might be a while before it does show up. So whats a blogging artist to do? Well, she decided to move forward and make do with life the way it is. So here we go onward and upward in the middle of a pandemic. We will refurbish in our new normal.

Tonight’s blog is the start of all new blogs to come. If you are new to the blog let me introduce myself. My name is LaTonya and I was blessed to be an artist. I’m recently retired from teaching art at an amazing private school that I still love and miss very much. Eight years ago I stepped out of my comfort zone at 304lbs and decided to flip my life upside down and get healthy. You can read about that weight loss journey in past blogs. I’m happily married to my first and only husband of 34 years. We are still married after quarantine and no one went to jail. I’m a momma, Lolli (grandma), 3 dog owner, and most of all I’m a Christian. You’ll often notice I talk about my faith, my beliefs, and how God plays such an important roll in this passion-filled journey that I’m on.

What is to come is so exciting. The first of many blogs about the redo of my home will be next Friday, October 16th. Blogs will be posted on Fridays. Each blog will be different and always have before and afters. I’ll share things like furniture techniques, the dos and don’ts of redoing your furniture, fun art projects that anyone can do, more about my health journey, and of course, the front-to-back reveal of my home redo. As always I’ll be honest and open about things, including the good, the bad, the ugly, and the “OMG what just happened” moments. You’ll probably also see my family, friends, and my dogs.

I’m still creating and restoring furniture and home décor pieces for my stores in Rockwall and Waco. Here’s a sneak peek at my space in Rockwall this weekend. Check my Instagram stories every Saturday for a video walkthrough at The Rustic Warehouse!

So here we go! Blue Happy Living is back and ready to open the door to my life, home and heart.