For This House
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
June 15, 2024 | 7 min read
Ally Veldhuisen & Lauren Van Woerden
Whether you’ve been here supporting us since the inception of For This House, or are new to the crew, thank you for being here. We’ve had so many new followers in the last month that we thought a little introduction was necessary.
Ally: I have wanted to start a blog since middle school, but never had the capacity or skillset to fulfill the demands of a website well on my own. When Lauren approached me about wanting to start a blog as a way to keep up her marketing skills, I was stoked to collaborate with her. I knew doing the project would be more sustainable, and likely less intimidating if I did it with a team.
Lauren: Mmm. It started with professional and skill-building motivations, but it is now fueled by the opportunities for collaboration and community that we’ve built through the topics we’re writing on and the additional writers we’re working with. The conversations that we’ve had along the way between ourselves or with others serve as great perspective challengers or end up triggering a great idea for a new blog.
Lauren: I’ve been asked to do a bit of writing here and there throughout my professional career—both short and long form. Also, I’ve always had the personal desire to start journaling or blogging along the way, but finally pulled the trigger with a little accountability and encouragement from Ally. It’s been a journey of growth as I learn how to turn this into a habit, and so many other great benefits.
Ally: Other than writing throughout school, I have no professional writing experience. I’m a language arts teacher by training, so writing definitely runs in my veins, but I’m more of a creative writer than a grammar expert. Lauren definitely balances my ramblings with her professional skills and has helped me grow in my writing ability. The more you write, the better you write, and I’m excited to continue expanding my skills.
Ally: Oof. I’m a serial dreamer, so there are a lot of things I would do if time were not a constraint. I love my current role of being a stay-at-home mom, working as a part-time ministry coordinator at my church, and blogging on the side, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Later in life I would love to become a speaker or an event coordinator, but I could also see myself pursuing teaching, writing, or so many other things!
Lauren: If budgets and finding clients were no issue, I’d love to be a professional organizer or interior designer. I already enjoy “trading up” the furniture and decor around our home as a hobby—which is why Marketplace has become a guilty pleasure for me. To make a career out of this would be a dream.
Lauren: Fifty shades of blue and green—because nature is life-giving.
Ally: I’ve always said that my favorite color is yellow because it’s bright and cheery, but to be honest, it isn’t a color I often use in my house or my wardrobe unless it’s a mustard version, so maybe I should rethink my answer! I still think the color yellow in nature brings me so much joy—but if I were choosing a color to wear or decorate with it would likely be a forest green which reminds me of being near the mountains and is just gezellig!
Lauren: I find the words flow most naturally when I write on something relevant going on in my life at the time—a new skill or a challenging experience. But it’s also really encouraging when we talk to people who have read previous blogs and they ask us about topics that we have experience with but haven’t written on yet.
We all have so much life experience to share, and often so little time to have quality conversations about these things. It’s refreshing to pick a current life theme and work through it on paper (aka, screen) to reflect on what I’m learning through this phase so that I can share it with others in their own time.
Ally: Lauren’s answer really sums this up for me as well. I find writing about something I’ve been ruminating on through conversation, reading, or thinking is so refreshing. Fleshing a topic out fully by processing thoughts into writing, then sharing written thoughts with a friend to talk over and refine, and finally sharing those thoughts to open up a conversation with others in a public setting—the whole process is life-giving and growing! Sharing recipes, talents, and other ideas can be fun, but writing heartfelt, contemplative blogs on topics I feel passionately about is where I find the most joy in blogging.
Ally: This might sound silly… but, breakfast! If I don’t start the day with a filling breakfast, my whole day feels rushed and off-kilter. That’s why I typically keep something pre-made in the fridge—a simple egg bake or an oatmeal bake. Sitting down to eat is also a great way to orient myself for the day by honing in on what tasks should be prioritized and resetting my mindset.
Lauren: I have to immediately open all the curtains in the house to let the light in. Natural light is so important for so many reasons and it wasn’t until answering this question that I recognized this is the first thing I do every single morning. It’s like waking up the house itself.
But my secondary answer would be moisturizer and mascara. If I’m not home and out of routine, it’s a little good face lotion and a hit of mascara to make me feel awake and ready for the day in the simplest way.
Well, that was fun—let’s do this again soon. 🙂 This platform was never meant to be about us as individuals, but we want to be transparent about who’s behind the scenes and why we’re passionate about inviting you into this project with us.
If you have more questions for us to answer in a future post, just send them to us on Instagram any time. We’re an open book!