I recently answered several (million) questions for my 7 Liebster Award nominations… one of those questions was How did you choose your blog name? I realized when I answered that question that I had never told y’all, my loyal readers (party of 1… your blog post is ready!) how I picked the name Happily Ever After Etc.
Let’s go back to the beginning shall we?
Before I ever clicked on the “start blog” button on wordpress.com I dreamed of having my own blog. I would dart around the blog-o-sphere reading all of these amazing blogs, written by these amazing women and think… that’s what I want to do. I thought about starting a blog in college… but who wants to read 3 posts a week about decorating a dorm room? I didn’t even think I could come up with that many ideas! (and if you’ve ever seen my dorm room you know I had a lot of dorm room decorating ideas… my room was decked out!) Then I moved in to an apartment and while I finally had the freedom to decorate as I pleased (to a certain extent I had a roomie and then a husband to consider) I just didn’t have the space to really tackle the projects I felt would be of interest to blog readers.
(Love the little blue arrow sign? Mine says Happily Ever After (for obvious reasons 😉 ) but you can have it personalized with whatever you like!)
Then my hubby and I moved into our very first house… and my excuses ran out. I finally had the space to do all of the projects my little heart desired! My hubby and I started brainstorming ideas for a blog name… I thought about using some variation of our last name but Smith is so common… maybe you’ve heard of a little blog called House of Smiths? How could I compete with that! My next idea was to use a variation of a favorite quote or saying. Well the writing was literally on the wall… in the form of my large blue DIY Pallet, that states quite clearly “& They Lived Happily Ever After”
That little catch phrase has always resonated with me for some reason. I grew up in the Disney Princess era and truly believed that one day my prince would come and take me away to a castle on his white horse. Some variety of woodland creatures would be waiting for me at the castle… of course we would sing wonderful songs, eat lots of yummy junk food and never do another chore again! Silly Disney Princess era 😉
While my life isn’t straight out of a Walt Disney Classic I truly believe I am living my very own version of Happily Ever After… etc. I have the handsome prince (who thinks the end of the bed is the dirty clothes bin and ketchup doesn’t need to be refrigerated (eeew!)) the majestic castle (3 bedrooms is majestic for us after the one bedroom apartment we shared in Colorado) unfortunately the singing woodland creatures are missing but I do have the cutest little Yorkie and kitten combo around! My little world isn’t exactly what I pictured growing up… but now that I’m “grown” well it’s just about perfect… etc.
Once I lit upon the idea of Happily Ever After Etc. I started looking around my life and realized that one of my favorite pillows also has “Happily Ever After” scrawled across the front! My Facebook cover photo also proudly declared “I believe in Happily Ever After!” I was convinced… it was the perfect name for my blog!
I think it perfectly describes my life and my home at the moment… my own version of perfect, of happy, of marriage, of home decor… etc.
PS I have had so many compliments/requests for tutorials/questions on where to find a similar one… for my big GIANT blue pallet that I finally wrote a tutorial! Yay! So if you want to make your very own GIANT pallet… here’s the steps!
Aww, loved hearing the story behind your name!
Thanks Ellen!
oh I love this – and great photos.
Thanks Debra! I’m glad you liked the pictures… I’m always working on those!
Awww I love this!!! Every time I see it pop up on my facebook feed, I always think what a cute name! and I love that you believe in happy ever after…. so do I. But I think we are rare these days!! haha
I think you’re right… We’re definitely rare! I am so glad my posts make you smile! That’s so nice to hear!
What a fun read! It’s nice to hear that “happily ever after” does have some dirty laundry involved. 🙂
Dirty dishes too! Haha! I think happily ever after is relative… I know I found mine! Thanks for stopping by Carol!
I love the story behind how your blog (and its name) came to be. I have found that there is never really an ideal time to blog, but if it’s important enough, we will make time. I love that pillow, too! Stopping by from The Blog Love Project. 🙂
That’s so true… Blogging takes up so much time, love and effort that the only truly ideal time would be one where you could lock yourself up and blog for at least a month straight with no interruptions! Haha! That would never happen in my life (I can’t remember the last time I had a week off let alone a month!) and even it was possibly you would have major blogger burnout at the end of isolation! You said it… If it’s important we will make the time!
You have such a cute blog name! And I LOVE your pallet with the saying! I feel like that’s something I may need to eventually make for my own home! Was it difficult? Do you have a post about how to make it? Or maybe know where I can buy one (cause I’m not SUPER great with the whole DIY thing)?
I’m glad you like it Hope! I made it myself several years ago… So far I’ve never seen anything like it to buy although if you really searched you might find something similar on etsy… I wanted the full pallet though not an imitation. I have been meaning to do a tutorial for. While now since it’s SUPER easy! I will publish one tomorrow for you… Then you can see if it’s something you want to try!
What a pretty site (and name)! When I remarried two and a half years ago, I purchased a vintage sign that said exactly what your pallet does: “And they lived happily ever after.” We all know life isn’t going to be exclusively rainbows and puppies, but there will indeed be some of each and a little challenge sprinkled in. To me, it means overall, we’re going to choose happiness.
I love that! A little challenge sprinkled in! Would we really want the fairytale ending? I would be bored after a week! I love my crazy messy life! I would t have it any other way!!! Although if anyone generously wants to donate a million gazillion bucks… Well I wouldn’t say no!
Great post! It’s always fun to hear how bloggers came up with their blog name!
Isn’t it? It’s like learning what makes them tick! Haha!
Thanks for sharing! I love the name and the story behind it makes it special! That DIY pallet is awesome 🙂
Thanks, I absolutely love how it turned out! So glad you stopped by!
I love it! It’s perfect. And that pallet sign is amazing!!
Thanks Crystal! I fell in love with the saying Nd just knew it was perfect!
I enjoy reading this post. I’ve always wondered how certain businesses or blogs got their names. Thanks for sharing.
You’re so sweet! I always wonder too, especially with the really unique ones! Thanks for stopping by!
I’m glad you enjoyed it Cindy! Thanks for coming by!
WOW! I had no idea! What a great name, I love it! It is awesome that you were actually able to discover something new for your blog while participating in Liebster awards! I really love the wood pallet! It not only looks amazing, the quote is awesome and it looks great on the wall! Thanks for sharing your back story…I love reading stories about how people started to blog! Have an outstanding weekend!
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! The wood pallet was a moment of genius… Everyone loves it! Haha! Thanks for stopping by!
Aboslutely beautiful! I love when blog names have true meanings to them and it fits not only their vision for the site but them as a person.
Thanks Tiffany! I wanted something that wasn’t just a cutsey little name… I wanted it to mean something (to me) at the very least! I’m glad you like it!