Today we’d like to introduce you to Lilly Neubauer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lilly. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
In 2009, at age 24 and three months after getting married, my husband, Markus, and I purchased our first home thanks to a program at the time that offered a government tax credit to first time home buyers. At the time, I worked for a marketing agency and was struggling to use my creativity at my entry-level job. I started a blog that covered everything I was loving and inspired by while beginning my family and domestic life.
We spent most weekends DIYing projects in our home, from gutting bathrooms and our kitchen to over-considering all of our options when deciding on a new patio light. Five years later, we grew our family through domestic infant adoption and welcomed our daughter. My career finally was able to become more creative after putting in many years of work, and I eventually felt I needed to abandon writing to be able to better prioritize work and my family.
Cutting to today, my husband and I have been fortunate to realize that it was our seemingly worthless creative projects in the beginning of our family life, like my blog, that bonded us together and propelled us into our authentic ways of thinking that helped our early careers. We resolved to get back to our roots of being more creative and authentic in everything we do. We also, after nine years in our first home, moved!
It’s a 1959 blank slate that we’re eager to make an oasis and incubator for our family’s authenticity and creativity. One of Markus and I’s shared pleasures is reading and writing. We’re launching OpenHeartedHome.com as a way to collaborate together, stay accountable on our journey and, hopefully, engage with and inspire others.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While we’re just in the fresh and new of launching Open Hearted Home, the journey here feels long and rife with challenges. Growing up together, I think we fell into a common trap of thinking we needed to act like adults to be adults – professional, serious, following a specific track to success – whatever that all means!
In reality, we both believe it’s the child-like wonder and creative spark that gets us to success, which is ultimately for us just a sense of fulfillment, peace, and happiness. I wish this was a thought that came out of thin air, but it was first realized by plenty of hard lessons learned. Open Hearted Home is a space to be open about that and stay inspired and out of the temptation of complacency.
Staying on a unique path when it’s so tempting to be part of the hive can feel lonely! We hope to grow the community with our transparency and discover more ideas, sharing as we go.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Open Hearted Home – what should we know?
OpenHeartedHome.com is a lifestyle site that inspires people to grow and share love. For us, this starts with how we create and style our home. We share life lessons, new creative pursuits, weekly gratitude practices, and home inspiration.
Having a creative life is important to me as I want a strong sense of self and feeling that I’m participating and enjoying life, especially in these years that tend to be the most child-focused logistically. I also want a home where my daughter feels free to be herself and be bold with her ideas. This is a process that looks different for every family depending on personal values and preferences, but I believe it’s a pursuit every family is worthy of and can benefit from.
I’m proud today to be collaborating with my husband on something that pulls so much from both of our skills and journeys. I’m proud of the lessons we’ve been able to learn and our eagerness to share the good and bad without shame. I’m proud that we are creating something with the intention of the highest good, which is encouraging regular families like ours to live more fearlessly in their authentic and creative personalities.
I think most sites of this nature focus on the aspirational or are written by subject matter experts. And I read them all! But a lot of times when I’m looking for information on the Internet I don’t come across people like us – juggling working, personal care, child raising, and real budgets and other limitations. We hope that by being open about our “real” family life that involves mindfulness, personal development, creative activities and a thoughtful approach to our home, others will know it’s accessible to them as well.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My entire life I’ve been an open book – much to my mother’s dismay at times – and I love a good story. We’re not telling anyone what to do or how to live. We just feel immense gratitude for the story of our lives and find little stories in the lessons brought to us. We’re excited to have a space to record them and share them all!
Contact Info:
- Website: openheartedhome.com
- Email: lillycneu@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/lillyneu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PancakesandBeetJuice/
Image Credit:
Nine Photography
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