A winner, and a new name (sort of…)

Ahhh, ladies, I have a serious confession to make. Are you ready for this? (Please, take a seat and a deep breath)…

I am not going to change my blog name after all. (please, hold the rotten eggs and tomatoes until I can duck and run for cover)

After all that, no name change? After a heartfelt request, more than 200 amazing suggestions, an incredible response from my dear readers and a gorgeous giveaway offer- that’s it?

First of all, don’t worry. The giveaway is most definitely still happening, and I will announce the winner is just a few short moments!

Second of all, may I just say for the record how blessed I was by the overwhelming response and all of the thought and creativity that went into those contest entries? Wow. You absolutely blew me away. Thank you!

And third, the giveaway is still possible because I am still changing part of my name, inspired by one of the lovely contest entries (hang on, it’s coming…)

So why the change of plans? I’ll try to give you a very quick rundown of the major reasons.

1) I still like my name. I’ve liked it from the start. It was the name I originally wanted. But I was disappointed that the .com wasn’t available and that there are numerous other blogs out there with the same name.

2) It is a name that is general enough to grow and flow with me through the different seasons of life as a mother and homemaker, even though it is not specifically about being "natural". A wise fellow mom blogger (thanks Jeana) encouraged me to consider that I may change my focus as time goes on, and that I should take into consideration that if that happened, I might want to change my name again. Made me think that my current title might be a better choice than I had previously thought.

3) I’ve put a lot of hard work into this blog these past months, and truth be told, I’m not sure that I’m willing to take the backwards step that changing my name (really, my online identity, because I’ve become known as Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home) and domain would bring about.

4) Many people, especially some real life friends and family, as well as several readers, commented that they actually really liked my name and thought it was appropriate and even well-suited to my blog.

All that said, I have decided instead to change only my subtitle, which I never really liked anyways.

And (at last), without further adieu, the new subtitle is…

"Naturally inspired living for the Christian homemaker"

And thus, the winner of the giveaway is Rachel of Pursuits of Heart and Home, who suggested the name "Naturally Inspired"

Congratulations, Rachel, and thank you for the wonderful suggestion! (I happen to know that it was my Mom’s favorite, too)

Courtesy of Soapalaya Soaps, Rachel will be receiving a sweet gift basket including all-natural, handmade, body-nourishing soaps, as well as lip balm, natural laundry soap, after bath powder, cuticle balm, facial cleanser/scrub, and a detox bath soak.

Just to let you all know, Alex has now added a scrumptious looking variety of new soaps, including Lavender and Lilac (pictured above), Rosemary Mint Spa Bar (to the right), Man Soap, Rose Clay Complexion Bar, and Green Tea, Tea Tree and Lavender Olive Oil soap. All of her soaps and other beauty products are completely preservative free and made using the cold process method using her own tried
and true recipes featuring only quality oils, essential oils and
fragrances. Visit her lovely Etsy shop here.

I’ll leave you with a few honorary mentions from the naming contest:

How could I not love the light-hearted, yet perfectly girly name "Green Frilly Apron", submitted by Jeana.

Or the beautiful "Considering Lilies" from Mrs. Taft, a reminder that our Creator will provide abundantly for all of our needs.

"Gracious Natural Living" also struck a chord with me (Mrs. Taft again), as did "Purely a Homemaker" (thanks Farrah).

If I had been willing to go ahead with the full name change, I was very seriously considering "Earthen Vessels", suggested by Karla.

And of course, my husband’s oh-so-serious suggestion of "Rocks in my Fryer" (because, you know, rocks are, umm, natural, and you do cooking in a frying pan- if you don’t quite get why he might think this is funny, go and visit this extremely popular blog and I think you’ll get the joke).

Thanks for playing, everyone! As many of you know, my new blog design is in process and I hope to be
making the switch in the beginning of April. Just a heads up for those who like giveaways (and I know you all do!), when my blog is officially switched over and the new design is up, I will be hosting several giveaways in the first few weeks to celebrate, so make sure that you stay tuned and come and join the fun!