Welcoming a New Year!

I love the New Year! It always feels like a great fresh start and it is invigorating to think about the changes that I want to make in the new year and the hopes of what it will bring. 

2012 has been a really great year but an interesting one none the less.  In 2011 I started this blog and a new job and we put our first house on the market.  We also built the first house in the neighborhood we are developing. 

Last year for New Year’s in THIS POST I stated that in 2012 I wanted to live more simply and my two big resolutions goals were to become more physically and financially fit.   Well a lot happened this year!!! 

January I started off with a lot of furniture painting and completed many projects.

Side Table

Twin Bed

I took you on a tour of the house we built to sell in the neighborhood.

Home Tour

In February this blog turned 1!

Vintage Sign

Mirror

In March, I turned a year older and we got an offer on our house.

I welcomed Spring.

I posted one of my most popular posts to date.  I made these great bird nest for my apothecary jars and it was a hit.  P.S. they still look exactly the same!

Spring Apothecary Jars

In April the blog started to suffer.  I had a yard sale to get rid of all those things we didn’t want to move and in May we really started to pack. 

In June we went to the Bahamas.

As soon as we got home, we moved, as in the day after we returned!! Crazy!   We moved into the new home we built since it was still on the market.  Just in time for me to decorate a Summer Mantle.

In July we started to settle into the new home and I decided the green front door had to go, so I painted that a calmer blue.

Front Door

I received a free kitchen island and I gave it a face lift.  This post gained a lot of attention, since I was featured over at Southern Hospitality!! 

Kitchen Island Makeover

Then we received an offer to purchase this house!  One month later!!

So on August 10th (exactly 2 months from when we moved in), we moved again…this time we moved in with family and we have been with them since. 

I caught you up on a furniture project I did just before the move.

Dresser

And I showed you a small makeover.

Yellow Table

In September we stayed really busy and went to Atlanta, GA where I finally got to go to a Pottery Barn Outlet and then we went to Charleston, SC where I found some pretty neat stores and dream homes too.

 

In October I shared with you our simple living quarters and we started construction on another house in the neighborhood.

I also painted a little jewelry box.

Jewelry Box

I attended the first annual Southern Bloggers conference and met some really great ladies and found some really cool blogs!

In November I helped my friend paint her dining room hutch and table.

The house building continued.

In December I was super busy with Christmas festivities and I did not get a lot accomplished that was blog worthy except this table décor.

Christmas Table

Whew! That was a busy 2012!

As for my 2012 resolutions goals, we did wake up and start paying attention to our spending habits more.  We were forced to pay more attention with two houses on the market over the 1st half of the year and we realized we needed to cut back.  We still have a long way to go in being billionaires, but we are going to make it :)  Sadly I failed miserably on the physically fit goal.  I pretty much stopped exercising after we went to the Bahamas and through the two moves.  Living with my family has wrecked my eating routine.  Great excuses, I know…I’ve practiced saying those a lot and I put on weight by using them as excuses :(

The blog definitely suffered this year, my post count was chopped in half.  I am really sad about that but there was no way I could continue to rehab a lot of furniture projects during packing and moving and now not having a work space. 

Selling two houses in 2012 was a huge blessing and we are so very grateful for that!

Looking forward to 2013,  we are excited about what the year will bring.  First up will be moving again.  We can’t live with Family forever…even though they are great helpers in our busy life!! We have completed a new home build in the neighborhood and have it on the market to sale as well.  We having a closing date set and will move into the home if it does not sell first, when it sells we will most likely rent for a while.  I do look forward to having my furniture back and a space we can call our own. 

As for those New Year’s Resolutions for 2013…..well, I am very serious about losing the weight I have gained! I am going to join the thousands of others that know they need to be better.  I bought a juicer today and I am very excited about adding in more fruits and vegetables into my busy lifestyle.  Meal planning will become a habit I hope and I am slowly going to add in the excersing again too. 

My other resolutions will be to continue down a good financial path and spend less.  I still follow some of Dave Ramsey's Principles.  Read more of the bible daily and lastly,  stop playing so many games on my phone!!

What are your resolutions for the New Year??

 

April

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hey Ya’ll!  I’ve been so slack lately with the blogging.  I need to catch up with you for a minute.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  I think this has been one of the busiest seasons I can remember but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our wonderful Family was so great!  We are very blessed and enjoyed every second we had to spend with them. 

If you are following on Instagram you saw what generous gifts I received! I got a great new camera, so watch out blogging world…high quality photos coming soon!  Unfortunately the camera we used yesterday deleted all our pictures, so that is why I have none to share today

In other news we have not moved yet, we were supposed to close on the new home December 20th, but that was pushed back because of paperwork and other delays.  We are now hoping to close on January 14th and hopefully we will move soon after.  We are eager to get into a home of our own again.  Remember it’s for sale, so you never know! 

I hope everyone has a great New Year’s.  I go back to work tomorrow but looking forward to another long weekend!  It has been nice to have some down time this past weekend and I am looking forward to more in the coming weekend.  Hoping it will give me a chance to unwind and get in a good mindset to start the new year off right. 

 

April

Christmas Table Decor

I wish I had more Christmas décor to share this year with you guys.  I’ve been so inspired by other bloggers and Pinterest but not a lot of Christmas decorating going on this year since we are not in our on home.  I do miss it, especially all the pretty things I bought last year after Christmas.  Remember these GREAT ORNAMENTS from last year,  I had big plans for those on a wreath, but I am saving all my ideas for next year. 

I did fell the urge to do a little something.  My father in law, Al,  asked me to paint a little box for him in chalk paint.  It was a box that clementine's come in. When I asked him what he was going to do with it he said he wanted to put red Christmas ornaments in it which gave me an idea.  I painted the box and decorated the dining room table while they were away one night.  It turned out great.

I used red ornaments with a mixture of magnolia tree cones, these are pretty for Christmas with the red seeds.  I also had been wanting to use some cotton in décor this year, I have been so inspired by Kristen over Sophia’s Décor, she uses cotton a lot and it look so pretty.  Please stop by her site for major Christmas inspiration!

Here are the box details.  Before with clementine's (does anyone else love these as much as me?)

I just simply painted it with ASCP in French Linen and then went over it with a dry brushing of Old White.  It took about 5 minutes and it dried in about 30. 

That was my little inspiration piece to jump in and decorate a little.  It was also neat to decorate with red for Christmas because I rarely do, I am more of a green, blue, purple, pink girl.

Today I am off to help my Mom paint a table and finish a hutch, can’t wait to show you guys her new Kitchen!! It has been an ongoing process since August and I am hoping it is done today so I can snap some pictures and share!! So stay tuned!

 

April

A Dining Set

Hey there!  I am missing regular projects around the house and especially decorating my house fore Christmas but I have a furniture project to share.  I’ve been helping my friend Misti with her dining room set as well as her kitchen table. 

We finished the dining room painting last weekend and it is a big change.  She has been wanting me to help her with her table ever since I re-did mine seen HERE.  She wanted the same treatment so we stripped the table top and stained with dark walnut stain then we painted the table legs and chairs in ASCP Old White.  The china hutch is painted with ASCP in Graphite.

Here are the before pictures…

 

I think it turned out great!  I just love this look on a table and I think Graphite is my new favorite ASCP color.  It is not quite finished as she has to add her new knobs to the china cabinet and new fabric cushions to the chairs.  She is also thinking of painting the dining room soon and that will make the cabinet really pop! 

Next up is her kitchen table, here is a sneak peek for you.  She has already stripped the top of the benches and the table and plans to re-stain dark walnut for a fresher look and the legs will be painted in ASCP Old Ochre.   This will be a fresh new look to once completed. 

*ASCP=Anne Sloan Chalk Paint

In other news, we will close on our new build home on December 20th.  The house is on the market to sell as another new home in the subdivision we have built but if it does not sell before the closing date we will be moving in over Christmas break and staging another home.  I am really ready to have all my stuff back,  I am truly blessed to have nice things for my home and I’ve missed my pretties!

 

April

Ikea Chair Makeover

I worked on a quick chair makeover for a friend of mine a few weeks back.  She disassembled it for me and I just painted the parts.  She is planning to use the chair in her new nursery for her baby on the way. 

I painted it in Anne Sloan Chalk Paint in color Graphite and used the dark wax. 

I love the color combo, we went dark to match up better with the crib and other furniture and the dark wax added the extra brown touch. 

 

Here is a picture of what the chair looks like straight from Ikea.

The new look is much warmer.  I can’t wait to see finished pictures of the nursery! 

 

April

Thrifty Finds

I have been on the hunt lately for a small side table.  I haven’t found it yet, but along the way I have found some other great finds.

 

Just a simple cookie jar but I am drawn to ceramics lately, just plain Jane ceramics.  I want a collection of things to add to shelves and rotate some of my accessories more…you know when I have a house! The color on this one really caught my eye.  I may spray it white eventually so it will go with everything but for now it is fun and funky.  This piece was $2.99.

This is a set of ironstone I picked up.  I really just wanted the sugar bowl, again solely for décor.  The whole set was $4.54, can’t beat that!  I love that ironstone is a creamy white and will go with my vintage décor finds.

Still on the hunt for the small table…what else will I find along the way??

What things have you found lately?

 

April

New Construction is Coming Along….Quick!

Hey! Sorry it’s been a while, life continues to be as busy as ever.  I wanted to give you a quick update on the new house.  They are moving right along with construction, almost at a scary fast pace.  I stopped by today to get some pictures but it was almost dark before I got there  and so I only have an outside shot.

They have drywall up now so you can see the rooms, but no pictures because it was so dark. 

Just wanted to update you all.  Catch up here on the previous news.

 

April

Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice-Hacked!

Think of this post as your Halloween treat!  If you love Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice as much as me you will thank me later!!!

I try every year to fix these myself because Will and I love them and they are the perfect fall treat.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!  I found perfect recipe.

You just need the right ingredients. 

Apple Juice not cider

Whipped Cream

Caramel Sauce

and the one that makes it perfect…

Cinnamon Dolce Syrup from Starbucks

It’s pretty simple to make.

Pour a cup of apple juice, mix in 3 tablespoons of the syrup.  Heat to desired temperature in microwave.  Add whipped cream on top and drizzle on the caramel sauce. 

Big THANK YOU to this PIN

Source A Law Student’s Journey

Thanks to Kitty over at A Law Student's Journey for posting this!  You should check out her blog if you are a Starbucks fan, turns out she is an ex-barista so she knows the deal. 

I was happy to learn you could buy the syrup in store, for a little over $8.  Not bad consider one small cup is about $4.

I hope you all enjoy as much as I did, I see many more in my future, that syrup should last a while. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

to you all

Wishing you lots of Tricks and Treats

April