A Year in Review | 2019

Hello friends!! What an amazing year it has been!! Honestly as much as I wish these last days of the year would stand still, I love to pause and reflect on what an amazing year it has been, which always winds up giving me just the right amount of motivation to dive into the new year with hope and anticipation for what it might bring! So today, I’m sharing my 2019 year in review, with some of my favorite highlights!

Come and take a look ~

Last year, I started things off by revamping the entry space in our kitchen.

Making it a more practical, functional area for our family. We went from our first need, of having a bench with shoe storage in the crates underneath for our young children, to swapping it out for a dresser that kept gloves and hats in reach for our kids, who can now tie their own shoes 🙂 It also provided a drop zone area, and space to add a lamp for some much needed additional light for those long dark winter days. It was an easy switch-a-roo, but reminded me that we can re-invent areas in our homes to serve us better – because that’s what our homes are supposed to do.

Our Home was featured in a Book!

My sweet friend, Karianne from Thistlewood Farms, published a book, and our home was chose to represent the Farmhouse Style in the book. It was so neat to see photos of our home in print, in a book nonetheless, and I was so honored to be apart of that special project with her!

We tackled some Outdoor projects ~

I’ve painted our porch before, but it was time for a fresh coat. Using THIS paint, I not only gave our farmers porch a fresh coat of paint, but also painted our foundation with it as well!

You can see the process HERE – and stay tuned for some progress photos this spring as I share the landscaping I added last summer to this side of our house as well.

We got NEW chairs ~

We partnered with SIXPENNY and got new chairs in the living room, that FINALLY feel like home! I’m a big advocator for staying true to you when it comes to decorating, and that means choosing pieces that fit your style the best. While I loved the chairs we had before, they were just too big for our living room, cutting off more than half the windows in here, and were just a bit too formal for my taste.

You can read more about our new chairs HERE, and find the direct link for them as well. I’m happy to report – I am still just as much in love with them, as the day we unboxed them!

New Kitchen Floor ~

This year, we finally tackled a project I have wanted to do since we moved in almost 9 years ago. We replaced our tile floor in our kitchen! One of the main reasons we did is because when you enter our house you enter right into the kitchen, and white tile is not the most practical choice when it comes to the main entry in a home. I felt like I could never keep clean looking, and this new wood-look tile gives this mama some much needed grace when it comes to how often I get around to mopping our kitchen floors ;/

You can see the entire Reveal HERE, and I can honestly say I’m still pinching myself that we have new tile in the kitchen.

LimeLight Hydrangeas ~

I shared all about our limelight hydrangea bushes we have growing in the back! It’s so hard to believe that we planted these baby bushes nearly 6 years ago, and they are now almost 8 ft. tall!!

I shared more of the gardening and landscaping we’ve done around our yard this year, than any other year in the past. It has definitely been a learning process for me, but I’m really excited to add more plants to our yard this year, and have some gardening posts already planned for later on this spring to share with all of you!

I wrote a Book!

Last, but certainly not least this year my first book was published, and I can honestly say it was a dream come true! It was such a long time dream of mine to write and photograph my own book, and I still can’t believe that it is finally out in the world. I shared all about it HERE, and of course you can find more details HERE, but honestly, I’m just so thankful to have such amazing friends like you to share it with!

My heart for this book was not about setting the perfect table, but encouraging others to gather together. To experience the joy when we come together, and fine tune our skills and to be inspired to give the gift of hospitality.

Friends, I am SO THANKFUL to have you with me this past year, and the years before that. For those that join me everyday, and leave comments along the way, they encourage me to keep going, and to keep chasing my dreams, and I hope – just maybe – you find encouragement to chase your dreams as well! Cheers to 2020 friends, I pray that whatever is in store that you choose to look ahead with great hope and anticipation!

Be sure to check out my friends 2019 Year in Review below too ~

Designthusiasm | On Sutton Place | Maison de Cinq

French Country Cottage | Thistlewood Farms | Town & Country Living

Cherished Bliss | My 100 Year Old Home | Rooms for Rent