A Year in Review {2018}

HAPPY New Year friends!! Honestly, my mind is still just in shock that the holidays have come and gone. I find myself hopeful with what the new year will bring, but also asking myself the question “Where has the year gone?”. I love taking a moment to pause and look back over the past year, as we are about to embark on a new one, because when I find myself asking that question, I’m reminded of just how much was accomplished this past year. I’m ready to jump into the new year after I’ve taken one last look back. 2018 was quite a year, filled with so many wonderful things, so lets take a look at the year in review. 

We started 2018 off with one of our biggest projects yet! Completely gutting our master bathroom! I still can’t fully believe that the beautiful outcome that we now use as our master bathroom is the same space, or why we waited so long to tackle this space, but let me just tell you we are still so thrilled with the outcome!

Before – it was a pretty blah space. A weird bump out to conceal a center chimney took up most of the floor space, and a builder grade vanity and wire shelving for storage just made things constantly look messy – no matter how many baskets I tried to use.

From the tan walls to the beige tile this bathroom was screaming for some character.

For all the details that went into creating this space, you can read this post HERE.

In March, we were featured in the spring edition of Yankee Magazine, which was such a huge honor. Published here in New England, in a magazine that rarely features home decor, or homes for that matter at all, I was thrilled!

Warmer weather hit, and we took our attentions outdoors for another BIG project. Transforming this unused, overgrown area behind our barn into a usable space.

Best investment we ever made was renting that bobcat and expanding our outdoor living space. To say we “lived” out there last summer is an understatement!

In fact, I think we used that area the most we ever have since we’ve lived here, and I honestly can’t wait to get back out there again this year once the weather warms up!

Also in the theme of our outdoor spaces, I shared our chicken coop area. This is just to the left of our outdoor space, and runs parallel on our property line, with the original rock wall you see around so many antique new england homes.

My husband built this for me, after I sketched something out on paper, and we used left over materials from when we redid our barn a few years ago. We currently have 12 hens, but some will be 3 years old this year, so we plan on getting some more baby chicks in the spring, and I can’t wait!

This year also brought some changes about online, and my blog got a bit of a facelift for the first time in almost 4 years.

I still have some tweaking to do, but I am so excited about making this online space more user friendly, and easier for us to stay in touch!

Along with giving my blog an updated look, I got some newer photos of myself taken as well.

I honestly joke all the time, that I never have my hair or makeup done, except for Sundays when we go to church, otherwise you can find me with a bun in my hair or a baseball hat on my head, praying to God I don’t run into anybody I know at Target, lol.

Seasons changed, and fall came, and I found myself doing something I had been wanting to do for over a year. I painted our dining room dark! I will say I love it so much in person, but have yet to find a happy ground when it comes to photographing our new darker color in the dining room.

Another exciting thing that happened this past was fall, was I got to go to Silobration, at Magnolia Market in Waco, TX, with Kilz.

I got to hang out with some amazing bloggers, who over the past few years have become close friends, and it was so inspiring to be there with all of them, and refresh in such an amazing place!

I also started sharing more of my heart this past year on the blog. More of my story, my journey, and what I’m passionate about, which you can find HERE. This year I want to expand more in sharing my heart, and encouraging other women in their creative journey’s, whatever that may be. I don’t have all the answers, or exactly what that will look like, but I do feel lead to inspire others no only with their homes, but in their lives as well!

Sometimes the thought of a new year can feel, well intimidating. Honestly for me, I can be a bit hard on myself thinking I should have done more, accomplished more, been more productive. But when I take a moment to pause and reflect, my anxious thoughts turn to grateful ones, and I’m reminded of all the things I’ve done, not the ones I didn’t do. So if starting off the new year has you feeling a little “less than”, take a moment to pause and reflect on this past year. Write down things that you did, places that you went, people that you made time for. I promise you will be feeling a little more hopeful about the new year than you did before.

Whether you have been following along for awhile, or just began, I’m so glad you are here, and looking forward to another great year together!