The Best of 2013

Another year has flown by, & it’s time to wrap up 2013 on the ol’ blog!  At first thought, it didn't seem that I had done many projects or much blogging for the year,  (It’s hard to get things done with a curious toddler roaming the house!) but after a closer look, I realized I had accomplished a few things!  I believe the best part of my blogging about home decor journey is that I think I finally figured out my style & how to achieve it in my home!  (I’ll discuss that in a future post…)

Anyway, here are the top ten posts from 2013, in order of most popular:



The most popular post of the year was, the study makeover I did in the summer.  After getting our style all wrong on the first go round, I decided to try again & am still loving the results!



In May, I showed you some teacher gifts we created for Teacher Appreciation Week.  Apparently, a lot of readers appreciate teachers too, since these were such a hit!  (In case you were wondering, it’s May 5-9th this year!)



This past spring, I decided to finally make the kitchen more functional.  The DIY pull-out trash bin we created was the most popular post from that series.



The kitchen series ended with a complete picture of our kitchen organization.  It included links to all of the projects, which is probably why it was so popular!



When I first began making over our study, I had my husband dismantle our old “L” shape desk & create a free standing desk with the spare parts.  The X base desk he created gained a lot of attention.  I still love that we were able to give it a new life that better fit our design style.



I really wish I could get a better picture of the bathroom I made over for the One Room Challenge.  The neutral gray combined with the pops of color from the art & accessories make this space such a happy place for the kiddos to bathe.  If you’ll remember, it was inspired by the book Harry the Dirty Dog.  I was really hoping they would remember the lesson Harry learned in the book & actually want to shower.  So far, it hasn't worked!



At the beginning of the year, I decided to re-style our mantel.  The bright colors give it a much more cheerful look than before.



As part of our never-ending living room project, I re-upholstered a set of chairs I had.  After making several mistakes, I shared some tips on chair re-upholstery.



The cheap botanical art I created for the living room was also a hit on the web.  If these botanical prints aren't your thing, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to free or cheap art.



Finally, coming in at number ten, was this baking birthday gift I created for one of my daughter’s friends.  It included a few girly kitchen gadgets, as well as a sugar cookie mix & gel icing.

Well, there you have it… The best of 2013.  I look forward to many more projects in 2014!  I’ll be sharing my project goals for the year on Friday. 

Have a great one!

I'll be sharing here:

SAS Interiors

Southern Hospitality

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas day!  I have been obsessing over this song the past two days, so I thought I should share it!  It is a beautiful Christmas version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, performed by Cloverton.

I want to thank each of you for reading my blog & being an encouragement & motivation for me!  I hope you are all in the midst of a wonderful Christmas day & wish you many blessings in the coming year!

See you in 2014!

My Parents' House at Christmas

There is no doubt that Christmas is my parents favorite holiday.  As a child, every room in our home was decked out for the season.  Visitors constantly trickled in & out of our home & I have fond memories of decorating the tree & many fun Christmas traditions.  One of my all-time favorite decorations were the large sparkly snowflakes my dad hung from the kitchen ceiling!  My parents did an awesome job of making Christmas a magical time of year, & it's a big part of why my own family has so many Christmas traditions.

Last year, one of my mom's friends wrote to Kentucky Living Magazine suggesting they feature my mom's home.  The magazine sent a photographer to my parents' home & they had a small feature in the December edition!

The pictures that were taken & chosen for the article have kind of baffled me, since there are no pictures of the beautiful trees on the main floor, & the pictures they featured are of less-decorated areas.  Oh well!  You can see some more pictures from the website here.

Maybe next year I will get her to send me some pictures so I can feature their holiday home on my blog.  Although my mom's decorating style is different from my own, she can make even the saddest tree beautiful & can set a mean tablescape!

I hope you are all enjoying this special time of year!

Holiday Decor

Here’s a look at our 2013 Christmas décor…

Entry…

 





Living & Dining Room…







Morning Room…







Family Room…





Nook…





That’s all for now!  I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of our home at Christmas!  You can see how we decked out the kids' rooms here & here.

I'll be sharing here:

Remodelaholic

Evolution of Style

Our Merry Mantel!

I hope you are all staying warm this week!  We have been blasted with several inches of snow & ice & I have been freezing my little toes off!  When the weather gets frigid, I enjoy sipping hot tea to the warmth of a fire & the glow from the Christmas lights adorning the mantel. 

I decided to change up the mantel quite a bit from the last several years.  After growing tired of my very fake greenery & being too scared I would catch the house on fire with the real stuff, I decided to forego greenery all together. 



Two real pink poinsettias flank the mantel.



The space between them is filled with blue, gold, & silver ornaments & a string of clear Christmas lights with a white cord.



I also hung ornaments on ribbon at various heights along the front of the mantel.





A cluster of blue, gold, & silver ball ornaments hangs from the mirror.



Here’s how that section of the family room is looking this year.



Since the fire is nice & warm now, I think I’ll go grab a glass of tea & enjoy myself before the kids get home!

Outdoor Christmas Decor

A while ago, I pinned this wreath to my Christmas Pinterest Board, & knew I had to make my own copycat version of it for the front door!  I must say, I really like the way my wreath looks, but the original is so much better!





The mailbox is kind of a mess right now, since several inches of snow & ice have been covering it for a few days now.  Here’s what it looks like after I brushed some of the snow off! 



I wired some fresh greenery & silver ball ornaments to the top & then tied a bow around the post (made from leftover mint colored ribbon from my wreath). 



I think it’s very simple & cute.  Other than that, we strung some lights in the bushes & were done with the outdoors.