The Year in Review

This has been such a fun year of blogging, and I'm so thankful for each of the new readers I've gained over the last twelve months.  Since many of you weren't reading this a year ago, I thought it would be fun to highlight my favorite post from each month of 2010.  Enjoy!

January: American Idols and Bookcases

Okay, so I'm choosing this post more because I met Jason Castro and less because of my wonderful spread on bookcases, but it was a fun way to start the year nonetheless.

February:  Beautiful Blogger Bedroom series

image from Carlee's bedroom of Deliciously Organized

I'm actually choosing a series of posts from February 2010.  These were the first guest bloggers I had, and I was more than thrilled that they would take time to share their bedrooms on my newbie blog.  Thanks to Erin, Stefanie, Carlee, Alaina, Marianne and Janell for helping this girl out.  I loved getting an inside look at their spaces.

March:  My First Encounter with Chalkboard Paint

One thing blogging (and reading design blogs) has encouraged me to do is to look for things around my house that I could use in other ways.  That's just what I did with this antique mirror that I converted into a chalkboard for our back entry.

April:  Extreme Makeover: Bookcase Edition

 

I was thrilled to find these bookcases on Craigslist for $20 each and even more excited once they were updated with new paint and accessories.

May:  My Dining Room Project: Chairs Complete

Another post promoting the power of elbow grease. . . .   I gave these chairs a good sanding, a couple of coats of spray paint and new fabric.  I ended up with some pretty, "new" dining chairs for less than $23 a piece.

June:  Caycee's Guest Bedroom Makeover

I always like sharing the result of my decorating projects--especially when they turn out like this one.  Caycee is one of my online clients and did a fantastic job of pulling her guest room together based on ideas from the inspiration board I created for her.

July:  Lessons in Painting Striped Walls

In July, we devoted an entire Saturday learning to paint horizontal stripes in our breakfast area.  I documented all of the drama and my best lessons learned in this post.

August:  My Home Office Makeover

It was a long process, but I was delighted to finally reveal our home office makeover in August. 

September:  Big Fun in the Big Apple

My impromptu trip to a taping of the Nate Berkus Show for his design blogger audience day was definitely a highlight for me.  Even better?  Meeting my fellow bloggers in person!

October:  My Make-Do Fall Mantle

I love making something out of nothing, which is basically what I did when it came to creating a fall look for our mantle this year. 

November:  A Post by My Husband

I suppose I have to give credit where credit is due.  Although I had my doubts when he wanted to blog on our anniversary, my husband turned out to be quite the hit (much to his delight). 

December:  Sneak Peeks of a Client Project

A couple of weeks ago, I shared pictures of a project I have in the works.  This post makes me appreciate how my business and blog have grown in the past year and makes me look forward to what's to come in 2011.

Happy New Year!

Checking In. . . .

After a twelve-hour Christmas day drive that looked like this almost the entire way, we arrived safely to our destination and are enjoying the week watching the snow and playing with the cousin.

 

 

 

 

 my parents' tree

Our Family Christmas Card

As promised, here's how our family Christmas card turned out. . . .

And, for your enjoyment, a more realistic Clark family Christmas photo session:

I'll be signing off for a little while to enjoy "the most wonderful time of the year."  Thanks to each of you for reading my blog :)

Planning our Patio

Although temperatures are in dropping into the twenties and we're only four days away from Christmas, I'm already thinking about warm summer nights and family dinners out on our soon-to-be completed patio.

(Progress as of today. . . )

In fact, I just bought this teak wood table from Craiglist at a great price (time to think about outdoor furniture now for the best deals!):

And, I've got my eye on this bright green market umbrella to go with it:

It's from one of my favorite online sources, CSN Stores (besides market umbrellas, they also sell coffee tables, lamps, rugs, pillows, beds, artwork--you get the picture).

Now, if only Santa would bring some warm weather.

Simple Holiday Table Ideas

I recently wrote about quick and easy holiday tabletop ideas in our local Gaston Alive! Magazine, and thought I would post some of the photos I took for the article.  I shared my best ideas on affordable ways anyone can add festive touches to their Christmas dinner table. Read the full article here.

What's your best idea for an inexpensive, last-minute holiday centerpiece?

Stop By and Say Hi

I'm behind on thanking a few of my fellow bloggers for asking me to take part in their holiday guest series.  So, without further ado. . . .

I shared my favorite posts and how our family kicks off Christmas on Cassie's "Best of the Best" series at Hi! Sugarplum.

Honored to be a guest panelist each week in December on Mr. Goodwill Hunting's "Thirty Days of Thrifting" series.


And, last but not least, thanks to Courtney for including me in her "Holiday Haven" series at A Thoughtful Place.

Hope you'll take a minute to stop by these great blogs!

Erin's Bright, Happy Nursery

I have been following Erin's nursery project for the last several months and knew I had to share the finished result with you now that everything is complete.  I love her choice of bright, happy fabrics and a perfect yellow and gray color scheme for her soon-to-arrive baby boy.

I initially became hooked after spotting her Craigslist dresser makeover: 

How fun are these number pulls?

Using the bright yellow as a jumping off point, she used fun, whimsical fabrics in the same shade for the bedding and cornice boards:

I realized later that this cute yellow and white print on the bumper pad is the same fabric I'm using on my little girl's windows.  I love the way it looks in Erin's room:

I also like that Erin decided to forego the typical (and often less-than-pretty) mobile above the crib for these fun pom-poms.  She also mixed in paper lanterns from her wedding.  Can you imagine how fascinated the baby will be staring at these?

And, two of my favorite ideas from the room are these great DIY book slings and the cute artwork (based on one of my least favorite songs from the 1990's, but it somehow becomes the perfect sentiment for your little one). 

Okay, now for the very best part of this makeover. . .  Erin was able to do the entire room (furniture, paint and accessories) for less than $850!  For a complete breakdown of her budget, read her nursery reveal post here.

Thanks to Erin for letting me to share her nursery, and we'll look forward to seeing the lucky guy who gets to live here in the near future :)

Spotted Online: Color for the Bed

I love the look of all-white bedding, but I also like adding an unexpected color to warm things up--especially during the cold, winter months. 

Jay Jeffers



 images via DecorPad

Elle Decor

I recently found these pretty coverlets from Vera Wang's "Simply Vera" line at Kohls.com for an online client.  They come in three great colors and have a modern quilted circle pattern.  Best of all, they're on sale right now ranging from $72-$89.  Perfect for layering! 

Do you change your bedding with the changing seasons?

.......

Thanks to Abbe at Studio Ten 25 for featuring my home on her Christmas Open House series today.  Check it out here.