Unexpected {but greatly accepted} Change in Plans

This year has been a year that held a very wonderful blessing. We certainly didn’t see it coming and had no idea that we would be buying a house. Of course the thought ran through my head constantly, but after a big fail in the house buying department {which was a blessing in disguise} I really thought we would be living at the 203 for much longer. While I loved our first little house together that we put blood, sweat, and tears into, it just wasn’t home. It didn’t have that feeling of safety that you should always have within the walls of your home. Packing went quick and so did the moving, which left little time to miss it. Truth be told….I haven’t missed it since we’ve moved. It’s been a refreshing change.

With that being said, I didn’t completely finish my twelve goals for the year. I actually was pretty far from completing them, but I’m going to make an exception since our extra money went to our new home. This year though, I am just writing ten goals. I want to at least accomplish one per month. I figured that was reasonable. Plus, if I kept on with the yearly goals {12 in 2012….13 in 2013}, it would become completely ridiculous. That’s why this year I’m sticking with just ten attainable goals….nothing ridiculous…nothing that will happen in my dreams. It’s just ten simple goals.

Want to know what they are? That will have to wait. Right now, I’m challenging you to make your own list. Write it down on a piece of paper. Write a blog post. Post it on my comments. Do all of the above. Whatever suits you. Just make it visible to yourself. Start making a plan for completing those goals and be prepared to mark them off. Seeing them will definitely motivate you, and marking them off will motivate you even more.

I will be back later with my official list!

Mapping Out a Plan

Remember those house goals that I’m wanting to check off of my gigantic list of things to do this year? You’re probably thinking….the list only went to twelve. Let’s not forget that I’m also attempting to complete my Master’s degree, uphold a full time job, and manage my house and this here blog. Geez! One wouldn’t want to overload their plate, would they? What the heck though! These are things that make my life full, complete, and extremely happy. Of course, I could go without having to fill up my spare time with graduate school, but then I wouldn’t get to reap the benefits of a nice pay raise. Laziness doesn’t help you achieve the things in life!

Anyhow…I went out shopping today in hopes for some end tables I could use on both sides of my bed. I saw plenty of beautiful furniture that I would die to have in my home, but none of them were what I was looking for. So, I just returned home and ordered the ones I have had my eye on at Target for quite some time. I must admit that I think I got a really good deal. I’ll be sharing about that later though {when they come in}.

That got me thinking though that I should start thinking about some of the projects that are listed in my goals.

First off, for a project that I can not complete on my own, I would love to have the closet in our bedroom fixed, so that I could actually use it properly instead of {literally} just throwing junk in there while still trying to keep the vacuum, mop, and other household floor cleaners in there. It’s a wreck. The following two pictures are what I would really like to have a combination of in there. I’ve linked them up, so you can go to their original source for more details.

One of the other goals on my list is to hang a mirror or some type of something above our dresser, but I really don’t have a large budget for this project. That’s when I think it’s appropriate to pull in a DIY project. As I was looking back through some of my pins on Pinterest, I found this terrific paint stick sunburst mirror project that I could easily pull of {I think}.

Isn’t it lovely? I think it would be the perfect addition to our bedroom.

That’s all of the inspiration photos that I have found so far, but I assure you that Pinterest will come through and provide me with the rest that I will need.

Want some inspiration for some of your projects? Check out my Pinterest boards!

I hope you’ve found something to accomplish this weekend. If you haven’t though, don’t feel bad. Sometimes a person needs a lazy day to do nothing but sit {lay} around, watch movies, and search the world wide web. I hope you have had a terrific weekend.

P.S. I’m making a new recipe tomorrow. If it turns out ok, I’ll let you know. Can one go wrong with the crock pot?

12 House Goals for 2012

Last year, I made 11 house goals for 2011, and I failed miserably at completing those goals. The hustle and bustle of life and $$$ took the wheel instead, which led to only two things being marked off of the list. This year I am hoping for significantly more progress, so let’s all cross our fingers in hopes for more improvement around the home.
1. Two new bedside tables for the master bedroom
2. Two new lamps for the master bedroom

After I accomplished goals one and two:

3. Patio added to the back of the house
4. Have bedroom closet fixed and shelving added
5. Re-design flowerbeds in front of house
6. Re-paint back door
7. Add closets to the laundry room
8. New rug for the living room
9. New bedside table(s) for the guest bedroom
10. New lamp(s) for the guest bedroom
11. Add mirror/art over buffet
12. Hang art over dresser in bedroom
I’m setting the bar really high, but I figure if I can actually mark off half of the list then I have made huge progress. These projects aren’t exactly on the cheap side! What I’d really love to do is put new hardwood floors down in the living room and dining room, but I’m not sure if that’s even in the realm of possibilities. We actually have the original hardwoods right now, but it lets in SO MUCH cold air during the winter that one will nearly freeze to death, which in turn makes the electric bill reflect that.
So, do you have any house goals this year? I’d love to see your list!

It’s a new year!

Happy new year to you and yours! How did you guys ring in the new year? Did you settle for a night in to watch movies and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve? Or, are you a bit more social and ring in the new year with friends, family, and strangers by partying and shooting fireworks? No matter how you celebrated, I hope you rang in the new year in a way that suited you! We celebrated most of the night with friends, but then came home early because my husband’s wife isn’t much a of a night owl and likes the comfort of her own home, so I guess we had the best of both worlds! Even after a late night out though, I still forced by tired body out of the bed to go and worship the Lord. What better way to start off the new year than going to the Lord’s house to worship and give him praise for letting us see another year!

Like our church sign will be saying in the coming days {since I’m responsible for it}…

Jesus adds life to your years and years to your life!

To start the year off right and reflect on all that 2011 brought, I thought I might highlight some of the happenings that were documented right here on the blog and shared with each and every one of you. All of the original posts can be found by clicking on the pictures!

January {Raggedy Chair Makeover}

I took a dusty, nasty antique chair that my grandmother gave me and gave it a good coat of spray paint and reupholstered the seat. It now has a home beside the guest bed {until nightstands are placed there} to hold a basket of towels for guests.

February {Strawberry Trifle Recipe}

I shared this recipe that came from my great aunt, and it makes for an excellent choice of dessert for the one you love on Valentine’s Day!

March {Wedding Planning and Anniversaries}

This was the kick-off month of all wedding festivities that would be the focus of 2011. My sister began planning for her wedding AND my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

April {A Vacation}

To celebrate our anniversary a month in advance, Colby and I took a trip to Tennessee for some rest and relaxation. How many of you remember our near death experience with kicking horses on the downside of a steep mountain? I vote that the scariest moment of 2011.

May {Candy Land Birthday Party & Exterior Home Makeover Reveal}

My sister and I planned a candy land themed birthday party for my niece’s 3rd birthday party! It turned out to be a hit, and I can’t wait for this year’s extravaganza. All the details can be found from the linked picture below.

Then, I shared with you how much the exterior of our home has changed from before we moved in and renovated to the present. Big difference!

June {Two Makeovers and a Grade Change}

June was a busy month for me. I was attempting my first semester of graduate school {4.0 GPA}. I was changed from Kindergarten to 2nd grade at work, too. In the midst of it all, I still found time to share with you two room makeovers that had found near completion.

First, was the bathroom…

And then there was the kitchen….

July {The Month of Crafts}

Patriotic Wreath

Hospital Survival Kit

A Diaper Cake

August {Two New Recipes}

September {A Wedding and A Shower}

During this month, I tried my hand at throwing a Monograms and Mimosas shower for my very good friend, Andrea. For my first shower, I was pretty pleased.

Later in the month, we celebrated the first of four weddings for the rest of the year. We were all very proud of Kevin on that day!

October {The Month of Weddings and New Curtains}

While there were three weddings during this month, I only had the time and energy to blog about one. Andrea and Whitney tied the knot first in October, and this was the first of three weddings that I was actually in this month. Crazy month with lots of memories!

In house news in this particular month, I finally got curtains up in my kitchen.

November {Weddings Recapped & The Cough and Carry}

Coming down with a cold? Make yourself a cough and carry to reduce the getting up and down, so you can rest a little more.

But let’s not forget those weddings that I was a part of during the month of October…

Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Sheffield

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter Hobbs

December {Christmas Extravaganza}

So…I clearly didn’t finish the 12 days of Christmas that I had intended to pursue. Between Christmas festivities and other happenings that I’m not going to talk about just yet, it simply didn’t happen. By the time I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was look at a computer and blog. Rest is all I wanted. So, let’s just focus on what I did  get to post all the way to day seven. These are my favorites….

The Christmas Card Display

Burlap Garland

Burlap Wreath

Overall, I think 2011 was a pretty good year. I am excited about 2012, and I can’t wait to see what is ahead for Colby and myself this year. God has been good to us. He has blessed us in all that we do, and I give him all the glory for the wonderful life that we are able to lead. I’m not one for making new year’s resolutions. However, I do believe in thinking about ways I can improve as a person in all aspects of my life. Like the Junior Miss motto, we all just need to “be your best self”.

I’m hoping for a bigger and better year for the blog, too. Thanks for all of your support! I hope you all continue to read and gain something from this that I just consider to be a creative outlet.

P.S. I always put these cute fonts as headers, but I don’t think you guys are able to see them, which turns out making the blog look stupid. Let me know if you can see them!

11 House Goals of 2011

The Nester has challenged bloggers out there to join her in making goals for our home, which is something I think I can actually do AND be able to check off a few things.

I’m not one for making New Year’s Resolutions. Sure, I wish I were a bit more motivated, but I guess we all do. I’d love to exercise more and be totally fit, BUT I can tell you right now that a regular fitness routine is probably not in my future as much as it needs to be.

I love my home. I really do. There are some things though that I want to change to make my house feel even more like a home.

For all of you that don’t know the story about our house, I’ll give you the short story. Colby’s parents offered us this home to renovate to our liking. In return, we can live here without having to pay rent. The perk is that later we’ll be able to rent the house.

That’s a lot of information to be sharing that I normally wouldn’t share. However, I feel I need to share that so that everyone reading this knows that I would like to put even nicer things in my house, but I have to stop myself sometimes to remember that one day we won’t be living here, and we will be renting it.

Want to see our house before?

This is our house now.

Big change, huh?

EVEN MORE CHANGES TO COME, PEOPLE!!!

So, here it is. My goals for this year. There are a few I’m putting on here that are major things, but maybe {just maybe} it will happen:

11 HOUSE GOALS OF 2011:

1. Re-design flower beds in front of house
2. Add a deck to the back of the house
3. Add a fence around yard {for privacy and a dog}
4. Accessorize house
5. New bedside tables in both bedrooms
6. New lamps for bedside tables
7. Add bookshelves for middle room {office}
8. Completely set up my work area
9. Add a rug to the living room
10. Add closets to the laundry room
11. Re-paint front and back door

Like I said, I know some of these are rather big things to do, but I think I can handle a good bit of them. We’ll see at the end of the year just how I did.

If you have those few things you’ve been wanting to do around the house, make you a list. Post it somewhere YOU WILL SEE REGULARLY. Give it a go. It really makes you feel great when you see yourself marking things off that list.

That’s how I feel about my 101 List. Let me know if you make a list!!!

Top 10 Moments of 2010

10. Experiencing the perks of being a teacher

{rest and relaxation during the Christmas holidays}

9. Got a DSLR camera and bag!!!

8. The cabin got a makeover.

Before:

After:

7. Lots of parties and showers celebrating our marriage

6. Three wonderful photo sessions with the most amazing photographer,

Julie Cottrell.

5. First Christmas celebration as husband and wife

4. Visited Charleston for our honeymoon

3. Graduated from college

{Sorry for the blurriness of the photo.}

2. Got a job teaching Kindergarten

1. Married the most wonderful husband on May 22nd

What is your top 10 of 2010? I hope some of you share yours!

Please pray for Edie at Life in Grace. She lost her house the week of Christmas due to a fire. I encourage you to read the last three posts of hers. She is an extremely strong and courageous woman. You will read in her recollection of the past week or so of how God worked in her life and how he continues to do so.

See you in the new year!

{A big thanks to Julie Cottrell for all of the amazing photos that captured all of the moments leading up to the wedding and during the wedding celebration!!!}

{Another note: If you have wanted to comment on the blog, but haven’t been able to due to not wanting to create an account, you can now do so. Make sure when the option comes up to log in, you look a little further down. You can then choose name/url. You can then enter your name and enter your comment.}