2015 New Year's Resolutions: Getting Personal

Happy New Year!  Well, I guess I'm a few hours ahead of myself.  

I always get so nostalgic this time of year.  I want to hold on to every sweet moment.  Our little family has gone through so much this year, in the best way.  And I have grown immensely in my faith, in my confidence, in my abilities with my long list of interests, and maybe even my waistline a tad.  (Although, I'd prefer not to keep that last one.)

2014 was a year full of changes.  At the beginning of the year, we were adjusting to our new (and first) house.  I was juggling being a mom, being a wife, being a full-time high school English teacher in our new town, and somehow squeezing the projects, writing, and posting in the middle of it all.  

In June, my husband and I made the decision for me to leave teaching to become a stay-at-home mom.  It was incredibly scary making the switch to being a single-salary family, but my heart told me it was right.  But the smaller income made me that much more determined to DIY on a major budget.

2014 has been proof to me that God always has a plan.  I always wandered with my hobbies.  I got a degree in English, but never really had the desire to write literature.  I'd wanted to go into journalism but didn't know if I could handle the competition.  I'd been a portrait studio photographer for several years before deciding it wasn't the path for me.  I was passionate about interior design but never thought about it being my profession.

Blogging was a total out-of-the-blue realization, but I'm so glad to have found something that has everything I love all rolled up into one.  When I seemed to be wandering aimlessly without any certainty of a direction, God made it all come together.

And along the way, He blessed me with a supportive husband and our sweet little girl to make it all possible.  I can't even fathom it, but all I know is I couldn't have planned it better myself.

2015 has big shoes to fill.  Even though my heart overflows with happiness, there are still so many goals I want to conquer.

Goals for 2015:

1.  Get organized.  The cluttered pantry, my jam-packed craft closet, my embarassing number of junk drawers, the randomly placed files on my computer- It HAS to stop!

2.  Get back to eating Paleo.  Don't focus on a weight loss number; just get healthy.

3.  Work on more Twitter interaction.  And actually figure out how it works...is that sad? 

4.  Drink more water.  Seriously, how hard is that?

5.  Spend more time outside in the fresh air.

6.  Try to make time for a daily devotion- even if it's only for 10 minutes.

7.  Get our little one out of the crib and into her big girl bed.  And hopefully keep my sanity intact.

8.  Stop wasting time on the little things.  I mean it.  Step away from the Facebook newsfeed, Lauren!

9.  Worry less.  

10. Have faith more.

11.  Round up all of our digital photos to put into family year book albums.  

12.  Practice more with photography.  

13.  Plan some exciting mommy/toddler activities and watch less TV.

14.  Enjoy this toddlerhood stage no matter what the struggle.  One day, I'm going to miss it.

15.  Take more pictures of myself with loved ones and stop being concerned about how my makeup, hair, weight, etc. looks.  In 20 years, it won't even matter.

16.  Revamp the blog design.  It's way past time.

17.  Be a better listener for my husband.  

18.  Do little things to still "date" my husband- leave love notes around the house, surprise him with a night out with the guys, simply tell him how much I appreciate him every day.

19.  Stay true to my own identity.  And embrace it.

20.  Stop trying to strive for perfection.  Imperfections and differences should always be celebrated.

I really can't say enough how very thankful I am for all of you who have followed this blog this year.  You keep me going and hold me accountable.  No matter what 2015 has in store for you, I hope you take the time to be thankful for what you have, not for what you wish to have.  If you have shoes on your feet and breath in your lungs, you are already starting off the year so much better than so many others.  Hold onto the good memories, let go of the bad, and strive for a better you each and every day.

Blessings,

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Making Resolutions: 2015 House Goals

So ya know that fancy schmancy 1 year progress house tour I showed you guys about a month ago?  The one with all of the pictures of the rooms in our home that Robert and I really focused all of our efforts and little bitty budget into?  

Well, y'all, I have a confession to make.  You haven't even seen the half of it.  Because we have a loooooong way to go.  But, hey, I'm totally up for a good challenge.  And I lurve me some resolutions, so now's as good a time as any to really put our to-do list into perspective.

This blog is a documentary about our journey after all, so what's a journey without the realistic scenery along the way? No matter how builder grade blank it might be.

Speaking of confessions, today, it is rainy and gray outside, so I'm substituting our "big snow day" shot from February 2014 because guess what!  Not much has changed outside, except for our porch furniture that we found at Goodwill last spring. (Can we please please have a snow day already though?!)

So prepare yourselves y'all.  What you're about to witness is my all-over-the-place brain on a usual basis.

I thought it would be fun to at least cross some items off the to-do list as we go along.  That's part of the fun of a to-do list anyway, right?  Crossing out those little tasks is so fulfilling.  I'm sure not all of my wish list will be accomplished in 2015, but a girl can dream.

Exterior (45% complete)

• Buy porch furniture
• Plant flowering plants like hydrangeas or gardenias
• Add a carriage garage door kit
• Replace pine needles with mulch in flower beds
• Plant more greenery
• Dig up our sad dead tree in front yard and replace- maybe a maple?
• Put topiaries on either side of door
• Add pavers to sides of driveway/walkway
• Build a backyard pergola
• Build a playground for the kiddo
• Remove backyard shrubbery, grade, and seed

Entry and Downstairs Hallway (50% complete)

• Paint
• Makeover lighting
• Purchase a foyer table
• Install wall hooks
• Find a super awesome entry bench
• Put in board and batten
• Find a runner rug for foyer- something with a little pattern for interest
• Paint interior of front door (or replace with a craftsman style one if we ever get lucky)
• Paint foyer table
• Get crates for shoe storage under bench

Dining Room (33% complete)

• Paint
• Buy table and chairs
• Replace builder grade chandelier
• Find a fabulous buffet table
• Replace wall art with wood beam shelving
• Change out curtains
• Find the perfect area rug
• Add molding
• Install wood floors (okay, okay that's pushing it. I know.)

Kitchen (30% complete)

• Paint
• Add a chalkboard menu
• Replace/makeover builder grade lights
• Paint cabinets white
• DIY concrete countertops
• Put in a farmhouse sink
• Upgrade faucet
• Change hardware
• Install beadboard or subway tile backsplash (depending on budget)
• Sell black range and replace with stainless steel

Living Room (75% complete)

• Paint
• Build a faux fireplace
• Find a coffee table
• Buy a new sofa and loveseat
• Put in shelving
• Figure out a media storage solution
• Hang artwork
• Hang curtains
• Install a decor-friendly ceiling fan
• Wood floors?  Maybe?  That might be a 2016 goal.
• Put in an area rug
• Install doorway wood encasement and corbels
• Add some architectural interest?

Powder Room (62% complete)

• Paint
• Change out builder grade mirror
• Makeover vanity light
• Paint hardware
• Hang artwork
• Find an accent rug
• Install board and batten or wall planking
• Makeover faucet or replace

Stairway (20% complete)

• Add a gallery wall
• Replace builder grade light with something more our style
• Paint the upstairs portion
• Add a plank wall?
• Add some artwork on upper portion

Upstairs Hallway / Playroom (0% complete)

• Paint stripes in hallway with light gray continuing into playroom
• Make curtains for windows
• Replace lighting- seriously, what is that little nubbin doing there? It's teeny.
• Create more storage- possibly built-ins
• Find a craft table
• Add artwork

Master Bathroom (33% complete)

• Paint walls
• Replace towel rack
• Change out builder grade mirror 
• Add a runner rug
• Install a plank wall behind the garden tub
• Paint cabinets
• Change hardware
• Create some shelving
• Dress up the window

Master Bedroom (25% complete)

• Buy a bed
• Buy a dresser
• Buy more bedding
• Paint
• Add a plank wall behind bed
• Hang curtains
• Hang some art / wall decor
• Find the perfect nightstands...they're out there somewhere

Olivia's Room (50% complete)

• Makeover bed
• Makeover dresser
• Hang mirror
• Get bedding
• Install lighting
• Paint entire room gray (figure out the perfect shade)
• Hang some art and printables
• Install a ballet mirror and barre
• Make a dress up costume rack
• Hang curtains

Guest/Olivia's Bathroom (50% complete)

• Paint
• Install shelves
• Hang artwork
• Replace towel rack with hooks
• Change out builder grade mirror for a framed one
• Paint cabinets

Laundry Room (0% complete)

• Paint with leftover Sea Salt shade
• Create some organization and storage solutions
• Hang some wall decor
• Add a more interesting light
• Find a great accent rug

Office (50% complete)

• Paint
• Buy a desk
• Makeover desk chair
• Hang wall decor
• Organize craft closet
• Make window treatments

It's a bit overwhelming to tally up how much we still have left to do, but I'm so excited at the same time.  I am all giddy just thinking about where our journey will have taken us by December 2015.

Are any of you planning some house goals after the New Year?  Do you anticipate having a paint brush and nail gun permanently attached to your hand too?  Are we totally crazy to attempt this list with a toddler under foot?  I think I already know the answer to that last one.

Blessings,

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Best of Bless'er House: Top 10 Projects of 2014

Are you completely recapped out yet?  Has it been painfully obvious that I've been trying to entertain you for the past two weeks as I've been juggling the holidays with the blog?  It is?  Okay, well at least we're on the same page.  'Cuz y'all, change is a-comin'!  (More on that tomorrow, so hang in there.)  But today, I had to get all sentimental with a look back at this blink-of-an-eye year it's been.

This past week, I've been trying to sum up the words to express to you guys how truly thankful I am for each and every one of you.  

The truth is whatever I say in this post won't even be enough to account for how much my heart overflows with gratitude for you.  Every comment, message, e-mail, repin, like, tweet makes me realize daily that I am so incredibly blessed to have all of you as my loving support.

A year ago, I was searching for something to fulfill my passion for my long list of interests, and one morning I literally jumped out of bed with this crazy idea to document our new journey in our first house by starting a blog.  

It's even crazier to me that people besides my own mom actually read my madness and cheer me on to continue.  So please keep cheering because I'm absolutely positive my projects in this house would come to a screeching halt if it weren't for you.  

I pinky swear this will be the last Bless'er House recap for a while.  I've included the top 10 best (most viewed) posts from this year.  You can click on the link above each photo to take you to the individual posts.  

1.  $6 Mason Jar Vanity Light

This post went viral this year on Pinterest, and I have to admit I'm still a big fan of it too.  Our teeny tiny powder room has just a pinch of character thanks to this little guy.

2.  The Most Efficient Way to Create a Gallery Wall

I didn't really wrap my head around what my style was until the hubby and I tackled our stairway wall.  From that point, it was like something clicked, and I had a clear vision of what I really wanted in our home.  I still find myself admiring this wall in our living room every day and am reminded how truly blessed our little family of three is.

3.  DIY Faux Fireplace for Under $600

In a million years, I never would have guessed that we would be capable of building this gigantic faux fireplace, but it is incredible how much a couple weekends of work can do for your pride and confidence in DIY.  I think I still owe my father-in-law a giant lollipop for all of his help with this one.  In case you missed it, this huge project was just featured over at Remodelaholic.

4.  Restoration Hardware Rope Chandelier Knock-Off

This was one of those projects that was made possible by my trusty glue gun.  It's almost embarrassing how often I use that thing around here...almost.  The incredible Centsational Girl featured it several months ago, and I was completely star-struck!

5.  DIY Industrial Pendant Lights

Wrapping rope around our chandelier sort of started a chain reaction in our kitchen, so our builder grade bar lights were my next victim.  They were no match for...you guessed it...my pink and very worn out glue gun.

6.  Organizing the Most Thorough Home Office Filing System

Our office was an absolute train wreck before I tackled the piles of messy papers we had lying around in there.  I love being able to find all of our important documents now.

7.  Knock-Off No Sew Dining Chairs

I almost lost my mind pulling off this chair DIY.  Seriously, if you don't believe me, check out this post.  But man oh man it was worth it!

8.  1 Year Blogiversary Progress Tour

This post really opened my eyes to see how far we've come in our builder box house.  It's so easy to get caught up in the to-do list that it's nice sometimes to sit back and appreciate all of the items we've already crossed off the list.

9.  Faux Planked Coffee Table Makeover

Craigslist is my favorite way to furnish our house for very little, and this piece was my best makeover yet.  Even better than the way it looks in our living room is how super functional it is for DVD and toy storage.  I was completely honored to have it featured over at Sand and Sisal this fall!

10.  DIY Oversized Vintage Map

I love pieces that tell about our family's story, so creating this oversized map of Ireland was the perfect addition to our stairway.  Lucy at Craftberry Bush was even kind enough to feature it.  

11.  Carolina Crab Stew

Oh, was that 11?  Whatever, consider it a bonus, right?  This recipe from my mother is famous around these parts, so I'd be completely robbing you of an amazing dish if I didn't include it.  

It really is amazing to see how much I've done and how far I've come.  I still have much more to learn in design, photography, and blogging (maybe add in parenting and marriage too) but it's a journey worth taking.  THANK YOU for being here along for the ride.  I sincerely hope that your look back at your own 2014 was just as fulfilling.

What sort of posts would YOU like to see here in 2015?  I would really really love to know!

Blessings,

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Christmas 2014 + An Exciting Update

Merry late Christmas y'all!  I used to think Christmas couldn't get any better when I was a kid, and then once our little one came along, I discovered it's the most fun of all when you're a parent.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I apologize for your newsfeed overload of pictures...I'm kind of obsessed with this kid.  I think we'll keep her.  Olivia got a full baby doll haul from Santa and grandparents, and she was in absolute heaven.

Almost everything consisted of Goodwill projects and consignment sale finds.  Her doll crib that has been used in my family for 3 generations was given a makeover by my mother.  (It must run in the family.)

And we watched her Frozen DVD, her prized stocking stuffer, twice.  That second time was at the request of my Marine veteran husband. Haha!  Oops.  I completely just ratted him out, didn't I?

So about that exciting update...I will be guest posting tomorrow on Remodelaholic! 

When Lorene from Remodelaholic contacted me a few weeks ago asking if they could feature me, I probably read the e-mail four times before I realized I wasn't being punked.  It is the before-and-after mecca, I tell ya!  I'll be giving all kinds of details on our faux fireplace build, so you will be my bestest friend in the world if you would check it out and leave me some love over there. 

It's really the best Christmas present little blogger me could have asked for.  

I'd love to know how your Christmas was!  What goodies did you get?  I hope it was at least full of memories you'll always cherish.  

Blessings for the last weekend of 2014!

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Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

It never fails- every single holiday, I put things off until the last minute.  You ever see those bloggers who are majorly on their A-game and have all of the Chrismas decor up, presents wrapped, and recipes planned before the end of November?  Yeah, I'm not that kind.  (I wish, but it ain't happenin' sister.)

Even though I had every intention of posting an in-depth how-to today, I'm holding off until next week.  

For today, I'll be a crazy woman running around my house trying to tick off every task on my to-do list and squeezing in a DIY Christmas photo shoot of Olivia.  It's going to involve baking sugar cookies.  (Eeek excitement! And oh Lord, prepare to clean every surface of flour for the next month.  Totally worth it.)

I truly wish for you a lovely holiday filled with laughter and the embrace of loved ones.  Whether your tree is overflowing with presents or you are opting for simple time together with family and friends, I hope you can find many things to be thankful for.  Blessings are always around- you just have to take the time to look.  

Merry Christmas,

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5 DIY Industrial Light Fixtures for Under $25

Can you even believe I've been doing this blogging gig long enough to have a roundup of my own projects?  Yeah, I can't either.  

Because honestly, I've never been an endurance girl.  I live life in phases.  

I tried my hand at writing a novel once.  That lasted 4 days.  I attempted to start my own photography business because, hey, who doesn't like taking pictures?  That lasted about 5 months.  I can't even tell you how many times I've tried to keep a diary, and I usually forget about it after a week or two. 

So it's miraculous you're even reading this right now.  But I'm pretty sure this blogging thing is here to stick around a while. Maybe this phase is becoming more of a lifestyle...then again, maybe it's a lifestyle because I'm actually living in the midst of what I love to create.  

It's hard to forget.  All I have to do is look around.

So wa-bam!  You're witnessing a milestone here, my friend.  The entire first floor of our house is officially builder grade lighting free!  (Can I get a halleluja?)  

I kind of wussed out on the last two lights, which I'll update you guys about at the end of this post, but for now, let's cue the cheesy overly dramatic inspirational music, shall we?

It all started with our foyer light.

1.  DIY Rustic Industrial Sphere Light - $24

Then, it bugged me that the foyer light didn't match the hallway lights.  A box of outcast old brass fixtures from Goodwill, a roll of chicken wire, and some spray paint later...

2.  DIY Chicken Wire Light Fixture - $5

Over the summer, I realized what to do with some of the mason jars I had in my craft stash to transform the builder grade light in our powder room.

3.  DIY Mason Jar Vanity Light - $6

Since I was sort of stumped on what to do with our builder grade dining room chandelier, I found one on Craigslist that I liked better, but it needed more personality.  Some sisal rope, a hula hoop, and my always trustworthy hot glue gun did the job.  

4.  DIY Restoration Hardware KnockOff Rope Chandelier - $18

I loved the rope-wrapped chandelier so much that I did it again to our kitchen bar lights.

5.  DIY Industrial Pendant Lights - $9 each

Before Thanksgiving, we managed to change out our kitchen flushmount light and kitchen table pendant light too.  All if it works perfectly together!  I couldn't have planned it out any better at the beginning of all the madness.  

We actually attempted to DIY both of these, and both of them failed miserably.  It was frustrating in the midst of realizing that all of our hard work went down the drain, but I'd rather buy lights I like than tolerate the ones we made just because we spent so much time on them.  (One of these days I might have to write a Bless'er House Bloopers and Blunders post just to laugh off all of the projects that went terribly wrong.)

So now we have these in our kitchen.

Our kitchen flushmount is the Millennium Lighting Neo-Industrial Flush Mount.

I love how it looks like a vintage desk fan.  The strange thing was the brushed nickel version of this light was $40 cheaper than the oil rubbed bronze finish.  

I keep ORB spray paint in my stash like it's my job, so I bought the nickel version and spray painted it to save $40.  I guess it was a semi-DIY after all.

After my plans for our kitchen table pendant light failed miserably, I rushed to get a replacement the day before our big Thanksgiving this year.  

I chose this hanging pendant lantern from World Market and couldn't be happier.

And it works perfectly with our clock gallery wall and bar lights.

Before we even moved in last year, one of the very first things Robert did was install our living room ceiling fan (because, let's face it, they're a necessity here in the South).

He actually picked this one out himself- Harbor Breeze Twin Ceiling Fan.  My man has good taste...in lighting anyways.  He sort of got stuck with me I guess.  ;)

We have 3 light fixtures left upstairs that I hope to transform or change out in 2015.  It's still looking mighty plain up there.  (My New Year's wish list keeps growing somehow.)  It's good to have goals.  I'm not even going down that road until after Christmas (in 3 days! Woohoo!)

So what do ya know?  I guess I am an endurance girl after all.  I just had to find the right motivation.  And just the fact that you're here taking this journey with me to transform this house is an added bonus.  THANK YOU for being my cheerleaders.  

What do you think of them?  Better than builder grade?  I'd love to know your favorite. :)  

Blessings,

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