My top 10 posts of 2017

Holy cow! Can you believe that 2017 is quickly scooting it’s way out, and that 2018 is standing right in front of us? It’s time to reflect on this crazy year for some top 10 posts!!! I actually have no idea where the last four months went, and realize that for the next few months I’m going to be doing this:

Ha ha ha!

Here are some of my favorite posts:

Going all of the way back to January, I loved this post about starting where you are with what you have. We can never compare someone else’s middle to your beginning.

I love this post about 10 common mistakes when painting furniture. I’ve been painting for so long now, some of the most common mistakes are also some of the most easily avoided.

Painting this vintage cabinet was one of my favorite makeovers of the year. It really adds to our space, and really is super-useful with a ton of storage!

 

Yes, we really live here is one of my favorite essays. After you read it, you can let me know what you think.

A party tray, made to look like cute, little succulents? That ranks as a favorite too.

We did a lot in the kitchen area this year.

I still absolutely love how  the open shelving in the kitchen turned out! It was such a great addition to our space! It really goes along with the vintage window transom.

Speaking of our kitchen, adding the subway tile as a back splash was another thing we did that I am thrilled with!

Our old coffee table had an amazing transformation this year!

And this year,I made my first berry Pavlova… It was pure magic.

And I can’t forget finally having our floors refinished after 20-ish years of gross carpet!!!

And then, for the biggest,mostest favorit-ist thing of them all, was the opening of our retail store and Makery!!!There is nothing like the stomach churning, together with the excitement of taking a leap of faith with something so big!

I hope you loved taking a look at my favorite top 10 posts of 2017. Thank you so much for following on my journey this year, especially since this marks my 10th year of blogging too! It’s always amazing to me what can fit in the space of a year!

I hope you have a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in 2018!

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Outdoor winter party

The one thing I love about raising kids in the Midwest, is  a winter party is not out of the question…they are a hardy lot. The other day I was yelling at Middle to put on a hat and gloves, and zip her coat, because it was only 14 degrees out. She pretty much ran out the door to the car, and I fumed that she didn’t really listen. I did notice however, on our way to school, that every other teenager was dressed the same way, in fact, some of the boys had shorts on. I give up.

(This post contains affiliate links)

The nice thing is, with a few extra blankets and a warm fire, even as the temperature dips towards lower double digits, we still enjoy the outdoors. I do have to draw the line at under 25 degrees however. That’s just too cold for me, even with a cozy blanket and a fire. The other day it was negative 6. On those days, I don’t even crack the door if I don’t have to.

My kids love it when we have a fire in the pit outside. We always keep some dry wood on hand for last minute fires.

 

We used the HomeRight ElectroLight Fire Starter to start our fire pit. You can see how we did it here. It was nice to use because we didn’t need to mess with newspaper or matches.

Once we had the fire going, it was time to bring out the hot cocoa and hang out. My next house is going to have a fireplace. I would love to be able to enjoy a fire inside as well, when it’s too cold to go out.

 

Do you like to hang outside once the temperature dips a bit, or are you in the minute it gets a little frosty? I have to admit, the older I get, the less I like the cold weather!

This post is sponsored by HomeRight. Opinions are entirely my own.

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Must-read books for winter

Now that Christmas is over, and we are heading into the new year, I’ve decided the one thing I really want to do is start reading more, I’ve been looking for some must read books for winter. I feel like with the work of getting the shop open, and how busy the holiday season is, that it was something that I pushed aside for a bit. Now that we are finally getting a handle on things, I really want to make more time to relax and enjoy getting lost in books, it really nurtures my soul.

I found some beautiful books, and wanted to share them with you. You can click right through  the book pictures to find the books on Amazon (this post contains affiliate links.).

One  book we are going to be reading in the shop is Brene Brown’s new book, Braving the Wilderness. You can join our on-line book club and read along with us, and join us on Facebook for a live chat! Details will be coming very soon, but we are going to be starting late January, so if you want to join in, now is a good time to grab your book!

This morning, I put on sweatpants, ate leftover Christmas cookies, and drank coffee while I poured over books I just might have bought myself as a Christmas present…. It was actually a pretty awesome morning.

The Love & Lemons Cookbook

a well-crafted home

For The Love of Old

Donna Hay- Basics to Brilliance

How to be a Parisian

I have to admit, I don’t know why this book intrigued me so. I’ve started it and am slightly torn about it.  It’s a fun  book, but I wouldn’t follow every idea in it, I think some if it is more skewed to the young and single.

I picked up Luck,Love & Lemon Pie because it sounded like a fun read. I’ll have to let you know.

Radium Girls….such a good read. It’s hard to fathom that it’s a real story.

 A Monster Calls… Seriously, I cried.

Do you have anything you’re reading in the new year, or books suggestions for winter? Or any books you’ve recently finished that you just love? We would love to hear it!

Love reading, here are some more book ideas:

 

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Holiday hours at The Collective lhe + Makery

Happy holidays! Thank you so much for all of your support this year at our new adventure! We are closing the shop The Collective lhe + Makery the week between Christmas and New Year’s to clean and inventory,work on some of the new things for the new year, and spend some time with our family after a busy season.

We wish you and your family  happy holiday and a very merry everything!

 

 

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Checking in and holiday craziness

Hi guys! I have to admit, I thought I would be able to post a lot more this holiday season, but we’ve been really busy at the store with holiday craziness. I know it’s a good problem to have, but I have to admit, I struggle a bit with that. I’m so used to being here all of the time, I’m having a hard time letting somethings go for a bit, I know after the new year, I can get back to being around here a bit more. I really miss hanging with you guys!

I struggle with guilt over not being around for my kids as much as I used to, though I have to say, they are doing fine on their own. I am certainly realizing what my limits are. I really thought I was going to be cranking out Christmas crafts along with working in a busy retail store, and posting here all of the time… ha ha ha ha. This is from the files of ” You’re fooling yourself dum-dum.” and “Reality check”. But that’s ok. Sometimes we have to reassess our own limits as life changes.

I’ve also learned I love  as much as I like to dress up for work, if I have no where to go with the kids afterwards, the first thing I do is go right up to my room and change into some pretty worn-out,gray sweat pants. It’s so unsexy, but it feels really freeing to pull those frumpy , fleece-lined pants on, and tie that string on my waistband. I saw a quote that said “Home is where the bra isn’t.” I have to admit, that’s a pretty accurate statement. Like everyday.

I am excited to announce that as things slow a bit after the holidays, we have some amazing and exciting things planned we can’t quite share yet, but I feel like I am busting at the gut wanting to tell you. I know I have to wait though. What I can say, as we have gained more experience together, that we’ve been able to hone our direction even more. Many of you have asked about on-line shopping…..stay tuned!

Thank you all for all of your support. I’ve loved that the store has given me real opportunities to meet you and connect with you in-person! Every time you walk through the doors of our little space, it makes me so excited! It’s been such a huge adventure, sometimes I can’t believe that we are really doing this!

 

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