We are almost a week into 2019 and I am honestly not sorry to see 2018 go. It has been a tough year in our house. It was a year of loss as well as a year of what felt like not a lot of progress on our house renovations or growth for my blog. Saying goodbye to our first two babies that we lost to miscarriages was the hardest thing I have ever experienced and recovering from two consecutive pregnancy losses (and just being 1st trimester pregnant twice in one year) left me at home, not feeling well physically and emotionally for the better part of 2018. I do not say this to complain or look for pity, but to share a bit more real life. During 2018 I felt a bit like our lives were on hold due to what may or may not happen, some of this was actual physical limitations of being sick during pregnancy and subsequently recovering from pregnancy losses, but part of this was self-inflicted as I put a hold on my life mentally. As a result I did not work on the blog near as often as I hoped or wanted. Well, in 2019 that is going to change. I have big plans and dreams, and mentally I feel prepared and ready to make them happen. I am done feeling like everything is on hold.
Despite all of the hardship in 2018, there was a lot of positive too. We traveled to beautiful places like Philadelphia, Boston, Kauai, and northern Michigan. We focused on family and spending time with our two sweet pups. I was able to spend more time with my best girl friends and made a few new friendships too. We prioritized meal planning and prep, which helps our household run smoother and spend less money on take-out (definitely a win and something we want to continue and improve on in 2019). We may not have spent as much time as I would have hoped completing house projects (which is A-okay! and living through a renovation we have learned its important to have periods of rest anyway), but we did manage to renovate two rooms as part of the One Room Challenge (the moody den and the relaxing office) and put a few additional details into the living room and kitchen.
I truly can’t wait to see what 2019 brings (including many more blog posts), but I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite posts from 2018.
Favorites of 2018
I started out the year by sharing changes to our dining room, including a paint debacle. A hint for 2019 is this year is going to be changing… again.
How to Install Pre-Pasted Wallpaper
I shared how we added this fun buffalo check pre-pasted wallpaper during our laundry room renovation.
Organized & Accountable: 3 Tips to Take Control of Your Time
See how I keep myself organized – my system still hasn’t changed!
The original plan for our modern moody den renovation.
…and how the den actually turned out!
The story of losing our first two babies from miscarriages. Not necessarily a “favorite”, but it is part of our journey and was a huge part of 2018.
The original plan for our relaxing office.
…and how the office actually turned out!
I shared my favorite tips for hosting during the holidays… including a simple coffee bar!
Here’s to an amazing 2019!
