The New Year always makes me a little bit emotional.  This year I feel even more emotional than usual.    My kiddos went back to school yesterday and to be honest, I have been avoiding writing this post, and getting back to work a bit so that I could spend these last few days of vacation playing and snuggling them…soaking up every minute.  It’s as the years pass that I realize even more just how fleeting every moment is.   2017 was a complete blur.  There were SO many fun and memorable moments squished in amongst the chaos, but man…hunting for a new home in a different state, the loss of my grandpa, John commuting back and forth to UT for work for the first 6 months, completely gutting and renovating our new home and moving the family into the mess for the last half of the year, trying to keep life afloat and help kids get adjusted to new schools and keep them from feeling too lost in their new surroundings…everything made life feel a bit like it was in slow-motion.  It also felt like completely surreal and like everything was temporary…which I guess was a good thing to help us deal with the feelings of loss we felt as we moved.  The word NORMAL was not in our vocabulary.  We slept on couches and in hotels, bouncing from one kind friend’s house to another, staying with people I barely knew, sleeping on floors, all in one unfinished basement room, doing laundry wherever we could find someone kind enough to loan us their machine, eating out every meal for 6 months, living out of suitcases and boxes while all of our things stayed in LA…you name it…the living situation was not ideal.  But we made it!  And here we are! Closer and stronger and hopefully better off for growing and going through these challenges together.  The start of 2018 is truly a new beginning for our family.  We are starting 2018 in a new home (finally completed), a new state, relatively new jobs and schools and, for me, what feels like a very new and different life.  I have HIGH hopes for what 2018 will bring.  I’m hoping a new normal will finally start to feel a little bit like home.

I’ve always been a photographer…and I am so grateful for these handy little cameras we call phones that get to come with us everywhere we go.  I am grateful for the moments that those photos capture that help me remember and reflect on where we’ve been and how far we’ve come each year.  Here is a look at the year in review.  A few of the highlights from 2017 both personally and professionally here on the blog.  Thanks for being on this ride with me and my crew.

ENTERTAINING

I didnt get the chance to entertain nearly as much as usual this year due to the craziness, but the few parties I did manage to pull together are always favorite here on the blog.  I mean, who doesn’t love to party, right? 😉

This Valentine’s Day card making party was too much fun to put together for the girls in the neighborhood…

We finally had things together enough at the new house to put together a little New Year’s shindig.  It felt SO good to create something fun in the new space.  It made it feel just a teeny bit more like home…

DESIGN

2017 was a big year for design, finishing a few home tours and projects in Orange County before heading to UT to gut and renovate the new house.  This bathroom remodel got a lot of attention…it looks SO much different than when we started!

As did this dining room makeover…

Helpful decorating tip posts are some of your favorites.  Here are two of the most popular from this year:

BEST AFFORDABLE WALL MIRRORS

CHOOSING NIGHTSTANDS

The #1987FixerUpper renovation definitely took the cake as far as popularity here on the blog this year though.  A look at the exterior now…minus the black front door.  Check out these posts to see where we started…

All of the before and afters will be hitting the blog in 2018, along with the design process to get this house feeling like a home.

Home Tours are always a huge hit too.  A couple of your favorite from this year were the summer tour, a week before we left this beloved home…

This year’s Christmas home tour was the first chance to debut a few of the rooms in the new house, finished, and with some furniture in them:

DIY PROJECTS AND PRINTABLES

I will always love to craft and create printables for you all, and I’m so glad you love them!  I hope the ideas make your lives easier!  Here are some of the favorites from 2017:

DIY Valentine Cards

BIRTHDAY IN A BAG PRINTABLES

DIY GOLD SUCCULENT POTS

HALLOWEEN SPIDER HEADBANDS

DIY CONFETTI CUPS

TRAVEL

The older I get the more I appreciate leaving real life behind for awhile and exploring the world.  I want to have experiences, fill out lives with them rather than things.  It was a big birthday for me this year and a HUGE anniversary…20 years, so we celebrated by taking the kids to LA (here are some of my favorite tips), and heading out on an a late fall adventure ourselves…more to come about that this month.

NEW YORK WITH BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

and finally the most important thing…

FOOD

I can’t wait to bring you more recipes this year now that I have a kitchen again!  Here were two of 2017’s favorite recipes…

BAKERY SNICKERDOODLES

SPINACH AND BERRY SALAD

Well, there you have it.  2017 in review.  Whew!  So now, the important question…

WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE OF IN 2018?

I love writing about so many things, sometimes I have a hard time narrowing it down.  I’m trying to get a bit more personal here…is that ok?  I’m a writer…I keep journals and notebooks full of thoughts, but I rarely open up about them here.  I’ve decided 2018 might be the year for me to get a bit more brave and open up here a bit more.  Would that be ok?  What do you want to know about?  I’ll try to be more of an open book if there are things you want to know. 🙂

Design- How much of the process do you want to see…learn about.  Just before and after pictures…or do you want me to dive deeper into how I do things?  What would you like to know?

Travel- Do you want to know about places to go, things to see, restaurants to eat at etc.?  This is truly one of my passions, and I LOVE creating itineraries and travel plans…but do you want to know about it?  Do you care about travel?  Let me know…

Parties- DO you want to see more entertaining ideas?  If so, what kind?  Formal affairs, kids parties, girl’s nights, holidays?  Tell me what you are interested in and I’ll create the content based on that. 🙂

Recipes- Easy and quick?  Family traditions?  Desserts?  Main courses?  What do you need?

Fashion- DO we care about this at all?  I am NOT a fashion blogger…(meaning I don’t like to be on camera..you’ve probably noticed) but I do love to style outfits and create beautiful photos to show you everything put together…does that interest you?  I promise you won’t have to look at me! 😉 lol!

DIY/PRINTABLES- You can’t stop me from making printables for you 😉 but what kind are you looking for?  Themes, holidays, teacher gifts, every day wall hangings?  Do you like the simple DIY crafts?  What would you like to see more of?

OK, I think that about covers it. 🙂 . Let me know what you like and want to see more of in the comments.  I really will plan this year’s content around it.

Wow!  This has been a long post!  🙂  Thanks for sticking with me! 😉  I can’t wait for what 2018 has in store and to share it with you!

xoxo,

Tammy