Looking Back on 2018 and A Preview Of What I have Planned for 2019

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Happy 2019!! This past year FLEW by. I definitely didn’t accomplish all the things I hoped to, but it was definitely year of great experiences and change. Let’s take a look back at 2018 and see what’s comin’ in 2019.

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Master Bedroom - completed in 2018

I participated in my THIRD One Room Challenge this year! In the fall of 2017, my transformation of my home office was selected by the Editor in Chief of House Beautiful Magazine as one of the top two winning guest participants out of over 200! Because I was selected, I joined the 2018 spring ORC season as a featured designer - what an honor! During this master bedroom makeover, I removed a doorway, installed board and batten, added an exterior door, included an outdoor seating area, and decorated with some gorgeous pieces. Here are each of those posts:

If you’re in a reader, you’ll have to click through to see these post preview buttons.

Curb Appeal - started sharing in 2018, more about the garden coming in 2019

The exterior of our house had a lot of existing charm, but also needed some work. This year, I shared how I removed excess wires, got a good deal on cutting back trees, saved $$$ and plants by giving away our overgrowth, and got a new roof. I have oodles more to share in 2019 so stay tuned for that!

Focus on Being Green - eased into it in 2018, but sharing all the details in 2019

I’ve always been a passionate about recycling and making eco-friendly choices, but I’m really amping up my game. I’ve purged our home of toxic cleaning chemicals, aimed to make “green” home improvement investments, shifted my thoughts on what I purchase, and lately I’ve been working to cut out plastic from my life and I’m aiming to be as sustainable as possible. I have a bottle of kombucha brewing on the counter, a pile of compost, an empty trash bin (it’s been empty for months), I’m wearing recycled water bottles in my yoga leggings. I have OODLES of blog posts drafted to share with you how I’ve been making these changes. Stay tuned to learn how I’m making shifts slowly but surely. Here are a couple of blog posts on going green at home.

Accomplishments:

Personal Stuff

This year was the year of travel. We went to Australia, New Zealand, Boston, Pittsburgh, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Chicago, Ojai, Salt Lake City, Santa Barbara, Seattle, and New York. I put little videos together of each of the trips in my Instagram Highlights if you want to see what we were up to set to some of my favorite songs.

We also took in a family of kittens through our local humane society and shared a bunch of videos on Instagram and I wrote all about the fostering experience.

That’s about it for us - travel, cats, and renovations. Not much more than that (except lots of TV/movie watching).

My personal goals for 2019:

  • Focus on sustainability. I’m already working on this, but it’s all about baby steps. I want to work harder to cut plastic out of my life and our home entirely. I want to also reduce my recycling waste, and I want to start my own compost pile (instead of giving scraps to my neighborhood chickens). I want to make more things from scratch at home instead of buying them. Think kombucha, breads, almond milk, and just more home-cooked meals in general.

  • Give back. I want to foster more animals in the new year, I want to volunteer more, and I want to do simple things like pick up trash during my neighborhood walks.

  • Get serious about yoga. I’ve been taking a class every day for the past couple of months (when I’m not traveling). I want to maintain the consistency and also master a few poses I have my eye on (namely handstands).

  • Work on committing to things. I have delayed remodeling my kitchen for years because I can’t decide on the smallest of elements. I need to just rip the bandaid off and do it! I have this problem with indecision in all aspects of life, so I really want to work on this skill.

  • Learn new skills. I like taking Skillshare classes, but much like I want to learn to do handstands, I want to lean how to to more things hands-on. I’m hopeful the kitchen remodel will teach me some great carpentry skills.

Everything Else

You can look through every single one of my posts from the past year (or all of eternity) right here.

Projects You’ll See in 2019

THE KITCHEN REMODEL. period. If this doesn’t happen this year I’m throwing in the towel. I’m making this my main project goal, but there are still so many other things I want to tackle.

Definitely adding solar. Perhaps add a master bathroom? How about create a master closet? Maybe do some backyard improvements? Perhaps renovating the garage? How about paint the house? Maybe redecorating the living room? Oh boy I’m getting excited just thinking about these things. But don’t let me get distracted, the kitchen is first!

Follow Along!

Well, that’s what happened in 2018 and what I have my fingers crossed for in 2019 and I’m veeeeeery excited, so I hope you’ll follow along with me.

  • Subscribe to emails (get an email each time I post, or once a week)

  • Read on Bloglovin' (get all the posts, but in the app)

  • Admire on Instagram (see photos that never make it to the blog and watch my Stories)

  • Follow on Facebook (pretty much the same as Instagram and blog posts, but no Stories)

  • Subscribe on YouTube (I hope to do more videos in 2019!)

  • Pin with me on Pinterest (see what inspires me before I implement the design in my home)

To see before and afters of each room, click here and to shop the house, click here.