2014 Project Review

Yesterday I posted my year in review post with lots about lessons I've learned in 2014. It is a lot of personal posts and things that I learned A LOT from.

But for those of you who could care less about my life and just want some good project ideas, here is the year in review just for you!!

Murphy Bed Tutorial - complete with not so great pictures :) 

DIY Cloud Light - a gift for a babies nursery 

Whimsical Stump Chairs - my favorite part of our yard! 

Industrial Hanging Planter - cheap cheap look for less 

Not one but TWO dress refashions! 

Long Bridesmaid Dress 

Little Black Dress turned Skirt 

DIY Arrows - rustic fall decoration

Halloween Costumes for you and your Pup!

Custom Built Wine Buffet - by far my favorite project of 2014!  

What a transformation to look back on 2014. I can't believe it, but at the rate I'm progressing I'm excited to see what projects I come up with in 2015!! 

Bloom Where You Are Planted - year in review

WHEW! When did 2014 disappear? I mean for real I feel like we just moved here and started life in the boonies, but it's now been over a year and a half!!

2014 has been a year full of lessons.
Lessons on life, love, and laughter (cheese ball, sorry). In all seriousness looking back on the year I've realized that Reed and I (mostly me) have learned a lot about growing up and living life. I believe we truly have finally started to bloom where we were planted :)

To give you an idea of how much we have grown here is a quick review of some of my big lessons I've shared with y'all here in blog land!

 Learned to control my social media tendencies and challenged myself to be a Supportive Wife On and Off Line. 

 Realized that my pride was hurting me and talked about how that realization changed my life.

Started the Envelope Budget! It may not sound exciting but it has been a HUGE help, and exciting experience :) 

Went to New York City!!!

Had an amazing summer with so much fun I didn't post about it :) oops! 

Took part in my first ever craft festival and it was a hit!

Rebranded myself to help shake out some big ideas. 

OPENED UP A STORE! 

The biggest and most exciting part of my year. 

It's a seasonal shop and I plan on doing an update on it again in the new year. Who woulda thought that at 24 I would be business owner, complete with taxes :) 

If you look back at my "blog year" I didn't do much. But if you look back at my LIFE so much has happened! I'm excited for 2015 and all that we can learn and achieve with another years time! I hope each of you learned lots and enjoyed your 2014 year but I hope even more that you will learn to bloom where you have been planted in 2015! 

New Schedule and Blog Goals for 2014!

So, if you have read my Year In Review post then you got a glimpse of how much this blog has grown in just a year! But I plan to make it grow even further and create even more sweet friendships as 2014 rolls in. Here are a few of my hopes, dreams, goals, and schedule for the 2014 blog land year!

Goals: 

1. Post Monday - Friday. I have had a pretty consistent schedule since August and I saw tremendous growth but to help build the blog further (and keep my self a little more sane) I am creating a schedule and planning to post M T W TH F!! Fingers crossed that I can keep up! 

2. Make the Making Monday link party a destination for inspiration!!! I love seeing these amazing projects, recipes, and ideas you share so I want to push it to the next level for more people to see!!

3. Get over my fear of Pinterest. Yes I have a fear, love hate relationship, with Pinterest. I will tell you all about it one day.

4. Get advertising from other fabulous bloggers and ETSY shops up and going on the blog!

5. Get a sponsored post or two??? I would really love to pursue this more. I have yet to try it out so this goal may change, but I'm down to try it all!

2014 Weekly Schedule: 

MONDAY: (goes live Sunday at 8pm EST) Making Monday Link Party w/ Lori of A Bright and Beautiful Life
TUESDAY: (goes live Monday at 8pm EST) Project/Life Post!!
WEDNESDAY:  (goes live Tuesday at 8pm EST) ETSY finds and shop updates.
THURSDAY: (goes live Wednesday at 8pm EST) Thankful post. Round up from the KTAThankful Project on Instagram.  (more on this later).
FRIDAY:  (goes live Thursday at 8pm EST) Failure Friday!! Yep I'm going there. I'm going to post the "oops" I experience through out the week with y'all, everything from DIY, to cooking, to learning to be a wife, sister, daughter, friend, and follower of Christ.

While I hope to stick with this schedule, I'm a pretty spontaneous person so it may get switched around a tad bit but shoot, thats what makes life interesting!

** And don't forget once a Month I will be hosting a giveaway with Like A Saturday!

I will start these Monday January 6th so be prepared my friends!! You are gonna be getting lots more of the adventures of Gracie, Tepe and Reed living in the boondocks this coming year :)

Top 5 Posts of 2013

Thought I would jump on the band wagon and review my life in blog-land this past year.

June I really began to push my blog in new directions. I reached out to some amazing women who I now consider great friends. I have grown my "stats" by more than I ever thought but just like my church says, everyone of those numbers has a name, and I intend to consider each one of these page views, followers, and commenters as a person that I'm starting a new friendship with :) I am so thankful and blessed by each one of you and can't wait to see what new relationships sprout as 2014 begins!!

First I wanna share some of the new projects I'm blessed to be a part of with some lovely ladies.

The first project was my Making Monday parties with Lori of A Bright and Beautiful Life. I started these parties on my own but Lori quickly asked if she could join and boy am I glad she did! it has been so fun to chat with each other about ideas and how we can make sure that each of YOU are seeing the best of the party each week :)

Then I decided to go with a Monthly Giveaway. I reached out to my new bloggy bestie Rachel from Like A Saturday and boy did these giveaways take off! Now we rotate who picks the prizes each month but both always choose from small/local businesses or ETSY shops. It has been amazing to work with all of these talented people and help them grow along with us!!

Next I've been asked to take part in a Look for Less Challenge group. So far we have had one challenge and are planning another for January. But man is it fun and a great way to meet some fabulous ladies!!

Now lets move on to the top 5 most popular posts of 2013!!!

First is my Hopes and Dreams post. This was the big reveal of my new start as a blogger and my first giveaway that inspired the Monthly Giveaway series! The giveaway is closed (obviously) but you can still head over and read about my decision for joining the blog world full force.

Second is the Paper Star Tutorial. Yep this one was pretty popular. And guess what I am so happy with that because I was obsessed with it too :) ( And yes I realize I misspelled Divine, but guess what no one pointed it out to me until a WEEK AGO! Y'all are slackers)

Third is the Foam Core Cornice Board. LOVE THESE. Made the room look 100 times more finished than bare windows. And yes I still need to finish other things but obviously y'all liked it too :)

Fourth was my Vintage Trunk Make-Over. This one was easy, paint, and table legs! And it made a huge statement, not only in stats but in my living room too :)

Five is the only one that made a splash in the statistics before I jumped in to blogging. The DIY Screen Door was made in our old house back in February. It worked fabulously to keep our little pantry out of reach of the pup.

And thats it!! My wrap up for 2013 to 5 most popular posts!
Now I want to share some of my personal year accomplishments. This year has been BIG for Reed and I, but I'm gonna keep it simple with a short lists with links for you to check back on :)

January:  After six months of marriage Reed and I decided we could handle a Puppy! The first official introduction of our fur-baby Tepe!
February: I got all ooie-gooie about being married. Then I pretended to be a photographer and helped a friend out by capturing their beautiful wedding!
March: Reed made his all time favorite chicken recipe, and named it Chicken Bombs.
April: For Easter my family got together and decided to go all preppy on me. Check out these home made Feather Bow Ties!
May: I had my first ever Art Show filled with my projects from my senior year. And then Reed and I both graduated from Clemson University!!
June: I took the month off to get ready to Move after Reed accepted a dream job and we had some rad family vacation time!
July: Settling in to York was a bit hard and I wrote about it a couple times :) Boondocks house (before I got a hold of it) Settling In and getting over myself.
August: I did some big things on the blog! I shared most of them above. But I also did some big things for my Studio! Think Big Fund. I GOT A STUDIO!!  OH and Reed and I celebrated 1 year of marriage (wahhhhhhh).
September: I decided to do some posts more related to my art school education, and shared things about how to use color! I also started my daily walk to the mail box and have learned so much from that quick walk!
October: Birthday month!! I shared how my house looks on a normal basis. Was really focusing on how I could bring joy to God. And ended the month with the Look for Less challenge!  
November:  I really focused on my ETSY shop and gave a quick update. And started decorating for Christmas :) oops!
December: Was a bit overwhelmed but totally blessed with an outrageous growth in my ETSY shop. Visited lots of family and kinda took a break from blog land and shared my heart on Christmas. December was a great month!

2013 was a big year. I accomplished and learned a lot. I couldn't help but been unbelievably emotional. But man I am so thankful for each of you, new friends, new readers, and all of the new opportunities that have been given to me. I love it here and am so glad that you all accepted me with open arms!

Here is to new growth, new friends, and new projects in 2014!! 

What I've learned from 2012

I wasn't going to do an end of the year post just because I feel like I've shared my heart fully with you through out the year, so why recap?

But sitting here in bed New Years day with the worst cold I've ever had (I sound like Batman) 

I've done a lot of thinking and realized how unbelievably blessed this year has been. 

2012 taught me so much. 

But I don't want this post to be focused on 2012 but rather what GOD has done for me in 2012. 

I started the year of 2012 trying to figure out when Reed would propose to me. 

I wanted it so badly, I was reading in to every little thing that everyone said and was literally losing sleep over it. 

I've always been a planner. I like to be in control of my life and know what my next step is. 

But the Lord showed me this year that its ok to just chill and trust that whatever he has planned is so much better than anything I could have ever imagined. 

I found this version of Jeremiah 29:11 just a few months ago and think it is so fitting, 

"I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

I was proposed to by the only man I've ever dated, in a way that I never ever would have come up with. (read about it here) 

I excelled in school and made sure that the wedding wasn't going to consume my life. 

Reed and I focused on what was important. 

GETTING MARRIED with all of our dearest friends and family to share it with. 

We were beyond blessed by the people around us. 

I never lifted a figure and rarely had to make a decision planning wise. 

Our wedding day was perfect and it was all because God has surrounded us with the most generous of His children. 

I've never felt more loved in my life.

(Read some of the details that made it so special here)

We found our teeny tiny house and despite all of its flaws, its perfect :) 

We've had fleas, mold, and heat issues. But God has fixed each one and it has made for some great bonding and has added that much more charm to our first home. 

I've done house tours that you can check out here, here, here, and I just realized I forgot to post about the guest room/ studio.... oops

Basically I've really enjoyed what God has given me this year. 

I never in a million years would have thought of these things but I wouldn't change them if I could! 

God knows exactly what I want and need and because he is full of grace and mercy he has chosen to give Reed and I an unbelievable 2012 and am so looking forward to what He has in-store for 2013!