Four years ago today I hit the publish button on my very first blog post which means that today is my official 4 year “blogiversary!”
A few months prior, we had just purchased our first home and were living on a super tight budget. Yet I was absolutely determined to find a way to create a beautiful home for our little family. So I set out to Pinterest to find ideas and inspiration.
Before I knew it I had stumbled my way into the wonderful world of home decor blogging. I was completely hooked. After following several amazingly talented bloggers, I decided to create my very own blog to track my progress on our home.
And that is how it all began! It’s been a crazy ride and each year I learn so much more about blogging and myself as a designer. I like to take this day each year to look back and reflect on what I’ve accomplished as well as set up goals for the upcoming one.
So without further ado let’s hop in the time machine and take a look at where we were this time last year!
After two kids and a dog our carpet had gotten pretty nasty so I finally convinced the hubby that instead of constantly trying to clean it we should rip it out and install laminate flooring instead.
With the help of a couple of the hubby’s good friends we ripped it all out one afternoon and then spent the next couple of days installing our new wide plank Pergo flooring.
It was a REAL adventure and we learned so much throughout the process (for better or worse haha!!) but in the end it turned out so beautifully!
I shared a full tutorial on our DIY laminate flooring installation in case you’re interested in taking this project on yourself. It wasn’t easy but so worth the money saved!
Since we were installing new floors I figured that it would be a good time to refresh the living room, so I gave it a mini makeover for the fall season of the One Room Challenge.
Our living room was always such a difficult area to work with and although it took me about 3 and half years I was finally happy with the space when I was finished.
After the holidays were over I was feeling kind of stumped on what to work on next. It was almost as if were were running out of projects in this house! Don’t worry–little did I know, I would soon be swimming in new projects as you’ll see in a minute!
I decided to update the boys bathroom to make it more neutral and to satisfy my craving for change.
And as we moved into spring I participated in the One Room Challenge again to create Lucas’ big boy room.
It turned out even cuter than I had imagined it would be and Lucas was so excited. However I threw some pretty big news out there half way through the challenge which was that we were actually MOVING!
We were casually looking for a house that had a little more space, but nothing really seemed like a real possibility for us. When I had just about pushed the idea completely out of my mind for the time being, we found a house with awesome potential that fit our budget perfectly. We made our offer and soon found out that we were under contract on our new home!
We’ve spent the summer working on it but I’ve admitted to myself that it’s been more stressful than I thought it would be living in a “work in progress.” I often find myself wishing that I could just snap my fingers and change things instantly, but then I remind myself that the journey is what will make us appreciate the final outcome so much! Patience isn’t easy but I know it will pay off in the end.
We are slowly chugging along and knocking things of the list one thing at a time. The first item on the list was removing the popcorn ceilings.
Which of course was about as much fun as it was when we did it in our last house! But it was a much needed step in bringing this house out of the 90s. We were lucky enough to have a month before we needed to move out of our old house so we were able to tackle this before moving our stuff in thank goodness!
After we moved in we started painting like machines, one room at a time. I even replicated the board and batten grid wall that we had in our master bedroom at the old house.
Oh and I can’t believe that I almost forgot to mention that shortly after moving in the washing machine decided to crack and completely flooded the powder room/laundry room combo. UGH. It was a major headache to deal with the insurance company and the restoration company but I won’t bore you with all of those details.
I looked at the silver lining and realized that because this room got pushed up on the priority list of spaces that needed fixing, I might as well make it how I really want it to look.
Here is where is what it looked like pre-flood…
And here is where it is at today!
It still has a ways to go but it’s getting so close to being done and I’m really enjoying seeing all of the small details come together.
Whew. I feel like this was a super lengthy blogiversary post! Maybe it’s because I’m already in vacation mode since we leave for our vacation on Friday and I’ve kind of checked out already and find it hard to focus on anything else!
Alright one last thing before I go, and that is the lists! Let’s first take a look at last year’s list…
- New floors on the main level along with a new rug, coffee table and possibly board and batten? Check!
- Basement updates: shiplap, faux wood beam, laundry room shelves, coffee table and new desk for the hubby.I never did get around to updating the basement before we sold.
- Lucas’ big boy room (geesh I feel like I was just pregnant and doing his nursery!) Check!
- Exterior painting if we’re lucky! Never got around to that either!
And now on to this year’s list…
- Finish the laundry/powder room makeover
- Install hardwoods throughout the main level
- Kitchen renovation
- Stairs makeover
Hopefully we can get more than that done, but I’m trying to keep the list short and realistic for my sanity. Even if we only get all of that accomplished, I will be over the moon proud of us!
Thank you guys so much for stopping by today my friends! Your sweet comments and emails seriously mean the world to me and I don’t think I could do this without your amazing encouragement along the way. Hugs to you all!!
Linking up to these awesome parties!
Donna Reidland says
What a beautiful job you’ve done. It will all be worth it in the years to come.
angelajimenez0428 says
Thank you so much Donna!