Top favorite Reno's - #3 Lakehouse Living Room

Living rooms - some would argue this space is the heart of the home. For Tommy Thompson and I the heart of our home is the dining room. We don't have cable, we rarely have time to sit on a couch - and we love our large dining room with space to entertain. Nevertheless one of my biggest gripes after moving into the Lakehouse was the lack of a living room upstairs.

When you walk through the front door you're greeted by a beautiful picture window looking out at the lake, a rustic fireplace to the right and a large dining room space that most likely people before us used as the living room. To the left of all this was a funky little 'bar' with seating for two. I say 'bar' loosely as this space lacked some major elements to function properly:

1. The bar top overhang was only 6", not sufficient for sitting at and dining

2. It lacked electricity and water

3. While sitting at the bar you faced the hallway to the left of the kitchen therefore not making it a viable part of the kitchen

Before picture literally moments before the demo began. 

When I moved in, Tommy Thompson's four person table was swapped for my 10 persons set - it fit the space better and suited our frequent dinner parties. When the kitchen re-model planning began we tossed around a few ideas on how to make this a more functional eating area until one night it dawned on me... The one thing in the room we were missing was a living room area - the one thing we had going was ample dining space - why not close off the 'bar'? It seemed crazy at first to close in a wall but the more we played with the idea we couldn't come up with a single reason not to. 

I drew Tommy Thompson a sketch of what I wanted and within hours he had framed in the wall to close it off. What baby wants bay gets. (Have I mentioned how much I love living with a man who is handy AND would do anything for me???)

We removed the old tile counters and did come wiring to add a counter top outlet and under mount lighting. 

On the living room side, closing off the bar gave me a small corner to add a couch and some wall art. The wall art was easy but finding a couch was a challenge. I decided on a sectional to maximize the space - as is with most things - I have a great idea that is impossible to find. Luckily Pier 1 sells a 'build your own sectional', and surprisingly it was affordable! To define the space I dropped a cowhide rug I'd bought years before on Etsy, threw the four-piece Alton sectional in and added a Target clearance coffee table that also serves as a bench since it's cushioned. I enlarged some favorite family photos, threw them in some clearance Target frames (are you seeing a pattern? I have a Target clearance problem...) and the space was complete. As odd as it sounds closing in that wall made the space feel so much bigger and it truly feels like a cozy living room area now. 'Fixed the newel post!' (bonus if you know that movie!)

The added bonus was the new butler pantry/bar on the back side of the living room.  Having been so focused on the living room I hadn't expected to DOUBLE our storage space on the back side. Once the wall was up we flanked the upper area with IKEA wine racks and added 3 open shelves in the middle (more on these later). The shelves allowed me to move all the specialty bar ware to this space, thus freeing up precious cabinet space in the kitchen. It also gave me a space to display some of my ginormous China collection. A sacrifice I made moving in to the Lakehouse was not putting the hutch on top of my buffet. Neither of the two walls where the buffet could go had space above to accommodate it, one wall has a large picture window facing Longs Peak and the second houses Tommy Thompson's 'trophies'. 

Kitchen re-model in FULL effect here. Fridge n the living room, stove on the front porch.

To finish off the butlers pantry/bar we installed a new flush mount chandelier, added an outlet, under mount lighting and carried the same backslash/cabinet/paint/counter top/flooring finishes over from the kitchen. Both sides now function to their full potential and get used daily.

Before

After - Living Room

After - Bar Area

Top favorite Reno's - #5 Closets

I love a large organized closet - let's be honest... what girl doesn't? What Mulberry Forest lacked in closet space, 10th & Wash MORE than made up for it.

Mulberry Forest had two itty bitty teenie tiny closets. Two. In the whole entire house. Luckily for me they were in the bedrooms. The bedroom closets had doorways that were 6' tall, however inside they went to the 9' height of the ceiling. I ripped out the makeshift particle board shelving and replaced them with Rubbermaid Tightmesh shelving. I was able to add three shelves to the top and still make room for hanging items - not to mention these see through shelves and a fresh coat of white paint made these tiny spaces more manageable. Not ideal but do-able. My patience would pay off...

After living in a tiny apartment then Mulberry Forest (that while double the square footage of said apartment, was still tiny) I was used to making small closets work. So much so I was SHOCKED that I had enough clothes and shoes to fill the amazing closets at 10th & Wash. For a house built in the 1800's they sure knew how to closet.

The Master bedroom alone had TWO closets AND built in storage. The first closet you see when you walk in is a typical double accordion door closet with a single shelf above a hang bar. Thinking that this would be sufficient I was blown away to look behind the bedroom door to see a walk-in closet. I knew immediately that I would make the first a shoe closet.

Before

This was such a simple and fast project it felt like cheating. I tore out the bar and installed a shelftrac system so I could change the height of the shelves as needed. I cut five white thermally-fused melamine shelves down to the length of the closet and attached them with brackets. Voila. Instant drool worthy shoe closet.

After

Next project - replace the particle board shelving in my shoe closet at the Lakehouse with a shelftrac system... after the wedding. ;)

Renovation break... Wedding planning update

The wedding.is.planned. Yep, you read correct, our wedding plans are complete after just over a month. My goal was to plan the entire wedding before Memorial Day and we did it!! Of course there are some small things to finalize but the big stuff is done!

I think most couples would tell you that they're most excited for the honeymoon (don't get me wrong... we are) or for the wedding to just be over - but for us we cannot wait for the big day! We're so excited to see our friends and family that are graciously flying in from all over the US. It's seriously like Christmas morning when we get a text or an email from someone telling us they've booked their flight.

And the planning team? Stellar. Tommy Thompson has continued to impress me with his eagerness to help and desire to make this day special for us - I sure picked a winner. The little one has been fabulous as well. Our Saturday morning tradition is to hit up Goodwill in search of milk glass vases and brass candlesticks. I thought I was a good thrift store shopper - I have met my match. He has even given us a list of songs to dance to and has even started working on a special choreographed dance...

I thought I would keep the details private until the big day but I'm just too stinkin excited so here are some of the super fun people we've got helping us for the party of the century in just 101 days:

- Say Cheese!! My good friend Patrick, owner of PhoCo will be snapping photos and shooting video for us. If our wedding pics are anything like last fall's pics we're in for a treat!! We cheated a little and used a pic from that photo session for the save the date - it's hard to beat that American Gothic picture!

- My lady crush Vicky, owner of Taste Catering, will be providing all the food. I say she's my lady crush because she's beautiful, a single mama of four and started a business that makes the most amazing food in the world all on her own. Did I mention her food is amazing? My mouth is watering right now thinking about her salted caramel and her watermelon goat cheese bites...

- Another fabulous friend of mine, Linda - owner of Finishing Touches - will be making the Lakehouse even more beautiful with flowers galore. I think she was one of the very first vendors I met out of college as a new event planner and to say her style impressed me is an understatement. It's rare to find a vendor, especially a decor vendor, that you can show a few pictures to and let them loose - completely trusting them to make your vision come to life and Linda is exactly this.

- Even party planners need party planners, enter my dear friend Darci, owner of Silo Event Consulting. We've worked alongside each other a number of times so I completely trust her to pay attention to tiniest detail, oversee all the crazy things that come up and even jump in and get her hands dirty if need be.

- Every wedding needs something new... so I've met some pretty cool new vendors as well. We are beyond excited about A Photo Booth Bus. This little beauty is named Lucy and she'll be driving in from Utah for our special day to snap candid photos AND go-pro the in's and out's of the shenanigans that go with photo boothin' (it's a word).

- A party without cake is just a meeting... so we need cake. And a big cake at that. A few weeks ago Tommy Thompson, the Little One and I went cake tasting. There is an adorable little house turned cake shop in downtown Longmont right next door to our fave breakfast stop, surely that's a sign, right? Narrowing down flavors was hard but we settled on 4 cake flavors and 4 pie flavors, I'll just say peanut.butter. Cannot wait to see the cake La Momo Maes Bakery whips up for us!

- The hair. I have the most incredible hairstylist ever. I left her for a a year or so when I moved and came to the conclusion that some things are worth the drive and she is. Lauren at Studio Be Salon knows my hair better than anyone (and let's be honest, aside from my mother is the only one that knows my real hair color) so I cannot wait to see what we end up with on the big day!! 

Still on our to-do list is to shop shop shop for white milk glass vases and...lose 30 pounds among other things but we are pretty pleased so far. Here's to a super fun summer of relaxing and spending time together as a family before the big day! 

You can follow the wedding Pinterest board here to see all the ideas and plans going in to our big day!

Top 10 Favorite Reno's - #6 Furniture

Renovations don't just happen to rooms and houses they can happen to anything - including furniture. I've worked on some fun furniture projects that we not only use daily but things I hope to keep in our family for generations to come.

When Pinterest first came out the thing to pin were pallets. Pallet walls, pallet beds, pallet tables, you name it, Pinterest can tell you how to make it from a pallet. Not as easy and practical as the internet came make it seem... I wanted a patio table that was large and in charge. A table that was made of recycled items and looked rustic but would hold up to the elements - all things that a pallet table would not provide. (Despite my efforts) I stumbled upon Ana White's Fancy X Farmhouse Table and was in love. On my weekly trip to the Habitat Re-Store I found the perfect top for the table, an 8' x 4' solid wood door for $40.

Not having the time or the tools necessary to get this table done for an event I enlisted my step-father to build it. He bought a few 2 x 4's and in a day the table was built. It.Is.A.Beast. It seats 10 and if ever there were a tornado one could find shelter under it since it's not going anywhere. I paired it with an 8' bench my other father had made a few years ago and some bistro chairs from Target and voila... I had a brand new table for 10 for just under $300.

Probably my favorite Habitat Re-Store find is our TV console. I've even had girlfriends try to buy it out from under me - not a chance. I wanted a long beefy piece that had drawers on the sides to store games, DVD's and blankets with doors in the middle to hide all the TV boxes. For $40 (seems to be the magic number at Re-Store) this beauty was all mine. I removed the handles, filled and sanded the doors and spray painted it. I opted for spray paint since the center doors had such intricate carvings, I wanted a paint that would get in all the nooks and cranny's easily. My favorite spray primer for any project is Zinsser's Bulls Eye at Home Depot. The coverage is great and goes on anything and everything without peeling. When the paint was dry I threw on some new handles from IKEA and it was ready. What once was a masculine eyesore of a dresser is now a feminine, beautiful and functional piece for our family for less than $100.

The Lakehouse has an incredible back deck with an even more incredible view onto a lake. When I moved in Tommy Thompson had an old couch on the deck and a small glass table - not only was the couch gross from being outdoors but both were insufficient for our needs. Our backyard lends itself to outdoor entertaining, whether it be a dinner party, the three of us watching shooting stars or a small bonfire get together, we needed more seating. The farm had a lot of scrap wood so when I asked Tommy Thompson to build me a couch we shopped for wood in the scrap pile making this project super easy and inexpensive.

I wanted a long couch against the back wall with an equally large ottoman that could be across from the couch, pushed up next to it for an outdoor bed or on the side making it an L shape. Pops, Tommy Thompson's father, was in town for the week and those two knocked it out in a day. They had to build it in the shop since it was raining and when the time came to move it to the deck it took eight men to move each piece. Literally. This couch is going nowhere. I ordered thick foam from an auto upholsterer in town and stapled outdoor fabric to plywood on the underside of the foam to give the cushions weight. A year later this couch gets more use than the ones inside.

Top Ten Favorite Reno's - #7 Lighting

I LOVE lights. Tommy Thompson teases me about needing to have every light on in the kitchen, and he's right. The right lighting can change a room from dull to bright (see what I did there?? haha). But seriously a unique light fixture can develop a room both on and off in a way few other things can. My favorite... chandeliers.

Living as a single lady for many years I was able to avoid the dreaded ceiling fan and change nearly every room fixture to a chandelier. The first chandelier I bought was for the gold master at Mulberry Forest. It had a bronze/burnt orange shade with three arms dripping with black jewels. Similar to the wall color, I loved this chandelier so much I moved it to the master at 10th and Wash. I was even able to find nightstand lamps that matched the chrome arms on this chandelier. Not only did it function and fit the look I was going for it was affordable at just $159 on Overstock.com.

In the dining room at 10th and Wash while I went back and forth on the wall color, I always knew what type of light the room needed - a large black colonial looking chandelier. Way out of my price range new, I looked at Habitat Re-Store and on Craigslist for a brass fixture that I could paint. As luck would have it I found the exact light I was looking for already black on Craigslist for $40 - talk about a steal! Since the dining room had previously been a living room the light was not centered over the table so I added a hook to the ceiling and brought it down low right over the table making a dramatic and functional statement.

Before and After

10th and Wash is such a unique house with so much history - on a trip to the crawl space I found a brass and crystal flush mount chandelier in it's original Sears package from the 1920's. This fabulous find was the perfect fit in the guest bedroom, slightly vintage, slightly feminine and not too loud. I loved the idea of not only re-cycling a vintage piece but honoring the 145+ year old house by displaying it.

Hanging lights by yourself can be interesting... I do not recommend this method. 

My new light obsession is with under mount lighting. I had these at 10th and Wash and unfortunately had to take them out through the remodel process. When Tommy Thompson and started the plan for remolding the kitchen at The Lakehouse I knew these needed to go in. Not only did we add under mount lighting, we added a few more cans and a flush mount chandelier in the center of the kitchen. I feel like I say this about every project in that kitchen but lighting really was one of the areas that made the biggest impact.

More than any other room I think a kitchen needs to have ample light and ample options for lights. With a little re-wiring, we now have 3 separate circuits for ceiling lights (1. Can lighting in the overall kitchen 2. Can light over the sink 3. Center chandelier) so whether you're running in for a quick drink or decorating a cake and need a flood of light - this kitchen has it.

Under cabinet lighting during construction

The Little One thinks this chandelier is the best. As if I wasn't crazy about him already.... he loves chandeliers. 

We bought the flush mount chandelier on Overstock.com for $101.99, and installed the Rationell Under Mount Lighting System from IKEA for under $600.00 (this price also includes the under mount lighting we added in the new bar off the kitchen). Tommy Thompson and I were able to install the under cabinet lighting ourselves one evening after work and despite the infamous 'bubble man' instructions that leave much the imagination, we survived this IKEA project. 

Top 10 Favorite Reno's - #8 Hardwood floors

It's hard to beat the timelessness of hardwood floors. No matter what shape they're in, a little TLC can go a long way for beautiful long lasting floors. I was super fortunate to have the classic red oak hardwoods at Mulberry Forest. It's one of the reasons I bought the house - despite all of it's flaws it had great bones, hardwoods being one of them. Years of neglect had left the flooring dull and covered in scratches, even stains in certain areas - but nothing that couldn't be repaired. I contracted a local hardwood re-finisher to do the work (power tools don't scare me, floor sanders do). I removed the trim to prep the floors, giving him a clean slate to work with. Just sanding alone livened the floors up instantly - I call this phase naked floors. I was going for a dark look so before sealing the floors I tested three stains, choosing a rich color that wouldn't be too dark or too red and also asked for two layers of top coat/sealant. The end result was beautiful. Talk about instant impact. With the exception of the kitchen and bathroom the whole house was transformed in a matter of two days. Fast forward two years and the addition of my sweet but ginormous, playful, clumsy English Mastiff Sweet Lucy - they floors were still in mint condition. For $2.85 a square foot this project transformed the entire home and was an investment I saw a HUGE return on when I sold.

Naked floors.

When touring my next house, 10th and Wash, I hoped and prayed for hardwoods under the carpets - not so lucky. When I created my list of to-do's, hardwoods were a must considering this house was 145 years old. Unfortunately given the massive project in the kitchen, installing solid hardwoods was not in my budget. It was important that the hardwoods help to create an increased sense of space within this small house, so after tearing down the wall between the kitchen and living room, I needed wider plank hardwoods going the length of the house including the hallway. Thus creating a seamless transition from the dining to the living to the kitchen. I settled on the Distressed Kinsley Hickory 4 3/4" wide floating floor. Admittedly I couldn't get the name out of my head, my first niece is Kinsleigh so it had to be - these planks just had so much character, just like her! The color, varied wood grain and hand scrape marks made it feel like the perfect balance between a house built in 1869 and a modern 2014 home. AND I got to use my brand new Kobalt Compound Miter Saw. Win. While the floors are floating, I ended up gluing each plank and nailing every third row to ensure these would last a long time. The hardwoods were the icing on the cake after updating the house and creating the open concept floor plan - they tied it all together.

Before the dining room was used as a living room. It made more sense to swap the living in dining to create an open concept floor plan. 

On our most recent remodel project, the kitchen at the Lakehouse, I suggested to Tommy Thompson that we re-finish the hardwoods in the dining room at the same time. Not wanting to add on to the budget we initially said no, however after seeing the kitchen looking so awesome, we couldn't help but re-do the floors. Not to mention it made sense since the house was already in re-model mode, just knock it out. So we did. Our fabulous contractor brought in his hardwood team and in one day, they sanded it, repaired an area that previously held a doorway and stained and sealed it with a water based sealant to keep the fumes down. We added the same tall trim with no reveal as we used on 10th and Wash to give the feel of taller walls, painting these bright white to contract the deep color of the floors. A minor inconvenience to clear the room of furniture and stay out of the house for a day in trade for beautiful long lasting hardwood floors that will hold up to our family for years to come.

Tommy Thompson and Sweet Lucy taking advantage of the large open room to wrestle. 

Top 10 Favorite Reno's - #9 Paint

Ok maybe not a renovation on it's own BUT paint is the cheapest, fastest way to make a HUGE impact, especially if the larger project is out of budget. I love to paint. Wait, let me clarify, I love to paint interiors. If I never paint the exterior of a house again it will be a day too soon. I particularly love cutting and I rarely if ever tape off a room. I developed my mad cutting skills after changing my mind on paint choices and re-painting a room multiple times (right Kayla???). That's the other fabulous thing about paint! Because it's so easy and inexpensive you can change the look of the entire room if you're in the mood! I get that mood often.

I'm particular about my paint - good quality paint and brushes make alllll the difference, trust me. I prefer Valspar paint and primer in one from Lowes hands down any day. I am also a huge fan of smooth, or un-textured walls (this has become quite the point of contention between Tommy Thompson and I as he prefers the opposite, LOTS of texture). I was fortunate enough that Mulberry Forest had smooth walls so I was able to play with some fun techniques. Enter my first gold bedroom.

I love everything gold. It is my most favorite color so when it came time to choose the color of my bedroom it was a given, it would be gold. Valspar has a faux finish called Brushed Pearl in Simply Elegant that would give me the great color I wanted and add some dimension to the smooth wall. And it was easy! You roll and cut a base color (specified by the brushed pearl paint chip you select), let it dry, then working in small sections dry brush the tinted pearlescent color on top in large X's. While the X's are still tacky you take a plastic trowel and smoosh it all around in a circular motion. I did this process twice, letting it dry in between and the end result was gorgeous. So much so that when I sold Mulberry Forest I did the exact same color and technique in the master at 10th and Wash. 

Master bedroom at Mulberry Forest

Master bedroom at 10th and Wash

After the success with brushed pearl I was eager to try my hand at another fancy paint. I had been admiring the metallic teal in the shampoo room at my hair salon and wanted to try a metallic in my itty bitty bathroom at Mulberry Forest. Thinking teal would be a bit much for the small space I opted for The Valspar Brilliant Metals collection in Gunmetal (sadly is no longer available but trust me - it was fabulous!). It was a dark gray but had a fabulous shimmer to it that when paired next to the white subway tile looked stunning.

When I bought Mulberry Forest one could have confused it with a John Deere dealership. The body of the exterior was bright yellow with John Deere green trim. It had to go. Picking an exterior color was hard for me. I wanted bold yet I didn't want it to fade, it needed to make a statement but not the 'oh Lord look at that house' kinda statement. The little house sat under HUGE pine and deciduous trees so it needed to pop. I chose a deep blue with gray undertones in Valspar's Duramax paint which is designed to hold up to fading and cracking (something like this) with bright white trim.

To expedite the job, my parents came over to help along with our friends' paint sprayer. My grandmother was in town and wanted to watch the big event - so we set her up in a chair under the shade tree. We prepped the house, filled the sprayer and waited with cameras ready for the big moment. Drum roll.... nothing. We were all staring at the house anxiously waiting the new color and nothing was coming out. We turned to the sprayer to see what he had not set up correctly and there we saw it. No less than 5 gallons of my beautiful, saved for months to buy the good quality, blue paint - pumping all.over.the.driveway. After a brief laugh we jumped into high gear to prevent more from spilling and clean up the mess, painting the driveway had never been part of the plan.

By far painting the exterior of the house made one of the biggest impacts when it came time to sell. It brought the house into the current decade, gave it a fresh clean appearance and gave it that famous curb appeal everyone looks for. Next time however, I will make room in my budget to hire it out.

Another favorite paint project is the dining room at 10th and Wash. A dining room was on my 'Must have's/Non Negotiable' list when purchasing my next home. So when I found a house with the perfect dining space it had to standout. I found a beautiful 10-person dining set with a buffet but I struggled with the wall color. I teetered between a rusty burnt orange and a deep eggplant purple. It wasn't until I went to the store to buy the paint that I saw it - Dog Park Green. It was bold, unique, and I could justify it for nearly every holiday I would entertain for. Rolling it I was nervous that it was too much, especially considering the front door to the house is in the dining room, but the day after when I could see it in the daylight I was in love. It helped that in addition to the front door, two of the walls had large windows, add in the large buffet to break up the bold color, it was perfect.

My most recent favorite paint project are the kitchen cabinets at the Lakehouse. When we looked at remodeling the kitchen, new cabinets were not only not in the budget, it was unnecessary to change them. Aside from some grease and grime they were/are in great condition, they just needed a face lift. After painting cabinets in my last two kitchens with latex paint I knew we needed something heavier duty. Enter Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The color selection was easy since ASCP comes in pre-mixed colors, and thanks to Pinterest I knew which one I wanted - French Linen. We de-greased the cabinets with Krud Kutter then organic de-natured alcohol and our prep was done (no sanding!!). Two coats of ASCP to each side, and two coats of clear wax (truth be told I still need to apply the second coat of wax...) and they were done. We added Ikea's Tyda handles and the kitchen was un-recognizable. Ok in fairness we changed the backsplash, counters, paint and more but that's in a later post.

Don't be afraid to try new colors and never be afraid to paint over it. Paint is the easiest way to make a big change. Try different types of paint - while ASCP is a new fave of mine, my collection of spray paint will always be a plenty and nothing beats an old fashioned gallon with a roller.

Third times' a charm

I promised myself when I bought my first house I would blog about it. I bought a marijuana grow house to remodel after all - there would be no shortage of commentary. The first set back was losing my camera charger in the move, hard to blog about before and after accomplishes with grainy Blackberry pictures. Then there was the internet. $50 a month for internet could go a long way towards the reno budget. Oh and I can't forget my absolute fear of learning how to blog... but then my friend Lily sat me down and went over it step by step. Like a teacher would a fifth grader. 

Project after project I SWORE I would catch up and write down my progress, the injuries, the phone calls to my mother swearing I had no right to buy a fixer upper as a twenty something single woman, sharing my accomplishments, how much I hated the process getting there. Then suddenly, my project list shrunk, and I found myself re-painting rooms just because (actually, I did this even when my project list was ginormous, if you know me you know I like to re-paint rooms. And re-paint again). The house I swore I couldn't tackle was done. All grown up. Lucky for me the market had grown up as well and it was time to sell. In just over a month my very first home was under contract and I was on my way to a new town, a new job and the hunt for another home to tackle. And sadly, no blog to recount the beautiful disaster that it took to get it there. 

This time, THIS house I would blog about. I had no excuse, I could well afford internet now. And I not only had an iPhone to capture before and afters but a fancy schmancy DSLR. Not to mention a blog domain I had been paying for monthly for the last year and a half - and I thought about Lily helping me all those months ago. No excuses. Then life happened, as it always does, and my beautiful 119 year old house grew up in half the time as the first one, and so did I. I started a new job, met the love of my life, prioritized my remodel list and staked a rental sign in the front yard to start my new life in yet another town, with my beautiful quirky new family. Still - no blog. 

They say the third time is a charm and this being the third time I promise myself I will blog. I'm going to do it. It's a scary thing starting a blog. I think about Carrie Bradshaw writing about her life for all to read and it seems so glamorous and easy. And then I remind myself that opposite Carrie in New York, I live in Longmont Colorado, own not a single pair of Manolo's yet far too many Target brand shoes - but most of all, who would want to read what I have to say?

This year has been amazing - probably my best year yet. By no means has it been easy - just amazing. So I decided... I care what I have to say (in true only child fashion) and if nobody reads this but me - that's ok. I won't do it just because I promised myself I would but to document my life. (This makes me think of my beautiful Aunt Lanita who studies our ancestory - wouldn't it be grand if our great great grandmother had just made the time to write a blog Lanita?) I would write it to remind myself why I chose certain paths, and what I learned from them. To look back on all that I've accomplished and what I have left to continue working on. To laugh and cry over the memories and to remind myself each and every time I look at this blog how lucky I am. 

My new promise to myself is to make this blog fun. Focusing on the things in life I love most, the projects that I get so excited about (both completed and on my to-do list), the people that I can't live without, the places we visit and those we dream about, my sweet little Lucy and food - gosh I love food. And maybe, just maybe to give back. To let those people in my life that I can't live without know how much I love them. To share something I learned - especially if I learned it the hard way. 

Rules for reading this blog... If you haven't noticed already I write just like I talk. My first boss out of college told me that and if there ever were a place to make this trait shine, well here it is. I like to write incredibly long sentences and I catch myself having conversations within conversations. It's fun, you'll see. I absolutely love to entertain. I have an addiction to china, cake plates, brass candlesticks and anything gold. Pinterest makes me feel like wonder woman so you will see many a project that I pinned, even the Pinterest fails. You should know that I give things, people, places, experiences - everything - a nickname. 

Whether this is the next Pioneer Woman blog or merely a place for me to vent - thank you for looking on with an open mind.