Then, in 2009, I found out several of my friends had started writing blogs, started following them, decided to start a blog, and then realized there was this whole bloggy world out there. Who knew???! So, I was a little slow getting started, posting weekly, if I was lucky, and taking the summer off almost completely, but I have managed to come up with a "best of" list.
- First, the posts that seem to get the most hits and have the most links are from the woven star series. This was such a fun project that just used vintage book pages and glue! (okay, and glitter and tinsel, too)
- My personal favorite project was this very quick, very easy wreath, made from vintage book pages. This is the project I kept for myself. I love the subtle blend of color and texture....
- Next, one of the bigger projects I posted about was this bathroom renovation. This renovation was for a house that we sold this year, and the house would not have gone under contract for nearly as much (top dollar in a cratered market), nearly as quickly (six days) had we not done this work.
- The post that got the most laughs was probably this post, where I described how we added a window to an old chicken coop to create a new design studio. This was another "green" project for two reasons: First, the window was salvaged from ReSource, and second, the original wall was so leaky, we actually increased the R-Value of the wall by adding a window -- that never happens!
Do you like our retaining walls? These were recycled pieces
of broken concrete from our old patio and our old garage
floor. I'm not really sure why I never blogged about them....
- The post that made me feel the most grateful, was this post, about a Habitat for Humanity Show House that I worked on with a colleague. We had pretty tough rules -- nothing but white paint, nothing on the walls, unless you could hang it by a push pin, and all the furniture and accessories needed to be sourced from either the ReStore, or another local second-hand source. Oh, and we had only a few hours to do everything, and builders were still working on the house while we set up. Fortunately, we had lots of help from local volunteers!
The sweet woman who was purchasing the home was
so moved when she saw the staging, that she wept.
It was such an honor to work on this project.
- The project that nearly killed me was creating what seemed like a million of these flower covered lanterns for my beautiful daughter's summer wedding (the reason I took the summer off from blogging). I talked about making them in this "What NOT to Do" list. I was only "allowed" to blog a tiny bit about the wedding preparations, as my daughter wanted the guests to be surprised, but I did manage to post this horrendous picture.
Pretty sad, right? I was trying to slip the lantern over this lamp,
so I could send my daughter a picture of how the lantern would look
when lighted. Only, the wire armature of the lantern got stuck
on the CFL coil, and yadda, yadda, yadda....
Ultimately, the flower lanterns turned out beautifully, hanging in great swags from the rafters of an old net shed on the Oregon coast, but I never did blog about that....
- The ongoing saga of 2010 was our on-again-off-again house hunting adventures. For months, we weren't sure if we would be transferred again -- the likelihood changed from one day to the next. We looked a tons of houses, and finally decided we loved this one. But it had some issues....
- For Christmas I participated in a bloggy Holiday Home Tour.
- And finally, if you read nothing else that I've posted in 2010, please, please, please read this post about electrical safety in your home, and please, please, please, pass this information on.
This bathroom was styled by decorator to the stars, Nate Berkus.
Nate Berkus is personable, and fun, and his styling is absolutely beautiful.
Please click this link to read why interiors styled for a photograph, are not necessarily styled for living.
Wishing you all a safe and beautiful New Year!
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