2013 Year In Review

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2013 was a freaking fantastic year. I finally was in my groove being a mama, we bought and started re-doing a new {old} home, Jeremy started a new job, we got pregnant with our second baby, and had amazing times and trips with family and friends.  God has blessed us beyond anything we even remotely deserve, and we just hope we can be good stewards of it all.  Here are some of our favorite projects of the year….
We were so excited this year to be featured in Country Woman magazine! They did an awesome spread on the kitchen in our hold house…man I miss that place!
It seems crazy to think that a year ago Bray was only eight months! Where did the time go? I was still doing monthly updates of what world was like with him, and also any and all products that made life easier and more fun for the both of us!

We also started the year still not living in the new house.  Between the workers and us though, it was changing every day!  One huge improvement we made was the kitchen makeover.  We had beautiful cabinets installed and I love them every day.
The day we finally moved in, it was a good one!
To finally make the new cabinets fully functioning we installed some beautiful Restoration Hardware pulls and shared a little tutorial on how-to.
For probably the 1,000th time we came to y’all for advice. This time it was to try and figure out where exactly we should and shouldn’t install the subway tile in the kitchen.  With your help, we went with just where the cabinets are, and not the wall. We also showed you the easiest tutorial ever on how to install it!

We had a huge hiccup this year too.  What we once thought was Boomer being a bad dog and peeing on the wood, turned out to be a huge leak.  Not only a leak, but a leak that had been sitting there for awhile:(  We had to replace all of the brand new wood we put down, tear down a lot of the wall, and take out a cabinet in the kitchen! 
Jeremy and I had a huge celebration this year- FIVE years of marriage! Nine being together. Craziness! 
We also showed you all the insanely perfect Midcentury Modern home of our friends. They own Modern Manor, and it shows the impeccable taste they have in every room of their house.
The first room in the new house to get finished was Brays nursery! It was our top priority to have his space feel like home to him, so we kept the room the same as his one in our old house. 
We celebrated Braylens 1st Birthday! It was so fun and wild having a bunch of friends and family there and we couldn’t have done this first year of parenting without everyones support.
We turned an Ikea desktop in to our laundry room countertop, with a easy little tutorial here.
After months of trying out sample after sample, we had finally picked out the perfect grey for the main living areas of the house! Sherwin Williams Olympus White it is!
As with every holiday, I try to get a fun roundup of crafts and food I am loving from around the WWW. Here was the 4th of July roundup!
After months of needing to get my act together and really test out the durability of the new counters we got, I finally put together a full review on them.  Needless to say, they are the best.  We highly recommend them to anyone, especially if you are like us and have a love affair with marble but don’t want the upkeep.
Things really got rolling after being in the house for a little while.  The main constrcution was finally finished, so now we were able to just focus on the details, like Door Trim. 
I shared my absolute obsession with homemade natural toothpaste.  I hope some of you have tried this since seeing the post, but man oh man I loveee it.
In the kitchen I also tried something I have never done before…canning! We have two huge Fig trees at this house, and as much as I love them, theres no way we could eat these babies fast enough.  I found an awesome tutorial and ended up making my own Strawberry Fig jam!
Then a life changing thing happened.  I have a friend who is a cleaning genius, her house is always freaking impeccable, and she never seems to be stressed out about it.  I asked her for some simple tips, and this one she gave me for cleaning my hardwood floors is invaluable!
We were so excited to show y’all the finished product of the dining room! This room was so fun to decorate, and we love that most of the items in it are from Craigslist! Details on the table and chairs here.
It finally broke 100 degrees here in Phoenix, so of course that meant it was time to bust out some Fall projects, like this no-sew burlap runner.
Around that time we finally finished the work on our stairs!! These beauties were not so hot looking when we moved in, but man they are stunning now.
A project that took us a long time to complete was the Built-ins. They turned out better than we could have imagined, but that was all thanks to Jeremy working tirelessly on them.  They truly seem as though they have been here forever, and we love that the glass cabinets are from the early 1900′s from an old hotel here in AZ. We showed you a lot of the tutorials that made it come together, and there are even more to come!
We took some much needed time away and went to Palm Springs with our friends from Modern Manor. It was amazing seeing all the furniture there, a true Midcentury Modern heaven.
I also showed y’all Brays sweet little growth chart. Love this easy and adorable project for kids!
Quite possibly our favorite project of the year though? The fireplace mantle and built-ins!!  We are obsessed with how they turned out, and they are perfect for showcasing any and all holidays!
We finished the room within hours of hosting 25 people for Thanksgiving! Nothing like getting a little fire under your butt to get things done. 
Thanksgiving was over in a flash, and on came Christmas.  I made these super easy ornaments out of sticks, yes sticks!
The easiest Christmas craft this year though was these no-sew stockings!  Got the sweaters at Goodwill, used some glue, and called it a day:)
Our most favorite post of the year though?  Breaking the news to y’all that we are expecting baby #2!!! So freaking excited!  Due June 28th! 
With the new year, what are your plans? Resolutions? Thoughts, hopes, and dreams? Thanks for making it such an incredible year, whether y’all realize it or not, you guys are a big part of our lives- a great part!! We love you all.  

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