Saying goodbye to 2017

 

Well, hello there 2018.  I'm not completely sure where 2017 went, but it sure flew by!  I've been thinking a lot about the past year and, while not everything went exactly the way I had planned, it was a really good year.  I feel so blessed that I get to share my heart with you, my faithful readers. 
This month marks the 9th anniversary of this little space, so I am working on giving it a makeover, making it more user friendly, and just all around a better place to build community as we navigate through the crazy of being a wife, mom, and _______ .  

So, let's take a look back and see some of my favorite posts from the year.

January

I started the year with a HUGE mess, when we decided to re do our office and make it a brighter, more organized space that we actually wanted to be.  It was a lot of work, but we got through it and we absolutely loved the results.   Read about it here. 

Then, there was this coffee cake the combined two of my most favorite things: blueberries and almonds.  Seriously, this cake was so good, I keep going back to it!  Definitely a show stopper at your next get together!  You can find the recipe here.

February

The month started off with my youngest turning 6 and a friends party at our local California Pizza Kitchen.  I really loved how this party came out!  Read more about the details here.

February also means Valentines Day, so we made some super cute Lego Valentines this year with our Lego ice molds.  These were so much fun and a great option if you don't want to add to the candy insanity that comes with Valentines Day! Read more about it here.

March

The spring air that came with March was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of our Magnolia lined street with this easy wreath tutorial.  Check it out on the blog here. 

The schedule must have gotten busy, because I wrote a post on being overwhelmed.  Some great tips and I will definitely be revisiting that post a few times this spring! 

April

I had got creative with one of our empty flower beds with this inexpensive project.  It was a guest post over at my friend Dorothy's blog.  Click here for the link. 

I also shared my most favorite oven fries ever!  We can't get enough of these!  You should add these to your menu. . . pronto! 

May

The kitchen was clean, so I shared our kitchen redo.  We still dream of replacing the counters with something much better than yucky tile, but in the meantime, we are enjoying the finished cabinets and a few other improvements that I think really help improve it!  You can read all about it here.

June

June brought the start of summer and the Summer Pin Challenge where we chose a bunch of different pins and tried them at home! This kept us busy and focused on creating, instead of watching hours of TV.   I also wrote this post on how we survive summer . . . before you know it, it's going to be time to start our next summer challenge! 

July

The boys and I stayed pretty busy this summer with our Summer Pin Challenge, but I found time to get in a flag tutorial for you just before the 4th of July.  It was super easy and I think I made it in under an hour with fabric I had laying around the house. . . this made my hubby VERY happy!

 August

the end of summer brought the last few Summer Pin Challenge activities along with some back to school tips, but my favorite post of all this month was the one I did about coffee and friendship.  And not necessarily coffee, but anything that makes you happy where you could invite a friend, share some time and be encouraged. It really is good for your soul.  You should read it.  again.  You can find it here.

September

September marked the last big birthday party for our oldest and I think we went out with a bang!  An explosive bang, that is!  You can read more about it here.

I also made this amazing tart.  It's really all about the brown butter crust, which in all honesty is the best thing ever! I mean, brown butter and I have a thing going on (sorry Jon. . . ha ha!).  Go find the recipe and make it. . . with apples or pears or something.  Or go buy peaches from the freezer section so you can make this now. . . and then make it again this summer when you can get fresh produce.  You can find this post here. 

October

I didn't blog a bunch in October. . . I think things got really busy!  But, I did a Proverbs 31 post about your worth.  It's definitely worth a re-read, especially as we enter this new year.  Find it here.

November

Fall came in beautiful this November and so did this dairy free version of Corn Chowder.  Oh, and the leaves and gingerbread lattes.  Seriously.  It could stay like that forever and I'd be a happy camper!  You can find the recipe here.   As I type this, I know that Spring is on it's way and it's the first week of January, it only slightly depresses me. . . ha ha! 

December

This was only a few weeks ago, but it is bar far my favorite thing.  Baking bread is something that I wanted to learn, and learn well, so this past year or so, that's what I've been working on.  Honestly, this is probably one of my favorite things I've made so far.  It was really good, too!  I can't wait to post more of these King Arthur Flour Bake Along posts in the future!  You can find the recipe over here.

And that was 2017.  Crazy how much happened.  There were also some quilts, cards, more recipes, more thoughts, some meal inspiration, and so much more.  Oh and there was this recipe that was the MOST searched recipe on the blog!  I am excited to see where 2018 will lead me (and the blog).  And finally, a huge thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for sometimes leaving me a comment (seriously, the best things ever!). 

Did you create anything last year that made you so proud?  

What are some things that you would like to see on the blog in 2018

 (I'm always looking for new ideas!).