2012

Whew! I can't believe we are about to ring in a new year! Before we start off 2013 I thought I would do a little round-up of a few of my favorite posts from each month. Also, for those that may have wondered about our December donation, because of the amount of e-mails we received for nominations for our November donation we decided to split up both November and Decembers money and give it to several different families that were nominated. Starting next month we will go back to featuring another family or organization.

Let's get started with some of our favorite blog projects/posts from 2012:

January

 In January we added a few new things in our kitchen. One one side of the island we added these buckets and basket:

and we painted the other side of our island to create a little chalkboard "wall". 

and finally painted and put up curtains in our master bedroom (and painted some Euro Shams as well)

February:

In February Jason graced us with a lovely tutorial:

and Lillie got her first bike:

March:

In March we made tea-stained silhouette Easter eggs:

and made over a little french cabinet:

and stripped and painted  our coffee table:

April:

In April we updated our staircase by painting the railing and making these inexpensive chevron frames (tutorial here).

and this sign for my parent's anniversary:

and our little Lorelei Wren turned one:

May:

In May we had her first birthday party up in NH:

and during that trip to NH we also made this sign for Jamie and Josh's kitchen:

and made over this 1990's hutch:

and we also shared with you all Matt and Meredith's huge kitchen makeover:

June:

In June we shared this recipe:

and added some color to our porch:

which included a tutorial on how to make these oversized posters:

and one of my favorites projects was this lemonade stand:

which also works as a puppet theater and an ice cream stand:

  You can find the tutorial on how to make one of these basic stands here.

July:

In July we shared how to make a window seat with just a screwdriver and a glue gun:

and I started playing around with my new camera and took some of the last photos at the tree swing at my parents old house:

August:

In August I played around some more with my new camera while Lillie and her cousins played baseball:

we did a relatively lengthy basic photography Q&A post:

and shared pictures of Jamie and Josh's new den:

September:

In September we updated our dining room by making a farmhouse table (click here for that post), a bench (click her for the tutorial) and I updated our old runner and made it a bit longer and we finally started selling them in our shop! (And we just restocked them again last night if you are waiting on one!)

I also showed you some things I made for our wedding six years ago:

and our fall chalkboard:

October:

In October we showed you a desk makeover and another autumn chalkboard:

and our Thanksgiving tablescape:

November:

In November we started selling our growth charts in natural pine (we have a discounted batch listed right now!):

and we showed you a tutorial on how to make this tufted ottoman:

and this fun and easy little jewelry holder:

December:

 In December Lillian Annabel turned four!

and we shared how to make your own chalkboard with just a screwdriver:

and one of my favorite chalkboards so far:

as well as our Christmas Tour:

For a full list of all of our tutorials just click here, and for more information about items seen in our home click here. For 2011's Favorite Posts click here.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! I am looking forward to lots of new and exciting things for  Dear Lillie in 2013!

The Same Little Smirk...

Just popping in to say I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I have been working on our 2012 photo album and was editing some photos from earlier this month. I printed this one out and when my mom saw it she noted Lola had the same expression as a photo I'd taken of her when she was just a couple of months old. Sure enough, when I found it it was almost the exact same photo - just a year and a half later! It's funny to see how similar she looks in some ways and different in others. Her features are pretty much the same but her hair and eyes have lightened. And I think I can see a little more mischief in her eyes in the second photo... =)

I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Merry Christmas! (Our 2012 Christmas Card)

 I just wanted to quickly pop in and wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Jason showed you his Christmas Card this weekend and here is our family card from Jon, Lillie, Lola and I. Ours isn't as humorous.

FRONT:

INSIDE:

BACK:

We hope you all have a beautiful and blessed Christmas!

(For our card I used actions and templates from Crave Photography and Paint the Moon.)