Hello 2015!

Hi there! I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing holiday and are recharged to begin this New Year. We headed to upstate NY after Christmas to visit my mother in law and had a chance to catch up with all of the in laws and cousins. It was a much needed relaxing time for all of us. I really didn’t think about work or blogging for two entire weeks and it was a joy.

And here we are at the start of a New Year with all of its possibilities.  I wrote this post last year and it was fun to go back and see how I fared. The list of “20 Things to Start Doing” will still hold true this year and I really did take a lot of them to heart last year. Funny that I said that I may work on my kitchen when that was really the major house update last year, besides painting some rooms and zhushing up our mudroom.

This year will be all about balance for me and when I came across this quote in my 2015 Horoscope on Chatelaine.com, I knew it had to be my new mantra:

via Chatelaine

So, what were some highlights from 2014 and what do I hope to accomplish this year?

1) On a personal level,  2014 went smoothly, nothing earth shattering, we didn’t take any “big” vacations (Mr. Decor Happy started a new position and couldn’t really take any time off), we were all healthy.  I think that’s key to a successful year, right? Health and happiness. Maya is 12 1/2 going on 20 as everyone says but it has been a joy to see her blossom into this lovely human being. She started competitive dance which is her passion and has an amazing group of close friends who I am very thankful for. (Follow me on Instagram to see more personal photos plus work ones as well.)

Since we didn’t travel anywhere too exciting last year, I really want to make that a priority this year. I have two possible trips in the planning stages which I will share as plans are firmed up.

2) I was lucky enough to be a BlogTour Las Vegas attendee in February and not only was it so wonderful to attend KBIS, meet the sponsors and brands and learn about their products, it was a whole lot of fun too. You can read the posts here.

3) My new website went live and I absolutely adore it. Thanks so much to Brittany Douglas who took my wish list and created this.

4) I worked with many wonderful, trusting clients last year which makes my job that much more rewarding.  I did a lot of 2 hour design consultations (one time only) where I solve design problems and provide design tips and ideas during a 2-3 hour session. The client then executes everything on their own. Clients really love this as sometimes they feel stuck and I’m there to say do this, paint that, purchase this etc. I answer many burning questions that they maybe have had for years but needed some coaching and advice to kickstart their project. Of course I also do whole room projects as well – everything from start to finish to ensure your home is photo ready!

5) A kitchen I designed was published in Style at Home’s Makeovers with Style special issue. Being published never gets old and I have been very fortunate to have been published a few times over the years. #grateful  🙂

6) My kitchen update/redecoration project pretty much filled the pages of Decor Happy in the last quarter of 2014. To say that I love my kitchen is an understatement. I love being in there in the evening when the pendant casts a warm glow, cooking dinner for my family. Yes, I am actually enjoying cooking especially since my new range is a dream.  And I’m not afraid to have people over any more as I was so embarrassed about the old kitchen. Did you see the Befores? You can read all of the posts here.

Because I linked up to the One Room Challenge, my audience grew and I was introduced to a number of blogs that I hadn’t even heard of. In this day of blogging, where people aren’t reading blogs as much (I know I’m not) and certainly not taking time to comment, it was such a joy to receive so many positive comments on the reveal post. Thank you for that.

(photo credit: Stephani Buchman)

7) The kitchen was featured on both Domaine Home and Style Me Pretty Living and is still being featured by others on Instagram. So grateful for all the attention that it has received. You can link over to the articles from my Press page.

8) I plan on getting a couple of projects photographed early this year to share.  One of them is an ongoing project dear to my heart with the sweetest client ever and we just need to take it to the finish line with accessories and a few things we have added to the scope.

9) I hired an assistant during the summer (sadly, she went back to school) and it was one of the best business decisions I made. It’s hard to do everything and do it well. I’m going to see how the year starts out and perhaps do the same this year.

So, that’s it for the moment. I will be back later this week with a Before and After of a home I worked on last year, so stay tuned. And thank you for sticking around and reading what I have to say. I appreciate it so much and wish you nothing but the best this year.