The Best of 2011

This is the 3rd year I've done a year recap and it's always fun to look back and see everything we've accomplished during the past 12 months.

Project: What did you start this year that you're proud of?

The fireplace was the first project we started on when we moved into our house over 2 years ago. It was a bit too much to take on right away, but after many months, we finally had a beautiful fireplace and mantel to look at! See the amazing transformation here.

Another big project we tackled was the wood buffet we put in our family room. After major drama with the store we bought it from closing unexpectedly and filing for bankruptcy and then dealing with attempting to stain and paint in the middle of winter in the garage, we finally finished it! It's so great for storage and it fits perfectly in the space. See all the drama and more photos here.

Recipes: The yummiest cooking from the past year

Asian-inspired chicken tacos

Whoopie Pies

Best Craft: What got your creative juices flowing?

This is so hard to pick! I had to decide on a few of my favorites to share...

Valentine's Day XO letters

Felt Flower Spring Wreath

Initial Pillow

Initial Crayon Frame

Sock Monkey

Night Out: Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
I can't say I had many (or any) of these in 2011. Considering I was pregnant or had a newborn baby for the entire time, there weren't too many nights that I was out. Since that doesn't apply, I'll go with one of my favorite days out - my baby shower. It was so much fun to see all my family & friends who came to celebrate the upcoming birth. Everyone was so generous to give us such wonderful gifts.

Challenge: Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the biggest challenge of the year for you?
Nothing has made me grow more than becoming a mom to an adorable little boy. I'm so happy to have him and I feel so fulfilled. The "pursuit of happiness" is now a lot easier to achieve with him around!

The Best Place:
Without a doubt, my favorite place this year was the nursery. This room was a work in progress for most of the year, but we finally finished it just in time for the arrival of the baby. See the details and decor here.

New Food:
Circus peanuts. Hubby apparently used to like these as a kid so his grandma bought him some at Thanksgiving. He forced me to try one. Ewww. Not a fan.
Best Accomplishment:
I survived pregnancy, childbirth and being a new mom! My baby blog documented my infertility, BFP, pregnancy, and the birth of the baby if you're interested in reading. I'm so proud to have gone through all of this and come out happier than ever with a beautiful new son that I love.

New person/people:
Of course, this has to be Connor. The newest addition to our family!

Web Tool:
I think most people would say Pinterest, but I'm avoiding getting addicted to that by staying away. This sounds so minor, but this year I figured out how to cut & paste images in blogger when I'm writing posts. This saved me so much time!

My goals for 2012:

• Continue to enjoy every moment with my baby son

• Finish updating all the doors & trim in the house

• Try to start cooking a little more again (I got a little side-tracked in 2011 with being pregnant and crazy house renovations)

2011 Summer Wish List

I did this last year so I figured it might be fun to do it again.

First, I'm going to look at my summer of 2010 list and see how much we actually did. (This might be embarrassing...) Unfortunately, the summer didn't turn out as planned and we had some hard times, so some of these got put on the back burner as we coped with it. But we did still accomplish a lot of them!

1. go for a bike ride - I did in the driveway...does that count?

2. dine al fresco - I know one time we went to the KFC drive-thru and then brought our food to the forest preserve and ate it while we watched the Des Plaines River. We also had a picnic at Carved Rock in Rockford, IL and I took a bunch of pretty pictures of the sailboats.

3. have a cigar night in the backyard (kind of an inside joke b/c we did this at our old house on the balcony off our bedroom one day) - This never ended up happening. However, this year, Hubby has already checked this off his list.

4. buy ice cream from the truck that drives around our neighborhood every night - I know we never did this, but we did go to Dairy Queen a few too many times!

5. run my first 5k race (as long as my body isn't broken) - I missed my first one when I found out I was pregnant, but I did do it later! So happy about this one!

6. do cartwheels in the grass like the neighborhood kids - Not that I can remember, but I bet I did while Hubby was mowing the lawn and laughing at me.

7. feed ducks in the park (I'm supposed to do this alone because I was told I am too old for this) - While we waited for my D&C surgery to be scheduled, I wanted to get out of the house, so I convinced Hubby to walk around the lake by our house with me. I brought bread and fed the ducks and geese (who chased after me once I ran out of bread). I also spent way too much time in the petting zoo area at Brookfield Zoo feeding and petting the animals like I was 4 years old.8. go to a tapas restaurant - We went for our anniversary in August. Here I am posing with my anniversary gift before dinner. Yeah, I'm a dork.
9. hit up my usual summer craft fairs - Done, but I don't think I bought anything

10. do something fun for our anniversary in August - Done! See #8


So for this year, our plans will be a little different now that we have a little boy coming! But there's still so much to do!

1. Have a healthy baby boy in August (or September if he's late!)

2. Bring back #4 from last year. I must buy ice cream from the ice cream truck. I have now been told I have a 6th sense for when it's coming. I can hear that song in the house with the a/c on and the tv blaring!

3. Dine al fresco as we did last year as well. One of my favorite things to do!

4. We've been going crazy trying to get things done in the house before the baby comes. I really want to have all our new doors & trim installed by the time he's born. Then it will be time for a major home renovation break.

5. Get the nursery finished. It's our priority before the other house projects and it's on its way to being completed.

6. Start trying to do some cooking again. I went through a lazy time when I just didn't have the energy, but I'd at least like to try some new recipes during the summer when I'm more motivated.

7. Continue trying to work out a few times a week. I've cut down from my hardcore 5x a week, but 2-3 is good for me. Hopefully, I can keep it up until it's really uncomfortable.

8. Enjoy myself and relax as much as possible now. Our lives will never be the same again!