2015 Year In Review

 

 

It’s the first week of January so we’re gearing up for our annual January Operation: Organization series, but before we completely close the door on last year we thought we’d take a quick look back at all that we did here at 11 Magnolia Lane in 2015. Sometimes it’s easy to focus on all that still needs to be done {especially in my house!} so it’s rewarding to take a look back at everything that we’ve accomplished over the last 12 months. What a year it was!

 

 

 

I kicked off 2015 with a post on time management and productivity , that topic became a recurring theme for me last year, I am not sure I knew it was going to be this early in the year, but come Fall of 2015 there was much more on this topic.

 

 

and in January Christy shared her fresh, updated decor in her {former} family room in this post HERE.

 

 

In February, I tackled another DIY that made a huge difference in our home–lightening up the dark brick on our fireplace with some white paint.

 

 

And Christy knocked out a renter-friendly DIY–one that can make a huge difference– adding trim around a large bathroom mirror.
 

 

 

 

In March, Christy wrote up a tutorial on one of her most popular, not to mention easiest, home projects–How to Create a No-Sew Window Valance.
 

 
And also by last March I had pulled things together enough in our new home to put together a post showing my full Home Tour {I’ve updated this post since then as well}.

 

 

In April, I showed off my all time favorite DIY–our IKEA Billy Bookshelves turned Built-ins. {full tutorial HERE}

 

 

And Christy updated her Master Bathroom with a pretty aqua and gray color scheme.

 

 

 

Spring came around and in May Christy shared that she was moving to North Carolina and showed off the pretty house that was soon to be their next home!

 

 

And, for the first time {maybe in our blogging history?} we showed off a project we did together while Christy was in town visiting me–DIY Open Stained Shelving. I get to enjoy these pretties every day in my kitchen 🙂

 

 

 

In June, I revealed our entry in the HomeRight IKEA Billy Bookcase Challenge, where I joined the other HomeRight Ambassadors to take a Billy Bookcase and convert it into something fun. Our project took 4th place, which considering the stiff competition I was pretty proud of!

 

 

Also in June, Christy began the process of putting her personal touch on her new home and painted her daughter’s room a beautiful pale blue color.

 

 

July started on a low note as Christy shared the horrific experience that was their move from Georgia to North Carolina. Military spouses rallied around her and chimed in with their own stories of loss and damage from careless moving companies.

 

 

Luckily, soon after her move, we set off together on our annual trip to the Haven Conference where we meet up with our online-friends-turned-real-life friends. There we got to enjoy some downtime learning, networking and just having a good time being together!

 

 

Oh and also in July I shared my mudroom with a summer spin on it…

 

 

 

August brought our annual Operation: Organization Back to School series {see all the posts HERE} and I launched my new line of organizational products {soon to be re-released this January…details to come!}.

 

 

And Christy kicked off a makeover of her back hallway including a new pantry, mudroom and shelving.

 

 

 

When September rolled around, Christy had finished the hallway and turned an unused closet into her pantry, isn’t it gorgeous?

 

 

And I showed off our home all decorated for Fall…

 

 

 

In October, it got real when I showed off our new light and bright kitchen–spending weeks of painting cabinets was worth it when I posted our new Kitchen Reveal!

 

 

And Christy showed off the quiet Reading Nook she created in an unused corner of her Master Bedroom.

 

***OH! And it October we marked FIVE years of blogging here at 11 Magnolia Lane!***

 

 

In November, since it was that time of year, Christy shared a thoughtful post on ways to be a good house guest…

 

 

and I hosted a Favorite Things party for my girlfriends which was so much fun; it will definitely become a new holiday tradition.

 

 

 

December was a whirlwind! We had our best Holiday Open House ever with such lovely guest hostesses, you can see all their gorgeous homes HERE.

We joined in the fun too, and I shared our home here…

 

 

And Christy shared hers here…

 

 

That pretty much wraps up the year! Looking back I admit I am amazed that we got done as much as we did 🙂 I can’t wait to see what 2016 {and our SIXTH year of blogging!} brings! Thanks everyone for joining us on this journey, we appreciate each and every one of you!

XO,