Month: December 2013

2013 Year in Review + {Link Up}

Written by Jenna on December 30, 2013. Posted in Uncategorized, Year in Review. 14 Comments on 2013 Year in Review + {Link Up}

What a year it’s been. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s gone by in a blink of an eye. Seriously. I don’t think a year has ever gone by so fast. Anyway, the past year has been filled with many unexpected and rewarding opportunities – I can’t be more thankful. As always, it’s fun to look back on all the DIY creations and projects that have been accomplished around the ole’ homestead. Let’s head down memory lane for 2013…

January started out with revamping my central command center with a new chalkboard wall behind. Who knew at the time that it would be chosen to be featured in a national magazine, Better Homes and Gardens (on stands now). Crazy. This 30″ spot in our home is incredibly functional and truly keeps our family on track so we know where we’re going when.

I will mention, since a year ago, this spot has changed once again (as our needs have changed) and it’s one of the first projects I’ll be sharing with you in 2014.

Along with this fun + functional wall, January was also filled with inspiration on starting a blog, fixing unaligned furniture, and turning trash into treasure (lamp to vase).

As we headed into February, the focus was on designing my new office / family room and all the new details that went into creating it like the striped window treatments using paint, the modern to industrial-style coffee table, and the creation of my GIANT inspiration board. The backstory of how the room evolved over the years is quite interesting…

What a busy month!

March was another busy month around my neck of the woods, along with a few client projects. The MEGA craft room with bright + vibrant colors that I had finished was finally ready to be revealed…

…as well as a newly renovated client kitchen. Both were such rewarding projects (and both were photographed for BHG and will be featured later this year). Pinch me again.

April was another exciting month with the start of my powder room makeover. And still to this day, I just LOVE it. The renovation started with removing the existing toilet and sink, then the following month I moved on to wallpapering the space, and installing the new toilet, sink, and accessories.

Also in April, I shared inspiring Spring porches + entryways, ideas for infusing color into the home, and superb Spring mantels. So much INSPIRATION to go around. The biggest project in April though was definitely the creation of the Vertical Garden Pallet for my front porch.

Spring was one of my favorite seasons on the blog because I hosted a beautiful blog series about Creating a Meaningful Home. Many of my blog friends contributed and opened up their homes to share how they’ve created a meaningful home. If you want to see the entire series, this link will take you there.

On the DIY front, May was a big month because we finally tackled the staining of our exterior wood deck. Looking back at the before picture makes me simply shake my head. I can’t believe how desperate it needed some TLC. It was a big project to tackle, but so worth it in the end!

In June, the Creating a Meaningful Home blog series continued, but it was also a month filled with making cute mason jar terrariums with the kids, sharing inspiration on 5 upgrades for a killer kitchen, and my new entry drop space. The entry upgrade has made the foyer space so much more user-friendly and even though it’s not a huge area, extra room for coats and bags has been wonderful.

As the summer rolled around, the powder room kept me busy throughout the month of July. Once it was finally finished near the end of the month, I was able to share the big reveal. What a CHANGE!

During the Summer, I was also asked to become apart of the Apartments.com team as a Brand Ambassador. Through my partnership with Apartments.com I have been able to share ideas + inspiration about living in an apartment and/or a small space. We’re all looking for strategic ways to maximize our space and often with a little planning and outside-of-the-box thinking, a better use of space is possible. As a Brand Ambassador for Apts.com, over the past few months I have shared many easy-to-create DIY projects, like these rope wrapped vases and glasses.

August was a slow month on the DIY homefront, but it was a busy month in general because my family and I hit the road for the biggest roadtrip we’ve ever taken. We headed to Atlanta for the Haven Conference in a 2300+ total mile trip. The trip truly changed my life. I finally got to meet so many friends that I had only known thus far through the computer. It’s amazing how blogging has made such an impact on my life.

Once I returned from Haven, I was still a busy DIY girl! I kept myself occupied with revamping my bookcase backs, sharing inspiration on ideas for open kitchen shelving, and my latest DIY creation – a new pallet gardening table.

Also in late Summer, I became a covergirl by having a space I designed featured on the cover. I had worked with a local magazine called, Saratoga Mama, and their Fall magazine featured a Kids Corner Craft area that I designed. It was such a fun project to be apart of!

As Fall rolled around, and we welcomed September + my 3 year blog anniversary, ideas for a foyer revamp started to fill my head. And when I set my mind to something, I usually can’t let it go. The best part of the foyer makeover was definitely the addition of wide horizontal stripes. Of course, I shared a few tips + tricks I learned to achieve the most perfect stripes…

A few other favorite projects + posts in September were how I created drop cloth curtain panels with a leading edge (one of my most favorite projects to date), my unique Fall wreath with plums + peacock, and ideas + solutions for the wall BEHIND the TV.

In October, I tackled quite a few fun and easy DIY projects like the creation of the stained yellow coffee table with dipped legs, the chevron patterned pillow, and how to bring the outdoors in with Fern Art…

October was also an exciting month because I got to share the final foyer reveal with you. The space has had quite the evolution of styles over the years!

November brought the start of the Christmas decorating season. We started early this year! But before I began showing you all things Christmas around the house, I opened up a secret door in the house. One that is often not revealed to anyone. What am I talking about?? The inside of the kitchen cabinets, of course. But I was okay with opening them up because I reorganized them and they looked fab.

As December rolled on in, the house transformed into a seasonal wonderland. I was honored to be apart of the Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk Tour and opened my home for Christmas Tour. I was blessed to be apart of this well-known blogland tour and had a great time showing you around my holiday decorated home.

And to round out this blessed year, my kids and I are currently featured in the I Did It section of the Better Homes and Gardens January issue – which is on stands now. I shared all about the behind the scenes of the day just a few weeks ago.

What a year it’s been. To be honest, not until putting this post together did I realize how much we’ve tackled and accomplished this past year. Like I’ve said so many times, it’s been an incredibly surprising and rewarding year. I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings…

A few of my friends and I are hosting a link up for you to share your “Best of 2013” or “Year in Review” posts. These types of posts are great because they give a fantastic recap into the biggest accomplishments throughout the year.

After you’ve linked up, head on over to Beth, Carrie, and Jessica’s blog where they are sharing their recaps + your “Best of 2013” posts will be seen on their blogs too.

Beth, Unskinny Boppy

Carrie, Making Lemonade

Jessica, Decor Adventures

The only party guidelines: Visit the co-hosts and if you link up, perhaps publicize the party on Facebook or Twitter so others can find out about it as well. The more the merrier!

DIY: Personalized Word Christmas Ornament

Written by Jenna on December 18, 2013. Posted in Christmas, DIY. 7 Comments on DIY: Personalized Word Christmas Ornament

One week to go and Christmas will be here. Can you believe it?

As you know, my home has been decorated for quite a few weeks, but I have still been working on new holiday projects here and there to add to this years decor. Once the house is ‘set’, I still enjoy adding new and unique touches for the season.

Since adding in a second tree this year, which is more of a pretty tree versus the sentimental traditional tree we decorate as a family, I’ve had fun with the gold + brown theme. Along with the ball ornaments, I’ve added in some gold feathers (yes gold + feather in one combo: heaven) and just this past weekend, I jazzed it up even more with my latest DIY creations, word Christmas ornaments…

Super fun, right?! I got the idea from seeing a beautiful vignette in the Garnet Hill catalog. I didn’t see the ornaments for sale (not like I would buy them anyway because they’d probably be $10+) and decided to create my own version.

I started off by grabbing a box (set of 6) of clear bulbs and a gold Sharpie marker at AC Moore. With my 50% off coupon, I ended up getting both items for a few cents over $6. Not bad for 6 ornaments, which = about $1/ornament…

Before putting pen to glass, I wanted to find the perfect font and words to write. I decided on the words Joy, Peace, Shine, Merry. All words that are meaningful around Christmas. For the font, there was a toss up between Jenna Sue and Channel.

In the end, I decided on the Channel font because I thought bigger and bolder would be better, plus it’s a little more forgiving – I’ll tell you why in a moment…

I started out by copying the script font from the computer screen to the ornament.

The result… Not exact, but pretty close.

For each word, I started out with one line, then embellished each letter with thicker lines. This type of font is more forgiving because you can layer and add onto each letter instead of it being a ‘one shot deal’.

Once the first layer of gold Sharpie was dry, I added another layer for a second coat.

Each ornament took about 8-10 minutes, so within about 40-60 minutes, I was done with the project.

All 4 unique and personalized ornaments would be perfect for a gift. Any words could be used. Maybe each ornament could say a member of the family or something silly about the holidays…

Once I was done, the ornaments were ready to immediately hang since Sharpie’s take no time to dry.

So what do you think? A project you’d consider tackling? What type of project does it inspire you to make?

I Did It: Better Homes and Gardens Feature

Written by Jenna on December 16, 2013. Posted in Featured Publication. 25 Comments on I Did It: Better Homes and Gardens Feature

I’m over the moon to share some exciting news with you. First though, it can’t go without saying that I find it truly incredible how one’s life and journey evolves over time. For me, I have put so much time and effort into my passion for design and inspiration, and I have been incredibly blessed with unimaginable opportunities – opportunities that have exceeded hopes and dreams. By being open minded (somewhat) and following my destined path, I have been given, rewarded, and I am ever so grateful.

On to my exciting news… I don’t even know where to begin or how to start, so here I go… My kids and I are featured in the I Did It section of the Better Homes and Gardens January 2014 issue. This feature is beyond amazing. It’s the last page of the magazine, so it’s really just as important as the front page (if you’re a back to front reader like me, ha).

Here it is…

Crazy, right?!

How did this happen?

I’m still pinching myself.

About a year ago through a friend/client, I was lucky to meet the incredibly talented Donna Talley, Stylist and Producer for Meredith Corporation (publisher of BHG and many other magazines). We worked together on a few project submissions and photoshoots (more of which will be coming out in other BHG magazines in 2014), which then led to the submission of my central command center. After review, the BHG team loved it’s incredible function and ease for any family to implement. They thought it was perfect for their get organized-theme January issue.

From that point, a date for shooting took place, which was in mid-June, and the rest was history. O wait… I failed to mention one important detail. My kids were also asked to be in the feature with me. Yikes. That news alone made the pressure (pressure I put on to myself) for perfection that much more. Not only did I have to look good, but I had to worry about how my kids would look (not too big of a deal) and how they would act (sometimes a challenge).

And the biggest challenge of all… WHAT TO WEAR!

In the end, nothing went as planned, yet ALL went incredibly well. And it was ALL incredibly fun!

So here’s a little insight into the day…

Initial ideas for clothes. In the end, totally different choices were made.

A central command center, of course, needs organization!

And there were many options. Working with Donna, options are everything. The motto Less is More, is not allowed.

It’s all in the details, so my nails were done…

And a few curlers helped my blah hair…

my sweet friends on IG left me some nice comments. xo

And then I was ready and in front of the camera.

Photos were taken. Outfits were changed. More photos were snapped. And then the result. On the back page of BHG magazine.

It surely was a wonderful and eye-opening day. The amazing Donna Talley vamped up my central command center like no other. It was perfect-i-o-n. And the talented, John Bessler, photographer extraordinaire, made my kids at ease and as always took beautiful, engaging photos.

Since being involved in about 10 other photoshoots with Donna, it still amazes me how much goes into the set up and lighting. Pictures in magazines look effortless, but there is so much that goes into making them camera-ready. For my little 30″ command center wall, look at how the room needed to be transformed.

To get the light ideally balanced takes an incredible amount of work. Something that I surely took away from the shoot and try to implement in my own blog photoshoots.

And lastly, a few pictures that I took of the central command center once the day was over and everyone was long gone.

These pictures are certainly not like the professional ones. But they are good enough for me 😉

And that’s a wrap. Phew, I am so glad I could finally share this exciting news with you. It’s been a long 7 months holding it in!

My take away from this whole experience… Amazing opportunities and experiences can happen to anyone. Simply do what you love. Put in the effort and your reward will come.

If you’d like to get your hands on the January issue, it’s on the newsstands now. Not only is my feature fun, but the entire issue is jam-packed with great organization tips.

If you want to see more of the central command center, visit the original post.

I will confess that the command center has been updated since the photoshoot and I’ll be sharing more of that in 2014!

Cozy Adirondack Christmas Porch

Written by Jenna on December 12, 2013. Posted in Christmas, Decorating. 21 Comments on Cozy Adirondack Christmas Porch

Christmas is officially less than 2 weeks away. It’s crazy how the season is passing us by so quickly. Are you ready?

So I’ve got another surprise for you today… Yes, another secret!

Since I shared a tour of the inside of my home last week, it’s time to take you outdoors… to my newly decorated Cozy Christmas Adirondack Porch.

Welcome…

I’m usually so focused on decorating the interior for the Holidays, that the porch often gets little thought and sadly neglected – are you like that? Well not this year!

On a way-too-cold-to-be-outside day a few weeks ago, myself and the troops (a.k.a The Mister and the kids) ventured outdoors to decorate. After a few hours, way too many decorating edits, broken bulbs (and they were brand spank-in new), and a couple of trips to Lowes, I was finally satisified with the result of this year’s cozy adirondack-style front porch. And I have to say, itâ€™s our best yet.

Thankfully I can say that I live in the adirondacks, so having a front porch with a rustic, natural aesthetic is so apropos. (my interior doesn’t really reflect the same look, but that’s okay).

I didn’t start off the porch with a specific idea in mind, but as the family and I started decorating, it all came together (over many cold hours) to create a cozy outdoor haven. We began the transformation by removing some of the porch furniture that we have out for the summer. We left the pretty lutyens bench though, draped a blanket over the back, and added a few pillows – it was the beginning of the adirondack porch.

In front of the bench, I positioned a round table (which is actually an electrical cable spool that I found on the side of the road) and added some festive elements including “dressed-up” mason jars, a lantern, and some pine and berry sprigs.

I said to the Mister that afternoon, “Let’s get some hot chocolate, cuddle under the blanket, and enjoy our newly decorated porch”. Well we all ended up being too chilly and unfortunately ‘sitting and enjoying’ hasn’t happened yet, but it sure looks so inviting.

Would you stop over and have a cup of-something with me?

On the other side of the porch, I created a small festive vignette. I stacked two large slices of cut logs and topped them with a poinsettia and a small pile of pinecones. As a larger and taller anchor, I brought in the potted boxwood (which sits throughout the year next to the garage), two lanterns filled with a large candle, and another poinsettia. The varying heights and sizes of the elements, plus the differing textures, in the vignette, create an interesting composition.

Behind the poinsettia and pinecone vignette, I wanted even more height and added a leftover piece of pallet scrap, which I added a quick coat of white paint to and wrapped with twine. A super simple 3 minute project!

Of course, we needed some greenery on the porch and I surely didn’t fail in that department.

On either side of the front door are two small (3′ high) faux trees decorated with petite ornaments and twine for garland. Plus we added more greenery on the columns with a garland mix of pine and cedar.

The last element that we added to the front porch are the hanging ornaments. This was the last addition and definitely my favorite!

The overall porch…

And alittle more ornament action…

And of course donned on my front door is my whimsical winter wreath that I made a few years ago. Still a favorite.

Thanks so much for taking a tour of my newly decorated cozy adirondack front porch. The porch and/or entryway of a home sets the tone for what’s to come inside. Whether you have a simple wreath on your door or you go all out with lights, festive decorations always bring happy cheers and smiles.

Christmas Home Tour 2013

Written by Jenna on December 4, 2013. Posted in Christmas, Decorating. 35 Comments on Christmas Home Tour 2013

Surprise!

A secret that I’ve been keeping for too long can now be shouted from the rooftops.

I am one (#17 to be exact) of the 25 homes on the amazing Jennifer Rizzo Holiday House Tour. I am so excited not only to show you around my home but to be amongst a great group of Bloggers who are opening their doors this Holiday season.

If you’re new here, you just headed over from the house tour by Vanessa of At the Picket Fence. Wasn’t it amazing?! She has a beautiful home and opened her doors for all to see in the Creating a Meaningful Home series earlier this year. She is just the sweetest person ever!

Ok, well let’s get this tour started. Are you ready?

Welcome. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if you prefer) and stay awhile. Let me show you around.

The new addition to this year’s Christmas decor is our new white Christmas tree. Wanting to have a bling, bling pretty tree, this new beauty sits in the blue room, a.k.a. my office / family room. With the dark hue on the walls, the white tree with varying shades of gold & brown ornaments, is the perfect contrast. This room is a favorite of mine in our home because of all the light that comes shining through from dawn to dusk. The filtered light accents the golds + my new disco ball just right!

The coffee table got a quick festive makeover by using a round mirror as the centerpiece topped with a montage of Christmas favorites – gold trees, ornaments, the light turned vase that I created earlier this year, and of course Santa.

Also on the coffee table is my newly created Nate Berkus knock-off wood block candle holder. What do you think? I love how it adds so much height to the vignette.

Transitioning to the dining room, I used a few similar ideas by using another mirror – the clock turned mirror – as the dining room centerpiece topped with more gold trees (that I scored from the Christmas Tree Shop last year) and a small tree adorned with miniature ornaments.

Simply, but elegantly set, our Christmas table is filled with a whole lotta candles – one of my favorite items to decorate with.

The buffet is set with treats for all to enjoy. As I shared earlier in the week, the sidebar / buffet in the dining room is filled with varying sized glass jars, ceramic houses, and other festive decor. My favorite element of the space is the charlie brown tree with colorful ball ornaments. Okay, well it’s really not really a charlie brown tree, but instead branches from my backyard put into a glass jar to bring height to the overall space. It would make a great table centerpiece too.

Also in the dining room is my kids favorite part our home tat the Holidays, the Christmas Countdown Tree that I made using pallets and leftover scraps of wood. It’s such a whimsical, colorful handmade creation!

Heading over to the last space in our home, the living room. Our hang out space…

And there is a peak at our other Christmas tree… The tree that is filled with our family’s sentimental ornaments that we’ve collected, made, and bought over the years.

The main wall of the living room features our mantel and it’s totally decked out for the Christmas season. A large wood panel is set as the backdrop with my newly created vintage-inspired J-O-Y sign as the focal point.

Other pretty festive elements adorn the fireplace and the creme de la creme are the felt + dropcloth Christmas stockings that I made a few years ago.

Another handmade element that we love + adore is the Christmas Card Holder where we treasure and enjoy all the cards and photos that family and friends send throughout the Christmas season. How do you display cards sent to your family?

Well that’s the end of the tour. I wish it wasn’t over, but I really hope you enjoyed our home decorated for Christmas.

Hasn’t the Holiday House Tour been fabulous?! We’re only on day 3 of the tour, and there are many more houses to see. So don’t stop here! Grab another cup of joe and head on over to my friend Roeshel’s house at The DIY Showoff. She is an amazing creator and surely won’t disappoint. ENJOY and Merry Christmas!