I feel like I say this way too often, but seriously, Where does the time go?

As another year comes to an end, I love taking a few minutes to reflect + reminisce on all that I’ve worked on & accomplished over the past 12 months.  And it has been quite a year, for sure.

From being featured in 6 national magazines ( > see them all here), to revamping 4 spaces ( > boys bedroom + master + patio + bathroom), to completing 3 client kitchens ( > see one of them here), to having a NEW BABY (my biggest + best accomplishment of 2014), it has been an incredibly busy, but joyously & rewarding year.

As always, it’s fun and a bit bittersweet to take a stroll down memory lane.  Let’s see what exciting + crazy adventures I got myself into to over the last 365 days…

January started out with a bang when I was finally able to sing from the treetops that my kids and I were featured in the I Did It section of Better Homes & Gardens.  Third times a charm, right, and the year began with me sharing our revamped (again) Central Command Center.  As our family needs changed, the CCC was updated to follow suit.  Even today, it looks a bit different than it did a year ago.  As the first month of the year continued, I made some updates in the kitchen to add some color + openness – an update that I am still enjoying today.

The biggest post of the month was the announcement that our family was expanding.  After a rough 3 months prior, it was exciting to finally spill the news.  After that, I shared ideas for our kids sharing a room (even though they ended up not).  A few days later I shared even more inspiration for shared kids bedroom spaces, which then started the process of making over my son’s bedroom.

But before that, the master…

As February rolled around, I shared my Valentine wreath (still my favorite to date) and started the room makeover #2 for the year, my master bedroom. After choosing a darker color for the bed wall, I painted a desk using my own chalk finish formula, jazzed up store-bought curtain panels by adding a leading edge fabric, and made a light fixture with a capiz shell pendant.  A little rearranging of the walls to create a large picture gallery wall to conceal the TV completed the makeover and the master bedroom refresh was finished!

Then back to my boys bedroom…

Then March rolled around and I was back to room makeover #1, my son’s bedroom.  The plan was for my 2 older kids to share a bedroom, but when we found out Baby #3 was a girl, that plan went out the window.  Since his room was already in the midst of a revamp, we just continued with it…  I started with painting the walls a lighter hue, hanging a fun wallpaper, and adding much-needed storage for toys!  March also was an exciting month when I shared the ‘after’ of a client kitchen I had worked on and the feature of another client kitchen which was on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen + Bath Makeovers.

April was welcomed with a mix of projects and creations…  From creating 2 DIY colored Easter eggs (using crayons and food coloring), to sprucing up the foyer for Spring, to making a jewelry holder, it was a month of transition to the warmer months to come.  And of course, I continued to work on my son’s room and created my favorite DIY project of the year, the wood honeycomb shelves.

May, the month we were finally able to spread our wings and spend more time outdoors than in.  Throughout the month I worked a little here and a little there… I continued working on my son’s bedroom makeover by painting his closet door with a pop of color and creating instagram art for the walls.  Additionally I collaborated with Lowe’s in May on an “Ugly Bathroom” campaign and shared 5 ways to update a bathroom on a budget + design solutions for an ‘ugly bathroom’. Have a bathroom in need of a makeover, then this post is a must-read. Finally by the end of the month, the Spring weather was incredible so I spruced up our outdoor deck and created a plan for our patio makeover.

As June rolled around, I was getting bigger by the minute and slowing down fast.  BUT, we managed to finish the patio makeover (which came out dreamy) and I also shared a peek at the new nursery nook that was created for baby #3.  I also had a little downtime strawberry picking with my girl and shared 15 must-try strawberry recipes (you will definitely WANT these for Spring!).  The month also brought the start of Year 2 of the Creating a Meaningful Home blog series.  My friend, the incredibly talented Melissa of The Inspired Room, started out the series with some beautiful thoughts + words about what fills a home with meaning.

By month’s end, our best DIY + biggest accomplishment of 2014 arrived…

and she’s now 6 months old.

Here are my clan of 5 just a few days ago on Christmas…

Where has the time gone?!

July was quiet.  You probably don’t need me to tell you why…  But action on the blog didn’t stop.  More of my great friends – Carrie, Jennifer, Jaime, Jenna, Carmel, + many more – filled the days with posts on how they’ve made their homes meaningful.  July also brought the reveal of my son’s bedroom makeover.  I, of course, finished it before the baby arrived, but hadn’t had a chance to share it.  The result was pretty spectacular!

August was just as crazy + hectic at our homestead, but on the blog even more friends opened their beautiful homes for the Creating a Meaningful Home blog series.  Additionally, I shared my announcement of being featured 3x in one national magazine, had a chat on the phone (for real) with celeb-designer + HGTV star David Bromstad, and got an incredible new mattress (the best ever & I am still sleeping like a baby)!

By September, I started getting my s**t together a bit more.  The kids were back in school, my little baby was 2 months old, and I actually started to shower again (ha, some days).  I also started getting my DIY groove back and tackled a few new projects like reupholstering the dining bench, making a window valance, and starting the china cabinet makeover that I found on Craiglist.  This month, I also shared inspiration on making DIY window treatments, gorgeous Fall spaces, and EVERYTHING FALL – all my seasonal posts in one place.  The month didn’t end without a huge highlight… my home on the cover of STORAGE magazine. {squeal + two pinches to make sure this is reality}.

October rolled around and I was in full-on DIY mode with my latest + greatest makeover, the china cabinet!  From prepping + sanding, to priming, to painting this cabinet got a major transformation.  The result was pretty fabulous!  October also brought a beautiful Fall tablescape creation & the start of #4 room makeover, the bathroom.

November was filled with a mix of the bathroom makeover + Christmas prep (with a nature-inspired theme).The bathroom makeover was hands-down my biggest & toughest DIY makeover to date.  With it not being the typical paint + fabrics, but instead demo, tiling (big time), plumbing, wallpapering, and more, this was a full-on challenge.  But I am always up for a challenge and we (the Mister + I) pushed through!  psst… final reveal coming next week.

And lastly, but certainly not least… The last month of the year, December.  I always find this month bittersweet.  There is so much excitement leading up to Christmas and then when it’s over and the stillness + quietness set in and time allows for reflection, it’s brought with smiles + a few tears.  Smiles for all the good and tears for it going all too fast…  This month has been a great one starting off with my Christmas Home Tour which was apart of the Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk for the 2nd year.  After that I shared more details on my mantel, progress of the bathroom makeover,  and a look ahead at the new color of the year, Marsala.

December also brought the exciting change / upgrade of my website.  As I head into Year 5 of my business + blog (yes I started this whole thing in 2010), I felt my site no longer reflected what I was feeling.  In 5 years, my design style has grown + evolved, and I wanted my site to evoke that simpler, cleaner, but eye-popping aesthetic.  That being said, my mission to inspire & live with meaning will always be at the forefront of my blog and business!

So raise your glasses (or your cup of Joe) and Cheers to a wonderful year that is winding down & an even better year to come!

As I did last year, I am hooking up with a few of my blogging besties, Jessica of Decor Adventure & Carrie of Making Lemonade, to host a link up party for fellow bloggers who have also created a “Best of 2014” or a “Year In Review” post. These posts are always a fun + fantastic recap highlighting the biggest accomplishments throughout the year.

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

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!