Happy New Year!! Okay, I know I’m late in saying that considering its the beginning of February as I type this, but, if you didn’t notice already, I updated my blog website and gained a few new features (now you can search)!! I’ve been working on this change for the last 6 weeks, hence the lack of blog posts last month, and I’m proud to have finally launched my new site with the little knowledge of website building that I have. So, even though its February, I thought a ‘goals’ post would be fun since its my first blog post of 2021. We made it Ya’ll!
But first, I want to look back on 2020. I know 2020 was hard for many people and fortunately, my family was not impacted that much by the world’s events – I suspect we fared pretty well compared to most people. I don’t say that to brag, I just hear people around me talk about 2020 with so much disgust in their voice and I want to acknowledge there was some good to come from 2020.
First, we saved more money in 2020 than we ever have. The silver lining to cancelled preschool and closed businesses was made abundantly clear by looking in our bank account. My husband continued to work from his jobsites (his position is not conducive to working from home) and the contract work I do stayed steady throughout the year. I even started 2020 with a 100-day no spending challenge which was only made easier once America started to shut down.
The extra time at home allowed for more exercising + cooking and I managed to drop 15 pounds that baby number 3 left me. We spent more time with family and close friends, became experts at road-tripping with 3 kids, and were able to focus on house projects that I share here – so thanks for joining me on this journey at Elle & Jay!
Myquillyn Smith of The Nester encourages her readers to make a ‘We Did It’ list at the end of the year to look back and see how far you’ve come. I love this idea of revisiting your accomplishments to gain momentum into the new year. So here we go…
Spitzfaden’s 2020 WE DID IT List
- I started this blog after YEARS of *thinking* about it 🙂
- I organized my desk drawers once and for all.
- We refinished an old dresser that I got for FREE from a neighborhood freecycle page.
- With the generous help of my father-in-law, we refinished our front deck and pergola.
- We built shelves for our friend’s sweet nursery.
- I started to dabble in epoxy resin and made my first set of coasters – which turned into more coasters, then Christmas ornaments….
- I finally hung my macrame plant shelf, that I made ages ago.
- Andrew built a deer blind (A structure you sit in while hunting for deer) for a family friend.
- I completed my 100-day challenge to save more and spend less!
- I completed my first IKEA hack by turning some of their NORDLI drawers into nightstands for my sister.
- We built and installed window boxes on our garage windows, and I kept most of my plants alive all summer!
- Andrew built an outdoor bench for some dear friends of ours.
- I repainted the baseboards and trim throughout our house, as well as the areas that have bead board or paneling.
- I refinished two side tables, another FREE gift from the furniture gods.
- We painted our porch ceiling, painted and stained our garage doors, and refinished our front door.
- We built (& installed) the first of two vanities we would build in 2020.
- I added some much needed handmade art to our living room.
- We crafted a macrame bow organizer (all from materials I had on hand) for our daughter’s room.
- We built vanity number 2 for my in-laws which was just installed this week! (I’ll have a whole blog post for you when their bathroom is done.)
- And speaking of that vanity, we demo’d the bathroom it was made for – in ONE day.
- I worked with mosaics for the first time and created a mosaic table and a mosaic planter.
- I unified my kitchen chairs by painting them black.
- We built an outdoor swing for my parent’s new covered patio (I’ll have a blog post on this process as well!)
- We built a metal and wood side table for my brother-in-law.
When you list it all out, it makes 2020 seem downright productive! As I look back on these projects, it empowers me to dream big for 2021 and the endless possibilities. Here are my house project hopes for 2021:
2021 House Goals
- Refinish my kitchen table (I’ve actually already completed this task and will be sharing it soon on the blog!) – After I completed my kitchen chair refresh, the dark wood top and yellow legs of our dining room table just didn’t look quite right. I plan to sand everything down to bare wood and leave the wood its natural color.
- I’m declaring 2021 the year I work with caning and add some to a piece of furniture. I was gifted yet another dresser in need of some love and I am excited to incorporate some caning into the project. Right now, this Studio McGee piece is my major motivation:
- I’ve been seeing a lot of barn doors on my instagram feed lately and Andrew and I have talked about putting one across the opening that leads from our living room to the hallway. This way, we can create more of a separation from the bedrooms and the common area of our house, so when our kids are sleeping, we have a way to buffer some of the sound coming from the kitchen and living area. Amanda from @myfirst_farmhouse just created a beautiful barn door for her bathroom and I love the way it turned out!
- Okay, this one is a lofty one. I haven’t even told my husband yet because I have a feeling he’ll take a hard pass, but I would love to paint my kitchen cabinets. Am I crazy? Maybe just a little. But would it look AMAZING? It would be dreamy. Currently we have an off-white color on our perimeter cabinets with a brown stain/glaze, and medium wood stained cabinets on our island. I would love to go with a more true white color on at least all the upper cabinets to match our trim and ceilings better and then do a fun color on the island at least, maybe even the lower perimeter cabinets too. This would be a huge undertaking but I think it would be totally worth it.
I guess this would be a good time to mention we are currently house hunting for something with more room than our current home, but the way the market is in our area, I’m not holding my breath. It could be a year or two before we find something that suits us. So, until then, we’ll be here, making this home more functional and beautiful, one project at a time.
What goals do you have on your 2021 list? I’d love to hear about them. Comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign.
