LOOKING BACK AT 2011 AND AHEAD AT 2012

Well good morning to ya! Can you believe its been over a week since my last post? I decided to take a little break because my boys were out of school and I wanted to focus on them and just relax and enjoy the holidays.  I hope all of you had a blast!

2011 has been really great to me as far as the blog is concerned.  First up, I got to be a part of the team of House of Fifty!

Then I was asked to makeover a room at a shelter here in Atlanta for the organization Room Service Atlanta (created by Erika and Dayka)

Before

After

With that project, I never would have been able to pull it off without all of you (Seriously!!).  From the support financially, to all of your comments cheering me on, I want to Thank You again for your help!

I started on my bedroom (yawn…again…yawn)

I think this room is finished.  Seriously, how can it not be??? Anyway, moving on!

I flew out to New York for Blogfest 2011 and had an AMAZING TIME!!!

My boys rooms were featured in our local newspaper!

I attended a “meeting with Coke” and met some really cool ladies!

I cut my hair!!!

Let me pause for a minute and say that this haircut is my absolute favorite!!! I have never felt so good!  I’m currently growing my hair, but I think I’m going to cut it again for the summer

Oprah came to town and I had a chance to meet…errr, see her!

Actually, I saw more than just her!

I painted my kitchen cabinets (again!) and my refrigerator (with chalkboard paint!)

AND….. I used Annie Sloan’s chalk paint for the first time

 

2011 really was a great year for me! I did all of that and was able to share it with all of you.  Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by and read about what’s going on in my little part of the world!

For 2012, I’ve been thinking of a lot about things that I want to do.  When I started this blog almost three years ago, it was basically to have an outlet of sorts because I was (in my mind) JUST a stay at home mom.  Since then, I’ve grown and I’m more appreciative of where I am in life and for my life in general.  I can’t explain to you exactly what I mean in this post, but I will soon.  For 2012, I’m not making any “resolutions”.  I’ve noticed towards the end of 2011 that I’ve been breaking out of the shell that I (along with others) put me in.  I guess you can call it coming into my own? Well, that’s going to play a major role in 2012 for me.  Again, I really can’t explain it right now, but hopefully you’ll be here to see it all happen

                                 

If you look closely at the above two pictures of me, you’ll see that those are two totally different people.  One is who I created over time.  She is the proper version of me who did everything “right” or to everyone else’s standards.  The other picture is of the person inside of me that just couldn’t bring herself to come to the surface because of the fear of what everyone else may think.  She is fearless, fun, and sexy! She loves fashion.  She loves traveling.  She loves taking risks.  She loves good food and great friends! She is a rock star in her own right, and she is ready to be set free! 

I hope you all have a fabulous New Year and I hope to see you back here soon!

HALCYON GREEN 6213

I may not have the chance to post tomorrow, but I wanted to let you all know the color of the bathroom walls.  The powder room is painted Halcyon green by Sherwin Williams.

These pictures definitely aren’t the best, but they are close to what’s in there!

By the way, I need a rug for my kitchen… I think something with green in it? Or maybe blue? What are your thoughts?!

THE FOOD WAS GREAT. THE COMPANY WAS EVEN BETTER!

On Saturday I popped in to let you guys know that I’ve been busy preparing for a small gathering at my home.  Saturday came and went and I must say that I had the greatest time hanging with my friends!  We’re usually so busy that its rare that were are all together. 

Everything was perfect.  The food was great, but the company was even better!

I think the sangria made me tell everyone to pose for a picture! We look so cheesy

What did you do over the weekend?!

LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY PARTY!

 

Hey. I’m still alive! Last week I decided to host a holiday party (which is TONIGHT!).  The party is not going to consist of many people (about 12 adults including me and my husband), so the menu is short and sweet! 

Meatballs

(via)

Shrimp

(via)

A variety of wings

(via)

Roasted green beans

(via)

Mac and Cheese

(via)

Roasted potatoes

(via)

Stuffed mushrooms

(via)

There will also be several desserts

(via)

And a little something to drink

Cranberry Pomegranate Sangria!

(via)

And of course it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t have to do a project the night before the party!

Remember my powder room that I started on?

I finished painting it last night! Here’s a sneak peek

 

What you see on the walls in the powder room are shadows from the light fixture.  I changed out the glass globes from the opaque ones that came with it to clear that I found at Goodwill.

I’m going to try and snap as many pictures as I can before and during the party.  I’ll share them on Monday!

Happy Weekend!!!