The Best And Worst Of 2024
It always happens. Every year. In those lazy days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I spend a lot of time looking back on how the year went, planning the coming projects, prepping garden journals, ordering seeds for the kitchen garden, and stepping on Legos, not necessarily in that order.
Over the next week-ish, I’ll share many of those forward-thinking plans but today’s post is all about wrapping up 2024. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
2024 was a tough year for our family. Nothing major, but it felt like death by a thousand paper cuts. It didn’t feel good. But slowly, as the year has come to a close, things are started coming together.
Maybe, JUST MAYBE, I’ll have this thing called life figured out soon and maybe, JUST MAYBE it won’t be so hard in 2025. Let me pause right here while God/Spirit/Source Energy/Universe laughs at me.
Without further ado, I bring you the best and worst of 2024. From our favorite projects, the one that got away (spoiler…kids’ room), and even a little life stuff sprinkled in.
Best Project: Declutter Challenge
Hands down. The best project I tackled in 2024 was doing a minimalist decluttering challenge. I decluttered one item from my home on day one, two items on day two, three on day three, and so on. I kept going until I couldn’t go anymore. My goal was to make it to day 100 but I tapped out, utterly fatigued after day 70.
Check out the declutter challenge recap for all the details of decluttering 1,830 items from our home.
While I made a huge dent in decluttering during the challenge, there’s more to be done. The challenge was a great way to kick off decluttering and gain momentum fast. I took care of all the low-hanging fruit the first few months of the year.
I plan to revisit decluttering this year but probably category by category, or room by room like in the 25 tips for decluttering when overwhelmed post. However I do it, it will be done MUCH more slowly.
Most Stalled Project: The Girls’ Shared Bedroom
Moving Bea into Rowan’s room and making over their room has been the HARDEST project I’ve ever tackled. When I started I thought, this would take me a month, tops. Oh foolish, foolish Angie.
What has made it so hard is that I want BOTH girls to love their room and help make design decisions. This is failing miserably.
Long story short, I made a design plan that everyone loved. Then we picked out some wallpaper options that everybody loved, ordered some samples, and chose the winner that everybody loved. Do you see where I’m going with this?
I waited for a wallpaper sale before ordering, double checked with the girls if they still loved it, they both said no and had nothing short of 8 million new ideas for their room.
I broke down all the drama (and maybe broke down a little myself) in a state-of-the-house address.
I vow to make over their room this year one way or another. At least we now have bunkbeds and everyone loves them. More on that soon.
Best Weekend Decor Refresh: Adding Plants To Our Bedroom
Who knew that decorating our bedroom with plants (and picking up a few new ones to add to the mix) would bring so much joy to our primary bedroom space? While the plants moved and changed, the kids stole a few for their own space, it’s primarily stayed the same.
And I LOVE all the greenery in here! Although, in the holiday business I may have neglected to care for a few of them but we’re nursing them back into watered health. I’m talking about you, Boston fern who is picky about watering!
I have terrible plant watering habits that I worked on this year. The biggest win was pairing my nighttime teeth-brushing habit with watering the upstairs plants. Just a few plants every night for anyone who needs a drink.
Most Dragged Out Project: The Greenhouse
We’ve been working on the greenhouse project for a few years now. When life gets busy, it’s the project that gets backburnered. Although, we made big progress this past year. Check out the project recaps for January and April.
We refined some greenhouse plans, fit all the windows, installed a corrugated roof, and started siding it.
We paused to save up some money for automatic louver vents, which aren’t cheap, and another round of wood siding. Then found ourselves working on other projects and never came back to it.
Finishing the greenhouse is one of our top project priorities for 2025.
Best Use Of Books: Decorating Kids’ Bookshelves
My attitude towards raising kids, I want my children to be kind and readers. It’s what matters most to me. And one of the ways I love to make reading more fun is by curating seasonal bookshelves for the kids, complete with some added decor for their room.
While in years past I had Halloween and Christmas covered. This year we added a Valentine’s bookshelf display, spring/Easter kids’ books, a back-to-school mix, and Thanksgiving/fall harvest bookshelves.
This year, maybe I’ll work on Saint Patrick’s Day and summer collections.
Most Unblogged Thing That I Blog About: Kitchen Gardening
I can’t explain it. But for some reason, I just don’t share about gardening efforts even when I have the grandest intentions of doing so.
The 2024 kitchen garden was quite successful and I grew a lot of veggies. Check out all the 2024 vegetable seeds I planted in our backyard garden space. It was not a small list. I tell myself I’m going to cut back this year but I won’t. The plight of almost every gardener everywhere.
But most importantly, the garden has been a family activity. Maybe that’s why I don’t share much about it. It feels like sacred family time and I just don’t want to turn it into work.
There is nothing that I love more than sitting in the garden with my family, eating ground cherries fresh from the plant (they NEVER make it to the kitchen), or picking green beans for dinner.
Best Art Project: DIY Pink Ultrasound Art Print
When I was pregnant with Rowan, I made the sweetest DIY pink ultrasound print. For some reason (okay I know the reason…second born), I never made one for Beatrix. I rectified that situation this year, mostly because I wanted them each to have the framed print in their keepsake boxes, and made the print.
I shared the full tutorial for how to make a colored ultrasound print using Photoshop for anyone who wants to try and make one.
Best Shopping Experience: Brimfield Antique Market
2024 was the year that I returned to the Brimfield Antique Market after a few years away thanks to pandemic times. And it…was…GLORIOUS. Although, when I shopped Brimfield in May it rained and was super cold but that didn’t stop my fun.
If you happen to live anywhere near driving distance to Brimfield, or are a vintage lover looking for a fun shopping trip from afar, I could not recommend Brimfield more.
I’m already counting down the days until the next show so maybe I can replace those vintage ornaments that broke while erecting the Charlie Brown tree this year.
Easiest DIY Project: Window Plant Shelf
It is so simple and budget-friendly to make a DIY window plant shelf. I made one to put in a South facing window in my attic closet, but you can adapt the tutorial for just about any window in your home.
The attic space is a little cold right now so I took the plants down last month and just started some kale seeds. I’m curious if I can grow kale in pots up here. Maybe just baby kale.
Greenest Tips: Decorating With Plant Containers
For those brand spanking new to container gardening, I put together an easy beginner’s guide on how to plant flower pots and decorate an outdoor space with containers. It’s full of my favorite tips and tricks for gorgeous deck or patio container gardening for the summer.
Most Finished Project: The Playground
I’m kicking myself because I don’t feel like I finished one thing this year. I got close on a few projects while failing miserably on others, but the closest we got was with the playground project. It’s oh so close to done.
Our initial playground renovation plans included fixing the old hand-me-down playground (like filling the large holes), adding monkey bars, extending the deck, adding a canopy, building a sandbox, and painting the entire thing. I still owe you a few tutorials but everything is done except for the sandbox. Oh so close!
Catch up on the project updates from week one, week two, and week three. As soon as spring has sprung, I’m finishing this bad boy once and for all.
Most Organized: Kids Paperwork
This a two-for-one, tackling all the kids’ paperwork. First, I made a system for collecting and sorting all school papers. Next, I made a DIY school years memory box for both girls. I still have one more step to go, making art books for each of them with their best art pieces. More to come.
Favorite New Series: The Things That Matter
It’s no secret that I’m heavily influenced by designer Nate Berkus and his book, The Things That Matter. Our homes should speak to us and spark memories. The things we choose to bring into our homes truly matter.
It’s so much more special to hang a watercolor painting by your grandmother than a mass-produced piece from Target.
Filling my home with the things that matter is so important to me. I’m constantly curating and my home is becoming even more special to our family. From potato sack art to Grandma’s ceramic Santa house.
I love sharing these stories of the things in our home and plan to keep doing so in 2025.
Most Colorful Project: The Reusable Birthday Backdrop
Rowan and I had this vision for a reusable birthday backdrop. With her help, we created a colorful birthday backdrop for Bea’s third birthday using scraps of fabric cut into strips and tied onto wooden dowels. I love how it turned out and I can’t wait to break it out for a certain someone’s 8th birthday coming up next month.
Most Adulting Moment: Spending Birthday Money On A Paint Sprayer
Yes, I admit that I am 41 years old and still receive birthday money from my parents. Every year, I spend it on a splurge item that I wouldn’t necessarily buy for myself. This year, all I wanted was an HVLP paint sprayer.
I debated if I needed another paint sprayer since I already had two and broke it all down in a debate on whether or not a paint sprayer was worth it.
While I originally wanted the sprayer to make painting the playground quick, I found the overspray a bit excessive. More details in this paint sprayer vs. paint brush post.
I can’t wait to use it on all the sheds on our property that need painting! Painting will go SO much faster!
Best Decorating Tip: How To Decorate A Dining Room Buffet
In this how to decorate a dining room buffet or sideboard post, I take you through the easy steps for how to decorate the furniture piece like a pro. From purpose to scale, I break it all down in easy, bite-sized chunks while I restyled my dining room buffet.
Best Use Of Yarn: Making A Pom Pom Garland
It had been years since I’d leaned into my crafty side so it was refreshing to master my pom pom making skills and then make a pom pom garland for the kids’ room. The best part was that Rowan joined me in the pom pom making festivities, winding yarn away together while watching home and garden shows on Netflix. She just might be my mini-me.
Most Embarrassing Moment: My Messy Overwhelming House
Here it is, the one you’ve been waiting for. Although it’s not that embarrassing it’s my most embarrassing moment. My messy, dirty, and overwhelming home.
I had this moment when the girls BOTH went to school in the fall for the first time. The house was quiet, I wasn’t bogged down with childcare duties, I swear I heard the house sigh and slump a little bit, and I looked around at all the mess, disorganization, chaos, and neglect.
This isn’t me. I instantly felt overwhelmed by the hole I was about to start digging myself out of. Slowly, steadily, one cleaning and organizing project at a time, I’m reclaiming our home.
Most Anticipated Project: The Laundry Room
In the fall, around the time that outdoor painting typically ceases, I decided to call it quits on painting the playground and started creating plans to add a laundry room to our home. Well, Mother Nature threw a curve ball and gave us the warmest fall we’ve ever had. So I finished painting the playground just before Thanksgiving when the snow finally started flying.
I hit pause on the laundry room project but I’m excited to dive in shortly. Although, it requires replacing a window and Colby’s not too keen about doing it during the winter. Maybe early spring makes more sense.
Here’s the before tour of where the laundry room is going along with the juicy laundry room design plans.
Spookiest DIY Moment: Painted Skull Planters
Do you ever find something seasonal on clearance, you instantly have a brilliant vision of how to use it in a DIY, and you snatch it up only to forget about it? I had this moment with a pair of skull planters I found at Jo-Ann’s post-Halloween a year (or was it two years?) ago.
I thought the skull planters would look so great spray painted light blue, sitting by our dark green door, filled with mums for Halloween. I finally turned the vision into reality this year. They did not disappoint.
Most Obsessed: Rub N Buff
Many moons ago, I tried Rub N Buff for the first time and was very disappointed in the results. Fairly certain it was user error. Fast forward almost a decade and I wanted to give it another go. This time, I started by transforming a mirror frame with gold Rub N Buff. Magic!
I am now officially obsessed and have a note on my phone of all the things I want to Rub N Buff in our home. The list is not short. I even made Rub N Buff swatches and a color comparison guide to help with all those Rub N Buff projects.
I hereby declare 2025 the year of Rub N Buff!
Most Nagging Project: Swapping The Dining Room Light Fixture
In 2020, with all of us home 24-7, we decided instead of a formal dining room, we needed a playroom. So we eliminated the dining room, moved the living room to the old dining room, and a playroom was created in the old living room. A couple of years ago, we decided to move everything back. Except, we never moved the dining room light fixture back in.
We finally swapped the light fixture back to a chandelier but debated how low should a dining room light fixture hang. I consulted a few pro tips and came up with the right height and a system for how to choose the height.
Most Festive Holiday Tradition: December 1st Boxes
When Rowan was little, before she turned one, I gave her some holiday jammies, a Christmas board book, and a felt ornament on December 1st. Fast forward to today with two kids fully into the Christmas magic and I now play up those little, early Christmas gifts into December 1st boxes.
The kids LOVE it. To this day I give them jammies, a book, and an ornament. All the things I want them to have during the holidays. But now I add extra magic, wrapping it in a box, hiding it under the mini Christmas tree in their room, building anticipation until they open it on December 1st to kick off the Christmas season.
Sometimes I’ll include other things they need like a new sweatshirt or socks. New this year, I popped in a holiday-related Yoto card. While not a need, they don’t have many Yoto cards and both love listening to stories or music on their Yoto player.
Most Likely To Leave A Trail Of Glitter: Our Holiday Home Tour 2024
I always say I’m going to write a holiday home tour post but I never seem to pull it off. I think the last time I did one was in 2016, ironically before kids. Funny how that happens!
My decorating mojo never ceases to wane during December. I’m still adding or tweaking or making something right up to Christmas Eve. It never truly feels done, but that’s part of the joy of holiday decorating for me.
But as a blogger, that makes it hard since I need it to be done to take pictures and share them with my community. This year, I scheduled a photo date. While I still wasn’t “done” it was done enough.
Take the 2024 holiday home tour.
Closing Out 2024
While I didn’t finish everything that I wanted to do in 2024 (not even close!) I am pretty proud of what I did accomplish. Especially since I picked up a part-time job this year as a ski instructor at a local resort. The training and onboarding have been no joke and my schedule has been more than full since November.
But with the holiday vacations and ski lessons at the mountain winding down, so is my schedule. So here’s to settling in for a little project and garden planning for 2025.
And with that, I bid adieu to our 2024 house projects and blog posts. I’m so excited to see what projects 2025 brings us. Happy New Year all!
Pssst…Now tell me, what project are you most proud of this year? Big or small, all projects matter and count!
