Reviewing Last Year's House Goals

Last January I set nine house goals that I wanted to accomplish in 2011.  If you want to reread them in detail, go here.  Otherwise, to keep this post from becoming overwhelmingly long, I will simply restate each major goal, show you a before picture, and, if I achieved my goal, I will show an after photo.  Here we go...


1.) Finish the coat closet hallway.  

Before:

After:

2.) Work on the family room

Before:

After:

 3.) (Nearly) Finish the play room.

Before: 

After:

4.) Work on the guest bathroom / kids' bathroom.

Before... and After  :-(

 (That's what you get for setting a goal that depends on your husband without consulting him first!)

 5.) Give some TLC to my craft room.

Before:

After:

(Even though it doesn't look really different, I didn't totally fail on this one.  I have managed to keep the room neat and usable for several months now, and that was part of my goal.  I consider it a huge victory!)

6.) Get curtains for our bedroom.  

Before:

After:

7. Hang something on this wall in the dining room.

Before... and After :-(

8. Trim out the chalkboard wall.

Before: 

After:

(Not only did the wall get trimmed out, but Jim installed an overhead light for me so this little "hallway" is no longer dark!)

9. Add more lighting to the formal living room.

Before... and After :-(

And there you have it.  :-)

Mathematically speaking, I accomplished 6 out of 9 of my goals, which is only 67%.  However, I don't feel like I earned a D.  Honestly, I would give myself more of a B for the use of my time and money.  I mean, that play room alone was a massive undertaking and must count for more than the few lamps and artwork I ran out of money to buy, right?!  :-)

I absolutely loved having this goals list to refer to all year.  Each time I would earn extra money for something, I knew exactly how to allocate the money.  It made my decisions so much easier and more concrete, and I didn't feel guilty about spending money on something I had already decided I wanted to do.  

I am looking forward to solidifying my goals for 2012.  I plan to link up to the Nester's Home Goals Linky Party.  Time to start prioritizing and taking some pictures!!

Goals Update

Last Saturday I realized that 2011 is 1/3 of the way done.  (What?!? Where is this year going?!)  As I thought about the goals I had set for this year and how I am doing in achieving them, I decided I would share a little update.

In January I set two kinds of goals: personal goals and house goals (you can follow the links to read more in depth).  Here is an update on both sets:

Personal Goals for 2011:

1. Read every word of the Bible in a year.
Let me just say, if you have never read through the Bible, it is an awesome thing to do.  It does require some dedication, but the rewards are so great!  I am loving seeing God's plan for his people throughout history and better understanding the great God I worship.  So far I have read Genesis, Job, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, and currently I am in a mishmash of 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and Psalms.  (I will admit that I am currently struggling... These are not the most engaging books, though I completely understand why they need to be a part of the Bible.)

For those who have asked, Jim and I are following a chronological reading plan, so we are reading the events in the order in which they happened.  There are many, many chronological reading plans available, but we are currently using one available on YouVersion.  Each day I have about 10 - 15 minutes of reading (except when I get behind, which happens more often than I would like), and there is an app for my phone so I can read in car line, too!  :-) 

2. Write on my blog at least once a week.

You can check the progress of this one for yourself.  The archive list over there to the right doesn't lie.

3. Leave the Nashville area at least four times.

In February we returned to Dallas for a visit, a few weeks ago I went to The Smoky Mountains for a retreat, and in October we will be returning to Dallas for my friend Erin's wedding.  I just need to plan one other getaway in order to reach my goal, and squeezing that one in around our schedules and finances is going to be really tricky.  Time to think, plan, and get intentional...

House Goals for 2011:

DONE:

Finish the coat closet hallway

Before:

After:

IN PROGRESS: 

1. Work on the family room

get a mirror or  artwork to go above the sofa

hang something below the ledge shelf in this picture above

fill in the vertical space(s) next to our feature photo wall

change the throw pillows... I'm hoping to add pops of aqua to the room.

Before:

After:

Before:

(I was trying to decide what size piece I need over the couch.  I still haven't found what I am looking for!)

After:

2. (Nearly) Finish the play room

• paint the walls
• make throw pillows for the couch
• create a place for the kids to showcase their artwork
• hang stuff on the walls
• make new light fixtures
• have Jim re-wire the lights

Before:

After:

3. Trim out the chalkboard wall

Before:

After:

This isn't officially done because we still need to fill in the nail holes and touch up the paint.  But it looks good, and I am thrilled that I decided to do it!

I also made a few magnetic frames and some glass magnets:

Buckets give me a place to keep chalk, chalk pens, and an eraser.

TOTALLY NOT DONE (OR EVEN STARTED!):

• Work on the guest bathroom / kids' bathroom.
• Give some TLC to my craft room.
• Get curtains for our bedroom.  
• Hang something on the empty wall in the dining room.
• Add more lighting to the formal living room.

Having a goals list for the house has been incredibly helpful.  When I have had a little extra money, I have been able to make good, intentional choices.  My eyes are always peeled for things that will help me accomplish my goals, and I can prioritize my time better.

In a few weeks I am having a garage sale, and I am already trying to decide where to spend the money I make.  Having this goals list helps me to narrow down my choices considerably and keeps me focused.

I will try to do another update in four more months.  Hopefully I will have 2/3 of the list done!

Welcome Home

If nothing else, blogging has given me a good kick in the pants to get things done!  Writing my house goals for the year really forced me to hone in on the projects I wanted to prioritize.  And since most of the things I chose were pretty inexpensive, I immediately adopted a no-time-like-the-present mentality. 

The result?  A (nearly) completed mudroom back entryway!

Last Thursday when I was at Lowe's getting some paint, I saw this picture on the discount rack in the back of the store:

It was originally $20, and there was no markdown price on it.  One of the employees walked by, and I asked her if she could find out how much the discount was.  After looking it up, she said she could give it to me for $10.  I said no thanks, I'd be taking it all apart anyway and I didn't want to pay that for something I might ruin.  She asked if I'd take it for $7...?  Knowing that the size and shape were perfect (even though I had no idea yet what would go in the frame), I decided to take a risk and get it.

When I returned home, I took the frame apart and messed with different scrapbook paper backgrounds and phrases.  I really liked the idea of writing, "Home is where you hang your heart" but when I envisioned it right above all of our coat hooks, it didn't seem like a good idea.  (Don't let your imagination run too wild on that one.)

I finally decided to go with "Welcome Home," since it is really only an entrance for our family.  (Plus I thought it would be nice to be greeted every time I returned home, since my sweet, lazy dog doesn't usually come downstairs.)

Next I had to choose the right size text for the frame.  I printed several sizes of text I wrote up in a word processing document.

When I thought I had it right, I decided that as cute as the scrapbook paper background was, it was a bit too DIY-looking for what I wanted.  I concluded that my best bet was to paint right on the wall and frame it so it looked like a custom decal.

I really wanted to make the white letter hooks tie in with the dark wood frame and black trays, so I chose to paint a white mat or border inside the frame.  Then I got out my trusty carbon paper and pencil and traced the words right onto the wall.

Then, using a teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, totally decent paintbrush, I got to work.

A few times I messed up and dragged my hand through wet paint...

...but it was nothing that a little more paint couldn't fix.

Overall I am super happy with how it turned out!  Yay for spending $7!!

The black metal trays hanging on either side of the picture were something I picked up at an antique store more than six months ago.  Although I love their shape and the way they fill the space, I think they still need something on them.  More letters or numbers would probably be too much, but I haven't been able to think of other good options.  I considered painting a symbol, like a fleur-de-lis, but I wasn't sold on the idea.  My latest thought is to put an antique skeleton key on each one, but the antique stores around here are out of them.  (Everyone is using them for key necklaces!)  I could order antique keys from Etsy, but I'm so impatient.

What do you think?  What would you do to the trays?  Order some keys?  Leave well enough alone?  Paint something?  I would love your suggestions!!

Before:

After:

Every time I look at this, I hear Ty Pennington say, "Welcome home, family... Welcome home."  :-)