That gives me a little more than six months to do all of the things on this list…

1. Visit The Modern Wing of The Art Institute of Chicago.
2. Dye my hair red.
3. Finish redesigning my Smart & Lovely portfolio.
4. Launch my decorating service.
5. Stop drinking soda.
6. Lose 20 pounds. (Not drinking soda should help with that.)
7. Repaint my office.
8. Sew a dress for Eleanor.
9. Clean out the basement. (It’s getting scary down there.)
10. Donate some of our books to the library.
11. Cook Pad Thai from scratch.
12. Organize the catch-all closet in my office.
13. Get good at applying liquid eyeliner.
14. Print the bajillion photos I have stored on my computer and put them in albums.
15. Alphabetize our CDs and finish putting them into sleeves.
16. Landscape the front of the house.
17. Make an origami crane.
18. Visit The Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe.
19. Learn how to use my camera in manual mode.
20. Find my perfect shade of lipstick.
21. Decide for good whether I want a tattoo or not.
22. Pay off my credit card.
23. Make a video montage of Eleanor’s first year.
24. Have a date night with Brandon at least twice a month.
25. Grow tomatoes.
26. Have an adorable family photo taken.
27. Sing along perfectly to “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”.
28. Take Eleanor to the Shedd Aquarium.
29. Reduce (or eliminate) my reliance on paper towels.
30. Paint all of the trim in our house.

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© Making it Lovely, 2010. | Permalink | 175 comments

I have flat, straight hair that needs to be washed every day to look clean. Susan at Sparrow recommended it, and while I wasn’t too sure (oil?), I tried it. It’s amazing. I know I don’t talk about beauty products on the blog, but I must extol the virtues of Moroccan Oil. It has left my hair looking so healthy, and not greasy at all. Have any of you tried it? I bet it would be fantastic for curly hair.

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© Making it Lovely, 2010. | Permalink | 80 comments

I could name all of the amazing people I got to meet and hang out with, but it would seem a little braggy because the summit was just that good. I mean, you saw the list of speakers, right? Add to that the awesome attendees and you have a list of my nearly all of my favorite design bloggers. The organizers behind Alt did an outstanding job, and I’m honored to have been included!

Photo of my panel (“How to Find the Best Design Sites”) by Janel Laban, Apartment Therapy. Left to right: Allison Czarnecki, me (Nicole Balch), Jamie Derringer, and Karey Mackin

The panels were fantastic. In addition to the Keynote events, we were able to choose between three tracks for each session: Design Theory, Form & Function, or Hands On. I loved listening to what some of my favorite bloggers and influential people had to say on each topic, but it was even more exciting to be able to chat with them personally. Best of all, I left feeling inspired and ready to make this little ol’ blog of mine the best it can be.

Now you’re wishing that you went, right? Don’t worry. It’s all going to happen again next year, and I can’t wait.

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© Making it Lovely, 2010. | Permalink | 24 comments

My suitcase is packed (yes, it’s pink) and I’m ready to head out to the Altitude Design Summit. I’ll be speaking on the first panel, How to Find the Best Design Sites, along with Allison Czarnecki of Petit Elefant, Jaime Derringer of Design Milk, and Karey Mackin of Mackin Ink.

I can’t wait to meet my fellow panel members and all of the other design bloggers that will be attending. Have you seen the list of speakers? It’s going to be amazing!

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© Making it Lovely, 2010. | Permalink | 31 comments

The Balch Family is set to beguile
decked out in vests of argyle
while Brandon regales
with holiday tales
they wish you good tidings in style

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 90 comments

We had some people over yesterday for a little family celebration. Brandon’s sisters brought cupcakes, complete with cupcake stands! Apparently they are available at Target, though I could only find them in silver on the site. The gingerbread men are cute too – Brandon’s mom made them with pink frosting for us. :)

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 22 comments

Eleanor was looking so ridiculously cute in her pink headband (a gift from Kenzie Poo) that I wanted to snap a quick photo. I’ve been meaning to capture the faces she makes for quite some time though (inspired by this), and I caught so many great expressions that I just had to share them.

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 79 comments

She’s the Prince. And that costume too waaaaaay too long to make!

I think she looks pretty cute, even if you aren’t familiar with the Katamari games. Of course, if you’re confused you can visit the official Katamari website (fair warning: there is music), or consult the all-knowing Wikipedia. And then there’s always YouTube (na na na na na na na na na, Katamari Damacy).

Happy Halloween!

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 68 comments

I’ve created a little banner to identify projects funded by our winnings in the 48-Hour Challenge. We’ve held onto the money until we could decide how best to use it. Half has been set aside for an important business expense (which I will discuss at a later date), and the other half is being divvied up among several new projects around the house. Thank you again for your support, and for making all of this possible!

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments

A touch of yellow is also permissible; Note the tie, shoes, and necklace.

(Thank you to Brandon and Ashley for obliging me in this ridiculous photo.)

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© Making it Lovely, 2009. | Permalink | 48 comments