A Look Back at 2015

2015: Year. Of. Many. Rugs. (Kidding! Sort of.)

It was also the year my sister got married, I taught at Columbia college, and I did a few TV spots for WGN and WCIU (Chicago stations). I also worked with two publications — first, when I styled the coffee table three different ways for Make it Better Magazine, and then when the house was featured in the Christmas issue of HGTV Magazine.

Around the house, we’ve been in maintenance and repair mode. Rewiring is underway now. The carpeting in the bedroom closet was removed and replaced with solid oak, and I haven’t written a post about it yet but the hallway flooring was just finished this week too. Outside, we dealt with a few issues: removing wood rot from the railing, addressing the peeling paint near the furnace vent, and having a few window sills and plinths replaced. I also wrote about our attempts at pruning, and growing grass in the shade of our “beautiful mature ash tree.” I loved that tree. Sadly, the village removed it last month because of emerald ash borer.

We finished Calvin’s nursery earlier this year when he was just a couple of months old. It took a while because we had to knock down walls and reconfigure the hallway to turn the second floor’s former kitchen into a bedroom. Doors were moved, plumbing was taken out, walls were added, wallpaper was stripped, walls were painted. Big changes! I also continued my monthly photo project with Calvin, but instead of sharing them here every month I switched to quarterly updates. Of course the most fun ones are when there’s a full year to look back at.

We got a new bed, a new-to-us table, and swapped out the lighting in the double parlor. Plus there were all of those aforementioned rugs (not all of which were mine to keep). Two steps forward, two steps back. But mostly forward! Hey, sometimes done is better than perfect. (I need to remind myself of this often.)

I had fun adding drawing and painting into my posts, putting together some tips on designing with tile, and continuing to add to my Making it Yours series. I still love all of these clothes from a few months ago when all the fall collections came out (I wore that tie back trapeze dress yesterday and felt cute), but 2015 is also the year I accidentally dressed like Velma. Jinkies!

And with that, I’m signing off until the new year. Brandon is taking Eleanor and August to see Star Wars today, we’ll be preparing to host family for Christmas, and then the plan is to enjoy a little time off. Just the five of us, plus a rotating crew of electricians. (I’m just glad the work is moving along.)

Thank you for being here, and happy holidays, everyone! Can’t wait to see you again in January!