What a year!

 When I wrote my blog post about my word for 2013 "forward" I had NO idea I would not be posting again in 2013! What a year it was! My hubby and I started out the year looking to possibly move closer to our kids and grandson. We spent 2 weeks on a road trip exploring possibilities. At the end of our trip we came home and decided we weren't quite ready to leave the pacific northwest. So we jumped in with both feet and opened a shoppe! 

We spent months researching other shoppes, collecting furniture, and scouting a location. We thought we had a perfect location for a great price, but negotiations with the landlord fell through. We had spent a couple months coming up with a list of improvements, drawing floor plans for the layout and were running out of room in our 3 garages full of product. We wanted about 2000 square feet, but the choices we had were either smaller or much larger. Storage was important, parking a huge factor and an area we could hold workshops or classes. We finally found a really great contender, but it was only 1300 square feet. After meeting with the landlord we were SOLD! He was tearing down the building next door and we would be able to add on another 600-1000 square feet.

The building is new, the original building was torn down and rebuilt with apartments above and retail on the street. The space was an empty shell, so we were able to pick the flooring, the lighting and some of the paint colors. After we signed the lease agreement April 1, 2013 the fun began! We kept busy painting furniture, my hubby built our counter out of an old entertainment center. 

Our window display came from 3 old doors and some leftover decking material. Our wrap counter came from 2 wood file cabinets a friend was throwing away and a butcher block top. With the key pieces in place we could finally start filling it up! We hired my niece Kourtney, who had just graduated from college in Utah as our full time employee and a coworker of my hubby as our part-time employee.

After weeks of painting furniture, unpacking product, and placing everything perfectly we were ready to open the doors! We opened for our first day of business June 1, 2013!

It's been quite the adventure! Many heated discussions, lots of favorite pieces of furniture I had a hard time parting with, but it's been so fun! 

 Lucky for me my employees are wonderful! While trying to keep up with the demand of the shoppe, my daughter was married July 27, 2013.

 I was matron of honor for one of my besties August 31, 2013

 My adorably cute grandson came to visit for the first time!

And my son got engaged on a visit in November! Wedding set for August 2, 2014. I also had visits form my sister and her husband, my brother and his wife, my mom-in-law and father-in-law and my mom and stepdad! It was one of the BEST years EVER!

My word for 2014?

I'll be back soon =)

 Happy, happy New Year! Hope you had a lovely evening! We certainly did. We spent it with some friends on the beach.
So... my word for 2013? FORWARD. Do you pick a word that inspires you for the year? This is my 5th year of participating. My "one little word" always picks me somehow. As the end of the year gets closer a word will begin entering my thoughts... and as much as I try to make sense of the word or try to pick a different one, it doesn't work. So Forward it is. Which I am excited about! I have so many fun things planned for this year!

 Now that the Christmas decor is put away and organized I added a few winter decor touches.

 I thought maybe you'd like to see?

 I added a few aqua touches here and there and decorated with my snowman collection and snowflakes.

 Do you decorate for winter? It helps the house from feeling so empty once the Christmas decor is down.

 Notice my paperwhites in the upper right hand corner in the picture above? They get so tall they start falling over! They smell soo good!

 I love the softness of the faux fur pillows and throw this time of year, so does Koko.

I found this fun crock at an antique store this summer, the twig sphere at Marshall's on Monday and the driftwood star at TJ Maxx.

For my mantel I left the window and the pine bough. I added the candle sticks, the urn filled with branches from the yard and snowflakes.

 Have you started taking down your Christmas decor? I am pleased to say I am DONE. I started a little earlier this year than normal, the day after Christmas.

 For me, it always seems sooo overwhelming every year!

 I like to make a huge pile... to make sure I get everything down from each room. Every year I think... I am going to put everything away ORGANIZED this year! (Hoping when it comes time to put it all up the next year it will make more sense and I won't have a HUGE mess). Every year I get overwhelmed and just stick everything in boxes and call it good. Then of course go shopping for 75% off Christmas decor and wrappings and stick those in, just in the bags, shut the door and call it good.

 We have this little storage space above our garage... well it's not exactly small, just the door is small =) The door is in the hubbys office, behind his desk.

 This is how I left it after putting all the Christmas decor up this year.

 Umm, yep! Way back there in the very back? Ya that would be the FALL decor that didn't get put away in bins either. Luckily I can just close the door and don't have to worry anyone will EVER see it.

 I labeled all the plastic bins this year with what is in the boxes rather than just "Christmas". All the linens are all together, ornaments are by colors, the village is all in the same bins, etc.

 It took an extra couple days of "stuff" everywhere, which I have a hard time with.

 It took me 3 hours separating out ornaments into separate containers by colors, in front of the TV watching HGTV...

the hubby even had to cook a meal (he's making homemade whole wheat fettuccini noodles).

 But it's all been put away...

 and... it's organized! Woohoo!

 I am a happy girl =)

 even the fall decor =)

 BLISS =)
Yes, my one little word for 2012 was BLISS wasn't it? My word for 2013? That will be my next post!
Happy New Year!

 I have really been trying to use up some of the crafting supplies I have on hand this Christmas so I thought I would post a few more Christmas gifts I made this year. I got the idea for this from here. I loved the one she made using an embroidery hoop. I wanted to use what I had on hand, so I used a 16x16 canvas. The only thing I had to buy was a few vintage Christmas ornaments. I found them at Habitat for Humanity for $2.00 for a box of 21. I think I need to make one for myself =)

 Next up I needed some girly gifts for the hubbys assistants at work.

 I've had this recipe for lotion for a few years, and probably had all the ingredients since last Christmas.

 I got the recipe from here.

 I packaged them all up in a few plastic jars and used lots of rhinestones and ribbon.

 Add a little gift card for coffee and he's good to go!

After finishing the Christmas ornament tree I decided I liked using the glitter letters so I added Silent night to the driftwood tree I made. I love it even more now!

 I bought these cute little "Merry Christmas vinyl kits from Groupdealz  (I think)

 The kits came with the wood pieces and the vinyl, I added the paint, card stock and rhinestones from my crafting stash. One is going to my neighbor for a "neighbor gift". She bakes, so I didn't want to burden her with MORE baked goods =)

 I will probably keep one...

Now to decide which one to keep! Ha!

Crafting...

 I've been doing some last minute crafting the last couple days.

 My neighbor just had a baby girl, her name is Julianna. Her room is all done in pink, white and brown.

 I thought it would be fun to do a monogram for her wall.

 I also quickly tied a fun polka dot blanket.

 I had the special opportunity to pick out a vintage chandelier and vintage baby carriage for her room. My neighbor mentioned that she had been searching for the chandelier and carriage with no luck. While traveling a few months ago I came across the chandelier at a vintage market

 I knew as soon as I saw it she would love it! Doesn't that just scream baby girl room!

The price of $110.00 was pretty reasonable, I would have tried to negotiate, but someone else had their eye on it too... I couldn't take the chance of loosing it. The carriage was a find a few states away while traveling in California. We are headed over for "happy hour" to toast Juliannas arrival so I will try to snap a few pics of her room and the carriage.

 I had pinned a few driftwood and twig Christmas trees on Pinterest and decided since I had a bucket full of driftwood to try making one for a friend for Christmas.

 I used some shells my sister in law sent me from a trip to Florida, a few pieces of "fake" beach glass, a starfish and of course the driftwood I picked up from a local beach this summer. I hot glued it to a piece of black velvet that I attached to a canvas with staples. I hope she loves it as much as I do!