Monday, December 31, 2012

What a Year.

Christmas Eve marked our one year anniversary of living in our house.  You may remember that even though we bought it in August 2011, the major renovations we took on didn't allow us to move in until the holidays.  I can't believe how quickly this year went by, and even more than that, I can't believe just how much our home has changed in such a short time.

Here are pictures of our house from Christmas Eve 2011...



And here it is Christmas Eve 2012...


Quite the difference, huh?

I'm so very proud of the hard work that hubby, my parents and I have put into this house.  Every single thing we have done turned this old house into our home.  I cannot wait to see what we can do in the year to come!

Oh, and before the holiday season is truly "over"...here is a little recap of our wonderful holiday, spent with both sides of our families.  First up, we travelled to Connecticut, with my parents, to visit my sister's family and to see their new house.





Then it was time to go to the in-law's and spend time with hubby's family.





Hubby and I didn't exchange gifts this year...which isn't something super new to us.  {We didn't exchange when we were saving for our house in 2010 or when we bought our house in 2011.}  We chose to pass on the holiday gifts, and do other things....like, say make an investment in lots of Christmas lights so hubby could go crazy outside....buy three extremely discounted rugs that we need for our house...and scoop up an awesome deal on Craigslist'ed campaign dressers.  We even decided to go nuts and get our lawn aerated and over-seeded this past fall.  Doing these "house things" makes us extremely happy, so we are okay knowing that since we are tight on money, Christmas gifts may have to wait until another year.  Heck, just creating our cozy home together is a gift in itself.  {Way cheesy, but 100% true.}

But we did manage to buy a couple gifts for some family members.  My favorites happened to be these UH-MAZING wood pieces that we got for our niece and nephews from the Smiling Tree Toys shop on Etsy.  Their handmade, organic stuff is totally worth checking out.  They even managed to rush my order and get it to me in time for our trip up to CT before Christmas.  In short, they rock!




I hope you all have a wonderful NYE...and a BIG, HUGE THANK YOU to each and every one of you for taking the time out of your day to keep in touch with me and hubby and our home.  It means the world to me, and I appreciate it more than you know!

I'll see you in 2013! :)

20 comments:

  1. What an amazing transformation to happen in a year! You guys have had one busy year!

    Happy New Year! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You guys kicked 2012 hiney! Crazy what a difference a year makes.

    Love those ornaments. They are too cute!!

    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is crazy!

      Thanks, and Happy New Year to you too! :)

      Delete
  3. Those ornaments are adorable! You guys killed it in 2012! Your home looks amazing! Happy New Year! I look forward to following along this year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! That's a huge change in a year! Shayne and I didn't do gifts either. We are putting money to our bathroom and a trip to Florida instead. Those wood ornaments are amazing! Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea, I still can't believe it when I look back! Sounds like a great plan for you guys. Happy New Year! :)

      Delete
  5. O my goodness - your house is so beautiful!!!!!!!!!! I love your Christmas decorations. New follower - thanks for stopping by my blog earlier, looking forward to reading more from you!

    Brie @ Breezy Pink Daisies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thank you so much, Brie! I'm so glad you stopped by! :)

      Delete
  6. I cant believe the amount of progress made in just a year! you both are rock stars. Happy New Year to you and the hubby!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Emily!! Happy New Year to you and your {soon-to-be} hubby! ;)

      Delete
  7. I love seeing the difference time (and a bunch of crazy hard work) pays off. I hope 2013 lets you see more of what you want (I know we have lots planned!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Megan! Good luck with all of your adventures this year! :)

      Delete
  8. Those wood pieces are amazing!
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy New Year! Cool gifts. I see the OJ and champagne too.. the hallmarks of my wife's favorite holiday drink. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you too! Yup, love that drink on the holidays! :)

      Delete
  10. I am glad you guys had a great Christmas. Your house really is beautiful, and those ornaments are adorable!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.