Favorites of 2009: Blog Posts

Happy New Year!
Now that the 2009 has come to a close, our final "Favorites" is about blog posts.

Writing has become such an important part of my life over the past couple of years.
I call it my passion, my family probably thinks of it more as an obsession. :-)
Each morning, I find myself pulling my laptop onto the bed before I even think about pulling the covers off.
Contributing to this blog has been both therapeutic and thrilling for me.

It is my lettered love.

It filled a void and helped shape a more confident, creative me. It opened doors when I was fumbling for my keys. It introduced me to hundreds of friends that I look forward to "seeing" every day. :-)

Here are some of the posts I particularly enjoyed putting together for our blog in 2009:

A Door with a View

Beer Garden Bench Re-do

House Tour - Union Springs, AL

Presto Chango

Maple Street Marvel

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And here are some posts that I loved reading in 2009...



Viola "May" Johnson

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Anniversary in Eureka Springs, Part One

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Leave Your Mark

Awakening

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Slop Bucket

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Homeless Man in my Dumpster

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Home Wasn't Built in a Day

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Never Say Never

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And last, but not least, Brin at My Messy Thrilling Life:

First Box. First Night.

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If the authors of these incredible posts happen to be reading this,
thank you so much for writing them!
:-)

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If you wrote or read a blog post this year that you'd like to link up to our "Favorite Blog Post of the Year" party, just click on the "You are next: Click here to enter your link" link. Then title your link with the name of the blog post you're linking to.

Thank you in advance!
I can't wait to sit here...



...with my laptop and my lemonade, and click on all the lovely links you leave!

Favorites of 2009: Room Re-do's

Once again, I'd like to thank you for linking up to our "Thrifty Tips" post yesterday. You guys sure know how to pinch pennies with panache!

Today's "Favorites" is about linking up to your favorite room re-do of the year. There's nothing like a seeing a great "before and after" is there? :-)

Remember these?



Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Jennifer's amazing kitchen transformation!



Click HERE to read Jennifer's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Melaine's lovely living room re-do!



Click HERE to read Melaine's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Kim's kitchen makeover!



Click HERE to read Kim's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Holly's handiwork!



Click HERE to visit Holly's blog!

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Now it's your turn!

If you've got a favorite room re-do you'd like to share, just create a link that leads to the specific post it can be found in. Give your link a descriptive title like, "Emily's Country Kitchen" so that we'll know what type of room we're about to see and who it belongs to. (It doesn't have to be a room in your own home, it could be one you saw on another blog)

And THANK YOU in advance for linking up! I can't wait to see all the terrific transformations everyone shares!

Also, as promised, tomorrow's "Favorites" is about our favorite blog posts of the year. The one you link can either be one you wrote, or one written by someone else that was so good you're still thinking about it.
I've got a few I can't wait to link to. You're going to LOVE them!
And don't forget, Random.org will be selecting the winner of our True Value Giveaway #2 at noon tomorrow, so if you entered, swing by for a visit to see if you've won!

Layla :-)

Favorites of 2009: Thrifty Tips

Thanks to everyone who linked up to the Favorites of 2009 "Tutorials" post. I love that I have a go-to post filled with TONS of links to awesome, informative ideas!

Today our Favorites is all about "Thrifty Tips". So I thought I'd invite the Queen of thrifty decor over for a visit to talk about her top 5 thriftiest tips of the year.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Sarah and her thrifty list....

1. Spray Away

"You can turn a thrift store find you would normally pass by, into something sophisticated and fun with just a few minutes and a can of spray paint."

Check out what she did with this old shelf:

Before

After


Click HERE to see how she transformed it from "teddy" to terrific!

2. Fix it up with Fabric

"I love to use fabric in unexpected places. Fabric can be a really inexpensive way to accent your home because you need very little of it for a small project. If you buy it on sale or with a coupon, it's really reasonable, and the selection is fantastic! You can even transform a piece of furniture without painting!"

Using fabric, Sarah enhanced the back of this little bookcase:

Before

After


Click HERE to see how she did it!

3. Add Pizazz with Paper

"Find unique ways to use paper in your decor. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I can never avoid the paper aisle at the craft store because I'm always thinking up ways to use it. One of my favorites was making art for the large spot over our mantel with a roll of wallpaper."



Click HERE for her step-by-step instructions!

4. Make Low Dough Drapes

"You don't need to buy expensive drapery panels or have window treatments custom made in order to get the look you want. I've made almost all of the drapes in our house. I've made some with a small sewing machine, but most are just made with hemming tape and an iron. When you shop for your own fabric you can spend a ton less (look for coupons!) and you can pick out a fabric you LOVE, in a length that is perfect for your particular window. Real decorators would faint at the thought of it...but sometimes I don't even hem all the edges. For shame!"



Click HERE or HERE to check out Sarah's cost effective curtains!

5. Add Miles of Molding

"If you've never been to my site, you don't know how insanely obsessed I am with molding. I luuuurve it. I do. It will transform your home. One of the best ways I've used it is on a massive, ginormous wall in our living room. I knew art for this space would be ridiculously expensive, so the color block on the wall with the added molding really filled it up and made "art" for very little money."





Click HERE or HERE or HERE to learn more about adding moulding!

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Thanks to Sarah for sharing all her great thrifty tips!

Now it's your turn!
If you blogged about a thrifty tip this year, we'd love it if you'd link it to this post for future reference. You know the drill- Just click on the "You are next: Click here to enter your link", title your link, then link it to the specific post you did about about your thrifty tip. And that's it!

Thanks guys! Have I told you how much you rule lately? :)

Ooh! And speaking of ruling, so does our NEW mailbox! Kevin will be back later tonight with all the details. Two things unexpectedly broke during the process of installing it, but I'm proud to report none of them were bones!

Favorites of 2009: Tutorials

Wow! I can't believe the year is almost over! It's crazy how fast the time flies. This was my first full year of blogging, and I've enjoyed it so much. I've made so many friends, and gotten so many great ideas from them. Unfortunately, I'm not good about cataloging the ideas as I see them. :-( So in an attempt to wrangle a bunch of them together into one post, I've decided to do a "Favorites of 2009" series this week- but I'll need your help to make it happen! (I'll explain how at the end of this post.)

Today's "Favorites" is about Tutorials. There have been SO many good ones in Blogland this year.

Remember these?



Click HERE to read Susie's inspiring post!

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Click HERE for Holly's incredible DIY project!

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Click HERE to see Rhoda's techniques!

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Click HERE to check out Chris' mural painting tips!

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Click HERE to see how Kimba added awesome architectural interest!

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If you'd like to share a tutorial that you posted on your blog this year, I'd love to see it!

If you're not familiar with "MckLinky", here's what you do:

First, create a link to your post. (Note: Don't link to the main page of your blog- link to the particular post that shows the tutorial.)

Then, title your link with a short, simple description of the tutorial you're linking to.

Lastly, feel free to spread the word about our little linky party. (And thank you if you do!) The more links, the merrier! :-)



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I've never done a "MckLinky" before, but if this thing actually works, this is what I'm thinking for the rest of the week:

Tuesday-
Favorite Thrifty Tip of 2009

Wednesday-
Favorite Room Re-do of 2009

Thursday-
Favorite Blog Post of the Year

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So if you feel like sharing a post this week, we'd love to have you link up!

Have a great week y'all-

Layla
:-)

PS- There's still time to vote for your favorite design blog at Apartment Therapy!