Note: This is a retroactive post I stitched together in December 2011 to create a complete set of monthly recaps for our first year in the new house. I like things neat and organized, so here’s what we accomplished in April — yearbook-style highlights from around the home.
Most Outdoorsy: Digging out the liriope that covered nearly 80% of the future patio area.
Most Domestic: Turning Sue the Napkin into Sue the Pillow — a little sewing project that made a big difference.
Biggest Crybaby: Sharing Clara’s terrifying — and ultimately miraculous — birth story.
Most Likely To Result In Cursing: An epic battle with the sewing machine that still produced a cheerful party banner.
Hoppiest: DIYing an Easter basket for Clara — cute, crafty, and full of springtime charm.
Most Illuminating: Finishing the freshly built console table and styling it with lamps and accessories to bring the space together.
Most Eco: Adding a rain barrel on Earth Day — a small change that helps the garden and the planet.
Most Mature: Distressing new wood to give it an aged, lived-in look that blends better with older pieces.
Most Likely To Result In Paint In Your Hair: Helping paint John’s sister’s apartment and creating a photo wall for another relative, plus a DIY baby book — all hands-on projects that left us happily covered in paint.
Biggest Relief: Finally finishing the big console table build — a project that felt great to complete.
Best Editing: Removing one of the most oddly placed lights we’d ever seen — a small change that improved the room’s flow.
Most Festive: Designing party invitations and custom Clara fabric using John’s scanned handwriting and the magic of printing — small details that made the celebration personal.
Most Well Hung: Completing our hallway’s double-sided frame gallery to showcase photos and art on both sides of the hall.
Most Type-A: Hanging two mirrors turned dry-erase boards in the office for compulsive list-making and daily task tracking.
Least Type-A: Admitting to a goo-related secret and fixing it with a bit of elbow grease — sometimes the mess is part of the story.
Most Likely To Take A Few Installments: Starting, continuing, and furthering our console table project in several installments — a marathon, not a sprint.
Biggest Metal Heads: Tweaking a large set of iron keys and hanging them with twine as an unexpected piece of wall art.
Most Rebellious: Attempting to paint a chair quickly — a plan that didn’t quite work out, but taught us something.
Biggest Procrastinator: Finally organizing our closet — a task that took four months to complete, but felt rewarding when done.
Biggest Slob: Sharing a tour of our not-so-perfect (aka pretty darn messy) house — honest, lived-in, and real.
Least Successful: Attempting to save a badly damaged ceramic dog — a well-meaning effort that didn’t go as planned.
