So… suddenly it’s December. Time to pause and look back at what we accomplished last month, gather the highlights, and share the links in one place. We also included a few never-before-seen moments to keep things interesting. As usual, we covered a lot of ground — exterior updates, nursery and office touches, ornaments and place settings, and a ton of kitchen work. Here’s a yearbook-style roundup with some fun superlatives.
Oddest Couple: Little ol’ Sherry and this tall built-in we added to give the fridge a more finished appearance. It’ll feel even more complete once we add doors and paint, but it’s already doing its job.
Cutest Couple: Me and the giant 7 (actually an L rescued from a Dollar Tree sign) that a reader generously picked up for us in Maryland after we regretted leaving it behind. Best $25 ever — thanks again, Lesley!
Most Shocking: How green and leaf-free our grass looked just a month ago when we did a little mum-ification of the mailbox area. Now everything feels a lot more wintery — faded and brown.
Handiest: The newest addition to Sherry’s ceramic animal collection — Henrietta the octo-hen — who’s somehow rocking eight hands and making all DIYers jealous. See the full post here.
Most Pin-able: Our Fall Pinterest Challenge. We made 38 DIY ornaments, but the best part was the 800+ linked projects readers shared at the bottom of the post. Amazing inspiration.
Easiest: Painting a few test swatches on our front porch (see them here) and then doing nothing more for the month because nights got too cold. At least we picked a color.
Strangest: Photos from the post about choosing a contractor, where the opening between the kitchen and dining room was only outlined in green painter’s tape. Now that it’s finished, it’s hard to picture the room without it.
Creepiest: My Dexter impression while prepping the house for wall demo. Yes, I just used “whilst.”
Awesomest: This project that made us do a little happy dance — see the post for the full reveal.
More Awesomest: Another favorite moment from our grand opening post. Big milestones all around.
Less Than Awesome: A hiccup while drywalling the doorway. It was frustrating in the moment, but it worked out fine in the end.
Back On The Awesome Train: Installing trim around the doorway made the space finally feel finished — check out the post for details.
Most Likely To Die Happy: Me — I crossed off many items from my high school “Things to Do Before I’m 30” list before turning 30 last month. Important accomplishments, like living to see certain reality TV eras, were achieved.
Most Likely To Say “Thanks”: Anyone who downloaded and shared our free Thanksgiving card — one to fill out and one left blank to pass forward. We loved seeing people use them.
Most Likely To Procrastinate: Our last-minute Thanksgiving table settings, made just in time before we left for New Jersey for Turkey Day.
Most Mischievous: Burger, our resident baguette thief, who made a cameo in our Thanksgiving greeting.
Most Likely To Be Misread (With Disgusting Results): Our post titled “We’re Now Officially Sinkless,” which some misread as “skinless.” Yikes. Definitely not the image we want anyone to imagine.
“It’s The Little Things” Award: Small but important kitchen touches, like filling gaps next to the stove and adding a panel to the back of the peninsula, so countertops could be templated correctly.
Least Accurate: Clara, at least when it comes to measuring for counters. Thankfully a pro from the fabrication shop came to ensure the templates were right.
Most Musical: Our ceramic pig speaker from West Elm, one of the finds we featured in a roundup of four little finds.
The “Here We Go Again” Award: Just when the kitchen started coming together, we removed the upper cabinets in preparation for new countertops. Fingers crossed they arrive next week.
Class Crybaby: A (tongue-in-cheek) farewell video to the tile we had to demo, and the plywood behind it. Emotional, but necessary.
Most Awkward People In A Checkout Line: Us, buying a giant piece of throwback wood paneling. People stared like we were committing a decorating sin, but we needed it to replace missing sections where tile and cabinets used to be. It’s installed now and ready for paint to match the room.
Most Demonstrative: Burger and his posing skills in our post about how our book deal came to be and the progress we’ve made so far.
The Daddy’s Girl Award: A post about updates to our nursery frame collage sparked a consensus that Clara looks like Sherry — which makes me happy. A mini Sherry suits me just fine.
The Momma’s Girl Award: Clara’s obsession with pickles continues. On a recent night out she ate an entire oversized uncut pickle — impressive to Sherry, revolting to me.
So that was our November in a nutshell. How about you — any big projects or memorable holidays? We’re hoping for more of both in December. Happy (almost) holidays, everyone!
Psst — you can check out July’s superlatives here, August’s here, September’s here, and October’s here.