Every year we publicly proclaim a few of our resolutions in the hope that it’ll light a fire under our arse (arses?) and help us “get there.” So without further ado (except for this gratuitous and very much in-progress pic of the cabinet doors being primed)…
… here they are:
Resolution #1 – To Get Around: We’re excited for 2012 to be a good travel year for us, since we have been invited to speak at the Portland Home & Garden Show in February (really? us?) and at the Haven Conference in Atlanta in June (we’re the keynote speakers, which makes us excited and nauseous all at the same time). So we’ll hopefully get to meet a lot of you guys at those events. And when our book comes out this fall we hope to get to do some touring just to thank as many of you for reading our blog right to your face as possible. You know and be awkward and blushy and say things like “that’s so weet of sou” instead of “that’s so sweet of you.” True story.
Resolution #2 – To Make Our Archives Easier To Navigate: With 2,000+ posts that have been written over 4+ years, we completely understand how hard it is to find things, especially all of the projects that get buried as we go! So we’d love to revamp our Projects page with photos and easier to use archival systems. You know we like to DIY things, so that means learning some coding stuff as we go. Should be fun…
Resolution #3 -To Find More Balance: This guy’s a repeat because we haven’t conquered it since declaring it last year. We mentioned that “since the internet is 24/7, and we work from home, sometimes it’s hard to resist working nights, weekends, and even on vacation, so we hope to get a handle on that.” Especially with Clara around, some healthy family-friendly balance seems like a good idea. Here’s hoping 2012 is the year that we get it down!
Resolution #4 – To teach Clara how to prime & paint: Ok, maybe that’s not very age appropriate, but at least let me teach the girl how to caulk. Kidding again. Hmm, maybe we can show her how to peel painter’s tape? Seems like something she’d love! This resolution is just about keeping Clara involved and hopefully raising a little DIY lover like ourselves. I mean, we won’t force it on her, but including her in some toddler-friendly projects or steps could be fun for the whole fam. The girl does love her tape measure (more on that here), so we’re off to a good start…
Resolution #5 – Simplify, simplify, simplify! Sometimes it seems like we should say yes to every opportunity (why not?) or try to tackle ten projects at a time (gung-ho!) but we’ve learned that keeping things simple and staying focused on one task at a time might just be the key to sanity. So we have to fight that “little voice” that pushes us to do more/attempt to be super-human/cater to everyone else. Just sharing whatever’s going on in our little world is what got us here (over four million hits a month is both humbling and mind-blowing). So we have to fight the urge to keep piling more on our plate or attempting to please everyone on the planet. This is just a good old fashioned DIY diary. And simple = a beautiful thing.
Who’s ready for 2012? What are your resolutions? I’d love to hear what you guys would like to accomplish this year (either in list form like ours or just a sentence or two about whatever you plan to focus on). Do you have any personal resolutions going on? I’d love to drink more water, eat more veggies, read more books, and get back into painting (on paper and canvas – since I have wall and cabinet painting covered already). Oh yeah and to Netflix Homeland since so many people have recommended it. Is that resolution-worthy? From what I hear, it is.
Psst- We’re over on BabyCenter sharing a cute handmade-with-love nursery that’s gender neutral, modestly sized, and packed with DIY ideas! Check it all out here.
Robin says
So funny, I came on to comment and give you some suggestions of things to do in Portland, and see so many others had the same thought…..we should start a YHL-Portlandia club!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’re so excited!
xo,
s
HeidiG. says
ahhh, Portland. My hometown. You must try McMenamins (try their tater tots & the Ruby) & take a visit to Powell’s books (It’s a whole city block of books!)
YoungHouseLove says
Mmm, you had me at tater tots.
xo,
s
Ellen says
Where is the resolution to have more Burger on your little website? I appreciate the picture but he needs his own resolution! Ok that was tongue and cheek but being a singleton who loves her fur baby I can’t stress enough how much I love how you keep him involved as well.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- Burger is definitely the star of this show (along with Clara). We have some pretty funny photos of him jumping on top of John on the ottoman for a post over on YHLife that we want to share soon! He had so much fun on Christmas with the bean, so we’ll have to work some of that in there too!
xo,
s
Emily says
You guys are coming to Portland!? Yay! My fiance is a contractor and we just bought a house about an hour from PDX so we may have to swing by and say hi! -Emily and Calvin
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Sounds like fun!
xo,
s
Ashley says
My resolution for 2012 is to build my life/home. I move into the city (from the ‘burbs) February 1st and I am so excited to tackle making the space mine. It has hardword floors and lots of light and some really cool built in bookshelves in the bedroom. I have plans to make a beautiful Pam Pierce inspired bed skirt. And I want to deck out my plain old white bookcase with trim and molding and maybe stencil the back. I just bought a bright magenta dresser whose lines I love. I’m planning on following your tutorial but painting it a distressed grey. I’m sure more projects will come as I go. I’m excited to move into the city and have more of a social life. I want to go to more art galleries and concerts and such that are just too hard to get to on a lark living in the suburbs.
Krissy says
2012 resolution: pay more attention to the little things.
Sure, there are plenty of projects and such but there will ALWAYS be a list. I’m not so good at just enjoying where I am, now. Gonna keep working on that.
Pam M says
My resolutions would include:
more traveling (anything would be more than we did in 2011);
try to organize my time better – by the time I get done with all my important-blog-reading-obsession… well, let’s just say the day is almost over; simplify and declutter things, we hope to move in the next year or two, and can’t afford to move all this “junk” with us. Time for a fresh start!!
Love you guys – and wish ya’ all were my neighbors!!
Anna says
Yay! So excited for you to come to Portland. I will be at the home show just to see you guys! I can’t wait.
Our #1 resolution this year is to save for a house. We’re hoping to save a 10% downpayment in 1 year. It’s going to be tight and we’ll be saying “no” to a lot of things, but it will be worth it in the end!
Also, I always want to lose 10 pounds, so I’ll put that on the list…again.
Kimberj says
Dear S,J,C, & B :)
I like resolution #5 best. Simplify, simplify, simplify should be everyone’s mantra. If there is one thing I’ve learned in 55 years, its that no matter how tightly you control your life, how well you’re organized, life always has a few surprises that can knock you for a loop, on your butt, or in the dog house. The more manageable you keep your schedule the more room to handle life’s curve balls. I’m pulling for you all :) I think you guys are the diggity bomb and of course Clara and Burger ROCK as always!
PS one more thing… I seem to have problems finding out who wins the giveaways- is it cuz I’m old and technologically a dinosaur?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- you’re a very sweet technological dinosaur, if you are one. We usually post p.s. little notes on the bottom of our Thursday or Friday post with a link back to the original giveaway where we announce the winner at the top. So you can always just scroll back to the giveaway on Thurs/Fri to see if the winner is posted at the top of that original post or keep an eye out for a p.s. with a link back to announce the winner on Thurs or Fri. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Cara says
Another Portland-area reader here (Vancouver, WA specifically). I’m excited to check out your appearance at the show and don’t mind throwing out ideas for things to do in PDX! :)
Jessica at Lavender and Lilies says
Mine is to be more thankful for what I have and to take one picture a day for the entire year. super excited about that one!
GreenInOC says
I was horrified that I was reading this so soon – didn’t you “just” write this – I was thinking that time has inexplicably sped up, I was quite disconcerted that time going this fast was an indication that I had aged incredibly in the last year.
Then, I realized that I was thinking of your “behind the scenes” series of posts about blogging!
Whew, I’m not as old as a I feared!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yeah we have two “goal” times of the year- at our blogiversary and at the new year!
xo,
s
Jenny says
I live near Portland! Oh how I wish it wasn’t psycho to offer to babysit Clara and send you my references!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it! We think we have childcare covered (one of John’s parents will be coming out with us to help). Whew! But you’re so sweet and I’m sure Clara would love ya!
xo,
s
Katie says
I think St. Louis should definately be a stop on any upcoming book tours! Pretty please :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to stop through there!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Very excited to hear about a west coast visit. I’ll have to hit up the Home and Garden Show!
christina says
I’m so excited that you’ll be coming to Portland! You will love it here. Like others have mentioned, bring a rain coat and an umbrella. There are so many great little shops, things to do, see and eat that I’m already looking forward to your Portland post! Have fun!
Rachel G. says
I love reading all of the responses of people who can’t wait to see you at the Portland Home and Garden Show. I wish they would invite you to speak at the Richmond Home and Garden Show! That way I would have a legit excuse to say hello and meet you all. I have seen you all around town several times and never have the guts to say hello. You’re like local celebs!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, you have to promise me right now that you’ll say hi to us the next time you see us! We love meeting people! And Clara might even say hi! She’s getting more outgoing by the second.
xo,
s
Amanda says
Wow! Thank you for getting me to think about my New Year’s resolution _before_ the New Year!
1) I resolve to eat better and to continue to go to the gym 5-6 days/week. (Part of this involves more home-cooking and less eating out.)
2) I resolve to spend less and save more. (I would like to enjoy what we already have more, rather than continually trying to upgrade.)
3) I resolve to keep my home improvements low-cost, by DIY-ing more and by focusing on small improvements that make life better (like organizing closets or paring down clutter).
4) I resolve to spend more quality time with my husband — we both really enjoy spending time together, but there are so many distractions to contend with — I’d like to focus on him more.
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the resolutions you guys are sharing! So many good ones!
xo,
s
Liz F says
Ok, squee moment…my parents are from Vancouver (just across the river from Portland!!) so I might have to sneak down there to come check you guys out in person. SO COOL!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yay! Would love to meet you!
xo,
s
Kami says
My resolutions are to buy a new-to-me SUV, get in the gym 3x a week (now I only go 2x), and start my kitchen renovation by getting an architect/designer to draw up some plans. Here’s to 2012!!
cheep3r5 says
Finding balance. You can’t find it. You make it. If you worked at an office, you would go home. So go home. Yeah it’s 10 feet from where your office is, but go home anyway. You wouldn’t be at the office to answer email, the phone, or work on that important project, because we all have to go home to eat, sleep, have a life. So, stop. Y’all go home and have a life. =)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, very true and definitely something we say out loud many times a week. Still hard to stick to when you’re “one more thing…” people like us. Haha. Totally our fault. But we’re working on it!
xo,
s
Jessica says
Portland!?!?!? I’m just a short drive away from there!! Maybe I’ll have to drive down to meet you!!! {sorry sounds a little stalkerish…} I read your blog everyday…well M-F!!! I have family about 20 minutes from Portland..I’ll have to crash their house!! Is Clara going with??
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, she’s coming with us for the whole adventure!
xo,
s
Liz (Chaisson Thompson) says
I’m one up on you in the driving department, but I did grow up a rural kid. We HAVE to drive to get anywhere!
As for resolutions? Well, I’m hoping to get better at the whole blog thing. And I really, really need to learn how to take better photos. Finding some sort of balance between my day job, my dance classes/teaching, the loooong list of projects I have and spending some time with friends and the Ogre I married might also be a good thing! And sleep. That’s a good thing, too.
maribel says
my resolution is to declutter…freecycle has been my best friend, I’ve managed to get rid of a lot that way.
Sherry says
I live in Salem, OR (just an hour south of Portland) and can’t wait to see you guys in Portland. Do you know yet what day of the Home & Garden show you are going to be at? Can’t wait!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re talking on Wednesday. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carmen says
Hello from Spain!! I love your blog, your ideas, your sense of humor, your family of four…
I just find this and I immediately thought about you!!
http://mattcusick.com/paintings-collage/map-works
Love.
Carmen
YoungHouseLove says
Amazing! So much detail!
xo,
s
Paige says
ahhh!! I’m moving to Portland next month! I’m SO going to that show :) :) :)
Rachel W. says
I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we the readers will not be offended if you find balance with family time– which may include not responding to all of our comments and actually vacationing on vacation! (And not having to share when that is, of course!)
And while I’m encouraging you– I don’t think you need to apologize or justify when you spend big chunks of money on your house (kitchen) just because we read and are sorta part of how you make your living via the blog. Even if you made a million bucks from this and then wanted to spend it– more power to you!
You all are entertaining when you write, I enjoy reading your blog and I wish you all the success in the blog, books, and whatever else comes next. With all your hard work, you deserve every success you bring your way! Happy New YEar! ~R
Laurie says
Do less and have more. By this, I mean live a simpler tied less to material things and fall in love again with what I already have. I use them in a new and different way instead of buying new things that only make me temporarily happy. Right now I am moving around artwork and lighting to different rooms. Pretty pleased with the results and my husband is happy to not hear the revving up of the incessant whine “PLEEEEAAAAASSSSEE take me to Pier One” (or Target or Home Goods although I did score an awesome upholstered bench from Home Goods for the foot of my bed, a real steal, couldnt leave it in the store when it needed to fulfill its bench destiny at the foot of my bed). But that’s it, after the bench I will re-use the stuff I own!
Jessica says
So excited to hear you guys are making the trek to ATL!Being from VA myself I can say if you haven’t been to ATL yet you will love it! Plus we ahve some amazing home stores and small boutiques, I should know I manage one :)! Love to offer tips for delicious restaurants and must see secret tips when the time comes! Happy New Year!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jessica! One of my BFFs lives right outside Atlanta so we’ve explored a lot already! Can’t wait to be back though!
xo,
s
Kristi says
Ahhhhhh!!!! Oh my goodness! I am sooooooo excited you are coming here to Portland! I just called everyone I know to tell them you are coming, seriously! This is going to be AWESOME!!
Will you book be out before then? I would love to get it signed!
= ) Kristi
YoungHouseLove says
I wish! It comes out this fall!
xo,
s
Kristi says
Bummer! Guess I will have to go to your neck of the woods to get it signed. I think I can deal with that!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you never know- we could come back in the fall for a book tour!
xo,
s
Katie D says
Have you decided on the cabinet paint color?! Maybe white? The 2nd to last door looks different than the rest of the primed doors. It looks more like paint than a second coat of primer.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes we revealed it last week in our last kitchen post (it’s a soft gray-white-taupe color). That second to last cabinet door was just already white (it was from a secondhand cabinet) so it looks lighter than the rest. They’ll all match once we paint!
xo,
s
Charlotte | Living Well on the Cheap says
I totally think you guys should hire a virtual assistant. Since reading your day in the life posts I hardly ever comment because I feel guilty about how much time y’all spend wrangling comments and email. Let somebody else wade through everything that doesn’t require your attention and stick to the stuff that only YOU can do.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Charlotte! It’s just that we love responding to comments and emails along with doing projects and writing posts so we can’t think of anything that we want to “outsource” – haha. Apparently we really do love to DIY everything! Haha.
xo,
s
Amy says
Just wanted to say that I’m wishing you guys continued success in 2012! You guys rock.
Marisa Deane says
You will be in Portland, Oregon! How positively rad, see you there!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! So excited.
xo,
s
Jamie says
Petersiks in da house! Woot woot! Super excited for your trip to P-town. PLEASE tell me you’re going to be speaking on Fri, Sat or Sun?? I get back from vacay on Thursday and I’d be crushed if I didn’t get to see you guys while you were in town!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we’re speaking on Wednesday. So sorry to miss ya!
xo,
s
Jamie says
Wow. I just went from happy dance to majorly bummed :( Wiould it be too greedy to ask for a Portland encore for your book tour?
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’d be fun to go back!
xo,
s
Edith says
Quick question about painting cabinets. With oak cabinets, how do you ensure the graining doesn’t show through the paint?
YoungHouseLove says
Using high quality primer and good self-leveling paint helps hide a lot although I can’t guarantee 100% invisible grain. We don’t mind painted wood that looks like painted wood though, so a little grain is ok as long as the paint is nice and even and glossy!
xo,
s
Samantha says
I’m so excited you’re coming to the Portland Home Show! I will definitely try and make it there to see you guys! You’ve inspired me to do so much more around my home. I guess my resolution is to try and focus on one project at a time (instead of starting three huge ones at once!).
Also, good luck with your resolutions & Happy New Year!
Samma says
Saw this and thought of you — I know it’s not geographically desirable, but if it fits, it’s a good deal and Katy could always pick it up for you for the next road trip!
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/fuo/2772652094.html
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
While you are in Portland, if you have time, you should take a day trip to Corvallis, OR. It is beautiful, the people are super friendly (you guys would fit right in!) and it’s fun.
You could head over to Albany and check out the carousel museum – everything is being hand carved and painted. You two would especially appreciate it. Their website isn’t much to look at but here it is as well as an article:
http://www.albanybrassring.com/home.php
http://ethosmagonline.com/archives/13771
Each piece has a story behind it and so each detail has a reason. Harriette is my favorite!:
http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.251323095.jpg
http://albanycarousel.com/WP/animals/harriette
YoungHouseLove says
So much fun! Thanks for the tips!
xo,
s
Mrs.Ronso says
Oh goodness, I am so excited that you are coming to the Portland Home and Garden Show! My husband works for the home show company (he does their website and it is pretty snazzy I think :)) When I read your post this morning I let out a little scream of excitement and then pestered him with questions about why didn’t he tell me sooner.
I hope a get a chance to meet you and say hi when you are out. Our little girl is around Clara’s age and I bet they would love to play together. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s so sweet! So excited to meet you!
xo,
s
Jen F says
Soooo excited to have you guys come to Portland. I live in Seattle, but it is close enough to come down – especially since I have lots of family in the area!!!! Yippeee!
Cassie says
As to resolution #5 – I sometimes worry that you two are exhausting yourselves with these crazy huge projects and elaborate, lengthy posts. I’ve been a daily reader for almost three years now and I fell in love with this website when it was mostly Sherry doing lots of little posts. For example rearranging the console table, a quick summary of all of your cute little plants in the house, how you keep such and such cabinet organized, etc were all great little posts. Give yourselves a well-deserved break… and often!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Cassie! We definitely had fun doing little holiday projects (like the hallway art switches) among the big kitchen madness posts!
xo,
s
Laura says
We’re actually traveling a lot this coming year…starting with a road trip this coming weekend to NC! I even said to my husband, “We practically stop by Richmond, do you think we’ll bump into John & Sherry on Friday?” hahaha.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, ya never know!
xo,
s
Pam in NC says
#1 – learn to put things away when I’m finished with them
#2 – use more than I purchase – I’m a paper-crafter and boy, can I shop!
#3 – move more (as in get out of my chair more often)
Kay says
In terms of archives, have you ever thought about those pic-prompts at the bottom of the post say you might be interested in (choice of 3 or 4 pics that lead to related posts). . .
I love spiraling into those types of search-topic inspired archives . . .
Happy Holidays and Love, love, love your blog!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually have those if you click into a post (ex: when you browse the main page of YHL you don’t see them, but if you click the title of today’s post and scroll to the bottom to comment, there are some related post suggestions for ya). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jessica Matthews says
So I just excitedly told my husband that young house love gets over four million hits a month and he said “that’s pretty good…. you’re probably three & a half million of those.”
Just thought that was funny & a testament to how much I love reading your blog! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s pretty hilarious. I used to claim that I was at least a million of them since I’m always searching for posts to link to and answering comments but John taught me that our stat-counter doesn’t count our own blog visits (internally or externally). Haha. But yours count for sure!
xo,
s
mp says
I’m generally not a NY resolution maker, but I have resolved to do things more incrementally on my home in years to come, rather than work myself into a tizzy over the fact that doing it all at once is tres expensive. I’m also hoping that a new job will help me pay down my second mortgage, which has a balloon payment in 9 years!
Madeleine says
When I read you want to drink more water I had to write! For the past 23 years I have been drinking a quart of water first thing every morning. Then wait to eat about 45 min. Takes me about 20 min to drink; do it while getting dressed/makeup… I heard about this on the radio in re: to staying healthy and avoiding colds. I rarely get a cold or sore throat. People always say “well, I drink lots of water all day long.” Can’t explain it but this is different. Besides, it’s free!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try it! It makes sense to do things that you want to get done right away (so they’re done by the time you start the rest of your day).
xo,
s
senses of soul says
greeting from Malaysia =)
YoungHouseLove says
Hi from Richmond!
xo,
s