Big Plans for 2016

Did you stay up to ring in the New Year? I sure did!! I love hosting our annual NYE party. It's so much fun having our friends and family, over chatting away and playing games! In fact, that's one thing that I want to do more of in 2016.

But the next day is always a 'chill out' day for us, especially after staying up til 2am the night before. We laid around a lot and watched movies. Somehow, we managed to take down all the outside Christmas lights, and by Saturday all of the Christmas decorations were boxed up put away. Now the house looks a bit "naked". I kinda like it though. It feels like a fresh beginning. Isn't that how we treat the new year? We reflect on the last year, and sort of 'start over' again in January. I like that. I'm ready!

So, here we go, 2016!
Last year, I really tried to be organized and plan. Remember, The DIY Planner I made? I stuck with it for most of the year, but by October, I seemed to have gone right back to my numerous lists on notebook paper.

The lists are good, they just don’t help me plan for the future. Another thing I realized, was that my planner was too big and bulky. I like to be able to grab and go, not feel like I have this huge binder to lug around. So, I ordered this adorable cute one,The Happy Planner "My Life" it is more compact and has tons of room for lists and so much more! I am in the process of setting this one up, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!

Last year, I felt more sporadic and off the cuff, it didn't seem like I got much accomplished. Not this year, I am planning like a maniac!! :) My goal for 2016 is to plan each quarter/season, then break it down into months, then weeks. Fingers crossed! Lord, help me!!

When you're planning, you have to consider what you WANT to do vs what you CAN do. I love where I live, but when the winter gets so stinkin cold, there is NO way I’m going into that freezing garage and build anything! So, I need to plan what I can do during that time.

Winter Season: I can paint!
Paint! Paint! Paint!  Here is the entry area…. Do you like my sample painting? Ha! It's been like that longer than I want to admit. And believe it or not this is the same color I painted in the Living Room and Dining Room. It's called Polar Star by Valspar. It looks sooo different in here. I can't believe how much lighting makes a difference. Here it looks purplish. I can NOT have purple walls, even if they are purplish gray.


Can you see all that I have to paint? Those walls are only getting painted once, and they will not be a purplish gray color, so I'm on the hunt for a new gray. I don’t know how I’m going to get up to those walls…


I can do this!! Right?? All the way up the stairs with the same color, like I said it's only getting painted once. Plus, I gotta get rid of the "boob" lights!


I’m also going to repaint the Billiard Room. Yeah, after living with this color, I can’t stand it.  It reminds me of baby poop. Yuck!


Painting the Master Bedroom is also on the list. I have so many ideas for our bedroom. I can't wait to paint those nightstands!! :)


Paint the Master Bathroom…. So much work to do in here. I can’t believe it still looks the same as it did since we’ve moved in. I gotta change that! Remember that post, How To Frame A Mirror Without Miter Cuts. That's what I'm talking about! And that shower curtain... blech!

As you can see, I have a LOT of painting to do! Oh, boy!

I wonder if I can fit in the staircase??? I put in a couple of white blocks to see how it might look. I would love to do this in 2016! Oh, and stain the hand rails and treads a darker stain...oooo so pretty.... I can't stand the orange wood!




Spring Season:
Once the the garage is tolerable again, I want to finish the kitchen uppers!

I'd like to put doors on all of the open spaces up there. I'm thinking about installing lights and frosted glass fronts.

I also want to build a base cabinet for under the coffee bar. I put it off… I want to finish that.


Also in the spring, I need to attack the outside of our home, it has been so neglected... The shutters have started to fade and stain the house. It looks awful! So, I WILL be painting the shutters and powerwashing the house! Poor neighbors have to look at our ugly house for a few more months…Sorry…


When I went outside to take pictures, I saw how nasty the front looked. That looks so awful!


It was actually pretty nice out that day, so I decided to grab some soapy water and scrub it off.

So much better, I didn’t get all of it, but as least the mold is gone. It took me all of 10-15 minutes. Why did I wait??

I'd like to work on the gardens… I’ve neglected them, too. It's time to clean them up!

They look so sad….


There is so much potential in this space. But we’ll see…


Okay,  I’m already overwhelmed! Whew! I only have winter and spring planned so far, so we'll see how far I get.

There are going to be lots of things in between all of that.  I certainly can’t just post about painting and cleaning… Boring!! I have some things rolling around in my mind, I can’t let y’all know everything!! :)

Plus, you know, I have a tendency to find a project that can’t wait. It will be one of those ‘must drop everything’ kind of projects that are so much fun!!  :)  Just wanted to prepare y'all. If only, I had unlimited time, talent and $$…

On the behind the scenes part of the blog, I’m thinking of a new blog redesign, ads, sponsored posts, etc… There’s a lot to keep it going.

It keeps me busy, which I like! Better than being bored! I’m not ever bored, really… lazy occasionally... yes. Thank goodness for Hubby, he keeps me in check. I could work, work, work, and he reminds me to rest, have some fun and relax.

Oh, and let’s not forget the apartments, I co-own and manage. There will inevitably be a vacancy or something to keep me busy there. Oh, which reminds me, we are planning to update the entry areas, which desperately needs it.

So, as you can see there will be much to do and much to write about and share with you! I’m so excited! I'm ready to get started!! I just got back from the store with a bunch of paint swatches...
Let's go!
Blessings!!