Before & Afters and Valentine's Day Ideas
Valentine’s projects, before and afters, and more!
Happy February! We had a delicious snowstorm yesterday, and it is brilliantly blue with more than a foot of snow now. Gorgeous!
A mid-storm shot from yesterday. The raised beds are fully buried in snow. So thankful for the moisture!
And today in the brilliant, cold Colorado sun. These little trees continue to delight!
I left our Christmas decorations up longer than ever this year, but they are all put away at last. And OMG! Remember our Mudroom Makeover last summer? Well, all that work made putting Christmas away SO EASY! It took less than two hours to undo it all, and it all had a dedicated place to go, too. I was a little shocked, actually. I knew it would be better, but I hadn’t realized how much better! Amazing!
If you are new around here (Hey! Welcome!), here’s a little before and after so you can see what I’m talking about:
All of that good storage and organization made putting away the Christmas decorations so much easier! This transformation was part of the Mudroom Makeover. Check out the whole thing here!
If you are organizing at your home right now, or even just thinking about it, I have tons of organizing ideas here.
A Little Before & After
Speaking of Before and Afters! I am in the midst of a little renovation project that is now more than 6 months in the making. But we are close! When we redid the Mudroom, I found two amazing doors at an architectural salvage yard. They are midcentury — taken out of a church. I love them! You can see one of them in the Mudroom Makeover reveal. Well, the other is our new front door. And a new front door meant that everything else around it looked even shabbier than it had before. So… the light fixtures were replaced (after months of waiting for delivery), new house numbers are on order, and here’s the big excitement: the mailbox! Seriously. It doesn’t take much to make me happy!
It’s not new! It’s the same old mailbox which is probably original to our home. There are several other houses in the neighborhood with the same mailbox, so I suspect it was one of the options when these homes were built. It’s lovely — heavy steel with great functionality. But it had been painted several times and was rather sad looking. So I took it to a local shop where they sandblasted the old finishes and rust spots away. Then they powder-coated it in a cherry red. I added a simple chrome handle, and now it’s the as shiny and cool as… well, maybe not a Maserati, but perhaps a vintage Fiat?
Just wait until it is all together! For very little money, we are finally bringing some big changes to the front of our house, and I can’t wait to show you how it has all come together. Just a few finishing touches to go!
Valentine’s Day Ideas
But here we are on the cusp of Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day! I have lots of fun DIY ideas and gift ideas, too, for Valentine’s Day including two new budget-friendly gift guides: one for kids and one for anyone. And don’t forget to check out the Galentine’s Day cards, too. I love Galentine’s Day, and these are fun and easy to make, too!
Wherever you are, I hope you are warm and safe and healthy! Happy weekend!
XOXO
Angela
Happy January!
A January update from Angela
My nasturtiums are living their best life in The Greenhouse!
Happy January, friends! I hope you are well and are enjoying some good, winter weather! We have had some really good snow here in Colorado — much needed! And it is finally cold, snuggly, build-a-fire weather which we have missed!
If you are still working on your thank you notes from the holidays — or need some help getting started — check out my guide to writing a fabulous thank you note! I’m still working on mine. I’m not perfect, but I certainly make a good effort!
Perhaps you are feeling a need to get back to planning or journaling — or even to make a start.
I have some guides and ideas for planning and journaling — processes which I see working together, but many people do one or the other as a practice. Check out the resources below for ideas, tips, and some of my favorites, too.
And if you are working on some simple home improvement — reorganizing, decluttering, or repurposing, I have some thoughts and ideas for you. I’ve done it all and hopefully learned a bit along the way. Hopefully these ideas will help you, too!
Lastly, Valentine’s Day is just a month away! Eek! If you are starting to think about Valentine’s projects and crafts, decorations, or gifts, check out my Valentine’s Day guide for ideas.
If you are on Instagram, be sure to check out my 2021 highlight reels. 2021 was a great year for projects, and it was fun to go back and chronicle them all!
And, if you missed my earlier announcement, I am taking two classes this year which I’m sure will spur all kinds of interesting conversations. First, I am taking Wanderlust, a year-long art journaling class. It’s really my first introduction to painting techniques and tools. I am just thrilled about everything we are learning so far and look forward to my Friday lessons.
Additionally, I am beginning the Colorado Master Gardener program this week! I am thrilled to embark upon this adventure in learning and volunteer work. More on that at a later date!
What adventures await you this year? Always learning; always growing.
Lots of love!
Angela
Make Your Holidays Merrier!
The all-new version of The Nice List is here!
The All-New Nice List is here!
Introducing The Nice List All Year and The Nice List Christmas Workbook!
THE NICE LIST: PAPER EDITIONS
The Nice List includes two separate notebooks:
The Nice List All Year: a gift-giving tracker to last for years to come
The Nice List Christmas Workbook: a planner for the entire Christmas season to keep you organized and help bring a little sanity to your holiday season
Both are available individually or together as a bundle and are designed to be used in a traveler’s notebook or independently.
FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE:
The Nice List books are designed so that they can be used in a traveler’s notebook -- a simple way to keep them together. For a limited time we will include a FREE handmade, upcycled traveler’s notebook with each purchase of The Nice List Bundle (while supplies last).
THE NICE LIST CHRISTMAS WORKBOOK INCLUDES:
How to Use The Nice List
How to Use The Christmas Workbook
November Calendars: weekly and monthly (undated)
December Calendars: weekly and monthly (undated)
Weekly To Do Lists for November and December (undated)
What Sparks Joy for You? Setting priorities for the holiday season
Budgeting worksheets: to establish a budget for your Christmas season — and for each gift, too
Coupons & Codes: tracker for holiday sales and discount codes
Giving Lists: to help you prioritize where you spend your money and on whom
Thoughts on Thoughtful Giving: ideas for gift giving and reducing the stress of the holidays
Thank You Note Tracker
Holiday Card Tracker
Menu Planners
Baking Planners
Shopping Lists
Blank pages for notes and planning
With a little planning and some careful thought before a gift is ever purchased, The Nice List can help you keep Christmas from spinning out of control and help you find the perspective you need. The Nice List helps you set deadlines to avoid high shipping charges and has a tool for tracking all of those promo codes and sale codes that start to flood your email inbox, too.
The Nice List All Year gives you a place to track all of the gifts you give the loved ones in your life -- not just at Christmas time. It is designed to be used for multiple years and can be purchased separately if you have more than 15 people in your life to track.
THE NICE LIST ALL YEAR INCLUDES:
How to use The Nice List
How to use The Nice List All Year
Giving Records for 15 people covering multiple years
The Nice List All Year is also designed to be used by anyone -- not just people who celebrate Christmas. From Hanukkah to Lunar New Year, Kwanzaa to Eid, and birthdays, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and more -- record every gift you give and make notes for coming occasions, too.
Plus, when you use The Nice List All Year year after year, you develop a record of your gift-giving, so you never give the same gift twice!
A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS PLANNER
Not only is The Nice List a beautiful planner, but it also comes with online tools including an extensive giving guide with gift suggestions in every budget for every person on your list — parents, inlaws, kids, friends, teachers. We have suggestions for them all and exclusive discount codes as well.
I love the Christmas season so much I have written what my husband described as my “love letter to Christmas” — The Nice List!
Order your copy of The Nice List today, and give yourself the gift of a very organized and holiday season!
Documenting Your COVID-19 Experience
Ideas for documenting and preserving your COVID-19 experiences.
Here we are, friends, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on where you live, it may be longer than that for you. For our family, our pandemic experience started just over a year ago with a final trip to the grocery store, a new refrigerator, and the end of in-person school. I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes that have happened over the last year, and that led me to develop a project I’m excited to share with you:
The Stay at Home Club: a COVID-19 Journaling Project
Whether you are a regular journal keeper or a complete novice, this is a historic opportunity to document your experiences for yourself — and for posterity.
This journaling project is very simple. All you need is a blank book, something to write with, and the PDF of questions and prompts — a free download which I’ve created to help you. Our family is working on the journaling project together. I want to include everyone’s perspectives and experiences. But this could be a solo project as well.
You’ll find all of the details at the link below. It includes some videos that can help you get started, a few photos of what we have started, and suggestions for supplies, too.
Not only is this an exciting project, but it is also my first collaboration with Owl and Ember! Owl and Ember is a new enterprise I am beginning with a dear friend, Holly Kennedy. We are starting small — an Etsy sticker shop — but we have really big ideas!
The shop just launched, and we have the cutest COVID badges for The Stay at Home Club! How did you earn your crafting badge this year? What about cooking? Check out The Stay at Home Club badges and all of the cute stickers at Owl and Ember by clicking the link below!
Be well! Stay safe!
XO
Angela
Happy Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is coming, and I have lots of fun Valentine’s projects and DIYs for you to make this cheery holiday even more so! Check them out!
The Nice List 2020: Three Ways to Plan!
This year we have three ways to use The Nice List and get organized for Christmas — plus stickers!
three ways to plan your holiday season this year!
Plus stickers!
So many of you have bought The Nice List over the years, and for that I am so very thankful! I hope The Nice List has become part of your holiday season -- bringing a little order and sanity to a crazy time.
I have been sitting on so many fun secrets this fall, and it is finally time to reveal it all! With the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the challenges of 2020, there have been some changes to The Nice List, but I think these changes will make planning for the holidays even more fun, creative, and simple.
The biggest secret of the year: there are THREE ways to use The Nice List this year! And everything is for sale NOW!
Three Christmas Planners for 2020
Announcing The Nice List Digital Planner!
Holly Kennedy, my graphic design partner-in-crime (@messymamaholly), and I are so excited to announce The Nice List Digital Planner -- a whole new way to make a list and check it twice! The Nice List Digital Planner works on your tablet or computer and is designed to be used with GoodNotes or Noteshelf. Equipped with all of the goodness of the paper version of The Nice List, The Nice List Digital Planner includes pages which can be duplicated and rearranged making the planner customizable and very easy to use.
Available in two different color schemes, the design is clean and cheerful with plenty of room for digital stickers, notes, photographs, and anything else you may want to add. Oh, and we also have digital sticker sets -- read on!
The Nice List PDF: A Christmas Printable Planner
As we have in the past, we are also offering The Nice List 2020 in a printable PDF format. This option is great for those of you who already have a planner system you love or who prefer using a binder. Perhaps you need larger print? Or you really like to customize your planning? Well, this is the version for you!
Both the Digital and Printable PDF versions are updated with some pandemic-specific ideas and tools as well as room for individualizing and personalizing your planning which makes it all even more fun!
The Nice List: the Original Christmas Planner
Maybe you are a paper planner person and love the paper version. Fear not! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to source the paper versions of The Nice List this year, but we have a limited supply of 2018 and 2019 books which we are selling at a deep discount just for the paper enthusiasts. Adjust the dates on the calendar pages, and you’ll be ready to go. Choose from a red cover or green cover.
But wait! There’s more!
Christmas Planner Stickers
Announcing The Nice List Sticker Shop!
We can’t introduce a digital planner without digital stickers! So we are launching two amazing sets of digital stickers with artwork by Holly Kennedy and Jone Hallmark to make your digital planning all the more festive. If you haven’t used digital stickers before, they are super easy and fun as you plan in GoodNotes or Noteshelf. Using these stickers, you can decorate any page as you like and use the reminder stickers and planning stickers to make your pages even more functional as well as festive. Each sticker set includes three pages of stickers which can be used over and over again in any digital planner -- not just The Nice List.
Coming soon: printed planning stickers & vinyl stickers!
In just a few weeks we will have planner stickers and vinyl stickers available for purchase as well. Stickers for everyone! Stay tuned for that fun announcement, too!
So no matter how you decide to plan this holiday season, we have you covered!
Additionally, the 2020 Nice List Thoughtful Giving Guide will be coming soon with gift suggestions for everyone on your list -- and a whole list of pandemic-specific ideas for making your holidays even better during this strange time.
Questions? Just ask!
Until then, be safe, and wear a mask!
XO
Angela
Pin it!
The One Room Challenge Begins!
Exciting news! The Fall 2020 One Room Challenge has begun! Check out all of the details!
You can get all the details on the One Room Challenge and my projects here:
I hope you will stop by!
XOXO
A
Hello, Fall!
Fall is my favorite season! Check out the projects and ideas I have for this coziest of seasons!
Friends,
It’s been a minute — or a month! I hope you are well and are staying safe wherever you are. If you are new here, and there are a bunch of you, WELCOME! I don’t email often, and I always try to make it worth your time to read. So, thanks for following along, and always feel free to ask questions!
My favorite season is here! We are still staying home and staying safe — that’s not going to change for a long time. We have spent the last six months or so living outside. It has been truly wonderful, actually. A few weeks ago on Instagram, I did a look back on all the projects we have taken on this summer. It was eye-opening!
Here are some of our summer highlights:
We did four major backyard construction projects this summer: putting in a Stock Tank Pool, building a stage with a screen, putting a tree house in our Maple tree, and building a deck off of the workshop.
This was also the first summer that I have truly gardened in this house. We put in a vegetable garden — my first successful veggie garden ever! And I have had cut flowers all summer long which makes me incredibly happy. We even saved the garden from our freakish cold snap and SNOW at the beginning of September. Oh, Colorado! You always keep us guessing!
During this pandemic period, I have also taken up embroidery — it keeps me from doomscrolling at night! I’ve done several patterns and ventured out into creating my own free-form patterns, too.
Now it is time to celebrate Fall and bring the beauty of the season into our home! I have lots of easy, DIY fall projects that don’t require leaving the house — or even spending much money at all.
I didn’t spend any money to decorate this year. I used some old books, feathers, and paper grocery bags. Seriously. Click the link to see what came together!
DIY Fall Decorating Ideas
If you or someone you know is struggling with school at home, don’t forget I put together some tips and ideas to help make that a little easier. It isn’t perfect, but our school at home experience is SO MUCH BETTER than last spring! I hope you feel the same!
Successful School at Home
And finally, I am getting ready for the Fall 2020 One Room Challenge! It starts on October 7 which is somehow NEXT WEEK! Yikes!
The One Room Challenge is a super-fun event where hundreds of people around the world commit to truly finishing one room in their home over six weeks. Some people are very ambitious and gut and redo kitchens or bathrooms. Others tackle those rooms that just never seem to take shape or style without a real deadline. There are designers and professionals as well as DIY’ers — and everything in between — who participate. It is a ton of fun!
Next week I’ll be able to tell you what I am taking on. I have some really fun projects planned for this round, and I know there will be lots of people doing amazing work.
Until then, check out my rooms from the 2019 ORCs. I love doing this — and actually finishing a room in my house!
Stay safe! Stay home and wear a mask!
Cheers!
Angela
DIY Workroom Makeover
Fall 2019 One Room Challenge
DIY Guest
Room Refresh
Spring 2019 One Room Challenge
