{2011 blog recap}

With 2012 right around the corner I thought I would do a little recap of the most popular, and my favorite posts on This Girl's Life for 2011. It is amazing to me how much more traffic I haven gotten this year, and I'm so honored and thankful for all of my readers and blog friends. 

Without a doubt, the most popular post from 2011 was my DIY t-shirt scarf. This post, thanks to Pinterest and Craftgawker, has received over 15,000 pageviews since I posted it in August! 

The second most popular post of the year, and definitely one of my tops faves as well, was my recap of the boys' Despicable Three birthday party. It has had over 5,600 views since I posted it on May 29th. 

And coming in third is my post about prettying up our fireplace mantel with a DIY chalkboard. It is amazing how much attention just a little bit of chalkboard paint can get! 

  

And now for my faves...

#1 without a doubt is my interview with Project Runway's Christopher Straub and my maurices giveaway. This was definitely the highlight of my blogging year!

 

Here is the interview again if you missed it...

 

I also really loved my DIY artwork for my son Ben's room...

And our super easy kitchen island project...

  

And finally I was very excited to share our little office space makeover...

It has been a fun and exciting year for this little blog of mine, and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store. One of my resolutions is to complete a lot more home decorating and organizing projects this year, so stay tuned, and thanks for coming along for the ride!

 

{extreme make-over...office addition}

OK...so there isn't really anything extreme about what I'm going to share with you today.

Basically, I cleaned my office desk. And I added some new art. That's about as extreme as I get with a space that isn't technically mine. But I do sit in here from 8-5 five days a week so I really should make it more "me" and clutter free, right?

So are you ready for the befores? They are a tad scary.

My desk...

Lots of piles, snacks, miscellaneous crap.

Not to mention the mess on my counter in the background. {We'll tackle that another day}

After a little cleaning and filing...

Ahhhh...much better!

Still a couple piles...

But if I put them all away I would forget what work I need to do! {please tell me I'm not the only one like this}

I even added a few little fall touches...

That's a pumpkin spice candle on my mug warmer...love that smell.

And while I was at it, I checked out some of the artwork and quotes I had pinned and printed out a few to hang up...

Nothing like a good cup of coffee {decaf that is} to calm the mind. :)

And I replaced this random Eiffel Tower picture...

With a nice quote...

{Mine is rooting for you too}

So there's a little peek into my work space, just a bit more organized and happy. Hope yours is as well!

{new decor}

I have two new decor pieces to share with you today. The first is another purchase we made on our recent trip to IKEA, and it finished off the look I had in mind for our desk area. Here is how the space looked when I first started putting it together...

And in the middle phase once we added our IKEA Lack shelf and accessories. The brown shag rug just wasn't cutting it...

And now here it is with our new rug!

I had been coveting this rug for quite awhile now, and at $20 I had absolutely no guilt throwing it in our shopping cart. It is surprisingly soft and looks great in the space. My hubby even commented on how it brightened up the area, even though it is a neutral color.

It feels good to have the space finished and functional. 

And speaking of functional...I did say that I had two new decor items to share, right? The second is a cute little number for our bathroom...

I must say that I wish our toilet seat was padded with handles. Toddlers are SO pampered. ;)

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