December 31, 2016

Best of: 17Apart in 2016


Today we've compiled a list of the most visited, liked and shared projects & photos from 2016. While we have our personal favorites, it's just as exciting to see what you found most interesting in the past year, so in the spirit of tradition, scroll down to see just what our top reader favorites from the last 12 months were!
As the year comes to a close, it's a favorite time of ours to scroll back, taking a moment to reflect on the projects we accomplished at home and the new memories we've made as a family. In a life where we're continually thinking ahead towards our next undertaking — it's always a welcome reminder of what we've been able to do to get us to this point in the first place.

If we're talking personal favorites, in addition to the list below we'd have included our summer trip to Nags Head, our favorite way to make applesauce at home, the fig tree we planted on Mother's Day in hopes of watching the progress over the next couple of years, our brief check-in from Budapest (which is a good reminder we're due for a full trip recap) ...and the start to our monthly Etsy edits filled with new and emerging finds.

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Popular on Instagram: It's pretty clear that Basil is still the star of this here world — his adventures along with a few home updates & portraits were among your top favorite snaps this year.
Speaking of Instagram, we've really been enjoying the new stories aspect of being able to show more in-the-moment snippets like our Christmas Eve oyster roast, walking Monument Avenue or a quick day trip up to Ikea. Since these videos are less archivable, feel free to check in on us when you find yourself on Instagram.

Loved on Pinterest: How to make wooden wicks! With over 21 thousand pins, it seems like we weren't the only ones out there excited to crack the code on how to make these modern looking wooden candle wicks at home.


As for the blog, we've rounded up the top 10 visited posts published in 2016 below — we loved seeing how much you loved our ongoing home projects, along with a few memories from our travels & adventures in selling our second home. Click anything below you may have missed or would simply like to see in a bit more detail...

1. DIY Bird's Nest Shadow Box: After discovering a bird's nest made of horse hair, we preserved it as a piece of art using a shadow box so we could hang and enjoy it in our office year-round.


2. Selling our Second Home: Sharing the background and process we embarked on in order to clear out, renovate and sell our second home on the Southside of Richmond was a journey near & dear to our hearts — one we were equally as pleased to see sparked some interest & conversation about the joys and bumps along the way when it comes to letting go.


3. How to Wall Mount a Turtle Shell: In the same gallery wall where we hung the bird's nest, we added a little more interest and dimension by wall-mounting an ivory colored turtle shell into the mix.


4. DIY Dried Lavender Bunches: Inspired by our recent trip to Italy, we shared how to make bunches of dried lavender that not only add a natural touch to your home decor, but smell just as nice.


5. Patriotic Cupcakes: Perfect for July 4th, these firecracker cupcakes came together with a little help from bright red bing cherries.


6. Vacationing in Mexico: It was our annual trip to Mexico that lent a slew of new vacation photos and a few new-to-us eats, like smoked marlin carpaccio & hoja santa con quesos, which translates to "leaf with cheese."


7. DIY Antique Pallet Coffee Table: It took us over 4 years to pull the antique pallets Tim brought from home from a warehouse out from storage to refinish and construct this shelved coffee table we love and enjoy today.


8. DIY Bridal Shower: This year was first in that my sister and I hosted our first bridal shower for one of our close cousins. While my sister graciously offered up her home for the event, I got to nerd out on planning, finding and organizing the library + bumble bee themed decorations.


9. Hunting for Shark's Teeth: There's a patch of beach along the James River in my family where we've been able to find shark's teeth for generations. It's a favorite pastime when visiting my mother and we've enjoyed sharing bits & snaps from these treasure hunts here on the blog.


10. DIY PVC Pipe Garden Arbor: Also inspired by our stay in Italy, we tried our hands at growing wisteria at home — furthermore, creating the DIY arbor that we're training the vine growth along completely out of PVC pipe was one of our personal favorites from the year.


With that, 2016, you were looking pretty good! Taking a look back is always a welcome reminder of just how many things we've tackled in the last year and equally inspiring at looking forward, and making plans for new projects and unknown adventures to come. Thanks for taking a quick walk down memory lane with us today and we wish you a bright and healthy start to the new year ahead!

Looking for even more? 
In case you missed them or just want to look back through with us, here's a look at the top posts from years' past: Best of ----> 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011

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