Reflections and Intentions for the New Year

Image by Ali Williamson

With each new year on the horizon, we find ourselves taking a moment to reflect back and set new intentions for the fresh start ahead. This year we're breaking from the structured format we've previously adhered to and are sharing a more personal note amidst some of the family milestones and project highlights we're most proud of from the past year.

This year was one for milestones and celebrations for which we are so grateful. Our blended family continues to come into it's own — early this year, Brandon moved into his own apartment here in Richmond and this autumn Stephanie got married in one of the most beautiful farm weddings. We'd thrown her a bridal shower beforehand and were pleasantly surprised to see that over 20 members of our family and friends were able to fit comfortably into the new flow of our downstairs (always a challenge in a row-style home!). We have been so happy to watch our family grow with the addition of a son-in-law.

Images by Ali Williamson

Over the summer, Basil came through a critical health scare when he underwent an emergency surgery for gastric torsion, also known as bloat or the stomach "flipping." We've never been so happy to celebrate his birthday, have been hugging him a little tighter since and have been amazed at how well he has bounced back to his old self.

Oh! And we bought an old truck. It's an '87 Dodge Ram, has been a great secondary vehicle when we need one and just generally a lifesaver when moving or hauling anything. I never grew up with a truck, so didn't know what we were missing :)

I think we can pretty confidently proclaim 2018 as the year of house projects! Looking back, we almost completely refreshed the entire downstairs of our home in various stages throughout the year, beginning with a fairly simple dining room refresh and ending with an entire gut and renovation of our kitchen.

dining room sources | kitchen sources | front parlor sources

In between those two projects we transformed our front parlor from an office to a music sitting room, refreshed the layout and furnishings in our family room and gave our radiators a makeover with a fresh coat of black paint. We even tore out the wooden stairs in our backyard and added a new fence to one side of the space. Whew!

On a more personal note, while it's comforting to reflect back on good memories and positive milestones, this past year has also come with challenges.

Image by Ali Williamson

Two years ago I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility, and we're finally getting to a place where we are ready to share some of the messier aspects of our life that don't necessarily come packaged with a neat before & after. In the coming year, I hope to begin opening up about how we've navigated through this personal journey together.

Speaking of the coming year, we really have so much to look forward to as well as a shortlist of home projects we'd like to accomplish. With so many projects crossed off the list downstairs, we're excited to turn our attention upstairs for a bit. On the agenda are big plans for an office transformation that we previewed over the summer in this post.

Since then, we realized that this room would also serve as the perfect location for bringing our laundry upstairs and have actually already begun the prep work for doing so (!!). Moving the laundry has been a long time coming and on our list of house projects every year since moving in 7 years ago. We can't wait to finally make it a reality and share all of the progress along the way. We'd also like to tackle a proper makeover of the smaller bedroom we've used as a dressing room and storage closet over the years, and complete a few backyard improvements since tearing down the landing this past summer.

Overall, we're very hopeful for the year ahead and plan to take it in stride. We're resolving to be kind to ourselves, to work hard and also to be forgiving as plans change or take an unanticipated turn. We are so thankful for this little space where we can share our lives, and that you care to come check in on us. Here's wishing you a very happy and healthy new year ahead!

Every year we take time to reflect back and look forward — find and read any of our past yearly recaps by clicking on the corresponding year: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012