Tag

anniversary

It’s a Blogiversary!

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Today marks one year of blogging at Home Everyday! I know that the last two weeks have been sporadic in posting, but I was working on some blogging goals for the upcoming year. Rather than view today like a birthday (who am I kidding I might have some cake), I am treating this like New Year’s Day.

 

At the beginning of any New Year, I like to think back at everything I have done. Just like looking through a scrapbook, I looked back through many of my posts, and thought about what is to come on Home Everyday.

So far, I have written over 215 posts for this wonderful site that I started myself. Those posts consisted of over 60 recipes, around 50 home projects and crafts, not to mention several posts on household tips, organization, family, and just my random thoughts.

Starting this blog has been one of the most wonderful things I have ever done for myself. Because of this wonderful space in the blogosphere, I have been introduced to the wonderful world of writing, I have made countless new friends, received a 2013 Homie Nomination, have been featured on several other blogs, started another blog called South of I-80 for ChicagoNow, began classes at the esteemed Second City in Chicago for writing, and (my personal favorite) participated in the 2013 Listen to Your Mother Chicago Show.

Thinking about all that was accomplished is making me so excited (and exhausted) thinking about what is to come in year two had me giddy.

Thank you so much readers! I am so excited to be continuing on this awesome journey, and cannot wait to see what my second year of blogging will bring.

 

HERE’S TO ONE AWESOME YEAR and MANY MORE TO COME!!!

If you would like to read more about DIY, Cooking, Baking and all other things domestic you can check me out on Facebook or become a follower of Home Everyday here. 

 

Where We’ve Been: Sentimental Art

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TGIF! As I write this, I’m baking a birthday cake and gluten free brownies to get ready for a weekend of celebrations. I will share more on Monday about birthdays, Sunday dinners, and best of all, some fall decorating ideas.

To conclude anniversary week, I wanted to share a fun and easy sentimental art project.

Before Brian and I were married and had children, other than going to concerts (which I talk about here and here) we did a little bit of traveling. The best part of traveling with Brian is he likes to see everything, and get around like the locals. When we went to NYC, we traveled all over on the subway, and pretty much walked all over Manhattan. Unlike most people who gain weight on vacation from eating rich food and relaxing on the beach, we usually come home with loose jeans from walking EVERYWHERE.

 

With three little ones, and with us finally finding a house, and me FINALLY not being pregnant, we are hoping to maybe take a few small trips in the future.

For right now though, I would like to mark all the places we’ve been so far. I found these adorable free printables. Lately, I have kind of embraced all the free art printables that are available online. I find them so cute and simple, and an easy way to spruce up an empty wall.

Here are some free printables in our kitchen:

 

And this one in our Dining Room:

So, I printed out the entire USA, and used a Sharpie Pen (I love these pens, they don’t bleed or run and I literally use them for everything) to mark all the places we have been so far. I put it in a black frame to match the rest of the art work hanging in our bedroom.

 

Ta Da. For the cost of a frame (which if you know anything about me you know I already have a few black frames on hand), you too can have adorable prints in your home. Also, you can make any additions that make them personal to you (like marking all the places you have been together).

Linking up at Serenity Now. Check out some other great recipes and ideas!

I Do: Our Wedding

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When Brian and I were planning our wedding day, we tried to think of all the weddings we had been to, and the best wedding receptions were the ones that had the best food. I know it sounds ridiculous, but good food can go a long way to your guests enjoyment of the reception. Once we knew the food would be fabulous, we tried to focus on lots of sentimental and personal touches.

The Date: After the proposal, it was kind of a whirlwind of telling people and picking a date for our big day. We knew we wanted an autumn wedding. We love cool weather, the colors, and we met in the fall, so we thought it was appropriate. We finally came around to picking September 16th. It was the only date that both the church and our banquet hall had at the same time, but it was totally meant to be. You see, this is also my parents’ anniversary. My parents were married for almost 34 years before my Dad passed away so we figured it was  a nice tribute to my Dad, and almost like a lucky day since my parents had such a happy a loving marriage.

 

The Church: Old St. Pat’s is an important place to us. We spent a lot of time there when we were dating. We attended mass there, volunteered there, and met life long friends there. Brian popped the question there. It remains a very special place to us as it is still our parish and the parish where our children were baptized.

 

The Band: Brian and I LOVE music (mentioned here). We spent a lot of time at concerts (Guster is still one of our favorites), listening to music, downloading our favorite songs, and researching new bands together. One of our first trips together was to Graceland and then to Nashville where we saw Josh Turner before anyone knew who he was. A monthly tradition of ours was to see a band called Tributosaurus. They are a band that each month has one concert and picks a different artist or band to cover. We saw them become Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Paul McCartny just to name a few. It was/is still one of our favorite things to do. Anyway, we explained to the band how we are die hard fans, and would you please play for our reception. They agreed and played a mix of all of our favorites. Everyone enjoyed because it was good oldie type music perfect for dancing, but they also played some newer music for the young ones.

The Sweet Table: Brian and I didn’t have a traditional dessert of wedding cake at our wedding. In Brian’s family, it is tradition to offer an entire table of sweets and treats after dinner. Ours was piled high with tiny creme puffs, eclairs, small pieces of cake, chocolate covered strawberries, and other sweet treats. To keep with tradition, we had a very small two tiered cake  to cut. Our baker actually made us a replica of the cake for our first anniversary for FREE.

 



The Bouquet: My bouquet was a place that I found it easy to add personal touches. It contained lots of sentimental flowers. My Dad’s family is Dutch so even though it was fall I included ivory tulips. My Mom loves hydrangeas so I made sure I had a few of those. My grandmother had gardenia in her wedding bouquet so I included those, and my sister had roses in her bouquet so I included those as well. I also added a few of my favorites like ranunculus and stephanotis with pearl centers.

The Shoes: Another very personal touch was to honor my Dad. My Dad passed away when I was only 19. Him and I were extremely close, and one of our favorite things to do together was run (I still run today). Our favorite brand of running shoes was New Balance, so I found a pair of all white New Balance shoes and my friend and bridesmaid, Sara, bedazzled them for me with crystals and pearls. My brothers and my “Dad’s shoes” walked me down the aisle on my wedding day.

 

The Photos: We wanted to make sure we got some pictures with the Chicago skyline behind us. Brian and I feel like it is “our” city so that was important to us.

 

The Little Things: Instead of table numbers we labeled the tables with all of our favorite Chicago date spots. For favors, we are big believers sending people off with a little snack for the car ride home or something to share the next day. Our favorite fall treat is a carmel apple, so everyone got a carmel apple from Affy Tapple (pretty much an institution in Chicago). Our programs contained pictures of the stained glass windows of Old St. Pat’s.

I’m not an expert wedding planner, but I will say this. It is very similar to hosting any party. The food should be great but there should be a few personal and sentimental touches that help to make it personal and special to you and your guests.