0 Year End Recap

Holy smokes. 2012 has been one year overflowing with craziness. There are so many happening that I could recap before the clock strikes midnight and we kick off the new year. To save my wrists from a fate of carpal tunnel and my blog server from crashing with an overload of photos, let’s revisit just one highlight from each month of 2012.

January: Oh, January. You bone chilling month, you. Why not kick off a kitchen remodel during the coldest month of the year when all you crave is warm comfort food that can’t be cooked in a demo-ed kitchen. Why not?



February: The kitchen revamp continues, with refaced cabinets, new quartz counters, stainless appliances and a subway tile backsplash…and a ton of learning lessons along the way.


 
March: March brought with it much needed relief from the chilly temps with a trip down to Costa Farms in sunny Miami where this brown thumb spent several days strolling through fields of flowers and making new friends from around the blog-o-sphere.



April: Live The Home Life celebrated its 3rd Birthday with a Happy Birthday house tour. So much has changed around the old construction site since then, but it’s still fun to revisit the pictures of my house in its before state and see how far we’ve come. Click here for the tour.



May: So much fun stomping around P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain farm as a guest at the Bean2Blog event. I took too many pictures of this amazing wonderland of flowers and folly to post today, so click here to head over to May’s post dedicated solely to the fun had at the farm.

June & July: Wedding bells were ringing and this dedicated bridesmaid was shaking her tail feather at every reception. My all time record number of weddings for the year, the boyfriend and I can successful proclaim ourselves as Wedding Warriors.



August: Another year older and another year wiser. Happy Birthday to me.


September: Adios, amigos! The boyfriend and I were off on a Mexican scuba adventure with the fam.


 
October: By far the most action packed month of the year for yours truly, my real estate company, The Property Group opened its doors for business.

November: The boyfriend and I moved in together and the joining of our home tastes was remarkably easy. He’s the wonderful type of fella who lives by the “if you like it, I like it” way of life (for the most part). To show my appreciation, I decided to “man up” the den a bit.

 

And finally…December: This Christmas brought with it so much excitement. Not only was I lucky enough to spend a holiday season with wonderful family and friends, but my precious niece, Louisa, was born smack dab in the middle of the biggest snow storm we’ve ever seen. Who needs power when such a sweet little face can send so much light into the world.



Wishing you all a wonderful 2013 filled with joy, love and inspiration.

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0 Baby Talk

With as many coats of paint slapped on these walls and fixer-upper projects that I’ve tackled around my own construction site, one DIY I’ve yet to participate in is nursery prep. Now that my name will proudly boast an “Aunt” in front of it in just a handful of months, I’m pumped about getting down to baby decorating business with my preggo sister.

Jessica has been busy picking fabrics for weeks, and yesterday she finally gave me permission to come over and help her brainstorm/tear to shreds the what-was-once-a-guest-room-but-shall-soon-be-nothing-less-than-baby-wonderland. We measured, we schemed DIY projects, we referenced Pinterest, we plotted how to knock off precious but entirely too expensive curtains…


Not much to see in this before pic, but one thing is for sure. Baby already has a killer Container Store closet. #jealousauntie

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1 Three Things

1. This video serves up a tremendous amount of evidence that I’m no whiz with the camera.

2. My preggo sister is not drinking wine. She just felt like fancying up her water intake.

3. Shrieking (verb): To utter a high-pitched piercing sound or words, especially as an expression of terror, pain, or excitement. From what I know about childbirth, this definition more than summarizes this video of my sister & brother-in-law’s baby gender reveal…

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0 SUPER big news…

Oh, friends. My dearest dreams have come true. I am going to be an AUNT! My big sister has a bun in the oven, and I could not be more excited…yesterday, I was given official permission to open my big blogging mouth and let the cat out of the bag. Thank the good Lord. This girl was about to explode!



AND I’ve already had the chance to sneak into one of the doctor visits. We don’t know the gender yet, but I’ve already seen her and she is perfect…I just know she’s a she, but more importantly this DIYer is ready to get cracking on the nursery.

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0 I’ve got a good one.

Donator of  DIY genes. Encourager of goofiness. Supporter of crazy dreams. Producer of the finest litter this side of the Mississippi. 




Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mommas out there. If you love yours even one little baby smidge as much as we love ours, she’s a lucky lady for sure.

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0 Just Sold: Will’s Bachelor Pad

Watch out, y’all. Big sister may shed a tear or two writing this post. This morning my little baby brother closed on his very first home. I mean seriously? He’s just getting so stinkin’ big…and picking up his phone to send me a “Really, Cara? You just had to post that didn’t you?” text at this very moment.

I had so much fun helping my brother scout out his bachelor pad and he knows just who to call to help him fix it up DIY-style…Dad.

OK, fine. I’ll pitch in, too. Mom will bring the wine.

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2 A Little LTHL Dialogue

I would not be surprised if my little brother whole-heartedly believed he was adopted and had already begun the search for his biological life-givers. Case in point, Sunday dinner convo with the fam…


Brother Will: I haven’t been to the movies in forever. Y’all seen anything good?

Cara: I went and saw that new movie with George Clooney and I thought it was good.

Will: Which one? George Clooney hasn’t been in anything good since Oceans 11.

Cara: Yes he has! He has been in tons of good movies…

Will: Name one.

Cara: What was the one where he ran around killing all of the Nazis?

Will: Inglorious Bastards. That was Brad Pitt, not George Clooney.

Cara: Oh.

Dad chimes in: Well what about A Beautiful Mind. That was a great movie.

Will: Again, not George Clooney. That was Russell Crowe.

Cara: Oh…but wait! That other movie! The one with the goats!

Will: Ohhhhh yeah. The Men Who Stare at Goats! You’re right. That was George Clooney.

Cara: Yes!

Will: …terrible movie.

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3 True Confession: Sand, Paint & Steal

I can’t tell you how excited I become when someone tells me that they read this little blog-o-mine, but when someone tells me that they read my blog AND are starting a furniture rehab project, I lose my mind. Happier than Christmas. 

This past weekend, at my grandfather’s wedding, one of my wonderful cousins and I were chit-chatting about her house when she told me that: #1 she reads my blog (big time hugs followed suit) and #2 she recently bought a coffee table to rehab (holy moly!)...I was on cloud nine that my very own flesh and blood was hopping on the DIY bandwagon—until the most poisonous words trickled out of her mouth—I’m just not so sure I can do it. I nearly keeled over. A family wedding and funeral in the same day just wouldn’t do.

After a little pep talk, my cousin and I parted with high hopes for rehabbing success and detailed instructions that she is to send the before & after pictures my way…but then I started thinking about how many other people have told me that they really want to tackle their own furniture rehab but just don’t know where to start. No worries, friends. I’ll tell you exactly what to do.

True Confession: Sink to my level and turn yourself into a stealing packrat.

You see, very few ideas fall into my lap out of the clear blue sky. When I see a magazine photo of a wall color I just can’t get enough of, I tear out the page and save for later inspiration. Should I fall head over heels in love with a living room I scouted online, I save the image to my laptop. Visiting a friend’s house and find myself green with envy over an end table? I snap a picture on my iPhone.

Don’t believe me? Take a gander at just a few of the knock offs that have worked their way into my Rehabilitation Station…



No excuses. You (and lovely-cousin-who-shall-not-be-named) can do it!…and send before & after pictures my way. You know the rules.

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3 Something To Talk About

You need to know that I have the most amazing sister on the planet. Not only does she put up with an insane amount of pestering from her little sister (ahem, me) on this very blog and in other life circumstances, but she is also game for super last minute tropical getaways. By far her best quality.

This past weekend Jessica and I jetted off to sunny Cozumel, Mexico for a few much needed days of fun in the sun…or partial sun for the fair skinned gringos that we are.

At this point, mid-blog post, you may be thinking that I’m sharing slightly sunburned, no makeup pics of my sister and I to make you jealous of our recent getaway, and you could not be more correct, but there is more to this story. I have something that will make you far more jealous than sandy beaches and fruity cocktails ever could.

Set the scene: On our last night in paradise, I was sleepily scrubbing the last traces of the day’s SPF from my face in the bathroom when I heard an awful shriek. This was not an unfamiliar shriek, mind you, as I’ve become accustomed to hear such noises arise from my sister’s tiny little body, so as I opened the door from the bathroom, I fully expected to find Jessica huddled on one corner of the bed pointing to a terrifyingly large Mexican stick insect.

The huddled-in-the-corner-of-the-bed-pointing part was most definitely true…what she was pointing at however…was this…

 

Late-night Mexican television at its finest…

Let it also be said that after the commercial break, the host brought out what could only be one of Mexico’s most popular b-movie/soap stars, ripped open his shirt and started dancing around him while silver confetti soared through the air.

After experiencing Programa Laura in action, Oprah better bring it on that final show of hers.
 

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