~ A Year in Review Party ~

I want to start this post by wishing all of you wonderful girls a Happy New Year and abundant Blessings to all ! Cindy from My Romantic Home is hosting " A year in Review" Party, what a wonderful idea Cindy! You can go to my side bar and click on her graphic for more information and get the details ( or click on her link here).... I'd love to see all of your years worth of favorite posts and passions! Mine begins with the mosaic above, you can make your own at Big Huge Labs, it's fun, go give it a try too!

My "Year in Review".....

( I had this calender 2 years ago, but thought the pic was fitting for this post, lol )

I've posted a few oldies from the point where I started blogging in April 2008, and added some new ones to show you too. The new ones are just additional pictures of the things I've posted about here that I've liked throughout the year....Hope you enjoy!
One of my very first posts was on Outdoor Entertaining...I took my Canning Jars and added some fresh hydrangeas ( above ) to create a simple country cottage centerpiece. The Iced Tea was "fancied" up ( using lemons to wet the rim for easy dipping ) with a pink sugar rim ! yummy :)
I've always loved Dutch Doors , I think I did a whole paragraph on how mine (above ) creates such a cottage feel to me and evokes such sweet memories of the house I grew up in...My Mom had two of them and I've always wanted one ...and now I do :).... happy happy joy joy :)
And of course my Year in Review has to include lots of cooking and baking too! My two favorite passions besides Decorating!
I think learning from other bloggers is so Inspirational and fun ! I try to share tips now and then and I get so many ideas from all you wonderful ladies too! Before I started blogging this year, I turned to my favorite source of information and inspiration and as most of you probably know by now, its been Susan Branch...I did so many posts about her books and her items I was dreaming in watercolors, lol... She's still one of my favorites and I await every new venture she takes on. ( you can click on the pic above to get some great little ideas )...

I enjoyed posting about other women's passions also! Finding such talented women out there , I've been able to get some of my favorite pieces in my house this year... Like the shutters above from Elyse ( Cottage ) and Penny ( Lavender Hill studio ) who made me such a gorgeous basket and I posted about last month....I've ordered and found such beautiful things! I wish I could mention them all here, but throughout 2008 I've met some wonderful women and I am so grateful for such connections! And I cannot say enough about how nice it is to see a new comment from one of you , and all your sweet and uplifting words! They mean so much to me!

I enjoy spending my free time visiting your lovely homes and blogs too!..... its like opening a new magazine and seeing your favorite things and then the best part is, I get to leave that person a comment right away and let them know how much I enjoyed my visit too!, how great is that?!
I've gotten to share so many of my passions besides decorating and cooking and collecting! Like the stool above, I've tried my hand at hand painting furniture. It really is fun and I get instant results too, something I love :) Things have to be fast and easy for me to throw myself into, I am not a fan of long projects. But having said that, I would love to have the patience to sew like I used to, but that's for another New Years resolution :)
Another favorite post of mine , is anything "Vintage"... and posting about my collections and obsessions seems to be pretty much predictable now :) but I really do love anything with a history to it. One of those "collections" is Vintage cookbooks and Vintage housekeeping manuals... I adore them, and reading them makes me feel like I've entered an era I should have been born in :)
I have a very small collection of vintage Aprons, but lets just say, I want a few more in 2009 :)
If you click on any of the pictures they should get large and you can see the detail better...
I think most of my posts from this year have always involved my Kitchen :).....its truly where the heart of the home is for me, or refuge , or whatever I need it to be that day :)
Well, I'm about finished with my "Year in review'', but I can't end it without Thanking each and every person who stops by ! Your visits are what make blogging the wonderful thing that it is, and visiting you is one of my favorite parts about it also!

I wish you all a wonderful New Year, filled with inspiration and beauty, and health and happiness !!
Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland


With Friendship and Gratitude,

Cynthia