2013 in retrospect

This year I spent Christmas here in NYC instead of traveling. While I certainly missed being among family and friends for the holidays, It was nice to get a chance to kick back and have a relaxing break from the usual hustle and bustle of my day-to-day in the city. I sent out cards, wrapped presents, caught up on all my TV shows and got a lot of "out with the old in with the new" cleaning up done before the new year.

2013 was a fantastic year for me and I couldn't be more grateful for it. I got my first drill, reupholstered our mini bar, visited Martha's Vineyard and Asbury Park for the first time, made a surprise visit to PR for my dad's birthday, got my very own KitchenAid mixer (Thank you Riki!), helped launch two new wines and got a promotion at the end of the year. I truly don't know how I am going to top that but I'm certainly looking forward to more adventures and new projects in the year ahead... and speaking of new adventures, we'll soon be looking for a new apt and planning a trip to Hawaii. 

Bring it on 2014!

Project Round Up

Here's my attempt at a (semi) regular feature... (The first project round up went up in November)

I diligently went through my inspiration folder and did a little key word searching to round up my top five picks of d.i.y projects this month. I know it's not officially spring yet, especially here in the NE where it snowed this morning, but I'm hopeful it will soon arrive. I've found I am already in spring cleaning mode and possibly a little too excited to take on a million new projects this season.

 Behold, the links:

1. Bachelor's Jam: Preserving Fresh Summer Fruits with Booze
2. DIY Moss Graffiti
3. Make it: Book Lamp
4. Vintage suitcase table
5. Painting Wooden Spoons

Storage ideas: Wine crates

One of my favorite reusable items are wooden wine crates. They're completely versatile, usually free and make for some great storage solutions. If you've ever been partial to milk crates for storing vinyl, you'd probably love wine crates too. Needless to say these crates aren't in short supply at our apartment and they pop up all over the place, serving as decor as well as furniture. Here are a couple of ways these guys have made their way into my home...

Wine Crate Bookcase