Note: This is a retroactive post I pieced together in December 2011 to create a month-by-month recap of our first year in the new house. I’m a little type-A that way. Below are the highlights from April, presented like high school yearbook superlatives — the projects, mishaps, and small victories that filled the month.
Most Outdoorsy: Digging out the liriope that covered almost 80% of the future patio area. We cleared the space to finally imagine the outdoor layout and get a fresh start for the patio.
Most Domestic: Transforming “Sue the Napkin” into Sue the Pillow, a small but satisfying sewing update that added a cozy, personal touch to the house.
Biggest Crybaby: Sharing Clara’s terrifying yet miraculous birth story. Emotional, raw, and unforgettable — a week that reminded us of what matters most.
Most Likely to Result in Cursing: An epic battle with the sewing machine while squeezing out a party banner. Frustration was high, but the banner made it through in the end.
Hoppiest: DIYing an Easter basket for Clara, full of simple handmade touches and seasonal fun.
Most Illuminating: Finishing the freshly built console table and styling it with lamps and accessories, which brought new light and personality to the entryway.
Most Eco-Friendly: Installing a rain barrel on Earth Day — a small step toward greener living that felt good to do.
Most Mature: Making new wood look old with distressing techniques that added character and warmth to our furniture pieces.
Most Likely to Result in Paint in Your Hair: Painting John’s sister’s apartment (and creating a photo wall for another relative plus a DIY baby book) — projects that got messy but were worth the effort.
Biggest Relief: Finally finishing the big console table build. Completing that piece felt like a major milestone.
Best Editing: Removing one of the most oddly placed lights in the history of the world — a small change that instantly improved the room’s flow and look.
Most Festive: Making party invitations and designing custom Clara fabric using John’s scanned handwriting and a bit of Spoonflower magic. Cute and personal details made the celebration special.
Most Well Hung: Completing our hallway’s double-sided frame gallery, a project that finally made the corridor feel finished and intentional.
Most Type-A: Hanging two mirrors-turned-dry-erase-boards in the office for compulsive list-making. Organization never looked so stylish.
Least Type-A: Confessing a goo-related secret and tackling it with elbow grease — a reminder that not every little thing has to be perfect.
Most Likely to Take a Few Installments: The ongoing console table saga: starting it, continuing it, and further continuing it across several posts as we refined and perfected the build.
Biggest Metal Heads: Tweaking a large set of iron keys and hanging them with twine as wall art — a quirky accent that surprised us by working beautifully.
Most Rebellious: Painting a chair on a whim (spoiler: it didn’t quite work), but we learned from the experiment and moved on.
Biggest Procrastinator: Organizing our closet — a project that took four months to complete but felt empowering once done.
Biggest Slob: Sharing a tour of our not-so-perfect, pretty-darn-messy house. Real life around here is lived-in and honest.
Least Successful: Attempting to save a brutally injured ceramic dog — a well-intended but ultimately failed rescue attempt that taught us to pick our restoration battles carefully.