Top 10 Blog Posts of 2016

January 3, 2017

Happy New Year everyone! I’m so excited to be back bloggin and what a fun way to come back and share my top 10 blog posts of 2016.
Before I start the round up, I wanted to give you a little update on what’s been going on these past three months. First of all we moved to Japan! and moving a family of 5 in the middle of the holidays wasn’t easy.

All of our things were packed in crates and shipped to Japan a week before Halloween. We had Thanksgiving in a hotel and in mid December we finally got the keys to our new home and patiently waited for our household shipment to arrive. So, as you can see, I have missed out on decorating for the holidays and this is my first post since we left California. I will share more about our journey moving to Japan on a different blog post, but for now I want to share my “Top 10 most popular blog posts of 2016”.

I absolutely LOOOVE looking through previous posts. It makes me smile and I feel proud of myself for making it through those days because preparing for a blog post is no easy task for me, it takes days for me to photograph, edit, and write while doing my daily motherly work.

So, lets get started with my top 10 blog posts of 2016!

1. U-PICK APPLES FREE PRINTABLE

During Fall there are so many ways to decorate your home, tastefully and festive. Pumpkins, gourds, fall foliage, and pinecones are just a handful of popular items that can inspire you to create beautiful displays. My 2016 Fall inspiration came from nature itself. Sometimes you don’t need to buy new decor for the holidays, you can simply use what nature has to offer.

upick-apples-fall-printable-7

2. MINT LEMONADE RECIPE

I love lemonade! And I hope you try this mint lemonade recipe I have for you. It has a great balance of flavors, it’s refreshing and slightly sweet with a pleasant hint of mint. It’s the perfect “to go” drink for all you lemonade lovers!

Easy to make Mint Lemonade Recipe

3. THREE LEAF CLOVER TEA BAGS DIY

Add a touch of charm during St. Patricks Day with these adorable “Three Leaf Clover Tea Bags” DIY. I truly enjoyed making these darling tea bags and I hope you try out this very easy DIY!

Three Leaf Clover Tea Bags

4. A COZY LIVING ROOM

For us, the living room is one of our most used rooms in our home. It’s where the kids run around and jump on the couch (believe me it’s true!) it’s where we play board games, come together as a family, and binge watch Netflix. Here’s my version of a cozy clutter free winter living room.

5. SPRING SANDWICH WRAPPER PRINTABLES

Here’s a free printable you don’t want to miss out on! I created this pretty spring sandwich wrapper, just print and cut! Sometimes it’s the small details that make things a little more special.

Free Sandwich Wrapper Printable!

6. DECORATING WITH ECO DEER

I don’t know about you, but in our small home, there isn’t a whole lot of space or large walls where I can display beautiful things. I wish I had a giant sideboard that I could march a dozen herb plants down, or multiple table tops to spread out my fern collection. But, I don’t and that’s ok, because I found something that is small and beautiful for our walls! Isn’t this Eco Deer wall vase just darling? It allows me to style it anyway I want and create something beautiful using plants and flowers!

EcoDeer A Botanical Deer

7. BLUEBERRY SCONE RECIPE

Now that I have gained more confidence with baking, I’ve been wanting to make scones ever since I tasted those heavenly Creative Tea Time scones! So here it is, a blueberry scone recipe that is mouth watering and delicious… I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out!

New California cutting board and Bluberry Scone Recipe

8. DIY SEASHELL CANDLES

Slowly but surely our home has been transforming from farmhouse to coastal cottage and I’ve been dying to make beach inspired crafts. This could be one of my favorite little projects so far, it’s so simple and a wonderful way to make use of the seashells we’ve collected through out the years.

DIY Seashell Candles

9. FINDING YOUR STYLE – BEACH COTTAGE

I wanted to share my journey on how our style changed from farmhouse to beach cottage. The past eight years I’ve been searching for “my style” as much as I love the vintage farmhouse look I always felt like our home was incomplete and that it was missing something. After many years of contemplating I decided that it was time to let go of the farmhouse style and transform our home into the beach cottage that I longed for.

A Bright and Sunny Beach Cottage.

10. VERY CHERRY

Some farms offer only pre-picked fruits, while others give you an option of picking your own or buying from their pre-picked bounty. We like to get our hands dirty so we always let the kids pick their own. It’s so fun and I love that our children get to experience the simple joys of life and to me that is priceless.

Cherry Photography

And that was my top 10 blog posts of 2016! It’s bittersweet looking back, but I’m ready to get 2017 started! Thank you so much for joining me on this little journey of inspiration that continues to grows each day.