the year in review.

Published on by Quandie

Happy New Year!

At the end of the year I like to put together a recap post of the previous 12 months.  To be honest, it’s mainly for my own benefit.  I tend to feel like I haven’t really accomplished much, but then I look back and realize I’ve done more than I thought.

For example, I’ve been thinking I didn’t really makeover any furniture in 2023, but that’s not entirely true.  I did do about 10 pieces of furniture (check out my fab furniture page to see them all).

One of my favorites was the Summer Villa dresser.

That one featured the I.O.D. Summer Villa paint inlay, and it was gorgeous.

Another favorite of mine was the flower market dresser.

It was created using a large stencil from Wallcutz.

The botanist bed was another favorite of mine.

That thing really was gorgeous.  It sold to a woman who was restoring the farmhouse that belonged to her Swedish grandparents.  Her daughter’s family was going to live there, and this bed was going in her granddaughter’s room.  I always love it when I learn more about where my pieces are going.

Reviewing these pieces from last year makes me realize that I shouldn’t give up furniture makeovers entirely.  I’m going to be keeping my eye out for fun pieces to makeover this year.

I did spend quite a bit more of my time on ‘smalls’ last year.  There were somewhere around 17 toolboxes (if my counting is right).  You can see them all by going to the ‘toolboxes’ category under ‘sorted.’ over on the right side of the page if you’re viewing this on a computer screen.  If you’re on your phone, then try this link.

But anyway, I think I did a toolbox for every season starting with spring …

This rose chintz toolbox would be perfect for housing your garden planning supplies.

I created a bunch of summery floral toolboxes, but I think my favorites were embellished with the I.O.D. Elysium transfer.

This next one with the I.O.D. Flora Parisiensis transfer was a close 2nd.

Then fall came along and I felt like I had to move away from the summery florals into something a bit more autumnal.

That one featured the Harvest Hues transfer from re.design with prima.

Fall is always such a short season, in the blink of an eye I needed to move on to Christmas.

I used the I.O.D. Candy Cane Cottage transfers on that one.

One of my top faves from 2023 wasn’t seasonal though, it was inspired by our trip to Norway in September.

You just gotta love a toolbox based on the Norwegian flag, right?

I really enjoy working on these toolboxes, so you’re sure to see many more of them from me in 2024.

There were lots of other smalls in 2023 though, everything from DIY apothecary bottles …

to painted lunch pails …

to painted pumpkins.

I brought home a few goodies from the thrift store, and garage/estate sales like my original Al Teeter …

and this lovely gold framed mirror.

And of course, lots of old books!

I also painted up several cupboard door signs in 2023.

I got my Flower Market sign done just in time for our April Fool’s snowstorm.

And of course there was the North Pole Bed and Breakfast sign.

Rather than being stenciled, this next one was super simple to create with some I.O.D. transfers.

Aside from all of the blog-worthy posts, I also accomplished quite a bit around here (with help in most cases).  We painted the back of the house, replaced a section of our fence, refinished the front stoop, repaired and refinished our deck, and repainted our Adirondack chairs.

Phew!

I really enjoyed working in the garden this year as well.  I’d planted a bunch of new bulbs the previous fall, so it was fun to see them all come up in the spring.

The peonies in the cutting garden really flourished last year too.

And of course the hydrangeas were amazing as always.

One of my favorite new (to me) plants for 2023 was the Raspberry Splash lungwort (or pulmonaria).

Another new favorite was the Curly Fries hosta.  I planted three of them in the shade garden.

But I think my best garden makeover for 2023 was the fairy garden.

I expanded it by moving it into an old wheelbarrow, and it worked out beautifully.  I’ve left it out for winter with a bit of protection, so we’ll see if everything survives.  If not, gee, I guess I’ll have to get all new plants for next year!

I did quite a bit of traveling in 2023.  Being able to head out of town whenever I want to is one of the best things about being retired.

My sister and I visited our mom back in February and we took a short road trip to the Valley of Fire while we were there.

I went back again in April and did a little planting outside of my comfort zone for mom.

My sister and I also went to DisneyWorld for her birthday in May.

We were there for the Flower and Garden festival which was right up my alley.

In September Mr. Q and I headed to Amsterdam with my sister and niece.

We spent six days in Amsterdam, and then boarded a Holland America Viking Sagas cruise around Norway.

We were pretty much plagued by rain the entire 7 day cruise, but it was still fantastic.

At the end of October my sister and I headed back out to Vegas for our mom’s 83rd birthday.  We took her on a little road trip to Zion National Park to celebrate.

Finally, I went to Puerto Vallarta at the end of November with my neighbor nnK and her parents.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do all of this traveling.  I’m hoping to do just as much in 2024.

I’m also hoping to have plenty of garage sale/thrifting hauls to share with you guys, along with lots of makeovers small or large.  I’m sure I’ll have a few gardening posts along the way as well.  I hope that you’ll continue to tag along!

In the meantime, leave me a comment and let me know if you had a favorite from among my posts in 2023.

23 thoughts on “the year in review.”

  2. Happy New Year Quandie! I hope you continue with the wonderful variety of painting, gardening, and travel. It’s hard to pick a fave though so just keep em coming! May your 2024 be wonderful !

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  3. Happy New Year! I, for one, hope you do many more furniture makeovers as that is the reason I “fell for you” in the first place! The toolboxes are fun, but (sorry) for me, I saw enough as I adore furniture! Regardless, I do enjoy each and every one of your posts! Here’s to 2024! I’m retired now too !(September)

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    1. Uh oh, I may be about to disappoint you Sue. I do have a couple more toolboxes (or like items) coming up 😉 You may have to wait for warmer weather to see more furniture. But hopefully I’ll come across a few good pieces to work on at garages sales this summer!

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      1. I understand as I work on furniture in warm weather too! Even though I have a heated workshop, I love to work on furniture outside!

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  4. Happy New year to you and Mr. Q! I’d follow you if you only painted rocks, because they would be the MOST gorgeous rocks ever, like everything you do. I could not begin to choose a favorite! I am so happy that I found you long ago and am constantly inspired. Thank you so very much for all you do and share, Linda. May 2024 be a wonderful year for all!

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  5. Happy New Year! I loved everything you did this year( as I do with every year). I look forward to seeing your creativity in 2024. May God continue to bless you in 2024❤️

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  7. Wow – what a recap of your year. You’ve accomplished so much!
    Thanks for treating us to your thrifting make-overs, your gorgeous gardens and your travel adventures.
    Happy New Year to you and Mr. Q!

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    1. I tell you what, rather than making a list of what you want to do in 2024, just make a list of what you did in 2023. You might also be surprised how long your list is!

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  8. Linda, I love the recap blog! You are very impressive with all your redo’s. I feel 2024 will be a fantastic as 2023. Your talent is so inspiring! I love seeing your travels as well!
    HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your whole family!
    Smiles, alice

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  10. Happy New Year! As a fellow junker, I have a question for you. Do you ever get overwhelmed with too many projects and junk surrounding you? I still work full-time but thoroughly enjoy thrifting and making over some of my finds to sell in my antiques booth. My stockpile, I must confess, gets to me and I promise myself when I retire ( hopefully a year from Feb) I will get organized but I fear that I have not been given the “organize bone” and will always be this way. Just wondering if you ever feel this way and can offer any tips. I understand you probably get a lot of emails so I wont be offended if you don’t reply.

    I love you aesthetic and you are very good at staging and photographing. Transfers have been a great asset to painting furniture. Thank you for sharing all your outstanding projects and how-to!

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    1. First off, I have to say that I was sure I’d clean the house more often after retirement … and um, yeah, that didn’t happen. So I’d definitely say don’t count on being more organized just because you have more time. It probably won’t happen 😉 As for feeling overwhelmed with too many projects, yes! I absolutely struggle with that. My solution is to put a moratorium on bringing in anything more to work on until after I complete a bunch of the things that I already have. This often leads to me having to pass up quite a few bargains, and it requires a bit of self-discipline. I suspect that I may be in the minority in this regard, at least amongst fellow junkers. But I really don’t like feeling as though I have so much stuff that I don’t even remember what I have anymore. Another tip that works for me is to periodically go through what I have and get rid of anything that has been around too long. I try to be realistic about whether or not I’m ever going to actually tackle it, and if not, I weed it out. I put quite a few things out at the curb last summer with a ‘free’ sign on them simply because they’d been around too long. Sometimes you just have to let some things go, and honestly once they are gone I never even think about them again.

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      1. I am so delighted you responded. Setting me straight about getting organized after retirement will help me devise a plan similar to yours: putting a hold on acquiring projects. I so often forget that I am only looking for items I can take home and put a price tag on to take directly to my booth to sell. I’m looking forward to what you will unveil to us all in 2024. Wishing you the best and happy travels!

        MLK

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