Flashback Friday: September at The Junk House

Can you believe September is more than half over? This year has gone by so fast! Anyway, today we’re looking back at some of my favorite September posts from years past.

OK, let’s kick this off with a flashback to September 2013 –

A year ago today my mom and I were flying home from our two week London/Paris vacation. We spent the first day of our trip touring Stonehenge and Bath. Surprisingly, Stonehenge ended up being one of our favorite spots. When I was in England a couple weeks ago we drove by Stonehenge on the way from the airport to my hotel. That was pretty exciting!

Last year I knocked off this fishing sign for my boyfriend. It’s still hanging on his side of the gallery wall in the office. Although, I had to add a metal hanger to the back because the double stick mounting tape did not hold up.

Let’s rewind another year and look at September 2012 –

Two years ago I completed one of my most time consuming projects. I stenciled fabric and used it to upholster a headboard for the master bedroom. We still use the headboard today, but I’ve been thinking about replacing it. The white in the fabric has not held up well to two dogs. Well, just Ringo mostly. He’s obsessed with licking one particular spot, so as you can imagine, that spot looks pretty dirty.

Two years ago I was busy working on my craft room. I didn’t finish the room, but I painted it and organized everything. Too bad it’s a complete mess right now! Like seriously, it’s bad – possibly worse than the original before pictures. The shame…

Time to go WAY back to September 2011 – my first year of blogging!

The guest bathroom was the first room makeover that I finished in my house. Actually, it’s the only makeover that I’ve finished…haha! I have been thinking about changing the rug, artwork, and towels for something a little brighter and cheerier, but I figured I should work on finishing the other rooms in the house first. The best use of my time/money is probably not redoing the one finished room, especially since I don’t use it that often.

And finally – Three years ago this month we brought Ringohome! Some days I didn’t think we’d make it this long. He was such a shithead puppy, but he’s gotten so much better as he gets older. I mean, he’s still a troublemaker (remember my poor fiddle leaf fig), but he’s mostly sweet now.

So that’s what I’ve been up to in September for the past three years. It’s been fun looking back at old projects and seeing how much I’ve accomplished in our house over the past few years.

Flashback Friday: August at The Junk House

It’s August! That means it’s time for another edition of Flashback Friday! Today we’re looking back at some of my favorite August posts from years past. It seems like August has been a pretty productive month for me over the past few years, so I better moving if I’m going to keep up the trend!
 
OK, let’s kick this off with a flashback to August 2013 –
 
I made this Eiffel Tower wood shim art in celebration of our upcoming trip to Paris. Now that I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower in person, I love this project even more. I’ve always bought/made a lot of Paris décor, so I’m glad that it didn’t disappoint in real life.

Last August I added some much needed storage to the office by adding a pair of IKEA filing cabinets. All of the drawers are full now (last year I posted that a couple were still empty) and are still relatively organized. The filing cabinets have held up great and I’m still really happy this purchase. I still want to label all of the drawers – there are so many drawers it’s hard to remember what’s in each one. 

Let’s rewind another year and look at August 2012 –
 
These Instagram magnets have been one of my most popular projects on the blog. They were even featured in a Craft Foxes’ ‘How to Display Your Instagram Photos’ article. I’ve taken a lot more photos over the past two years, so I’ve made a couple more batches since this post. I love having them on the fridge, but I also added some to the metal filing cabinet in my cubicle at work.  

Two years ago we bought some furniture for our back patio off of Craigslist. We love the patio table and chairs, but I ended up selling the conversation set for $50. We just didn’t have enough room for it plus I didn’t want to spend money on cushions for the set. Outdoor cushions are expensive! I bought a set of red cushions for the dining chairs at Garden Ridge and I couldn’t believe how much I ended up spending!  Good thing we got a good deal on the table and chairs!  

Time to go WAY back to August2011 – my first year of blogging!
 
Three years ago I was working on my first room makeover – the guest bathroom. One of my favorite projects was painting the vanity. I still love the black and I’m impressed with how well the paint has held up. Although, I still want to replace the countertop. One of these days…

This trashcan was another guest bathroom project. We still use it and I still like it, but I’m thinking about replacing it with one that had a lid. Ringo likes to drop his ball in there and then hit it with his nose until you get it out for him. It’s really annoying. 

So that’s what I’ve been up to in August for the past three years. It’s been fun looking back at old projects and seeing how much I’ve accomplished in our house over the past few years.

Flashback Friday: July at The Junk House

So I have an idea for a new monthly series - I’m calling it Flashback Friday at The Junk House. Basically I’ll pull some of my favorite posts from years past and talk about my opinions now and/or their current status. I thought it’d be a fun way to see what I was up to in a year (or three) ago and it’d be a good way for some of my newer followers to discover some old posts. And maybe it’ll be a wake-up call for me to see how long I procrastinate on projects (I’m looking at you Master Bathroom mood board that I’ve done pretty much nothing with over the past year).
 
What do you think?
 
OK, let’s kick the series off with a flashback to July 2013 –
 
Last year I bought an apothecary cabinet from Target for the living room. I still love it and I am totally happy with my purchase. I love having a place to store additional blankets for snuggling on the couch in the winter.

As I mentioned above, last July I put together a mood board for the master bathroom. So far I’ve replaced the shower curtain, artwork, and medicine cabinets, but I haven’t even started on any of the bigger projects. Yeah, I should probably get moving on that…

Let’s rewind another year and look at July 2012 –
 
My favorite post from that month has to be the one with the Ringo and Abby videos. The video of Ringo howling at his squeaker toy still makes me laugh. And a 6-month old Abby bouncing around in muddy puddles - so cute!
 

  

 

Also in July 2012, I shared my ‘The Shops at Target’ bargains. We are currently using the Privet House plates for our every day dishes. Although to be totally honest, we’ve only been using them for the past 6 months or so (before that they were just hanging out in my china cabinet). I don’t know why I put off using them for so long…As a side note, Miss Mustard Seed recently wrote a great post about using your “special pieces” every day and not just saving them for special occasions. I thought it was a great message.  I know I’m definitely guilty of hiding things in cupboards for safe keeping and then never really enjoying them (like these dishes for the past year and a half). If you are interested, you can read it here. Some of the comments are great too. Anyway, back to my dishes, I love them, but I do wish I had a couple more dinner plates. I search eBay occasionally, but so far only serving dishes. One of these days! 

Time to go WAY back to July 2011 – my first year of blogging!
 
Three years ago I shared my first attempt at a gallery wall in our hallway. I’ve updated it twice since then and I’m still planning on updating it again. I’m still not quite satisfied. 

I also shared one of my favorite (and cheapest/easiest) projects. I spray painted 3 mismatched jars for my guest bathroom makeover. We still use them and I still love them!  

So that’s what I’ve been up to in July for the past three years. It was kind of fun reading/looking back at old posts and projects. I definitely think this series is a keeper!