Hi friends!
Every new year, I like to begin by first reflecting on the previous year and then coming up with a goals list for the year ahead. If you caught my 2024 Recap post then you are up to date, and patiently waiting for me to reveal the secret project I finished last year (don’t worry that’s coming next). There is nothing I love more than the sense of accomplishment you get from crossing things off of that to-do list. Lists help me stay on track and remain focused on what to do next. And while not everything gets crossed off of the list when I think it will (remember, life happens), it fills me with motivation to keep going, keep tackling, even if it is just one small change at a time. As we settle into to 2025 I wanted to share some of the goals I have for this year.
Come and see ~
Paint the Exterior of our House
Friends, this is a BIG one! It has been a dream of mine to have the exterior of our home and barn painted since the day we moved in, and this year, it has made its way up to the to-do list for this year. While I know the exterior color of our home isn’t bad, and some love it, I don’t. And since we are all about loving the spaces we live in here and not worrying what others think, I can tell you with confidence that I am ready to have the outside of our home resemble the people who live inside of it 🙂
I shared some of my inspiration for the exterior color scheme of our home and barn HERE. Once the exterior painting is completed, we plan to redo some of the landscaping around the house, choosing plants that are more to our liking. Because after all, a garden should bring joy and delight to the one who planted it 🙂
Install our New Raised Garden Beds
This past year, we made plans for our second raised bed garden area next to our raised blueberry bush garden bed. Then we started the back porch renovation over the summer, and the new garden bed area got put on hold. When the dust from that settled, and fall arrived we started clearing the land so it would be ready for us to begin working on it this spring. Of course when we start all depends on when our spring officially arrives (you never know in new england), but I’m dreaming up ideas and can’t wait to have a larger area to grow flowers and vegetables in!
Last summer, we planted eight more limelight hydrangeas along the rock wall in the front of our yard. Planting our new limelight hedge also turned into rebuilding our rock wall, thanks to the help of my dad. We are hoping to have the main section in front of our house done this year and I can’t wait to show you how it turned out once we are finished!
Finish our Back Porch Makeover
We also plan to finish our back porch makeover. We need to install new screens, build a screen door, finish the trim, and stain the deck once the boards are ready. I’m also on the hunt for some new porch furniture to hopefully give us a better seating layout, so I will be sure to share what I come up with. Below you can see my vision board for the screened-in part of our back porch, it already has me dreaming of warmer weather!
Paint the Pantry
Since this project has been on my Goals list for the past three years, I’m hoping that this year will finally be the year that it happens. Our pantry is located at the end of our mudroom, in between the entrance to our living room (left) and our kitchen/dining room (right).
Below are some photos of the pantry when we first moved in.
Install more Landscaping
A few years ago, I collaborated with Yardzen to help me come up with some updates for the exterior of our home. I loved seeing their mock-up drafts of potential landscaping ideas that included new paint colors and plants for around our home. I shared all of their mock-ups in a blog post – HERE, and below you can see a few of the spots I hope to focus on this year.
As with anything plant-related, I have learned that landscaping takes time, but there is progress to be made, even in tackling one small step at a time.
Of course, I know that even in writing down my goals for the year, things don’t always go according to plan. Remember that pantry I keep saying I want to paint, lol! I try to remain flexible, accomplishing what I can, and giving myself grace for what we don’t get to. Writing things out still fills me with motivation for the year ahead, and I am excited for all the possibilities that lie ahead!
How about you? Do you make a Goals list for the new year?
