Hi friends!
Welcome to the first post of 2016! Super excited to be back into the blogging swing of things after my blogging break. Even though the holidays (for most) ended around New Years, the holidays don’t end for me until I celebrate with my dad and his family. We got together this past weekend for family celebrations and to, of course, see Star Wars. And yes, my decorations are still up. #ChristmasForever
I did a post like this last year (although it was mid-February when I got around to it) to look back at the past year and take note of some of the memories that took place, whether good or bad. While last year’s post was solely about the memories of 2014, this year I’m going to include memories from 2015 and the top 10 posts from 2015.
Alrighty, here we go…
Dear 2015,
First off, where did you go? You completely flew right by me in a whirlwind, but left a ton of memories in your wake. Both good and bad, but I wouldn’t change them for anything.
You started out slow, as most other years do, but you certainly picked up speed in February! February was the month that I decided to take my blog seriously. I attended a #GirlBoss webinar that lit a spark in me to start posting consistently. I decided on a Monday / Thursday schedule and stuck to it! And boy, 2015, I’m sure glad I did. By finally sticking to a schedule and post consistency, I landed my 1st sponsored post in March! That was such a big blog moment, 2015.
While that was a huge blog moment, there were certainly many more on the way. 2015, you were the year that I finally started renovations on turning my house into my home. While house projects definitely took longer than anticipated, I was able to finish both my living room and kitchen in a Chelc-fied style.
In May, I got an email from a blogger I had admired for a while, asking me if I’d like to join in co-hosting a weekly link party. Merry Monday was one of my favorites that I participated in, so of course I said yes! That was a HUGE turning point in my blogging career, and one of the best decisions I’ve made blog-wise to date!
May was also the month that the project I so lovingly referred to as “my baby” was completed. I began working on this hotel restaurant in 2013 and poured my blood, sweat, tears, and soul into it. It definitely showed and I’m so, so pleased with how it finally all came together.
June was a quiet month in my personal life, because I felt that certain changes needed to be made. More on that in a bit…
July was an awesome month because I celebrated my 1st blogiversary and hosted a giveaway! Even though I only started consistently posting in February, July of 2014 was when I decided to have courage and hit “publish” on that first post and should be celebrated as such. To celebrate in my own way, I dyed the tips of my hair purple. Something I had always wanted to do.
In August, those changes that I felt in June came into the light. I had been in a very toxic work environment for a really long time and it started to show in the work I produced as well as my personal life. I made the change from restaurant designer to residential designer and couldn’t have been happier. While I loved creating restaurant spaces and working in a construction environment, the company that I worked for did some things that I couldn’t be a part of any longer. Let’s just say, 2015, I’m much, much happier where I am now. :)
Because I was making a big career change, I decided to make an appearance change as well and cut all my hair off (by myself!). It was scary, exhilarating, and freeing all at the same time.
In October I turned 24 and celebrated with my mom and dad the weekend before and the weekend after, respectively. But the day of? I celebrated with a 3 ½ hour Skype date with my BFF, Hannah. And Cheesecake Factory. :)
November was super fun for blogging, 2015, because I participated in TWO blogging events and made some awesome blogging buddies. The first was the Ultimate Cookies & Goodies party where we shared all things yummy for the holidays and I could just feel my pants getting tighter, lol. Then, I participated in a Blogging Ornament Exchange and made a super fun tech-y ornament for my pal Janet. I hope she liked it!
November was also great because, behind the scenes, I was partnering with Amanda from The Kolb Corner to create Blogmas! Blogmas was a 4 week blogging event & giveaway that covered all things holiday related. It was super fun and I already have ideas for next year!
2015, as you drew to a close in December, I got excited for 2 final events. The first being a Chrismukkah PJ party to celebrate and have a good time with friends. And boy, did we. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. The final event being the biggest of the entire year…STAR WARS CAME OUT AND I FANGIRLED SO HARD IN MY DARTH VADER CHRISTMAS SWEATER AND PRINCESS LEIA BUNS! In case you weren’t aware 2015, Star Wars is my favorite movie of all time so you can imagine that I was super excited for the 7th episode. I laughed, I cried, I felt the Force awaken.
2015, you were filled with some amazing memories, new friends, and family losses. I made huge career choices, appearance choices, and have never regretted them. But, 2015, you were the year that I took blogging seriously, and that was the best decision I ever made. So thank you for that.
Love, Chelc
Yep, so that was my letter to 2015. It included both some personal stuff and some blog stuff, but now we’re gonna focus on the top post of this year!
This was my favorite post that I did and it was your favorite too! This was the first big project that I did in my house and I still get so happy when I look at these accent walls. If you’ve ever wanted a geometric-honeycomb-hexagon wall, head on over to the tutorial to see how you can create one in your own home!
2. Top 15 Things to Do in Japan
As many of you know, I used to live in Japan. Japan is an amazing place to visit and I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list. If you are headed there, be sure to check out these 15 things that you absolutely need to add to your to-do list.
3. IKEA Hack: Floating Shelves
When I renovated my kitchen, I knew that I had to have floating shelves. I had these wooden shelves from IKEA lying around so I decided to use those and create an IKEA Hack. It’s an incredibly affordable way to get those floating shelves that you keep seeing all over Pinterest.
The first renovation of my home made it to #4 on the list! You should definitely see the before pictures. It doesn’t even look like the same place!
Every year I have an ant issue in my home and it seems like you guys do too because this post made the #5 spot. You don’t need to spray a ton of harsh chemicals. Come see how easy it is to get rid of ants in your home!
6. Holiday House Rules Printable
This year was when Blogmas was created and to celebrate in my own way I shared a post a day leading up to Christmas, based on that week’s Blogmas theme. One of those posts was this Holiday House Rules Printable. I loved it and you guys did too!
7. Wooden Dowel Christmas Tree
If I could, I would have a Christmas tree in each room of the house. But, space is limited, so I created a tabletop Wooden Christmas tree that doesn’t take up much space and stores flat!
8. 20+ Interior Designer Approved Apps
By night I’m a blogger but by day I’m an interior designer. These are 20+ apps that, as a designer, I fully approve of and use on a regular basis. If you have a home decor addiction, you definitely need to download these!
Another Blogmas post, this DIY snow globe turned out better than I had hoped it would. I’m obsessed with it and love how it matches my Christmas decor and colors.
10. Kitchen Literary Printables
When I renovated my kitchen, I new I wanted some art in there, but I didn’t like anything that I saw. I decided to take quotes about food from some of my favorite books and make my own. I created 3 printables that are free for download!
2015 was a great blogging year, and 2016 is going to be no different. I have some big goals/plans and am excited to take this journey!
Bring it on 2016…
Looks like you had such a great year!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Jess recently posted…Baked Sweet Onion Pesto Rice recipe
I so enjoyed reading this. So many changes, excitement and great diys in 2015. :)
TwoPlusCute recently posted…Initiative – my first time with a dremel
Here from The Creative Circle- love your post! Looks like an awesome year!!
OMG what an incredible year you’ve had! You’ve been busy! Can’t wait to see all your posts for 2016! Thanks for the friendship! It’s been so fun ‘blogging with you’ in 2015. Thanks for sharing at #funtasticfriday!
Sounds like overall you’ve had a really interesting 2015. I wonder if you could go back to the end of 2014 if you would have predicted what would have happened over the next 12 months. I know, I couldn’t have at all. It’s funny how things turn out isn’t it. Sounds like you’ve made some great things happen though.
Sally @ Life Loving
#LifeLovingLinkie