2014 Year in Review

Has it seriously been a year!? It feels like I just posted my 2013 year review! Time is just flying by…too fast! But I love the start of a new year…it’s time to look forward and make new goals but it’s also great to look back and reflect on the past 12 months and what they brought. Yes there were mistakes and yes there were bad days. But there was a whole lot of good days, fun experiences, time with loved ones, travel and even those few amazingly, unreal, ridiculous days. Well here is a brief look at the journey the blog took in my 2014 year in review.

We got off to a great start with Ryan and I getting engaged at the countdown in Mexico which kicked off the new Wedding Series.I visited Swept Bridal right away to get some inspiration, talked about the steps after getting engaged, looked at incredible Edmonton venues and interviewed Novelle Bridal Boutique about this years gorgeous options.

Another bridal highlight was dyeing my hair peach, getting beautified by the ladies of Behind the Blush and posing in a gorgeous dress for a wedding shoot. I got to work with the big wigs in the wedding industry (Jennifer Bergman Weddings, Fabloomosity, Hunt Amor and Nicole Ashley) and was delighted to be featured in Wedluxe. So much fun! Thanks to Nicole for convincing me to do this (which I think I did after some wine…)The best new addition to Inspired by Lynne this past year was the recipe series, done by my amazingly talented cousin Jacqui. I love collaborating with her and seeing her delicious recipes grace my screen every month.If you haven’t yet, check out her Cherry Cheescake Fudge, Summer Green Soup, BBQ Brisket, and Chicken Mole, just to name a few.Some of my favourites were Aina’s Brownies, Energetic Eatmore bars and Homemade Cherry Granola with Coconut banana’s. All of Jacqui’s recipes are made with organic, natural ingredients and give great options to fit your lifestyle. I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with this year!!

On the food note, I attempted my first batch of macarons with the help of Duchess Provisions and they turned out pretty dang delicious.

I shared them with a bunch of lovely ladies as I hosted my first baby shower at the house for Stef’s new addition Selah.

In 2014, I focused a little more on a passion and favourite past time of mine – reading. This is definitely an area I’d like to go into further this upcoming year.I talked about the best summer reads, the best books of 2014 and did my first official review for Not That Kind of Girl.

Every opportunity to partner up with Behind the Blush and Nicole Ashley I took – especially when it came to fashion & beauty posts. If I could do a post every week with them, I would!! We’re just way too busy!! Here are some moments in beauty…We looked at some summer favourites like Tarte Fearless Cheek Stain, summer appropriate Essie polishes & Davines Curling Mousse, and found a great way to curl short hair. If you didn’t see the YouTube videos we created, head here!Some of my favourite outfit posts were Mad for Plaid, Janna’s Blanket Scarf look, our 3 Wedding looks, Stef’s adorable Maternity style, my comfy Road trip style, the pineapple trend and most recently, my New Year’s party dress. Seeing all these photos together makes me realize that my hair really does grow fast!! and we can really evolve a lot in a single year!

When I didn’t have time to get together with the ladies, I created some outfit inspiration through the good ol internet!

Spring staples & Fall Neutrals were my two faves.

I was so fortunate to travel more in 2014 and document all the excitement here on the blog. My absolute favourite city in the world is London and that’s where I jetted off to first in the Spring. It was an incredible trip! And then in the summer Ryan and I took a road trip through Alberta and BC, spending time in Timothy Lake, Vancouver and finally Seattle. Then, much to my excitement, I finally visited the top spot on my wish list, New York City. It was just as magical as I thought it would be and I can’t wait to go back!Check out the travel posts here: London | Road Trip | Vancouver | Seattle | NYC

I tackled a lot more this year in terms of interior design. I completed 3 more courses in my program and learned so much about interior products, lighting designs and, most recently, drafting. On the blog this year, I did a lot more in terms of e-design and inspiration boards for spaces. I even did a whole series on lighting, which I loved!

Lighting series (wall sconces day)

 Holiday decor | Office | Decorating with Indigo

In the summer, I finally finished our home office! That was a huge accomplishment because we had to remove walls and reconfigure our basement a bit. Oh, and we had major issues when we tried to paint our wood floors! But it turned out amazing and we get a lot of use out of the space.

Still on my goals list is to learn to use the vintage sewing machine…a new year’s resolution perhaps!

Other home decor features were holiday inspired in 2014…

I blogged an Easter inspired setting for two, my holiday decor and my Anthropologie pom pom garland hack 🙂

But probably the biggest accomplishment this year for Inspired by Lynne was the first successful flip in Forest Heights with Revive Contracting.This project was huge for Ryan and I – a lot of weekends spent at Home Depot and even more late nights leading up to our open house. But the results were more than we could have ever dreamed and we can barely contain our excitement about the next one coming veeeerrry soon!

And there you have it! Wow!! I absolutely love doing these year in review posts because it really puts it into perspective just how much you can accomplish in a single year. I am so very grateful for this past year and I can barely contain my excitement for 2015…a flip, a finished basement (almost!!), a wedding, a honeymoon…it’s exhilarating!

Thank you for sharing my journey, for the support and love, and I hope you continue to follow along in the new year.

xoxoxo