In typical December fashion, today has been too busy for me to get a post together for our final day of our Blogiversary celebration. So we will extend the celebration to Monday and will see you then with our survey results, questions answered, and a little something special for all of you awesome readers!
Have a great weekend!
Before I dive right into the year in review post, I want to remind beg you all to take 30 seconds to take the survey I posted on Monday! The survey will close tonight because we will be sharing the results tomorrow! Thanks so much for helping a girl out!
Now, let’s get into the good stuff! This has been such an incredible year. Walker and I have gone beyond getting settled in our apartment and have really established an amazing life together in cohabitation. Our relationship has thrived and I am grateful every day for finding such a beautiful love in this big, scary world. I watched my awesome brother graduate from high school/start college and have enjoyed seeing my parents flourish as empty-nesters. I stood by my best friend’s side as she married the love of her life and celebrated with two other couples we love as they also tied the knot! I sadly mourned the loss of my Papa and my grandmother but felt closer to my extended family than ever before because of it. I enjoyed my little puppy-companion’s antics and watched Walker and Bo become best friends! And most of all, my family and friends are happy and healthy… what more could you ask for?
When I started up this little blog, I only had the intention of using it as a creative outlet and to keep in better touch with my friends & family on the East Coast. However, it is a year later and I could never have imagined the effect it would have on me. Obviously, the biggest thing I have taken away so far was the discovery that I am capable of and passionate about pursuing a career in interior design, which I talked about in detail yesterday. I blabbed on for long enough about that already, so I will move on. Perhaps the accomplishment I am most pleased with is that this is one of the only hobbies I have actually stuck with for an entire year! I tend to throw myself into a new activity and then drift away once the novelty has worn off. Not with the blog and I love that! I am giving myself a pat on the back! The blog has also allowed me to develop existing creative skills (painting, crafting, building, writing, etc.) as well as branch out into new creative skills, such as photography and web design.
Another really awesome thing I didn’t see coming at all was meeting a bunch of incredible blog friends from all over the world! There are even a few of them I have become so close with that we are attempting to find some time next year to actually meet in person! #Ohio2013! I feel like I have found my little voice out in the big world of the Internet and that makes me proud. I am by no means a big blog on the block but I am blown away by how many of you lovely readers are out there!
So enough sappy stuff and more about you, my super awesome readers! I thought it would be fun to showcase your favorite things from this year!
Your favorite project this year was the California Love String Art, with 1,015 of you reading that post! WOW!!
Coming in second was my $7 DIY Plant Stand & Outdoor Bar with 757 readers!
And in third place is the Mason Jar Hand Soap Dispenser with 484 readers!
With the exception of the day I entered the Apartment Therapy Homies, the post with most same-day hits (363!) was my recap of the “Breakfast in Bed” bridal shower I threw for my best friend Laura back in July! Woooo!
My personal favorite post (other than my big announcement yesterday) was the Centennial post, partially because it contained an excessive number of Bo pictures and partially because it gave me a chance to tell you a little more about myself!
My personal favorite project was the $14 DIY Basket & Twine Pendant Light because it changed the entire vibe of our living room!
Most of you found me through Google, Facebook, Apartment Therapy, and Pinterest (my top referrers) but there are some people that landed on my page by searching for some pretty odd stuff on search engines. Here are a few of my favorites:
treasure hunting in Nebraska – YES PLEASE!
bad bathroom paint job – haha okay… this one makes sense. The world will never let us live this one down!
bathtub of guacamole – mmmmmmm where!?
dog potty area in backyard – for us it’s called the backyard…
catskill sexy – you mean like the mountains? This one creeps me out.
pomeranian birthday – yippee! Puppy party!
cartoon lion sitting down – hmmmm? Sorry, I do not have one of those.
little gross adorable – ouch… I hope they were taking about Bo.
where is erika? – right here you dingus! ;)
And of course, no yearly blog recap would be complete without the grand total of the yearly pageviews. Of course, the stats are only as of Sunday since they take a few days to process so I will have to come update this official number once stats through yesterday become available. The grand total (as of Sunday) is 31,765 pageviews! HOLY MOLY! THAT IS INSANE! It makes my head spin just thinking about how incredible that is. All of you readers are so unbeliveabley awesome… I am so grateful for all of you and wouldn’t still be posting if it weren’t for you. xoxo
Because you are all so wonderful, I will have a little something special for you in tomorrow’s post, as well as a recap of the survey results and answers to all of your questions! In addition, I will be touching a little bit on moving forward and my blog goals for next year. See you then!
Oh happy day!! Today is my official one year anniversary since the birth of this little blog! A year ago today I made my very first post and wasn’t sure what to expect out of this whole blogging thing. While I am going to get into this topic more tomorrow, I will share one of the main results with you today.
I have been waiting to make this announcement on the blog since July, when I first hinted I had something in the works. Shall we recap that post?
Well here it goes: I am so so so beyond excited to announce that I will be going back to school in January to study Interior Design at FIDM in Downtown LA!!! On July 2nd, I got accepted to their 1 year Professional Designation program designed for people who have already earned a bachelor’s degree (this means no gen-ed glasses… just the good stuff!).
So let me back things up and start from the beginning. Since I have already written this once before, I will let past-Erika tell the story in the form of a few snippets from my FIDM admissions essay:
“I have spent my entire life surrounded by fabric, paint, crafts, HGTV, and all things home décor. After learning to sew at age eleven, my do-it-yourself creativity spiraled into paper crafts, art, room painting, refurbishing furniture, set design, and mood boards. Therefore, a college major in Drama seemed like a natural fit and I spent my time focusing on set design, set painting, costume design, and costume construction.”
Sidebar: As many of you know, I was actually pursuing two bachelors degrees (overachiever much?), one in Drama and the other in Television/Radio Production at the communications school. Okay, sorry past-Erika… please continue.
“After graduation, I was offered a job in the television industry and couldn’t pass up employment. However, I began to miss having a paintbrush and a hammer in my hands and decided to find a new creative outlet by beginning a home blog chronicling my own D.I.Y. and home décor pursuits. Not only does the blog allow me to stay current with design ideas and trends, but it has also allowed me to develop my photography, photo editing, writing, web design, and D.I.Y. skills.”
Fun fact: I actually started a dog blog first but that is beside the point.
I was laying awake one Sunday night in June, stressing over just about everything in my life and I decided to ask myself a really honest question. If money was no issue, what would I do with my life? After a long winded answer that revolved around blogging, designing, DIY projects, etc. I had one of those (excusez-moi pour mon Francais) holy-shit-moments that hit me like a Mack truck. I sat right up in bed and thought “Wait a minute! Money isn’t the issue here… I actually COULD do a lot of those things for a living… AS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER!” Duh. How had I never thought of this before as a potential career path for myself? I have been spending countless free hours happily following creative pursuits since I was a little girl that could all play a part in a design career. How has this never clicked before?
Once I put all the pieces together, I realized that I undoubtedly have a passion for all of these design-related activities. However, I lack an education in the field that would guide me to understand how to truly translate that passion into a career. I spent the entire night wide awake and researching design schools. When I saw FIDM’s 1 Year Professional Designation Interior Design Program I was so pumped because it was a perfect fit! I called an admissions adviser the next day.
When I called my mom to talk to her about it, her response was “How have we never thought of this before!?” Like mother, like daughter. :)
The admissions process began with a meeting with my admissions adviser to go over the basics (curriculum, cost, campus tour, etc.) and to get my admissions requirements. I had to fill out the usual paperwork, write an admissions essay, and complete a portfolio entrance project (see a copy of the directions here). This is what I came up with (click to enlarge photos):
Perhaps I will write a more detailed post on this project and my choices in the future (this one is long enough!). Regardless, they liked my essay/project and accepted me to the program! July seems like ages ago now… I have been looking forward to this for so long. However, I wanted to wait until the new year to start school so I had time to save some serious cash.
So what does this all mean for my life? First of all, it means that (as of January) I will be first and foremost a full-time student. School will be my main focus over the next year, despite the fact that it may seriously cut into my social and blog time. Secondly, this obviously means I will have to switch to part time at my current job. I will be in class on Tuesdays/Thursdays all day and then work the other 3 days. How do I know this? Well, because I registered for classes yesterday!!! Hooray!
I am more than excited for this adventure to start but a part of me is also really nervous! It is a huge career/life change for me and I will be basically starting completely over. Plus, only having a part-time income in this expensive city is terrifying but I have crunched the numbers a million times and I should be okay. For those of you who know me well, you know I can be meticulous about my budget when I want (or need) to be! All scary things aside, my gut is telling me that I am headed down the right path and I couldn’t be more elated to be following my passion.
While I have a million more things I could say about all of this, I think this blog post is long enough for now. I will leave you with a one additional snippet from my essay that sums this whole thing up and a couple pictures from my registration yesterday. I know this post could spur some questions from you all, so please feel free to comment below, email me, or submit questions on Mondays survey/question form (which I would appreciate you filling out if you haven’t already!). I am so grateful all of your support and love in this exciting time. Xoxo!
“I have always loved being ‘home’ and for a long time I attributed it to nothing more than comfort and familiarity. However, as I have gotten older, I have come to realize that what makes a place ‘home’ is not only comfort and familiarity, but also the personality of the space, the way a space makes one feel, and the memories it contains. The reason ‘home’ feels so wonderful is because it is deeply personal and is the physical manifestation of one’s experiences, dreams, feelings, and outlook on life. The desire to create this amazingly personal oasis at home for myself and for others is the exact reason I have decided to go back to school at age twenty-five to pursue a new career in interior design. I am sincerely excited to study the principles that will allow me to transform other people’s desires and needs into something functional, aesthetically pleasing, profoundly personal, and delightfully unique.”
I’m Erika, an interior designer with an aesthetic that is a mix of California Bohemian, Mid-Century, and Scandinavian influences with pops of fun color and loads of natural materials. Plus plants, plants, and more plants!
My sweet family (Walker, Juniper & Hank, as well as pups Arlo & Guillermo) just reloacted from Los Angeles, CA, to Lincoln, NE. We would love for you to follow along with us on this journey!
