Every year, I like to set myself some big, overarching goals for the year, as well as some smaller, fun "resolutions" that are easy to accomplish. For example, last year I got my first balayage, signed up for a gym membership, and hosted my first Friendsgiving (among other things). This year, I decided to pick some simple resolutions related to decorating. I chose five specific goals that I'm excited about working on, and confident that I can successfully finish this year. In fact, I've already tackled #3--the guest room! It's good to think about the big things you want to accomplish and change in your life...but it's also worthwhile to write down fun little things. It's kind of like a "30 before 30" list. By keeping your to-do items light-hearted, simple, and super doable, you get the satisfaction of actually crossing them off your list! Which feels sooo good.

Check out all five of my 2016 decorating resolutions over on Bali Blinds, so you can keep me accountable. And I'd love to know, do you set yourself fun goals for the year, in addition to serious ones? Do you have a "30 before 30" list? (or "40 before 40", etc.)? If so, what are some of the items that you're looking forward to checking off?

I've always wanted to have a nice guest room for friends and family who come and stay with us, but until now our extra bedroom has been crammed full of "storage" (aka junk). I've tried to work on it a couple times, but it was so overwhelming I just couldn't muster up the energy to continue. After organizing my craft cabinet a couple weeks ago, I decided it was finally time to tackle the guest room--and finish it. Sometimes it takes a small win to give you the encouragement and motivation needed to take on the next big thing! Our guest room is pretty small, so we have a twin bed in there for now. Eventually, when we have a bigger house, I want a a nice queen bed for couples...but at least this is a huge step in the right direction. After all, we still have a lot of single friends and siblings that come to stay with us. I partnered with Kohl's to furnish this room--did you know they have an awesome home department? I had never thought to shop there before, and I was impressed with the variety of stylish pieces they carry. I'm giving away a $100 Kohl's gift card at the bottom of this post, so don't miss it!

I forgot to take a before picture of the guest room, but trust me when I say it was SO BAD. There was barely any floor space to walk on--boxes, furniture, half-finished projects, and random junk covered every surface. We'd basically treated it like a storage unit for three years! So first things first, we took everything out of the room and sold, donated, or threw away as much as possible.

Then it was time for the fun part--decorating! I got some cute, gender-neutral bedding from Kohl's and hung some art on the wall.

Instead of a nightstand, I picked out a gorgeous, modern cabinet. Since our bedroom is a small space, it's great to have one multi-tasking piece of furniture that can do double duty as storage and a bedside table.

Lastly, I added some accessories to make the room feel more welcoming, like a throw blanket for extra warmth, a small frame with the Wifi password, and a basket filled with toiletries and essentials, in case guests forget something.

A few other nice touches? Provide a water pitcher so guests don't have to tiptoe into the kitchen at night, give them a spare key so they can come and go as they please, and add some flowers on the nightstand to make the room cheerier. If guests are from out of state, I also like providing them with some local snacks to welcome them to Washington.

Shop this room: Quilt / Pillow (similar) / Carafe (similar) / Cabinet / Throw / Basket (similar) / Body wash / Towels

Our guest room still isn't perfect (a twin bed isn't ideal, and those blinds need to go), but it's come a loooong way. Do you have a room that's in dire need of a makeover? Be sure to enter the giveaway below. You could win $100 to spend at Kohl's!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even if you don't win, be sure to check out these two big sales they have coming up on 1/29: $10 off a $50 home purchase with the promo code HOME10, and 20% off using the promo code FORYOU20. And good news: the codes can be stacked!

Thank you to Kohl's for partnering with me on this post.

Almost exactly a year ago, we went on a weekend getaway with some friends to Camano Island, and stayed in these darling cabins on Cama Beach. We had so much fun, we decided to do it again this year...and again, it was a blast! It might seem weird to do a beach vacation in the winter, but the cabins are heated and we have a good time sitting inside and playing games while the rain patters outside. Plus this year, we unexpectedly got a sunny Saturday! We took advantage of it, exploring the island, combing the beach for seaglass, sitting outside and chatting, and having a campfire at night. It was especially nice to see all the stars out, since last year it was foggy the entire time. That's one of my favorite things about getting away from the city! We also saw lots of bald eagles, a seal, llamas, and wild bunnies...but of course, the best part was hanging out with each other.

Our friends Peter and Hannah are moving to Germany soon, so it was especially nice to spend some quality time with them. We are really going to miss them (sniff!).

So there you go! Some pictures from our weekend. It wasn't a fancy vacation or anything, but it was really fun. And I'm trying to do a better job of documenting our everyday life, friends, and family...the stuff I want to remember and look back on, not just "Instagram-worthy" shots of pretty things.

How was your weekend? What did you do?

Warning: these pictures aren't the prettiest. My craft room is fairly small, so it was hard to back up enough to get a good shot. And there's only one small window, so the lighting isn't great. But still, I'm proud of myself for starting to get organized and I wanted to share the proof with you guys--pretty or not! The beginning of a new year is always a good reminder to do some (much needed) cleaning and organization, and this year I decided to tackle my craft room first. I got this storage cabinet almost exactly two years ago, and at the time it was perfect for storing all my craft supplies. But over the last couple years I've accumulated a lot more stuff, and this poor little cabinet was overflowing. Trying to find anything in there was stressful, and often unsuccessful.

Here are a couple before shots. Yikes. Such a mess.

To get started, I went to Michaels and picked out a bunch of storage supplies. They have great options for craft rooms of all sizes, including a new line of organization product called Cre8ted Spaces.

The first thing I did was take everything out of the cabinet and arrange like items together in piles. Sometimes, cleaning up a mess requires making an even bigger mess at first! Then I put those piles into clear plastic bins and labeled them--stamps, ribbons, glue, etc. I love that I can see the contents of the bins at a glance, plus they stack really nicely since they're all the same size. Much better than the random cardboard boxes I was using before. 

Next, I hung up a wall organizer for all my display-worthy craft supplies, like washi tape, baker's twine, and craft paint. It's like an upgraded version of this DIY project I made awhile ago!

Then I put an organizer cube on the tabletop, for papers, cardstock, and envelopes.

After those changes, the cabinet was looking a lot less crammed. I got rid of everything I wasn't planning to use anymore, and reorganized what was left.

I know this picture is kind of dark, but seriously, it's sooo much better than before! It's funny how simple changes can make a really big difference. I don't feel stressed out when I open that cabinet anymore. Everything has a place!

I'm also hoping that getting organized will be extra motivation for me to do more crafts in 2016. I feel like I lost some of my energy for DIY projects over the last year, partially because I never seem to have extra time, and partially because we're starting to outgrow our house and I don't want to fill it with more stuff, just for the sake of churning out projects. But at the same time, I want to keep crafting, because I really do love being creative and making things myself. One thing I've been thinking about is trying to do more crafts just for fun, not necessarily for a blog post...so there's no pressure to take photos with good lighting, and I can work on them at a relaxed pace, while watching a show at night or whatever.

Another goal of mine is to tackle more areas of my house throughout this year...the next in line is my guest room!

Have you been bit by the new year organizing bug? If so, what room(s) have you been working on so far?

If you don’t know where to begin, you can always take a look at some of the fun storage projects on Michaels.com or the other 49 makers’ ideas on The Glue String for tips on designing, organizing and decorating their favorite places!

Thanks to Michaels for partnering with me on this post.