New year, new things to do.

I'm not one for resolutions, per say, mostly because I'd like to think the proper time to make changes would be the present, not a specific day of the year. BUT I do have some goals for the year for my house. Some of these are attainable, some are "reaches," but it is worth committing to the inter webs to perhaps hold myself accountable.

My "Little Rancher on a Street of Bungalows" House Goals for 2012:
1) Change out the generic IKEA artwork in the dining room:

I loved my IKEA prints when I got them in 2008 and they have served their purpose but I feel like going with something a little more personal now (side note - anyone want the three 11X14 prints on the right or the little herb picture on the far wall?). I've looked around a bit and have some ideas.

2) Make some movement on the front bathroom's redecoration. I want to change out some of the linens (keeping the zebra ones - they are sassy), add a different window treatment, and maybe muster up the courage to paint the vanity and replace the counter. In reality, the trim and ceiling desperately need to be painted too...

3) Back down from hoarder-ville in the mess that is my guest room:

That really is how it looks. I know. I'm ashamed. Short of moving to a new house with a dedicated closet-room (which isn't happening any time soon, though I do dream and pine), I need to get that situation under control. Step one is sorting through all those clothes and sending a minimum of four garbage bags to Goodwill. Step two is putting away the remaining clothes in a logical fashion.

4) Since my guest room will be walkable again, my next goal is to (finally) decorate this room. It is the last one in the house to be done and I figure three years of life here means I should do something with it. I've got the paint color picked, I've got fabric to make curtains, and I've got an idea of color palate, based on these two Pottery Barn Kids prints from the hall:

(this last one is a bit of a stretch but....)
5) I'd like to finally do (some of) the exterior renovations I've been wanting to do (as described here). While painting the brick may be out of the budget, adding posts and taking out the wrought iron would make such a big difference. I'm not sure what our tax refund will look like this year but if it is enough, perhaps Uncle Sam could help a sister out and pay for some upgrades to the front of the house? Because, after all, a porch that has falling brick tiles on it is just not cute. And if/when we do eventually sell the house, we'll HAVE to do something about the exterior anyway.

So there you have my "goals" for our little rancher house. Here's to dreaming big!

In all things 2012,