Unfortunately, we rarely look back to think about all of the amazing opportunities this baby blog has brought us. Instead, we are often too busy looking ahead to what ELSE we can do to be better, work harder, improve our content, speed up our site, improve our social media skills, learn more about photography… and the list goes on and on and on.

Our 2014 Highlights

This post has really forced us to sit down together & reflect on the year. We quickly remembered how fun/exciting/hilarious/special 2014 has been. Don’t get us wrong, these highlights only show … well, the highlights. Our lives are not nearly perfect, but our motto is to focus on the positive and celebrate when we can! And that’s exactly what we are doing today. So without further ado, here are our 2014 highlights. 

Home Decor Favorites

Casey’s Master Bedroom

This was one of my favorites from this year because we were able to elevate the look & feel of our master bedroom…without a ton of work or money. I think the headboard really took things to the next level. It actually feels like a “grown-up bedroom” with the addition of that headboard, and I couldn’t be happier.  Now I want to snuggle up and take a nap.

Bridget’s Office

I love our office, specifically our desk, for two reasons:
1. It was super affordable: I bought the two brown cabinets from Goodwill for $6 each and DIY-ed the top of the desk. I think the whole thing cost me well under $100, which is pretty amazing for a customized piece of any kind of furniture.

2. It provides a ton of function in our home: In a small home like ours, function and organization are keys to getting through the day without frustration or a huge mess! This organized desk area holds all of our office essentials (cords, paperwork, office supplies, files, binders, etc.) without actually showing any of those items and making the desktop space seem cluttered.

Laundry Room Reveal

I still can’t believe I made over my entire laundry room … ALONE… and lived to tell about it. To date, this is probably my proudest DIY project because I was able to do every single step of it all by myself. #GIRLPOWER

From the new paint on the walls to totally framing and re-facing the cabinets, I was one proud girl when these puppies were done. And to be perfectly honest, I still walk into that room and admire my willingness to try something that seemed so daunting, yet totally worked out (and taught me so much in the process). It’s not perfect, but this rookie learned a ton and still LOVES the space!

Crafty Favorites

Metallic Thumb Tack Art

This is by far my favorite craft that I tackled in 2014, because it was just so.darn.easy. Seriously. I had no idea that people would even like this simple project, but man did it garner some attention. We even had some readers send us pics of their thumbtack creations (which we always loooove to see!)

Succulent Planter

I still haven’t watered or done any maintenance on this succulent garden since I “planted” these beauties a few MONTHS ago. The Busy Girl Succulent Garden is one of my favs because it was so easy and looks so real. 5 minute project that you never have to maintain? See why this little cutie snuck into my favorites?

Painting our Front Door (inside and out)

Don’t tell the others on the list, but I think this is hands-down my FAVORITE project from the entire year. I still can’t believe I actually took the leap, and I really can’t believe Matt actually allowed our front door to turn blue. I was a little nervous how this springy color would look with our fall and Christmas decor, but both looked amazing with the blue door mixed in!
Painted Outdoor Rug

This is definitely an example of a project that you have no idea if it’s going to be an amazing success…or a horrific failure. When I started painting this outdoor rug I had zero confidence in the outcome of this DIY. But boy…was I pleasantly surprised to see how well it came out. Plus…it still looks this good today! The rug has been outside battling Chicago’s weather for the past 6 months and it still looks bright, colorful, and cheery on the grayest of days.

Happy Travels

NYC Trip / Sonoma Trip / Atlanta Trip

East Coast Honeymoon

East Coast is for lovers… lovers of all thinks rustic, coastal, or anything filled with lobster. Our honeymoon started in upstate New York and continued through Maine until we finished the tour in Boston. Each place was more GORGEOUS than the next. For all of the details, check out our recap here. We can’t wait to plan our 2015 trip together! Any suggestions?!

DIY Playbook Updates

Site Redesign

This is by far the biggest change to The DIY Playbook in 2014. We are still head over heels in love with our new site. Whenever we look back at our old site’s design, we cringe a little inside. But it shows us how far we’ve come and how much work we’ve put into this website. Our redesign was worth every penny and we are obsessed with our light, bright, and easy to navigate site. Definitely money and time well spent for these rookies in 2014.

B&C Favorites

Labor Day Post

This post was just supposed to be a “fluff” post, since it landed on a holiday. Ya know…write a little bit because people probably aren’t even reading kinda post. But…it was actually a big hit with you guys and it made us realize that you’d like to see more “real” posts around here. Who are we, how do we juggle it all, how do we manage full-time jobs and the blog? We loved giving you guys a glimpse into our everyday lives and we have more plans to do just that in 2015. (hint hint…)

What it’s like being married to a DIY Blogger

Those husbands of ours are seriously the best. Not only do they put up with us devoting way too much time to The DIY Playbook, but they even take time out of their own busy schedules to collaborate on posts every once in a while. This post that they tackled was HILARIOUS. Seriously…we need the comedic relief every now and then here on the blog, and they didn’t disappoint. Plus everything they reveal is surprisingly accurate. No idea how they put up with us 24/7/365.

What a year…

Wedding

We finally tied the knot this year! Woo hoo. After 2 years of planning, and many DIY projects, we made our love official in October. I just received my professional wedding photos, so I’ll be sharing more in January. Sit tight…you’re gonna love these photos!
Domino Feature
Wait us? I know, you can’t believe it until you see it yourself. Check it out here. 

Publication in a foreign Newspaper
Anyone know how to translate German? We were excited and honored to be included in an article from a German Newspaper this year, however, we really aren’t sure what the article translates to. Even if it talks about those two crazy DIY rookies… we’ll take it!

It’s been one HECK of year here on the DIY Playbook. 2014, you’ve been good to us and we’re giving you a BIG ol’ hug and a kiss before you go! We are forever grateful for these opportunities, and we PROMISE we will take tonight to celebrate a wonderful year instead of planning for 2015.

Cheers to 2014! Have a safe & happy night of celebrating,

Bridget&Casey