Our 2021 in Review

2021 is coming to a close and as I sit here thinking back on the year all I can say is, it was a year, wasn’t it?! There was good, there was bad, there was continued pandemic! It’s been a year like no other and 2021 is not one we’ll forget any time soon.

Renovation-wise, we didn’t get as far as we had hoped on any of our projects. Ha! But we took our time, did things right, we made progress. And that’s worth celebrating. The Poplar Cottage kitchen came a long way and then stopped as we switched gears to raise the house, pour a new foundation, and make plans for finishing the attic. At the Farmhouse, we added screen doors, refinished floors, gardened, shot a spread for Better Homes and Garden, celebrated 5 years living here, and took the primary bathroom from demo to tiled.

On a personal note, there was much good this year, too. We got to hug family and friends after a year apart. We masked. We got vaccinated. And the kids (finally) went back to school and sports and playing with friends. We traveled. We got outdoors. And we adopted Silvi, our goofy white fluff ball of a poodle who has turned out to be the best family pet and, as Garrett and I like to call her, our furry child :) But this was also a really hard year for me and anxiety was an all too constant companion. So I started running more. I gave up coffee (for a few months anyway). I meditated. And when it got to be too much to handle alone, I thanked my lucky stars for compassionate health care professionals, medication, and the very best partner I could ever hope for.

A year, indeed!

Thank you!

There is so much for us to be thankful for this year and high on the list is all of you. Thank you for being here. For cheering us on. For connecting with us. For all of your ideas, inspiration and support. We’re thankful for each and every one of you and wish you all good things in 2022!

What’s next

Looking ahead, we’re excited to wrap up some of our lingering projects in 2022 - the poplar kitchen! our primary bathroom! we’re going to have so much fun! - and start new ones too. We have plans, exciting plans, but we know that plans (at least ours) always have a way of changing, so I’ll leave it at that and just say, we’re excited for the year ahead!

Most popular posts of 2021

I always like to wrap up the year with the top 10 blog posts we published. It’s fun to see what you guys read most and it helps guide us in the content we share in the future. So without further ado, here are the most-read posts on the Grit and Polish from 2021. I hope you find something to enjoy.