My 14 Goals for 2020
Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7
Next week is supposed to be crazy warm around here… like in the upper 40’s and 50’s and I bet by Friday there won’t be a sliver of snow on the ground. The long outdoor adventures for Lucy will start up again and I think she’s pretty excited about that. Also, I’m hoping the HH will have his portion of the kitchen update done by then too and resume cooking. 🙂
Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself.Â
I have a reservation for high tea! And I bought a quilt pattern {although I have no idea when I’ll squeeze in the time to finish it}. I’ve been wanting to make a quilt for sometime now, but thought I might go mad if there were too many small pieces to stitch together so I thought a jelly roll pattern would be a good starter project. Long strips of fabric, how hard can that be, right?
Goal #3 – Get Organized
The plan:
- March 1 – 7 Finish Up Hooking Projects for Etsy Update and Finish Tile in Kitchen
- March 8 – 14 Paint Kitchen Walls, Trim Doors and Office Door {Find new project for HH to get started on}
- March 15 – 21 Paint Master Bedroom Walls, Trim and Doors
- March 22 – 28 Make/Hang Window Treatments
- March 29 – April 4th – Finish up New Etsy listings
Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows.Â
Still not a stitch of fabric in sight. The afternoon sun though… it’s lovely.
Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over
Should have it done by the end of March.
Goal #6 – Kitchen Update
We are inching towards the finish line. The backsplash tile is almost in, but we are having a hard time trying to figure out what color to choose for grout. The HH thinks an off white color, I originally wanted to charcoal grey but now I’m second guessing myself.
Once the grout is in, I’ll finish painting out the walls and trim in the kitchen. I might make a new roman shade for the kitchen, something with a pop of color, but I’m not sure yet.
Still need to:
Repair drywall, put up tileInstall new hinges on all cabinetsÂ- Swap out the 3 can lights that don’t match the other 2}
- Paint walls
Decide if the chalkboard stays or goesSTAYS!Decide if we should get a rubbed bronze facet for the sink orkeep the polished nickle one {keeping the polished nickle one}
Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden
Not exactly a vegetable, but I’ll be starting a flat or two of petunias later today. I plan to use them in a few pots and in hanging baskets too.
If you still haven’t ordered your seeds, Botanical Interests is currently offering 30% off online seed orders with code SEEDS30 at checkout.
Goal #8 – Explore More of MaineÂ
On the radar for exploring Maine this month:
- Bar Harbor, Maine
- Lincolnville Center General Store in Lincolnville, Maine
- Wallace’s Market in Friendship, Maine
- Harpswell, Maine and Bailey Island
Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together
Just as soon as there is somewhere to sit. 😉
Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books
I put We Took to the Woods aside for as second week because A Piece of the World became available in my library audiobook list. If you are a fan of Andrew Wyeth, or historical fiction, I highly recommend it. The book was a 5 out of a 5 for me.
Other Books I’ve Picked Up From the Library This Year:
- Olive Kitteridge
- Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites
- Natural Color: Vibrant Plant Dye Projects for Your Home and WardrobeÂ
- The New Bungalow KitchenÂ
- Container Gardening by Stephanie DonaldsonÂ
Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft
My neighbor has offered to teach me stained glass and I’m looking forward to carving out some time to try it.
Goal #12 – Visit 12Â Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!}
I haven’t penciled out March yet, but I have a feeling there will be a lot of adventures.
January
- Maine Maritime Museum
- Maine Mineral and Gem Museum
- The Island MarketÂ
- Cafe DiCocoa
- Hungry Hollow Country Store
February
- Two Fat Cats Bakery
- Portland Museum of Art
- Speckled AxÂ
- Atlantic Baking Company
- Rockland, St. George, Cushing and Port Clyde Maine
Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The YearÂ
As of this morning, I have made 3159 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st. My next Etsy shop update will be on Friday, March 7th at 6pm EST. I just have one more pillow to finish, 3 new kits to put together and then I can take a few days off from hooking before I begin my next set of projects.
Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}
Looking forward to having the kitchen wrapped up this week and stocking the freezer with freezer meals for the beginning of gardening season! 🙂
Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.
Have a great Sunday everyone,
~Mavis
Mrs. Hillbilly’s Update
There is no post from Mrs. HB this week as she is off on an adventure and left her laptop behind. 🙂
jj says
Mavis, glad to see you almost have a kitchen ready to cook in. I personally like the idea of the charcoal grey color. But what ever you choose is sure to look great. I notice in your post that you haven’t said anything about your craft room in the basement? How is that coming along? Thanks for the updates Mavis, helps keep me motivated in my own home.
Cecile says
I would go with the grey grout, less likely to show any stains from splatters you don’t catch. I have a question for you though; Do you use your rotary cutter to strip your wool for hooking or are you cutting the pieces of wool for the bundles in the photo you’ve posted in your nook? Second question, what weight of wool do you use?
Mavis Butterfield says
I cut all my wool strips with a rotary cutter. I have no idea what the weight of the wool is, maybe 10- 14 ounces? It’s all different. I was cutting wool strips for kits in that particular photo.
Traci says
My two cents on grout color – go with a medium color. Anytime we’ve had light colored grout, it’s been hard to keep it light colored! I really like the look of the white tile you’ve chosen.
Katie says
I will also chime in with a vote for the grey grout! Light grout will show stains you couldn’t scrub out. And I think it will tie in nicely with your dark counters.
Sillz says
My $0.02 on the grout is to go with white because it looks clean. Definitely don’t do off-white as it will look dirty against the white white tile. If you prefer grey, definitely do it, just stay away from off white.
Kathy Brown says
Having two friends who chose white subway tile in their homes – – one went with dark grey grout and one with white – – – I’d go with a light grey. The dark grey shows every tiny imperfection in the grout application, and all you seem to look at is the grout. The white – while really nice – will get dirty as others have said. A light grey won’t show the imperfections and won’t get as dirty! We used a light grey on a stone look tile and its just perfect for the reasons I stated!
Christa H. says
I have the light grey with white subway tile and it is spectacular. It will also go better with your counters. My last house had creme and I hated it. It showed stains when pasta sauce splashed on it.
Katie says
The pasta sauce stains are what will drive you crazy if you go with a light grout. Or, they did for me. I’ll never make that mistake again, go with a medium to dark in the kitchen.
Marcia Zimmermann says
My favorite color grout to use with white subway tile is Delorean Gray- not too dark, and always looks great!
Polyblend from Home Depot has that color.
Mel says
I hope the quilt works out! I tried so hard to get into quilting, but the space it takes up and the fact that my machine seems to have trouble with even small quilts meant that I just couldn’t make it work. I have found that I really like sewing bags though. They’re quick and useful, and there’s a lot of variety. I spent Saturday sewing a set of 3 matching bags (and a matching hair tie) as a graduation gift for a friend’s daughter.
1. HEALTH: I’ve increased my runs and kept up with that, hydration, and skincare. I just have 2 doctors appointments left, and then I’m all caught up.
2. HOLIDAYS: I did a bit of holiday organization, but the rest of it and the springerle carving needs to wait until summer.
3. COOKING: I haven’t made spice mixes or sous vide yogurt yet, but I’ve made brioche 3 times.
4. HOUSEWORK: Reupholstering our living room ottoman will be this summer and deep cleaning the house will happen over Spring Break. I’m caught up on laundry folding for now.
5. SEWING: I finished 1 of 3 ongoing projects, made Valentine’s gift bags, finished 1 of 2 skirts, and learned to sew zippered pouches. I still have some other projects in mind, but I am going to focus on making 50-100 zippered pouches for a work thing.
6. DIGITAL STUFF: I’ve read 1.5 of two kindle books, and I plan to organize photos and Pinterest boards this summer.
Meg C says
We have white subway tile for our backsplash (approx 10years old). I 100% regret that we used white grout instead of grey or black. No matter what I do it is impossible to keep it looking clean/fresh! I love the seamless look of white on white but the effort & failed results for upkeep aren’t worth it, in my pragmatic opinion.
Vickie says
Thanks for the quilting update. I needed a pattern to get me back in the groove and the one you picked fit me to a T. I ordered it from amazon and will get started right after I finish taxes. Maybe it’ll give me some inspiration to finish those **** taxes