Earlier than we dive into 2025, and all of our plans for this 12 months, I wished to jot down all the 2024 private issues we did. I used to be listening to Mel Robbin’s podcast about making this 12 months your finest 12 months but, (it is so good!) and one of many first issues she has you do is undergo your complete digicam roll. There have been SO many issues I forgot that occurred in 2024. Fantastic issues!!! To be sincere, on the finish of the 12 months, I had extra detrimental emotions about final 12 months as an entire, however after I look again—it was undeniably sprinkled with so many highs. DRENCHED even, that I felt like I needed to share a few of that right here in a short-ish abstract.
My takeaways: I am unable to journey as a lot in 2025 (I like residence an excessive amount of.) Nothing fuels me greater than challenge and an extended stroll (extra of that in 2025!) and the mundane days at residence, the place we’re internet hosting household, had been my favourite components of the entire 12 months. However here is the way it actually went:
January
January was a minimum of twice so long as the calendar says it was, and all of our happenings this month proved it. It began with that post-holiday vibe—my favourite vibe—the place something goes. Play ship in the lounge the place the ground is the ocean? Sure! Please try this! Bounce from sofa to ottoman. It’s the vacations! (Type of).
The vibe was not nearly as good after I landed within the ER, After which subsequently out and in of docs’ places of work for a couple of weeks. I used to be recognized with Celiac illness, regardless of being gluten-free for 10+ years, and CSID (a starch and sugar intolerance.) My intestines took successful however we spent nearly all of the month cleansing issues up and getting on some enzyme prescriptions, so I began feeling significantly better.
All of us went ice skating (as soon as I used to be lastly feeling higher!) And painted the again hallway doorways and trim, which sparked so many “the place’s the after?” feedback, I used to be straight up giddy. That truly may need healed me, tbh.
Sprinkled all through the month was all of the new child sweetness with my latest niece, Andi’s daughter Gigi. Life is so good together with her right here. (I created a candy moodboard for her nursery!)
February
February was jam-packed—there was one thing virtually each day! A couple of highlights embody: Launching our spring Loloi line in Las Vegas (and celebrating with Kenny G!). To not be upstaged by the celebrating I did with my bffs who flew in to help me. We by no means stopped speaking for 3 days (besides perhaps once we chilly plunged on the spa and will converse no phrases!).
Chris and I took my dad and mom to the UNC v. Duke recreation and it was exhilarating seeing my dad so ALIVE and glad and cheering!
To not be buried was the sensation of seeing our Pottery Barn Youngsters assortment in shops! It was unreal, after which I circled and so a lot of our staff members shocked me and got here to see it too! Dream staff. I am engaged on celebrating these huge milestones and they’re instructing me how.
After we lived in Idaho, February was simply the MIDDLE a part of winter, however right here in NC, we had a number of heat days already and I’m so grateful that we get to reside right here. Swimming and leaping on the trampoline all 12 months by no means will get previous. We did my niece Gigi’s nursery, which suggests I bought to snuggle her a number of instances every week and it nonetheless wasn’t sufficient. What’s higher than a new child?!
I’m a household woman and there wasn’t a gathering this month that didn’t find yourself with us enjoying @financial institution.gameapp. Like, we are able to’t cease. My sister, Patty came visiting and taught us. Her go to stuffed a gap that I didn’t know I used to be feeling—it was peak happiness. Come again, Patty!
We bought tile put in within the mudroom and it. modified. every part.
month (precise finest month ever??) wouldn’t be so with out my lengthy quiet walks with Cricket. We go miles and miles and miles collectively, and I swear it’s the place I get my power and concepts. I am dedicated to much more strolling in 2025, as a result of after I look again, these had been a few of my most peaceable instances this 12 months.
March
March felt gentle and enjoyable and I feel that it had so much to do with the climate getting hotter, however spirits had been lifted and I felt like my mind began working once more after its winter hibernation.
After a 12 months of fascinated by it, we lastly selected an exterior trim shade (and bought it accepted!). Perhaps my mind hasn’t been working longer than I believed.
We began the month on the Biltmore with our staff for a planning retreat and many visible eye sweet to feed us. I had absolutely the honor of going to see Olivia Rodrigo with my sister and daughter and niece and we sang our guts out.
We’ve got a objective to swim each month in our pool and our youngest two are at all times up for checking that bucket listing merchandise off. (Replace! We did it!) Chris heated up the pool for a pair weekends and it felt like summer time.
In March, Chris bought lasik eye surgical procedure. It was powerful for him throughout, although. He did it with out the prescribed valium (actually simply by no means picked it up), simply the numbing drops through the process, and the sheer panic! Earlier than, throughout, after. Solely remorse was not chilling out a bit beforehand.
Our Pottery Barn Youngsters assortment hit shops and I might cry (okay I’ve), the show is so lovely. We had a giant meet and greet to have a good time and it was an enormous spotlight.
And on the final day of March, we celebrated Easter and I marveled at how blessed I’m to be my women’ mother.
April
We kicked off the month styling our cabinets with one thing somewhat extra—uncommon, let’s assume?
We painted the outside trim Cromwell Grey, and it was the BEST resolution ever. Chris did a overview of his favourite scorching sauces and I examined steam mops (spoiler: the winner shocked me!). We launched our HouseWarming assortment with Lightwell, and candle-o-clock bought higher than ever.
We ended the month with a spring home tour that felt like a breath of recent air.
Might
The easiest Might. We took a visit to Bora Bora with our greatest buddies and Oak Island with our OTHER finest buddies. It was there that we skilled probably the most magical sundown of our lives. It saved getting increasingly vibrant.
Greta began highschool and we threw a giant dive-in film social gathering to have a good time (the primary of many). I bought to have a good time Mom’s Day with my mother simply ten minutes away, and we performed Ticket to Journey time and again… out of nowhere and it nonetheless hits.
We had an epic pool social gathering at night time with a brand new projector display. Chris made a cucumber crunch salad that had us all in love. The highs had been excessive and carried us by all of the lows.
June
We ended the month escaping to Lake Lure (our first time!) and it charmed us in all the very best methods. We kayaked and swam in a non-public lake for hours, we climbed to the highest of Chimney Rock, we loved temps under 100 for a couple of days. It was so arduous to see the city tragically disappear with the hurricane so shortly after.
We launched our peel and stick wallpaper line and travelled a LOT for work. Three journeys this month—to York, PA to offer last sign-off on all of the printed papers and tour the unbelievable York Wallpaper manufacturing facility. To Charleston to shoot with our @loloirugs fam. (So grateful we had been in a position to take our little ones with us on set) and to San Francisco to shoot our fall line with Pottery Barn Youngsters!) I finished in @vintagerugshop whereas within the space and it was by some means even higher in actual life.
We hosted Chris’s brother’s household from out of city and celebrated Father’s Day, in between all of it and I made a decision the Friday earlier than to set a desk for twenty-four.
July
The month kicked off with Summer time College: Residence Styling 101! I talked about my suggestions & methods for making entries, kitchens, bedrooms, and dwelling rooms really feel extra polished and like an expression of you. It was a giant challenge and partially fueled by Chris’s best-ever steak frites.
We put in a stair runner in our again stairwell (I gave that challenge a 6 out of 10 for the way I misplaced momentum after shopping for the flawed dimension rods). There was a household journey to the lake with our household and my sister who got here in from Idaho. After which a household journey to Idaho to see everybody we miss.
August
This August, every part sort of felt prefer it got here crashing down, however after I take a look at the highlights, I am unable to assist however be so grateful for each second. We celebrated Polly’s birthday, and we checked off over final summer time work journey to San Fran.
Rather a lot occurred on the outside this month: Our contractors put in copper gutters and so they may be the crowning jewel! The mudroom window was utterly remodeled right into a door (and it is turned out higher than I imagined).
With the tip of August, and the tip of summer time, I wrote a giant private replace about all the behind the scenes you did not see this summer time and the large lesson all of it taught me. It was a difficult time for me, however I am so glad to know the place I belong now.
September
I by no means wished September to finish. The start of the -Ber months holds a lot pleasure. We went on a household trip to Disney and Common Studios and walked 27 million steps a day, and we couldn’t get sufficient of it.
We began adorning for fall and settled right into a back-to-school routine and early bedtimes —thank goodness! I couldn’t sustain with summer time mattress instances! And asking two completely different individuals this month to take our household’s picture whereas we had been out needs to be some sort of document. At all times awkward within the second and at all times value it.
This month, we launched our collaboration with Poppy & Pout—it was so enjoyable for us to pair recipes with lip balm flavors!
October
October, it felt like every part modified. The leaves. The climate. My sleep schedule (for the more severe). Daily felt like 100 days and but, all of it went too quick.
We began the month exploring a new-to-us lake city with my dad and mom and fell in love with lake life over again. We launched our new Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Teen, and Pottery Barn Youngsters (with vacation!) collections AND Lola blankets and Loloi rug and pillow traces, and jumped over to Excessive Level marketplace for a meet and greet to have a good time. (Goodness, we’ve got the kindest, most lovely individuals on this neighborhood. I want I might hug you all each day.)
Chris’s dad and mom flew in for his birthday in the midst of the month and we soaked to each minute with them. Chris’s mother handed on her well-known roll recipe and that was a present that was untoppable.
We went to Pinehurst for the primary time with buddies and as a non-golfer myself, I used to be like, yeahhhhh what’s to not like about this? Sure! I might love a drink at halftime, thanks!
A dream of mine got here true this month: We launched The CLJ Store!! For over a 12 months, our staff has been engaged on this. We would like this to be an actual useful resource for something you wish to buy, in order that it takes a few of the overwhelm out of buying. All of those merchandise have our CLJ seal of approval. There might be extra to come back—just about new issues added each day—so examine again usually!!
On the finish of the month, we shocked the ladies with a enjoyable Halloween ornament for our home and ended the month enjoying the sport of Clue irl for Halloween as Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard. (1986 model).
November
I’ve mentioned it earlier than, and I’ll say it once more: our house is an autumn. The autumn residence exterior home tour was a lot enjoyable to movie—I feel it was my favourite tour but.
Talking of fall hues, I am nonetheless not over the brand new colorways of our CLJ x WallPops peel-and-stick ground tiles! I can’t wait to see these in your properties and see how you utilize them in your personal DIY tasks. Are you staff Jade or Oxblood? I attempted them out on the ground of our main lavatory, which is basically giving me some inspiration for our first huge challenge of 2025!
Yearly, my finest buddies and I get collectively for an extended weekend collectively, and this 12 months we met in Sedona. It was colder than all of us thought, but in addition much more lovely and utterly rejuvenating earlier than the hustle of the vacations actually kicked in.
I chatted about our (secret-revealed) sink pedal that has modified our kitchen recreation. It was so useful for Chris’s simple Thanksgiving menu. After which unexpectedly, it was Christmas round the home!
December
We celebrated our huge 12 months with our CLJ staff at The Bridge Membership with probably the most superb meals and much more unbelievable individuals. We labored so arduous this 12 months, we determined to let our whole staff have the month of December off, and it was actually nice to spend extra time targeted on residence, and fewer time targeted on operating a enterprise. We had lunch on the new Rooftop RH Restaurant and frolicked simply dreaming within the gallery.
My favourite moments have been at residence, in fact. Sitting by the fireplace, watching films as a household, wrapping items, and counting all the way down to Christmas with our women.
For Christmas, we shocked our women with a visit to Costa Rica! We rang within the new 12 months on the seashore, as a household, and it was my favourite household trip so far. We went zip-lining, and noticed so many monkeys and swam within the ocean and mirrored on the 12 months. I am so excited to share the plans with you! We’ve got so many superb concepts for 2025.
Supply: Mad About The Home
