Christmas Recap & Getting Ready for 2018

Hello friends! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas yesterday!  James woke up at about 6am, but Jordan was still sleeping, so we waited for her and when she was still sleeping at almost 7:30, we went in and woke her up too.  I can’t believe James held out for so long, but we wanted to experience the morning together! I love seeing the kids’ faces light up when they see that Santa came- it’s so full of sheer joy and delight!  Jordan saw her big zebra and kept calling it a cow!  James is the sweetest little boy and just so thankful for everything!

Christmas morning

On Christmas Eve, we always go to my SIL’s house in our pajamas and it’s an all out showdown to see who will be the Battle Christmas Cookie Champion.  The competition is fierce, and the best cookie wins.

Christmas PJs

Battle Christmas Cookie

Santa Tracking was in full effect!

Santa Tracker

When we got home, we left out our special Santa key (James was sure to request that we didn’t put on the house alarm- couldn’t believe he thought of that!), left reindeer food on the lawn, and cookies for santa and carrots for reindeer, along with a note to Santa for Donner to share his carrots with Blixen and Rudolf since we didn’t have enough for everyone!

Cookies for Santa

Then, just like my Dad did for me, we read the story of Jesus birth before going to sleep.  Happy Birthday Jesus!

My First Christmas Story

The photos I snapped of the kids made their way onto our Christmas cards this year.  We chose Minted cards and even got our holiday stamps there! #convenient!  If I would’ve had my act together, I would have sent Minted a spreadsheet of addresses so they could’ve arrived to me already addressed! Next year for sure!

Minted Christmas cards

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2018

And now the countdown to 2018 begins!  I’m already itching for the new year and have started thinking about goals and productivity and organization – all things I’m passionate about!

When I first started my blog almost 8 years ago, James had just been born and we were building our home.  Naturally, the focus of the blog was the new baby and decorating our new house- both so exciting!  I did a monthly blog post recapping every one of James’ milestones until he was 2!  And I shared every design dilemma and decision and project as we decorated our home.  Fashion, organization and fitness also became a recurring theme and I enjoyed mixing up the content, creating collages, and getting your feedback along the way.

Over the last few years, we completed most of the big decor projects in our house and you can see them all in my Decor tab.  I’m so happy and feel complete with most of the areas of the home, although there are still a few things I’d like to focus on in the new year, and I’ll elaborate on those when I recap the decor/organization next week.

With less decorating to be done, my blog has become more fashion focused and I’ve been excited to hear from so many of you that have reached out to tell me those detailed posts are helpful. I really appreciate that because I do put so much time, effort and energy into making them good for you!  It’s especially meaningful when someone tells me they are also petite and have found my fit tips useful!  #shortiesunite! 

The style posts aren’t going anywhere, and in fact, I plan to include more beauty posts this year, along with recurring fitness and food posts.

I’m also feeling led to share more of my knack for productivity, getting things done, and looking inward and taking care of our whole selves.  What I mean by that is looking inward and developing ourselves to be the most at peace and best people we can be- both to ourselves and others.  I’m still brainstorming ideas for this category and I think the best way to do it is throughout the year in a series of several posts.

I’ve always wanted to live a passionate life that I feel good about and live life to the fullest – but I need to dig deeper to find out what that really means to me.  I need to have courage to live that kind of life.  The good thing about entering your 40s is that you start to trust yourself more and rely less on what other people think.  There’s a lot of comfort in that!

I hope you are excited to be part of this journey in 2018!

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2017

I always like to take the time for self reflection and since Day 1 – my blog has been a sort of an online journal for me.  Whatever is happening in my life, you’re likely to see reflected in my blog (with respect to people’s privacy, of course)!   This week, I’ll be looking back through 2017 and seeing what your favorite posts were and what seemed to resonate most with you.

A look through my Google Analytics showed that the following posts were viewed the most:

  1. A Day in the Life of a Lifestyle Blogger
  2. Body After Baby – 1 Year Later
  3. Spring Home Tour
  4. Nordstrom Anniversary Sale – Dressing Room Part 1
  5. Holiday Home Tour
  6. Eyebrow Microblading Results
  7. Jordan’s First Birthday Party – A Garden Party
  8. Swimsuit Try On
  9. How To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
  10. In the Dressing Room

And would you be surprised to know that My Eat Clean Meals and Bikini Contest Meal Plan are my most popular posts of all time?!  I think it’s partly because they’ve been on my site for so long and because they’ve been pinned and repinned a bunch.

When I look back at this list, it confirms that a variety of lifestyle content is appreciated here.  I’d love to hear what you’d like to see more of in 2018!

Click the title of the post to read!

A Day in the Life of a Lifestyle Blogger

The voyeur in me loves both reading and writing these kinds of posts that are a peek into someone’s ordinary, daily life!  I feel extremely blessed that I get to blog each day and be home with my kids more, but honestly, it’s a lot of work and if I didn’t have my Mom here to act as a nanny for Jordan, I wouldn’t be able to get anything done!  All of the work that goes into blogging and keeping up with social media takes an insane amount of time and sometimes I just have to say, “I’ve done all I can do today.” and be done with it.  And ‘lifestyle blogging’ in particular is a job that’s never really ‘done’ so it can be a challenge to turn it off for the day.

day in the life lifestyle blogger

Body After Baby – 1 Year Later

This personal post gave an honest account of my experience with my body post-pregnancy. I have to say that YOU guys blew me away with your support on this post.  Many of you could relate to what I described and let me know how you’ve struggled with your own insecurities.

The truth is, after two pregnancies, I have lost the baby weight, but I still have loose skin and I’m not 100% happy with my body.  I feel self conscious in a bikini.  BUT, the important thing is that I don’t dwell on it and I don’t let it get me down.  I do the best with what I’ve been given and try to be happy and healthy on the inside and out.  And spray tan helps for those bathing suit days! 😉

Spring Home Tour

I teamed up with several friends to give you a look into our home last Spring and one of the biggest changes was this round, marble table from Restoration Hardware.  I was worried the 60 inch table would be too tight for the space, but I really wanted that size.  Turns out, we love it and it fits fine!  You can read more about the table here and the updated chairs here.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale – Dressing Room Part 1 

Turns out y’all are as passionate about the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale as I was!  We all love a good deal and this sale is the biggest of the year, aside from the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales!  You might be surprised to learn that this Anniversary Sale post is the biggest challenge writing wise because you have to stay up until 2 am when the sale goes live to link everything, which takes forever!  I think I went to bed around 11, set my alarm for 2am, then didn’t get my post published until 5am!  I was a wreck the next day!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2017

Holiday Home Tour

I love decorating our house for the holidays!  I’m a recent convert to starting decorating before Thanksgiving because I’m a slow decorator and I like to enjoy it for as long as possible!

Christmas Home Tour - Dining Room -Honey We're Home 11

Eyebrow Microblading Results

Oh my gosh, WHYYYY didn’t I do this sooner?!?! It’s not all that expensive and doesn’t really hurt! But, the results are amazing!  My new brows definitely took a few days to get used to (I was afraid I’d made a big mistake at first), but now I’m so happy with them.  It’s been about 8 months since I got them done, and I’ll probably go back at the one year mark to get them touched up.  I’ll do an updated post for you soon, so you can see what they look like now!

Jordan’s First Birthday Party – A Garden Party

What a big milestone a first birthday party is!  I planned a pretty little garden party to celebrate Jordan turning one and I loved how it turned out!  I also did a detailed post on how to plan a garden party if you’re interested- they make great bridal showers or baby showers too!   I’m excited to co-host a baby shower here in a couple months for my SIL!

Swimsuit Try On

No wonder this post was popular- it’s easier for someone else to do the dirty work!  I tried on so many great options for you, bikinis and one-pieces and gave you the fit and quality review.  In Houston, we spend a lot of time at the pool, so I’m actually looking forward to doing another swimsuit review in early Spring!  But for now, we’re quite content with our snuggly sweater weather!

How To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

When you combine my cutie-pie hubby with a weight-loss post, you get lots of interest.  Just wait until he hears that one of the posts he contributed to was among the Top 10 for the year!  I’m never gonna hear the end of it!  😉

his and hers- how to avoid holiday weight gain

In the Dressing Room

My Dressing Room posts were among the most popular posts, the Cyber Monday Edition, being the most popular of the year.  These are my real-life fit and review posts where I show you the latest things and offer tips for how to wear them.  If you’re new here, I do Dressing Room posts every few weeks, usually on Fridays.

Holiday sweater and jeans

TOP BLOG REFERRERS

If you’ve spread the word about Honey We’re Home, thank you so much!  If you’ve ever wonder how to grow your own blog, you cannot underestimate the value in networking, consistently providing valuable content, and good ‘ole Google and Pinterest.  Those two sites were the biggest referrers of readers to my blog, but I also want to mention my friends who’ve sent their own awesome readers my way.  Huge hugs to you for spreading the love!

Caycee

Stefanie 

Courtney 

Jen

Cassie

Natalie

Sherry

Pam

Natasha

Natasha

THANK YOU!

I saved the best for last, which is YOU!  Without your support and readership over the years, it would still just be me reading this blog to myself!  Even my mom doesn’t read- but Grandma does!! 😉  I sincerely thank you for choosing to spend part of your day here with me.  I don’t take it for granted and it’s always my intention to leave you uplifted, encouraged and energized!

AFTER CHRISTMAS SALES

And if you happen to be sitting at home in your pajamas today (like we are!) you might want to take advantage of these after Christmas sales from the comfort of your couch!

NORDSTROM • Half Yearly Sale! Up to 50% off! Hunter Boots are 25% off, get this cozy pullover before it sells out, and this cardigan!

LOFT • 50% off everything

ANTHROPOLOGIE • Extra 30% sale items

EXPRESS • 50% off everything!

GAP • 40% Off your purchase online + Extra 20% off

JCREW • 30% Off

OLD NAVY • 30% off everything!

_______ 

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

22 Comments

  1. Please keep on blogging about kids (eats, outfits, potty training and everything inbetween). I have a 3 y/o boy almost 3 month old girl. When it was time for my son to move to his big boy bed and remembered a post about the rail and bed you bought your son. We ended up w/ the same PB teen bed and side rail attachment with mesh For him. I totally refer to so many of your kid posts!! Thanks for sharing and keep on rocking in 2018!!

    1. Thank you so much for letting me know! Jordan is almost two and we’ll be potty training in the future and going from that crib to big girl bed transition. It helps so much to hear from other moms! Wishing you the best 2018!

  2. Hi Megan! Unfortunately, Im back to work today — Year end fun in HR! I LOVE your fashion posts and I would love more beauty posts, but this is what I really need to work on:

    “I’m also feeling led to share more of my knack for productivity, getting things done, and looking inward and taking care of our whole selves.?

    I long to be more organized and since my boys are now 8 and 5, I feel like its a good time to start thinking more about me and my whole self!! Look forward to seeing your posts!! 🙂

    1. My brother and family are back to work too- bummer the day after Christmas when Christmas is on a Monday! I’m so glad to hear you are interested in those topics! I’m gonna start soon with the productivity and hopefully a new beauty post in January too! I’d love to hear your feedback! Here’s to an amazing 2018!

  3. So glad you and the family had a great Christmas. The kids are at a really fun age! Looking forward to the New Year. I love the variety of things you post, but love your new ideas!! Looking forward to reading in the future.

    1. Thanks so much Lauren! We were looking back at videos of James when he was 2 at Christmas and it’s so wild to see! He’s always been such a sweetie! I’m excited for some new content in 2018! Let me know what you think! Wishing you and your beautiful family a wonderful new year!

  4. I found you because of your organizing posts and always appreciate those! Would love to have you dive into productivity as well. I’ll be transitioning from the corporate world to a stay at home mom in January with the birth of my first child so I like to see when you mention tidbits around that. And I can definitely tell you put a lot of time and effort into your outfit posts. Unfortunately we have opposite body shapes so I don’t spend a ton of time reading those but I do like to click through the accessories! Happy New Year!!

    1. That’s a big change- so exciting! I ended up leaving my corporate job a few months when James was about 6 months old and it’s a transition! Baby will still sleep a lot at the beginning and before they’re mobile, you’ll still have some freedom! We’d usually do one outing per day just to get outside and I remember Starbuck’s and Target and taking walks in the stroller were what we did most!

  5. I’m 5 foot tall and love your fashion posts with sizing and alteration comments. In the last year I think all of my clothing (shoes and accessories!) has come from your recommendations. I love reading all of your post from fitness, meal prep, all things kids, decorating, etc. Such a beautiful blog (and instagram feed).

  6. I love love love your blog! I think a big part of that is all the variety you put in your posts. I love the decor, organization, styling outfits and fashion and I still refer to your fitness and meal prep posts ALL the time! I was nervous when I read the beginning of this post that you were going to say you were stepping back from blogging. So happy to read you are continuing to evolve! 🙂
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your adorable family!

  7. Hi Megan, I really enjoy your transparency and IG stories. I also enjoy reading your fashion posts since I’m petite as well. You have a beautiful family and I love hearing all about James and Jordan. I wish you a happy and blessed 2018.

  8. I am really looking forward to the productivity/getting things done posts you have in store!! Organization/productivity and décor are my absolute favorite. But I will still read anything you blog about 🙂

  9. I like your blog because you cover many different topics. Your down to earth attitude is so appreciated,I feel like you are talking to me personally.

  10. Hi, New to the blog. I’ve had a lot of catching up to do. Love it ALL! Beautiful home, kids, great advice. I’m right there with you at 42 and body did what?? !! OMGosh, thank you for calling THAT out. Fitness and clean eating and as sugar free as possible IS my new life (sugar gene here). Soooo many bloggers for clothing, etc are in their 30s and complain about being old. THANK You for keeping it real for me !

    ~ New Fan/Follower in Georgetown, Tx

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