2014 in Review

2014 has been quite a year for me personally! Most of my year has revolved around this little man.

The first half of the year dealing with pregnancy and the second half taking care of a newborn. This child, while delightful, has not been the easiest child, so the quantity of posts on my blog has waned this year, but we are about quality, not quantity, right? And there was still some plenty of insanity going on around here.

The biggest posts this year, were actually from other years. Can you guess my new biggest post of all time?

My FROZEN party was posted last December, so it hadn’t even had a chance to crack the Top 10 when I wrote 2013 in review. Now it has been pinned and viewed more than any other post on my site. We all knew the new Disney movie would be a hit, but who knew it would be a phenomenon? For those of you who cannot get enough of all things Frozen, I am planning on posting printables from this party later this month. Check back soon!

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Trying to calculate the Top 14 of 2014 posts of the year was a bit confusing and complicated considering all of the factors. So I am going to share with you my favorite posts–because I think you may have missed some of them, and that makes me sad.

#14 – Testing Week Printables

These can be used for lots of occasions and I’m all about spreading positivity these days, so print some out and share the love!

#13 – Golden Geometric Christmas Tree

I spent hours and hours making the ornaments for this tree and then hours and hours trying to figure out how to photograph it to do it justice. Still not sure I accomplished that–it is even prettier in person. Somehow after all of those hours, I couldn’t find the hours to blog about each of the DIY ornaments we created. So watch for those posts early in the holiday season 2015!

#12 – A Very Scooby Halloween

I’m not sure we will ever out-grow our Halloween tradition of dressing up as a family. Though our individual costumes were pretty simple this time, I loved how our Scooby Doo theme came together.

#11 – Jungle Book Party 

Just the Bare Necessities and some wild food and fun in our Jungle Book Party. Recipes and ideas your might want to borrow for any tropical-themed event.

#10 – FROZEN Birthday Party

My sister shared the pictures from her daughter’s Frozen party. This is actually my most pinned post from this year, thanks in-part to this simple, but beautiful cake she created for the event. Check out the post for more Frozen ideas!

#9 – Dip-dyed Easter

I loved how all of the details of my dip-dyed Easter came together, from our outfits to the napkins and place cards, and, of course, the eggs.

#8 – Hostess Holiday Treats

I may have had a little too much fun playing with my food for this post. Check out the post to see close-ups of the “Twinkie-bread men,” “Ding-Dongs Merrily On High” “Ho-Ho Ho Mini Yule Logs” and our “Sno-ball Christmas Tree”.

#7 – About to Pop on TV

I was super-excited to be asked to appear on a local TV show this year! A little less-excited that I was enormously pregnant (and out of breath) during the appearance. Still it was a great experience and an excuse to update and share my popular “She’s About to Pop” Baby Shower printables from several years ago. The original post was my most popular for several years. Click for printables and/or to see me big and pregnant on TV!

#6 – Earth Day Birthday

So maybe not everyone has a birthday on Earth Day, but you will want to celebrate Earth Day now with these Eco-chic ideas. I love how pretty all of the recycled trash ends up looking as party decor!

#5 – Nerdy Valentines

Here is a smart idea for a unique Valentine to take to school this year. Our nerdy photo-Valentines were a big hit!

#4 – Super Superhero Birthday

Considering how pregnant I was when we had my son’s 4 year-old birthday party, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. Highlights include and easy cityscape cake and a giant newspaper about my super-boy!

#3 – Fancy Easter Basket

My Fancy Nancy-inspired Easter Basket post was actually the most visited post of this year. It includes a printable poem from the Easter bunny about the real meaning of Easter that could go in any Easter basket.

#2 – Neon Glowing Laser Tag Party

My oldest son’s laser tag post is one of my favorites. Even though the night didn’t go exactly as planned, the boys had a blast playing laser tag and I loved decorating with cool glow-in-the-dark details.

And now my pick for favorite post of the year….

drumroll…

#1 – Comfort Food Dinner Party

This is actually my most recent post, so it hasn’t had a chance to make big waves yet. I love it when an idea I have in my head comes to life the way I envision it. My outdoor comfort food dinner party has all of the warmth and magic I was hoping for, with out a ton of work or expense.

And there you have it! There were several great parties that happened in 2014 (and earlier) that still have yet to be blogged. I am really hoping to get those caught up in 2015, or as soon as I learn to blog one-handed.

Did your favorites make the list? Had you seen all of these posts along the way? What is the best way to notify you of new posts? Facebook doesn’t always let you know, unless you interact with my Facebook page often. Would you prefer if I had a subscribe option that notified you by email? What social media tools do you use most? I’d love to know how best to keep in touch with you in the coming year. Thank you for your continued support!