10,000(!) and month in review

Hey all! First of all, before I say anything else – I need to say a huge THANKS and a WHOOHOO!

Tonight I hit 10,000 followers:

I had to take a screenshot, just to remember that milestone! (I really, really hate that “followers” term by the way.)

But it’s pretty cool to hit five digits. I now have 10,000 of you Squeezies! Squeezays. Squishes. :)

Crazy!!

Anyway, I want to try to bring back the month in review I started doing last year. It’s been a while since I did  recap of the month and it’s kind of fun (for me anyway, you may be snoring already) to see what I accomplished around these parts every month. (I link to each one if you want to check it out.)

The start of this month was an especially special one. We became debt free (except the house) for the first time in our adult lives!!

It’s still so surreal. I find myself thinking about a bill and it hits me -- and I’m grinning from ear to ear. :) We haven’t called in to Dave Ramsey’s show yet – we’d like to take a trip down to Nashville instead. I’ll let you know what we end up doing!

And I’m SO SO excited about an idea that Dave’s peeps have been helping me out with. I hope to announce it in the next couple of weeks.

Next up this month, I took an unused spot in our loft and turned it into functional (and cute!) storage wall:

At the February Before and After Party, I showed you how I took a $5 Goodwill pitcher and transformed it with spray paint:

Can you believe there were 499 posts linked up? Wowza! How cool is that?

Since we’ve become debt free, we are now researching our first “cash” furniture purchase in a long, long time. I’m so excited about a new sofa, I can barely stand it:

There was a great response to that post – I’m pulling all the info you shared together and will do a recap post soon. Lots of great info!

I worked with the folks at My Design Guide to provide my readers an affordable online consultation resource:

I’m not able to do these anymore, so I was thrilled that they were able to help me and my readers out!

My friend Beki shared the love with a fantastic giveaway over at The Rusted Chain:

And then one thing led to another when I took down the drapes in our living room and the transformation started:

When the ice storm of the century hit (that’s what I’m calling it anyway), and we couldn’t leave the house for days, I passed some time by decluttering a linen closet:

You won’t believe how much STUFF was in there. (Many of you asked about the light I used, and a very helpful reader put a link in the comments!)

Next, I showed you a total project FAIL – my beautiful painted pitcher didn’t hold up well, in more ways than one:

Boo. I found a pretty and affordable replacement though. :)

At the Organize It shindig, I showed you how I’ve been using Ziploc bags to organize games and puzzles:

LOVE those things. I used more of them in the basement today! (Check out the nearly 300 links at that party too.)

And finally, this week I shared how I use photos as art throughout our house:

Of course, I’m so thankful to all of my wonderful advertisers…over there to the left. :)

Whew! What a month! Thanks so much for coming along for the ride -- can’t wait for a great March!

Have a wonderful weekend!