2012 Review

I don't know about you, but for me 2012 has been a great year.  Amidst the usual work days, hours in the classroom, birthdays and outings with friends and family, play time and snuggle time with Duchess (my kitty), and goofing around with Frank (my wonderful boyfriend), there are been some events that have stood out and some projects completed that I hope to tell you more about soon.  So here's a little review of things I've done in 2012. *Stared items are things I hope to devote a whole post to in the future.

Brought in the New Year in Las Vegas with friends. No real big wins, but lots of fun, lots of love, and we came up on some fancy New Year hats!

Took a perspective class and applied my rendering skills to my Commercial 1 project, a bluegrass music inspired restaurant, which I named Plain Spoken.

Turned another year older and got this (below) in the mail from my sister shortly after. Made my day! I love my family!

Got this hand made card from my loving sister, Emily.

My Plain Spoken presentation boards where chosen to be displayed in the school's "Hall of Fame" as examples. *I'd love to do a post on my restaurant design, especially with the popularity of the Pinterest board I made to collect my ideas for the project. Everyone seems to love mason jars and reclaimed wood.

Advanced my Photoshop skills and learned important Building Codes including how to make a space ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant for the elderly and disabled.

Went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego with my mom and Frank. We missed my favorite, the gorillas!, but got to see many other cuddly (not exactly) creatures.

Made an upholstered headboard for my bedroom.*

Hung Ikea shelves in my home office to display school projects. *I hope to show you more of my office as I pull it together. It's kind of become the catch-all room, but I plan to spruce it up soon.

Headed back to Las Vegas for Frank's Birthday. This time I got to see the beautiful Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan... talk about amazing interior design!

Didn't forget to stop and pick up some alien beef jerky on the way home!

Spent the 4th of July relaxing on the beach then watching friends shoot off fireworks.

Had a strangely jarring dream about a friends pregnancy about a month and a half before she was due. Woke up and said a prayer. Two days later Isabella was born by emergency C-section. Crazy right!?

Celebration x3 on one August day!  Went to 2 baby showers, and a housewarming/engagement party for my wonderful friends.  Marveled at the bride-to-be's beautifully decorated LA rental. *Maybe one day she'll let me take more photos so I can so you what an amazing job she did.

Isn't her place beautiful!? Modern, chic and cozy. Love it!

Repainted dad's carved wooden pheasant that greats you as you come down his driveway.

Happy Dad

Took Frank's sons and their friends to a Padres game. Although crazy traffic made us almost an hour late, our seats were right behind home plate and the boys got themselves on the big screen making the trip a great success!

Began transforming mom's TV room. First step, reorganization of office supplies into the closet where it could be hidden away. Next, hung a gallery wall of mom's art. Bought an Ikea Ektorp sofa and filing cabinet on Craigslist... I love Craigslist! Stenciled an Ikea curtain panel (got a few more to go). Then bought pillows. *This whole process and final before and after photos coming soon!

Took a few West Coast Swing dance lessons with Frank. Unfortunately I don't have any photos.  :(

Began this blogging adventure!  This has been a super inspiring and motivating new addition to my life, so thank you blogland and thank you readers!

Practiced applying barrier free design and learned about the planning process in a Spaceplanning class. Many bubble diagrams later, I laid out 3 plans: one for a small attorny's office, another for a a real estate office, and one for a large marketing firm.

...Duchess helped.  We also took a field trip to Systems Source in Irvine to check out the many office layout options in the Knoll systems furniture line.

Learned about the assembly of a structure, laughed at silly construction jokes, and saw my teacher in Halloween costume in a Construction Principles class.

Added a little seasonal flare to the apartment with fall decorations.

Made a quick DIY fairy costume for Frank so that we could be the cutest fairy couple in town for Halloween.

I put together a design for Melissa's modern enchanted bedroom. I also found a night stand (craigslist again!), which Melissa transformed with a little paint and hardware.

Participated ASID's Real World Design Week (RWDW) at Cosentino, "the world's leading producer of Silestone quartz surfaces." Not only do they care their Silestone quartz products, but they also have all sorts of beautiful granite, marble, sustainable ECO products.*

Then, continuing the RWDW, we toured the fabulous Fixtures Living store in Costa Mesa, which has the most beautiful installations of stone surfaces, fixtures, and appliances. They even give you free coffee or smoothies when you enter!*

Had non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Dad's. Even made cute little menus for the event!

Began DIYing like mad and switched out fall decor for white, silver, and gold accessories to create a Fancy Feather Christmas in my apartment.

Made ottomans out of Lack side tables from Ikea to give mom for Christmas for her TV room.

Celebrated the holidays with family and friends.

My amazing family!

I gave each of my family members a cute little gold elephant, which I made
by spray painting an inexpensive plastic toy with a little Rustoleum

So a year that began with lots of love, was filled with lots of love, and ended with lots of love. And I can't wait for God to provide more of the same next year!

Wishing you all the best in 2013