I've been a little depressed about my house lately. It's still undergoing major transformations, and I haven't been particularly good about keeping some rooms off-limits from the insanity. It's one of those things I know I am supposed to do, but I get too excited and jump in anyway and pretty soon the whole house is a construction zone.

So, I was feeling all sorry for myself recently about living in shambles, when I came down the hallway and saw my bed, looking nice but kind of blah and I just got inspired. I rooted around my fabric collection and found this pretty floral I'd been saving and made these ruffled shams using my pillow cover tutorial.

Even better, while I was digging through boxes looking for the fabric, I found this cute embroidered pillow cover I bought on eBay, like, ten years ago. I had forgotten it even existed! Even better, I just happened to have the right size pillow to go in it! Voila! Instant bed refresh.

So now it's much prettier, and when I saw it today I thought, you know, I have a lot to be thankful for, and my bed is one of those things. It's not perfect or anything, but it has a certain charm and it makes me happy. And I need to remember that.

What about you? What about your home makes me happy?

I've got dream houses on the brain. You know what I mean? It's winter, it's dreary, and I'm daydreaming about cute cottages with picket fences.

This is my old house. It didn't look like that when I bought it--it was beige and blah and the yard was weeds and there wasn't a fence. I finished it fixing it up and then we moved. I miss it sometimes. Not all of it, there were things I definitely didn't love, but I do miss the cute yellow front and the picket fence. And the flowers. I love flowers.

Someday I'd like to have a cute yellow house with a picket fence again. I'd love it to be on some property, but I'd settle for a really big yard. I'm not too particular. I just know that I want it to be in a pretty setting (or one with potential) and have charm (or potential). And it will definitely have a picket fence, whether it's there or I put it in.

A yellow or cream cottage with white trim, a picket fence, shutters and window boxes with a brick pathway and pink roses. That's what I want.

What about your dream house? What do you want?

Well, folks, 2009 has been quite a ride. I've been through a lot and I'm sure all of you have, too. But somehow, even though the individual moments haven't all be that fun, in the end, I am amazed at how positive the year has been. I've grown, my family has grown, and I'm in a much better place personally than I was a year ago. And of course, I have to mention my new daughter just one last time.

I have high hopes for 2010. I hope that I have just as much growth but maybe without all the bumps and bruises along the way. I hope that with the new focus and clarity I've gotten, that I'll accomplish great things this year. I hope that the next few months will be a total game-changer for me, that my life will be fundamentally different with what I can strive to achieve on the foundation of last year.

And I hope all of these things for you, too.

I hope that, on reflection, this last year has been a good one, and that you have a happy, healthy new year that holds all you wish it to.

My very best,

I have so much to be thankful for this season. I have a brand new baby girl, a great son, a loving husband and a nice place to live in. I have my health. I have things to be excited about.

And, as always, I am so thankful for you!! Your support as I have evolved and changed over the last three years while blogging has been invaluable. I can't thank you enough, but I can at least offer this Thanksgiving wish:

To all of you: I sincerely wish for your Thanksgiving holiday is as lovely and filled with joy as you could possibly hope for. I wish for you to find, even if only for a moment, some things to be truly thankful for. I wish for those little things, even the most little, to touch you and fill you with hope for the future.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Admittedly it's a teeny bit early for Halloween wishes, but I'm going to be busy with brand-new baby girl for the next few days and I wanted to make sure I had the chance to send some Halloween love your way.

I'll be back next week, but in the meantime if you're looking for the instructions for the Boo garland (with letter templates), spiderweb chandelier shades or the pumpkin carving ideas I've posted in the last couple of years, I've put them all on a Halloween Ideas page so they will always be accessible.

Hope you have a fun and safe holiday.

Happy Halloween!