Twelve Goals in 2012: Final Tally

The year is nearly complete (which most certainly blows my mind), so I am due to check in on how my 2012 goals turned out.  In summary,  I'd say I had about a 79% success rate.  Not too shabby.  Read on for the full rundown.


1. Start a blog series. 
I totes did that...several times.  Successful series include Try This, A Fabric & A Font, Tipsy Tuesday, Tried That, and Catharsis for the Conspicuous Consumer.  I even had mini-series dedicated to my essential DIY supplies, sorbet + booze, a Merry Modern Christmas, and my dream workspace.  Sadly, I gave up on my Fabric, Paper, Glue series.  Perhaps one day it will make a comeback.  My mind works in a very organized and regimented way, so series help to keep my blog within an orderly framework.  It keeps me happy and focused.

2. [Figure out how to] Take better photos. 
If you compare where I was with my project shots in 2011 with where I got in 2012, I think you'd say that I did this one hands-down, but I still have a ways to go.  In fact, I've already signed up for a 4-week tabletop photography class in the new year.  Right now, I'm working with a great Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1, and despite shedding myself of my DSLR a couple of years ago, I'm thinking hard about giving it another shot.

3. Revamp my bathroom. 
Check.
Now, it's worlds more practical from a storage standpoint, and I did it on the cheap.  Win and win.

4. Save for a new kitchen countertop. 
Not so much.  Perhaps an un-budgeted trip to Japan and the acquisition of two MacBooks in 4 months time might have had something to do with that.  But I have high hopes for making this happen early in 2013.

5. Try more new, different, and original projects. 
This is sort of a squishy goal.  I mean, I feel fairly confident saying that I totally did this.  When I set this goal, I think I was imagining posting more original tutorials (see #6), and I more than exceeded my own expectations on that front.

6. Post at least one tutorial a month. 
Wowzas.  By my count, I completed something stupid like 60 tutorials this year.  That's an average of  5 per month and over 1 per week.  Um, wow.  Where did I find the time to do that?

7. Keep the clutter to a minimum. 
The utter failure on this one might just offset the wild success on the previous one.  I mean, there were ebbs and flows, and I think I'm ending up in a good, less cluttered place for the year, but on average, our condo was probably more cluttered over the course of 2012 than in 2011.  I say blame it on #6.

8. Leave my xacto knife laying around on the floor less [and therefore stay married longer]. 
Despite #6, I totally did this!  Michael even affirmed this.

9. [Make up my mind already and] Choose a new coffee table. 
Check.  Our choice has worked out quite nicely, and I'd highly recommend it to others in the market for an affordable, innocuous-but-not-completely-devoid-of-personality, surprisingly-well-built coffee table.

10. Follow through on all the tiny little projects I've had on my list for months, maybe years [like changing the screws on my undercabinet lights] [but for the sake of my readers, do not blog about this]. 
I changed the screws on my undercabinet lights, but I'm not sure I've done any of the other projects on that list.  I can't even remember what they are anymore.

11. Throw more parties [woot woot]. 
We threw two -- Breakfast for Dinner and the 2nd Annual A Very Boozy Christmas.  That's probably about as many as we can fit into a year.

 12. Comment more on others' blogs.
Hmmm.  I guess I'm still working on this.  Since the operative word in this goal is "more," I can probably say that I accomplished it since I am technically commenting more now than I was in 2012.  But still probably not as much as I want.


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If you've ever given one of my tutorials or cocktails a try or you've just been inspired by something you've seen here on Fabric Paper Glue, be sure to share a photo. I'd love to feature it!