It’s official, I’m another year older and hopefully wiser! Last year, I started a new tradition of having a giveaway on my birthday. It’s the perfect time for me to stop and appreciate how much joy you guys bring me every day when you take your time to read Polished Habitat. When you comment to let me know I’ve inspired you to do something to decorate or organize your house in a way that makes you happier, I’m just as excited as when I finish a project in my own home!
Before we get to the giveaway, I thought it would be fun to look back on some of the unexpected stuff that happened since my last birthday. Like that time Nate Berkus liked my photo on Instagram!
On a non-blogging note, Food Network came through Tulsa with the Great Food Truck Race. The contestants had all their social media taken away as part of the challenge, so it was tricky to find them, but we tracked them down! When we were standing in line, we had to sign a film release, and sure enough, if you pay attention, you can totally see us in the episode. It was HOT HOT HOT that day, but it was so fun to hunt down the trucks AND to have at little insider info of who was going to make it to the final three since that was the episode they were filming.
We also went to NYC for a pretty amazing trip. Angela from Blue i Style and I schemed up the idea of going to attend an HGTV event and a buyer’s market for home decor brands. Since we both love New York and don’t get to go as much as we’d like, we decided to extend the trip by having our husbands come with us the first few days as a vacation. I’ve got to say, it was one of our best ideas ever.
The trip was like a wonderful dream as we popped from delicious restaurants to Broadway to museums to parks. We laughed at Something Rotten, cried at Ground Zero, had our minds blown at Hamilton and agreed none of us had a deep appreciation for the “art” of Yoko Ono at MOMA. Somehow we achieved the perfect balance of having things pre-planned to maximize experiences, while leaving room to be easy-going and not rushed. You’d be shocked what you can cover in four day/three nights!
On Monday, we sent the boys home and our adventure kept getting better. We attended an event put on by HGTV and listened to Genevieve Gorder’s predictions for 2016 design trends. She’s tall!
From there, we went to a pre-opening party at the first World Market in Manhattan. They had Kelly Osbourne as a guest and she was super-sweet and genuine. We found ourselves asking if this was our real life! We spent the next day at a convention center looking at tons of new home decor products. The large Jonathan Adler booth was our favorite. Everything was so modern and glam.
Which is the perfect segway to highlight the ways our home has changed over the year! I’ve really tried to focus on planning out rooms one at a time and it’s paying off. I’m beyond excited to see what we are able to tackle in the next year! Here’s the highlights from this year.
The master closet was the biggest project by far and showed me what we could accomplish. Check out the before and after!
A MUCH smaller project was our tiny entryway from the garage. It was one of the many beige on beige spaces in the house and served no real function. Some paint and organization later, it has an entire new look and feel. I haven’t had to look for my purse or coat or keys because they all have a home now. It’s wonderful!
The last room we tackled this year was the master bedroom. I LOVE waking up here, especially stepping out of bed onto the warm fuzzy rug! This one doesn’t even look like the same room!
Whew, if you throw in lots of University of Tulsa football and basketball games, that covers the most memorable events from the last year! Now it’s time for that giveaway I promised.
I couldn’t pick just one thing to giveaway, so I thought it would be fun to make it totally personalized to the winner. SO…the winner gets to pick out what they would like to win!
$100 Gift Card to Any of the Stores Below
(or mix and match in $25 increments to get to $100 total)
Sephora
Ulta
Starbucks
West Elm
Spa Finder (Works at Spas Nationwide)
Lowe’s
Anthropologie
Hobby Lobby
Bath & Body Works
Home Goods
Thanks so much for helping my my year wonderful!
Sarah Vogel says
Your work AND your life are amazing….it’s ridiculous!!! I’m in awe of how much you did and accomplished…. how many more blessings can you handle??!! It will be hard to top this past year, but I am praying that this coming year ahead will be even more incredible for you!!! Happy Birthday, Melissa!!!
Melissa George says
Thank you so much, sweet friend!
Tina says
You’ve done some great projects and had some wonderful experiences this past year!! Annnnnd our master bedroom ironed out amazing.
Stacey says
Happy Birthday Melissa!! I agree, you’ve accomplished so much and your blog is rocking right along. 🙂
Are you going to go to Haven this year?
Melissa George says
Thank you! I’m sadly skipping Haven this year. I’ve been the last two years, so it is going to be such a bummer to see everyone’s photos!
Sara says
Happy, happy birthday to the most inspirational person I’ve (never) known. 😉 Seriously… Hope this birthday is the best ever!! xo
Melissa George says
Oh my gosh, you are too kind Sara! Thank you so much!
Nancy Carr says
Happy birthday, Melissa! Love your ideas.
Melissa George says
Thank you, Nancy!
Jill Steinwender says
HAPPY HAPPY Birthday!!
Melissa George says
Thank you, Jill!
Giselle says
Happy Birthday! May your year be filled with inspiration!
Donna K Smith says
Happiest of birthdays! i just found your blog (thank you, Pinterest) & I’m totally inspired to make over my office. Thank you for sharing your talents & inspiration!
Dee says
I enjoy your posts tremendously. Makes me want a mansion so I can transform them like you. Love your creativity.
Melissa George says
Hi Dee, I’m so glad you enjoy the posts! Definitely don’t wait to start making any size home your own. When I was 19 and first married, we had a 360 square foot apartment and loved finding ways to personalize it. Then, we graduated to our first house that was barely over 1000 square feet, but that gave me tons of room to try out new decorating ideas, even with very little budget. If you’ve got a room you are struggling with now, feel free to send me photos and maybe we can come up with a plan for you!
Amy Wright says
Happy birthday!! I’m new to your list, but your master closet makeover is STUNNING!!! You’ve given me hope and inspiration that I might be able to accomplish something in my own master closet! I hope you have the most wonderful birthday!
Melissa George says
Thank you so much, Amy! And welcome to the list! Definitely keep dreaming and planning your perfect closet. With some elbow grease, it’s totally doable!
Marilyn Navas says
Hi Melissa,
Well I must say you have definitely inspire my friend and I to one day have a closet like yours. I am in product development for wall art decor in pretty much most low cost retailers. Browsing for inspiration, I stumbled upon your blog. Since then, I signed up because I just loved how you were able to transform even the smallest space in your home and make it worth a zillion bucks. Just love that transformation!
-Marilyn
Melissa George says
So glad you enjoyed the closet! I dreamed of it for so long and was thrilled to figure out we could make it happen without a gigantic budget.
Evelyn B says
Love, love all your transformations and that you share them! They all look so glamorous and so well put together. I’m still in awe of that garage floor project!! I’d love to paint mine like yours – so beautiful. Your closet is such a great makeover and your bedroom looks wonderful. Thanks again for so many wonderful ideas. Love ya,
Melissa George says
Thank you so much, Evelyn! I appreciate you!!!
Leen says
Goodness woman you are so talented and inspiring!
Tania // Run to Radiance says
What a great giveaway and happy late birthday girl! 🙂 Nate Berkus…I mean, how can one top that?! 🙂
Renee says
I just discovered Polished Habitat today, your projects and photos are amazing!