I began this little blog exactly one year ago today. At the time, I started Odi et Amo as a way to combat some intense boredom at work (last winter my company was in serious turmoil and we were all but shut down). Little did I know how big a part of my life blogging would become over the course of 2009. Not only has Odi et Amo's readership grown well beyond my circle of friends and acquaintances (and, quite frankly, my wildest imagination), but it has introduced me to a vibrant online design community that has been both welcoming and supportive in my blogging and decorating endeavors.
I'd love to offer everyone some cake and ice cream, but since today's celebration is virtual, I thought I'd mark the occasion by pulling together a short list of my favorite posts over the past year with one major caveat: I've intentionally omitted posts relating to decorating (and then selling) my old house as well as those on building (and then decorating) my new house as they're serial in nature and, as a result, rather difficult to follow out of context. In reading back through my earlier entries, I was struck that, while there's been a gradual move away from fashion in favor of design (at the outset, this blog was pretty 50/50), my voice and style has been pretty consistent from the beginning. I'll admit though that my HTML skills have vastly improved! When I started this blog last January, my readership consisted of my mom, aunt and husband (and Dave read the blog only under intense pressure from me!), and so many of these posts may be new to most of y'all. If that's the case for you, then please consider this an opportunity to catch up a bit on your reading. Enjoy!
Getting Inspired (January 5) -- the post that started it all
Color Trend: Yellow and Gray (January 8)
R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. (February 18)
Get Courtney Giles' Style (March 13)
Amanda Nisbet's Back Porch (June 1)
Virtual Vacation: Palm Springs (August 18)
Flipping Out for Brown Design (September 3)
An Ode to Zig Zags (September 23)
Colorful Backdrops (October 8) and Colorful Backdrops, Part 2 (November 4)
Turquoise is a Neutral (October 14)
Guest Rooms in Blue, Pink...and Yellow! (November 6)
My Husband loves Kelly Wearstler... (December 7)
I hope you'll see at least a few posts here that you may have missed along the way, but if you're all caught up, I appreciate your indulging my little trip down memory lane. And finally, I'd like to thank a number of blogs for their support over the past year:
Without the enthusiasm and encouragement of the ladies behind these wonderful blogs, I'm not sure I'd still be doing this. Without the support of you, the readers, I know I wouldn't still be doing this. Blogging for me is about creating a dialogue among and a connection with fellow design enthusiasts. It's not about me getting on my soapbox. Without your comments, questions and e-mails, I would not have been able to make that connection, to get that sense of community and I'm sure I would have quit in frustration months ago. So thank you all for a wonderful first year for this blog. My goals for this coming year are to build on the successes of the last 12 months, strengthen my voice as a blogger and design amateur, and (this is my single greatest desire) inspire you on a regular basis. And as always, if there's anything in particular you'd like to talk about or like help with, please feel free to email me and let me know.
Gratias vobis ago!
