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5 Things I Learned in 2014.

1. People aren’t as excited about black bean brownies as I am.

I still haven’t sold out of black bean brownies mixes, which is a bummer.  I was so excited about the product, but it doesn’t seem like the world shared my enthusiasm lol.  I’m still glad we went through the process.  Learned a lot.  But I’ll probably stick to blogging and ebooks for the foreseeable future…those seem to produce the greatest return.  Brownie mixes are currently 50% off, use the discount code: newyear.

Black Bean Brownie Mix-10

2. Tripods and dry shampoo are the best.

I fell in love with these 2 things this year.

With a tripod you can set the shutter speed on your camera so slow (letting more light in), which is great for shooting in cloudy weather.  I’m using my dad’s 10+ year old tripod.  Nothing fancy, but I feel like it’s REALLY helping my photography!

Okay, and dry shampoo?! What a miracle!! Occasionally I get a little carried away and my hair looks grey in spots (see the grey spot in the picture below?)…but overall it’s such a life saver when I go to the gym and don’t have time to shampoo my hair afterwards.

year-13
photo by Morgan Sinclair

3. That whole “clean 5 minutes a day” idea is a really good idea.

I grew up in a house where being tidy wasn’t that important to us.  Andrew grew up in a very tidy home.  So my innate tendencies to leave piles of clothes around the house isn’t Andrew’s favorite thing about me.  I’ve found that picking something to clean for 5 minutes a day really helps keep the house looking tidy.  This 5 minutes doesn’t include daily chores like doing the dishes, but yesterday I cleaned the toilets and today I’m planning to take the ornaments off our Christmas tree.  And sometimes the 5 minutes turns into 20 minutes, which is for the best.

These pictures show minor changes…more tidying up rather than cleaning.  But still, picking up clutter can make the house look so much better!

before1 After1

 

before2 after2

Here are some posts that inspired my “5 minute a day” cleaning routine:

4. I love being married.

I’m not sure at what point you stop feeling like a newlywed…and this isn’t to say Andrew and I never get annoyed with one another, but I feel like I was made to be married.  I’ve always struggled with feeling like an outsider, and since being married I feel like I’ve found where I fit.  He gives me more confidence than I’ve ever had and he eats all the trial recipes that don’t turn out so great.  That’s love.

2014 post 1

First Wedding Anniversary-16   First Wedding Anniversary-17

year-5

5. Maggie is the best thing I’ve ever bought.

I’ve never seen Andrew interact with a baby (except for once for about 1 hour).  It’s fun to see how much he loves Maggie.  I know she’s just a dog, but if you own dogs then you know she’s not JUST a dog.

year-3   year-8 year-7

Happy New Year to you! May your day be filled with black-eyed peas, cornbread, greens and pork!

15 comments

  1. You are just too cute!
    I am a 56 year old mom and your mama must be proud of the woman you have become!
    Thanks for the great blog.
    Happy New Year!

  2. Hi Kylie! I would love to buy the brownie mix but unfortunetly I’m from Portugal and you only ship for the US. I hope people start to understand how awesome that mix is!

    I wish you a great year and keep doing what you love!

  3. Cute post! My husband and I have been married 29 years and still feel newlywed. Wishing you the same magic.

  4. Hi Kylie, love your blogs! Have made a bunch of your recipes…..have to say, I LOVE Black Bean Brownies! A staple in my household…however, the very BEST are from Chocolate Covered Katie! Make her recipe all the time. Happy New a Year to you And family!
    Cheers, barbara

  5. darn! i went to buy your brownie mix, only to realize that shipping costs more than the actual product :( maybe i’ll toughen up and buy it, anyways! it looks fabulous!!

  6. I love this post! You and Andrew and Maggie make the most adorable little family. I love seeing the two (well, three) of you together, because even someone like me who doesn’t technically, uh, know you like for real for real (details, but I hope we can change that some day) can see how happy you make each other. Marriage is kind of an amazing thing, isn’t it? :-) I hope your and Andrew’s honeymoon period never ends!

    PS: I’m going to go clean my house for 5 minutes. I am inspired!

  7. Happy New Year, Kylie! :) You and Andrew are just the cutest. Looking forward to seeing what the New Year brings you :)

  8. This is adorable!! You and Andrew are precious, and Maggie is the cherry on top.
    I totally need to try the 5 minutes of cleaning a day thing. That would probably make my life 10x more put together.
    Happy New Year, Kylie!!

  9. Great list! Marriage is the best. We’ve been married a little over five years (together nearly 14!) and I can tell you that it keeps getting better and better. The last five years together (the married ones) have definitely been our best. It can be work on some days and completely effortless on others, but it’s always, always worth it. Happy 2015!

  10. This is the cutest post ever, Kylie! I just discovered dry shampoo, too. Where has it been all my life?? And I love how much you love marriage. It makes my heart happy.

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