The Year in Review | 2020

The Shiplap and Shells blog and Instagram account had quite a few accomplishments to be proud of this year for sure. I can’t wait to share my 2020 year in review, which includes some “dream come true” moments.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to start a new year, and I have a feeling that I’m not alone. But some great things happened as well.

2020 year in review inside the greenhouse

I am a homebody. So even though I had a hard time with not being able to entertain this year, I did love being home, especially in my garden and greenhouse. I spent a lot of time in that garden this year, getting it ready for a July photo shoot.

Now that it’s 2021, I thought it would be fun to share Shiplap and Shell’s accomplishments from the past year.

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2020 year in review Puppy hugs

It all started when I had surgery on my feet in October and December of 2019. My Instagram account was not even a year old, and I had been playing around with the idea of starting a blog.

I love taking pictures of my home, especially of my garden. And I wanted a platform where I could share many, many more pictures than I ever could have shared on Instagram.

recovering from surgery with two dogs
Day 2 after foot surgery, with Jax on one side and Lucy on the other

Because I was going to be recovering from two surgeries for at least a few months, I knew the timing was perfect for the opportunity to start a blog, which I knew would take months to set up.

I am NOT a technical kind of gal. I knew it would take me a long time!

And so it began.

2020 year in review cottage with dahlias at the split rail fence

I started my Shiplap and Shells blog, all about home and garden in the PNW, in February.

Before checked floor and living room
“Before” picture when we first moved in and ripped up the carpet.
2020 year in review open concept with living room looking into the cottage kitchen
“After” picture with all the kitchen renovations completed and the wall between the living room and kitchen removed.

Our house was built in 1920, and I have been so excited about it finally turning one hundred years old. We even had a big event planned to celebrate, with a small band on the deck, and “before” pics posted throughout the house so guests would be able to see the progress and improvements that had been made throughout the years.

I’m sure you have figured out by now that we never had that celebration, due to Covid-19.

cover of the fall issue of Cottages and Bungalows Magazine

Our home was featured in the fall issue of Cottages and Bungalows Magazine. Yay! Can you believe it? I got the message on Instagram a couple of days after having my first foot surgery.

I could barely stand at that point. But I was not about to turn them down!

2020 year in review Cottages and Bungalows feature pages
Here’s a sample of one of the many pages with my home being featured. Hi Lucy and Jax!

With the help of my darling and amazing husband and a couple of fabulous friends, we made it work and my home and greenhouse were in our first magazine.

2020 year in review Person in a garden full of flowers

We had the honor of having professional photographer Jay Wilde come to our home for a Cottage Style Magazine photo shoot of our garden for next year’s spring issue.

This was seriously a dream come true. I can’t wait to see the magazine when it comes out.

2020 year in review photo shoot in the garden

I remember the day perfectly. We had a “not-so-great” summer, so we were excited to see that the weather forecast had plenty of sunshine that day.

What I wasn’t excited about was the fact that the temperatures were going to be in the 90’s that day. If you know nothing about the Seattle area, then let me tell you that’s a HOT day!

We were sweating, and I was so nervous that the flowers were going to start wilting since they had not had heat like that all summer. But it all worked out!

Screenshot of Country Home Magazine squares with 9 of my account pics on Instagram

I can’t believe how much fun this was!!! And it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Country Home Magazine allowed me to take over their Instagram account for a full weekend in March.

It was so amazing! I posted pics and did a ton of stories, including home tours. I gained over 6,000 Instagram followers and new friends that weekend.


This is the print on the Seattle Refined website, but there is also a video of the interview.

I will have to admit this one scared me a little bit. I have never been on TV before. The format changed on Seattle Refined dramatically because of COVID-19. The team usually comes to the house and walks around with the homeowner and interviews them.

But we did things a bit differently. The interview was on Zoom and they just showed pictures of my home and garden.

Sunset Magazine featured my Instagram account in April as one of the best Instagram accounts for home decor and garden inspiration in PNW. I remember my mom buying Sunset magazine at the grocery store all the time, so it was amazing to see a picture of my greenhouse on their website.

I met an amazing group of bloggers this year who I consider dear friends. Some of you may know them as my friends from the Charming Homes and Gardens Link Party.

Home decor and garden bloggers are such an amazing and supportive group, and they have all helped me grow my blog so much. My friend KariAnne of Thistlewood Farm taught me a tremendous amount of information about blogging in the short time I have known her. She has the most amazing Mastermind Class that I would recommend to everyone.

I hope you have enjoyed my 2020 year in review. It’s been so wonderful getting to know many of you so much better! I love connecting with you on the blog and social media.

I hope that you have found a few new ideas and some inspiration from my blog. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming by for a visit, pinning, and dropping me comments. Wishing you a year of peace, love, kindness and hope.

Until next time,

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8 Comments

  1. Hi,

    Just wanted to say that a couple of your links are not working, including the one above that would allow this post to be uploaded on Pinterest!
    A great post overall, though!

    1. Thank You Jane! I really appreciate it. I went back in and didn’t find any issues, but that doesn’t mean I just missed something. As for the pin link not working, it may be that you were clicking on the “Pin it” image, rather than the actual Pinterest graphic, where the pin button is in the top left corner. My husband keeps telling me that I’m confusing people and I think he is right. I’m hoping that’s the issue, and I have already taken it out of the post so others don’t get confused. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate the kind words.

  2. Kim,

    You made it all work beautifully and healed from your surgeries. An inspiration for all of us during these difficult months. I live in the San Juan Islands just a little north of you & love seeing the ideas you share & changes you make. Keep going!

    Kathryn

    1. Thank you Kathryn! I do believe that everything happens for a reason and I don’t know if I would have ever started a blog if I wasn’t down and off my feet for months. I just wouldn’t have made the time. I’m so glad I did. My husband and I take the boat to the San Juans every year. It is our very favorite place. We especially love Roche harbor and Stuart Island. So nice to meet you!

  3. Congrats! I just recently found you and your gardens are an absolute inspiration. Though I live in the hot, dry southwest, a girl can dream!

    1. I am so glad you found me and so appreciative that you made the time to comment! I will admit, I am a very lucky girl to have the perfect climate for a cottage garden. And I will let you in on a secret, I have great soil, so I don’t have to do much with it. Thanks for being here.

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