Top Blog Posts of 2015

Happy New Year, cafe friends! Don't you just love Januarys? A month of clean slates, new starts, and fresh beginnings.

I have so much I want to share with you in 2016! But before I start, it only seems fitting that I take a brief glimpse in the rear view mirror at the year we are leaving behind.

So today, I thought I'd do a Mary Rose's Cafe Recap of the most popular posts of 2015.

What did cafe readers love? Here it is:

1.) Cafe readers LOVE planners!

Whew! I'm so glad you love them as much as I do! I have a lot of new planner love to share with you in 2016, too! Here are a few of the most popular posts:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/02/tools-for-intentional-living.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/02/planners-plenty-my-personal-planner.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/02/simple-stories-planner-financial.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/03/house-hunting-with-planner.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/03/simple-stories-planner-goes-to-chicago.html

2.) Cafe readers LOVE bible journaling!

Have you noticed how big this became in 2015? You cannot look at a flyer from your favorite Christian publishers or stores without seeing something about bible journaling in one of its many forms. I'm so excited to participate in Patter Cross' Glory Art challenge this year at her blog, Triple The Scraps. You can find more info, too, if you click on the badge on the right. Here are a few favorites from the cafe:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/02/bible-journaling-illustrating-faith.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-year-of-loss-and-gain.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/04/bible-journaling-with-stamps-and-heart.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/10/31-days-of-coffee-cafe-inspired-bible.html

3.) Cafe readers LOVE blog hops!

Hands down, more visitors come to my cafe from Papertrey Ink than from any other stamp communities. The monthly blog hops and Make It Monday challenges are always a big draw. PTI's forums are filled with a great community of positive, upbeat, and encouraging crafters that get each other excited about every new product and project. Here are a few favorites from 2015:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/08/pti-august-blog-hop-oh-places-ill-go.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/08/pti-mim-220-die-cut-mini-notebooks.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/09/pti-mim-225-shaped-die-cut-boxes.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/11/pti-blog-hop-november-winter-wonderland.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/10/31-days-of-coffee-pti-mim-226-stripes.html

4.) Cafe readers LOVE my crazy house!

Normally, if a business goes through a relocation, it suffers a little bit in its traffic. But not the cafe! I moved from Pittsburgh to Chicago, and you wonderful cafe regulars moved right along with me. It appears that you appreciate my fixer upper projects, which makes me so grateful as this is where I have been pouring a LOT of my energies in recent months. Exterior to interior, garden to kitchen, you've been following along as we transform this house one improvement at a time. Here were a few posts from our crazy adventure:

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/06/begin-at-beginning.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/11/exterior-house-before-and-after.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-dining-room-before-and-after-reveal.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/08/home-officelibrary-makeover.html

http://maryrosescafe.blogspot.com/2015/12/decorating-new-house-for-holidays-part_9.html

So, what will 2016 have in store for the cafe?

More servings of what you love! Challenges, bible journaling, planners, and house renovations for certain.

Where will it grow? Well, I need to incorporate more needle art this year, as it seemed to fall by the wayside in 2015. Something about packing all of my supplies (along with the rest of our worldly possessions) and moving must have stymied my hand crafted projects. Hoping to rectify that this year.

I'll be working in the garden once again this year, trying to design a way to make my back yard corner lot a little more private, while simultaneously obstructing the not-so-pretty views of neighbor pools and garbage cans.

More home projects to come! There are probably ten rooms on the "To Be Painted" list, along with projects like painting the kitchen cabinets and properly finishing the basement. It should be finished about five minutes before the For Sale sign goes up in the front yard. (At least that's always been our style in the past!)

Another hope for 2016: I'd like the cafe to branch out into a store. So look for an etsy shop in the future, where I will offer up hand crafted items along with some vintage flea market finds and crafting accessories.

It's a brand new day, cafe friends! Blessings on your 2016!