Life is so fast paced, and we’re all busier than ever it seems. In case you missed a post or two this year, I rounded up the TOP tips the changed our home and health this year – the most requested healthy recipes, simple home upgrades, and favorite design tips you all loved most. The best of the best from Love Grows Wild this year, and I hope this gives you some inspiration and ideas to kickstart your journey in 2025!
FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPES OF 2024
NINJA CREAMI VANILLA PROTEIN ICE CREAM RECIPE
A few years ago, I started seeing this ice cream maker all over my social media feeds and people sharing tons of recipes using it. What intrigued me most was seeing how you could basically take a healthy protein shake and turn it into delicious ice cream that you would never guess wasn’t the real full-fat, sugar-overloaded thing… I had to try it!
I spent a little over a year tweaking my version of the “perfect” vanilla protein ice cream recipe using the Ninja Creami and shared all the details – the ingredients I use and why, tools that make the job easier, the macro count (in case you track them like I do), and how to get the creamiest, protein-packed, healthy treat you can feel good about eating!
CREAMY HIGH PROTEIN ITALIAN PASTA
When it comes to nutrition, I’m a big believer in finding foods I enjoy that make me feel satisfied, not deprived, while still providing my body the fuel it needs. Several years ago I was introduced to macro counting as a way to track what I eat, and it has changed my relationship with food into a healthier, more sustainable long-term approach. If you haven’t heard of macro counting, it’s essentially breaking down the calories you consume into protein, carbs, and fat, which helps you meet your nutrition goals without restricting certain foods like a typical “diet” would.
I’m far more aware now of making sure I get adequate protein daily (important for increasing and maintaining muscle and bone mass + weight management – I aim for at least 30 grams at every meal). And I’m able to have a much more mindful and flexible approach to food. This recipe is one of my most frequently and repeatedly made meals that tastes delicious and feels like comfort food – without all the guilt!
It’s an easy, satisfying, nutritious pasta dish that you’ll definitely want to add to your macro-friendly meal rotation. I literally make this almost every week!
PROTEIN FRENCH TOAST
Indulge in a guilt-free breakfast with our macro-friendly protein French toast, a tasty and wholesome option to kickstart your day
Part of living a healthy, balanced lifestyle for me is finding ways I can enjoy my favorite foods while still fueling it with the nutrition it needs. One of my go-to breakfast options is this protein-packed version of French toast, filled with the flavors of sweet cinnamon and vanilla and topped with a sugar-free syrup and a side of blueberries. You can whip up a quick version of this French toast or make a larger batch for easy breakfasts all week long, and I’m sharing both methods here with you today.
I tested so many batches of French toast over the last few months with every kind of bread you can imagine, and the good news is that I actually found a good, thick, delicious slice of brioche (or sourdough!) bread to be the biggest bang for your buck in terms of macros and in flavor/texture. Skip the tiny, thin slices of keto/low-carb/diet bread, and go for the good stuff with this recipe! I’ve found a way to still give you 20 grams of protein per serving and under 250 calories. Serve it with a chicken or turkey sausage and some yogurt with fruit for a well-rounded breakfast that will keep you full all morning long!
TOP HOME ADVICE OF 2024
HOW TO PAINT A BATHROOM VANITY CABINET
A complete step-by-step guide to painting your bathroom vanity cabinet, helping you transform your space with tools, tips, and techniques to achieve a flawless, durable, professional-grade finish.
One of my projects on this year’s to-do list was to paint and update our bathroom – the only one we have in this house. For almost a decade, the bathroom has been completely white from floor to ceiling. To some, that may sound crazy, but I actually love the bright, clean, airy feel this space has always had, especially with the light pouring in from the window.
But over the years our vanity has started to chip and wear in some places, and the walls needed a fresh coat of paint too. I decided to break up all the bright white and introduce one of the 2024 Paint Trend Colors – a dark, muted, moody shade of green with gray undertones from Sherwin Williams called Retreat. It’s such a beautiful color, and the finish turned out flawless, and I shared the entire process of painting our bathroom vanity cabinet so you can tackle this update in your home too!
HOW TO ORGANIZE AN ENTRYWAY WITHOUT A CLOSET
I made it a goal last year to finish all the little unfinished spaces and projects that have been forgotten about, starting with the entrance to our home. We actually use this side door instead of our front door because it’s closer to the driveway, but I’ve always had a hard time organizing this space because there is no closet here. With a little planning and a few clever organizing solutions, I found the perfect balance of style and function in our entryway.
At the very beginning of 2023, I bought an IKEA Pax wardrobe cabinet that I hoped would be the answer to the majority of our storage problems. Most wardrobe or armoire cabinets with a clothing rack inside are either really small or really expensive, and I wanted something that could not only fit our coats, but also have room for other outdoor gear and maybe even shoes.
This particular cabinet is almost 94″ tall and just barely fits our ceiling, so assembling it was quite the experience. I think I deleted the video I took because there was probably a lot of swear words and frustration. But before I had a chance to do organize or style or do anything with it… the accident happened. In fact, after looking back through my camera roll, I’m reasonably certain we finished putting on the doors and installing the shelves literally the DAY the accident happened. The significance of this is not lost on me – for almost a year this cabinet sat mostly empty with a few random things tossed inside. A year of trying to survive and just keep my head above water and many things getting pushed to the bottom of my to-do list, this cabinet included. This is just one symbol of many of the pieces that are left to pick up after someone you love passes away.
A year later in January, I decided to finally finish what I started and make this space purposeful for our family – just weeks away from the one year anniversary of the accident. This project felt like a “look how far I’ve come and how much I’ve gone through” reminder that I desperately needed. Life has a funny way of coming full circle and reminding you of memories, both good and bad, when you least expect it. When your eyes are open to it, you can find little life lessons and important perspectives almost anywhere – even IKEA cabinets.
TRENDING PAINT COLORS FOR 2024
If I were to create a poll on the most difficult parts of designing a home, I can almost guarantee picking paint colors would be near the top of the list. There are a million options out there, and it can feel almost impossible to narrow down the choices, especially when it’s hard to visualize what those colors will actually look like in your home.
My goal is always to help make creating a home you love as simple as possible, so I researched the most popular, tried and true paint colors from top brands, along with current paint color trends for 2024. After narrowing down almost 100 options, I created a list of 24 beautifully coordinated colors that will help you transform your spaces with both style and confidence. These are colors I believe we’ll be seeing a lot of again this year, and many of them have been designer favorites for years already.
Whether you’re looking for a soft, light neutral or something more bold and moody, these trending paint colors are just what your home has been waiting for.
THE SECRET TO KEEPING YOUR RUGS IN PLACE
Do you ever get frustrated when you find the perfect area rug for your living room, runner for a hallway, or doormat for your front door, but they always manage to slip and slide all over the place? Instead of staying perfectly positioned where you put them, they end up bunched up halfway across the room? Me too, friend. Me too. I’ve wasted money on all different kinds of rug tape, sticky pads, rug pads of various price points, and more – nothing worked, especially with two kids and two dogs running around the house. Even my living room rug that has multiple furniture pieces anchoring the corners and edges couldn’t be contained.
This year, I decided I either needed to find a solution where I wasn’t constantly having to move our rugs back in place or I was going to burn every rug we have. Okay, that’s a little dramatic… but it really was driving me crazy.
I took a chance on a very specific brand/type of rug pad that has a textured felt surface on top (which completely grips the back of your rug without any adhesive needed) and a rubber bottom that grips the floor and does not let the rug move. This rug pad:
- is one of the only to have a U.S. patent
- does not contain any harmful chemicals
- made in the USA
- works on wood, tile, marble, concrete, vinyl, laminate, and heated floors
- comes in a variety of sizes from 2 x 3′ all the way up to 12 x 20′, and can be cut down if needed
I ended up buying one of these rug pads for every single rug in my house. THAT’S how good these are. I cannot recommend this little design tip enough!
HOME OFFICE REVEAL
For a long time now I’ve been thinking about our home and our family and how much everything has changed in the last few years. My oldest son, who is now graduated, moved out, so it’s just my youngest son, Wyatt, and I. We had a conversation this summer about him wanting more space for him and his friends to hang out, which turned into a massive room swap project turning Alec’s old room into my home office, my old office into my master bedroom, my old bedroom into Wyatt’s room, and Wyatt’s old room into a guest bedroom.
It took me a few weeks to wrap my head around moving every bed, dresser, piece of clothing, my entire office, and a million other things that have been shoved in closets for too many years. Painting each room before moving in, because they all desperately need it. Purging, donating, and selling SO. MUCH. STUFF. It was daunting to say the least, but I was also really excited to completely change the way our home functions, decorate 4 brand new spaces, and clear out a lot of the clutter that has accumulated over the years.
Moving my home office was the first step, and I was a little nervous downsizing to a smaller space after being spoiled for the last 12+ years with a nice, big office and not one, but two closets to hide all my business, photography, and decorative things. But with some strategic planning and a MASSIVE purge of unnecessary junk, I was able to fit everything I need, re-use a lot of furniture and decor I already own to cut down on cost, and create a space that allows me to feel creative and productive and dare I say, even joyful while I work.
BATHROOM MAKEOVER ON A BUDGET
When I decided to paint the bathroom vanity, I wanted to finish the space with some new decor and just a few simple updates to refresh the room without spending a lot. Almost everything I bought was under $45 on Amazon – from affordable storage solutions to finishing touches that look high end without the high end price tag (starting at just $15!).
PLANTS FOR THE PERFECT SHADE CONTAINER GARDEN
I always have the hardest time finding plants I like that will thrive in the shade, and this year I think I cracked the code on the perfect combination of shade-loving plants and flowers to create the most stunning container garden.
Normally it’s the brightly colored perennials in my landscaping or the beautiful blooms of sun-loving flowers I pick out for my container gardens that are my favorite every year. But a large part of our deck is shaded by a big gazebo, and our front porch is North-facing and almost fully shaded as well. I wanted to find a handful of go-to plants – a “recipe” if you will – for the perfect shade container garden.
These plants create the perfect balance of delicate flowers, large foliage, trailing vines, and lots of detail and interest. I hope you enjoy them this summer as much as I do!
Tell me, what would you like to see more of in 2025?
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