2011 In Review

by Kyla Roma on January 2, 2012

in Her Life, Stories About:

All the year in review posts that have been floating around blog-land in the past week have been so fun to read that I couldn’t resist going back and doing one myself! It was a year full of so much feeling, doing and being that it was a bit of a whirlwind- these are a few of my favourite moments…

January

I made a custom day planner for myself & shared templates & a tutorial so you could too

My mom married my step dad! We had a party at our cabin & I photographed the day

February

We revealed our studio’s name to our new neighbourhood, and I couldn’t stop smiling for weeks!

Freckled Nest grew to a team of eight designers & I became a partner- it was so exciting!

… so exciting that I started talking about blog design in my sleep :)

March

Ash & I had an impromptu puppy photoshoot where I made him pose like a dinosaur

April

I posted about how I meal plan for every week (every week that I meal plan, that is!)

I shared my favourite wordpress plugins, including my fave: an editorial calendar (still love it!)

May

I blogged about demystifying “those fashionable girls” & how I was building my wardrobe

I shared progress photos of growing out my pixie cut (with the side of my head shaved) to a bob

June

I gave a video tour of my Diana F+ and talked about using its 35 mm back

I wrote about finding my voice as a blogger & writing my best blog

July

I made no-bake vegan chocolate peanut butter chews that were wildly tasty

I thought about making space for creativity in every day life- even (especially!) if you have a day job

August

Our assistant Amber joined Freckled Nest, and thank goodness for her!

There were pastry stealing dinosaurs in the studio! And I have an animated gif to prove it.

September


I featured my summer blog designs and took a month off blogging… and promptly got bronchitis. Twice!

October

I made miniature doughnuts with caramel ganache & sprinkles- delicious to the point of dangerous.

And I made a crocheted bow headband for myself! It was my favourite accessory for a good long time.

November

I shared a trick for knitting more comfortably by knitting straight in the round

I made amazing cinnamon buns (that I couldn’t stop eating!) and showed off my new ultra-red hair

December

I spent some much needed pre-holiday time with my sweet husband & honed my hockey cheer

And let the world know about my ever-worsening elaborate manicure addiction. Send help! Wait, don’t!

Here’s to 2012! I’m wishing for more adventures, more belly laughs, more tutorials and recipes and more love- even though my heart is bursting at the seams with it these days. Thank you so much for reading,

xo, kr.

16 comments



Weekly Weak Knees no.18

by Kyla Roma on December 30, 2011

in Recurring Posts, Weekly Weak Knees

Weekly Weak Knees is a round up post of the “currently loving” section in my sidebar, where every day I pop in an image and link to something I lovely that I can’t help but share. It’s a pretty feature that feels like I’m passing notes to friends & reader who check my blog every day, and I hope you enjoy it enough to make it part of your routine!

These are some of my favourite links from past little while, click on the pictures to explore…

Did you find something beautiful online this week?

Share a link with me in the comments!

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Start the New Year with a Boost

by Kyla Roma on December 29, 2011

in The Sponsors

There’s still time to become a sponsor of Kyla Roma for January, so start the new year by getting cozy with my lovely readers!

This is the last month of my current ad prices before I re-price, so it’s a great time to sneak in and book a two or three month package. January is going to be an exciting month on the blog with new creative living features starting, more tutorials and DIY posts*, and will be hosting some of my favourite bloggers in a brand new way!

Sponsors ads are viewed over 2,900 times, delivered to over 2250 subscribers and promoted to over 2800+ twitter followers every week day. My community is full of amazing, energetic & engaged women who love supporting bloggers and small businesses- I’d love to introduce you to them.

Click here for rates & booking information

*No innocent dresses will be harmed in January, scout’s honour ;)

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Camera Cozy Tutorial

Today I’m really excited to be featured on one of my very favourite blogs- A Beautiful Mess! I’ve made a new tutorial for Elsie on transforming a thrifted dress into a camera cozy that you can customize to suit anything from tiny toy cameras to your big DSLR. It’s great to give as a gift or to make for yourself so your camera is protected inside your bag and is still at the ready for blogable moments.

You can find the tutorial here, or if you’re visiting my blog for the first time
explore other DIY & Creative Living posts in my featured post index

5 comments



Moments from Our Christmas

by Kyla Roma on December 27, 2011

in Her Life, Stories About:




Merry Post Christmas! We had a gorgeous Christmas this year, complete with a big family get together in the middle of the snowy prairies and lots of great food. Jesse and I woke up early to exchange stockings and made a delicious (indulgent!) pierogi breakfast, two of my favourite new traditions of ours, and then made our way to our family’s houses when we were feeling ready to get out of our PJ’s.

For the record, on holidays I’m never ready to get out of my PJ’s but I can be tempted by food and promises of champagne.

I had  a great time with the family and in the days since, Jesse and I have been loving catching up on dedicated Us Time and getting into a home bound routine. While we might not be snowed in, it’s been fun pretending with the help of the new Sherlock Holmes, cozy blankets & a stock of tasty teas to dive into.

Between Christmas & New Years is one of my favourite times of year because time seems to loosen up its hold and let everyone just drift until it’s time to celebrate New Years Eve. I’m loving this calm, cozy week, but I can’t wait for New Years to get here! There’s nothing like celebrating what was, along with the possibility of the year to come.

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Is it wintery where you are? This year it’s not very snowy here and I’m dreaming of snow topped trees, perfect icicles and dusting snow off my little dogs when they run in from the back yard. Though I do get to dust the snow off their sweet faces a little, because they love burrowing in the snow that is on the ground and crunching up pieces of ice with great enthusiasm.

This treasury is my glittery little ode to the winter, the holiday season & the snowy faces of my puppies- I hope that you take some time off to enjoy the things that make your winter relaxing & meaningful!


Bottle Brush Christmas Tree …
$10.00

The Book Kiss 5×7 signed pho…
$10.00

the OVERSIZED EGO scarf / co…
$48.00

Vintage Modern Inspired Wood…
$18.00

A Forest of Pines
$1.85

Green Dress Office Holiday W…
$32.00

Pure handmade crochet surcoa…
$50.00

Emma Knit Slouch Hat in Crea…
$42.00

Nature Photography, White Ho…
$30.00

Flower Vase Test Tubes SKY: …
$75.00

circa 1950 industrial stools
$95.00

Blue Feathers – 8×10. Fine A…
$30.00

White and translucent abstra…
$15.00

Silver Grey Statement Neckla…
$25.00

Recycled Branch Twig Ring Bu…
$65.00

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Kyla Roma 1

Kyla Roma 2

This week has been a big one- I’ve launched three client projects this week (!!) and have been taking time to reflect on the past year and dream about the one to come. I’ve been filling my notebooks with ideas and plans, calculations and dates, and today Leigh-Ann and I are sitting down to look at how the past year went for us and our business.

We’re going through a Creative Review process to make sure that we learn from 2011 and dream even bigger for 2012. Planning is one of my favourite parts of owning a business, and to have all of today dedicated to dreams & plans is my definition of a perfect day. There’s nothing better than camping out and dedicating a day to possibility, while we listen to our favourite music and order in sushi.

galaxy manicure

Nails: OPI’s Black Onyx, Deborah Lippmann’s Bad Romance (this is the sparkly one!) & Gosh’s Matt Effect

As a little celebration for our creative review day I gave myself  some pretty, new nails, because I’ve been completely obsessed with washi tape manicures lately (why thank you, Pinterest!). They’re half matte black & half “galaxy”- named because of a gorgeous new nail polish I got with all different sizes of purple sparkles. It’s like having my finger tips dipped in a far away galaxy.

Who knows- maybe they’ll inspire me to set expansive goals for next year ;)

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