It’s that time again: a quick look back at everything we tackled this month, plus a few never-before-seen bits for good measure. September felt a bit scattered—we hunted down secondhand nightstands, began stenciling walls, built a 13-foot desk, altered a light fixture, framed a mirror, created some free art, and more. To make it fun, here are month-end superlatives highlighting the projects and moments that stood out.

Most Pro-Banquette: We kicked off the month flirting with the idea of adding a kitchen banquette, exploring layouts and possibilities.

Most Pro-Banquette (Runner-Up): The follow-up discussion kept the banquette conversation alive, including a reader-submitted rendering that had us laughing (and me looking inexplicably receptionist-like).

Least Pro-Banquette: By the end of the month, we’d moved on—dropping the banquette idea and embracing our long-standing love: a peninsula.

Weirdest Giant Metal Chicken: On a trip to Delaware we spotted an odd giant metal hen (nicknamed Beyoncé). If you want the backstory on that name, there’s a hilarious post that explains it—fair warning, it contains profanity but it’s worth a read.

Best Deal: We scored a pair of nightstands at a yard sale for $11 total and gave them new life in our bedroom, complete with a faux gold banding treatment on the bedposts.

Least Appetizing: Hurricane Irene left our fridge empty. We tackled that with a coupon-heavy grocery run and even filed a $250 spoiled-food claim with the electric company, which they accepted—so no insurance claim and no deductible. Win.

Most Improved: Those orange secondhand cabinets we picked up for a dollar each were transformed into taller, white built-ins for the office using some wood and paint—simple, dramatic change.

Most Long, Dark & Handsome: We built a 13-foot wood tabletop for the built-in desk from framing lumber and a dark stain—an affordable, satisfying project.

Most Inebriated: The office walls, which got a deep paint color called Moonshine. The name gave us a chuckle and a theme for the room.

The Josh Groban “You Raise Me Up” Award: The office light fixture went up higher (no more head bumps), got an indigo spray finish, and was topped with a discounted drum shade.

Most Grounded: We added trim to the bottoms of the desk to create a built-in, polished look that anchors the space.

Most Secretive: A peek at some never-before-seen parts of the house—little corners we hadn’t highlighted before, including a spaceship-like sunroom roof line.

The “You’ll Be Missed… But Not Much” Award: A small tree that had been growing on the house was finally removed to avoid potential foundation damage, and we trimmed back overgrown shrubs nearby.

Most Persistent: We kept plugging away on a bathroom mirror framing project despite setbacks: wrong-sized trim and a first-attempt collapse. Persistence paid off.

Most Photogenic: Our television. Yes—we regularly take photos of the TV to capture decor inspiration and looks that catch our eye.

Easiest: Creating a quick, free food-coloring print for the hallway gallery—simple and effective.

Easiest (Runner-Up): Sherry’s faux cross-stitch, an uncomplicated handmade anniversary gift that felt personal and charming.

Most Likely To Result In Claw-Hands: Stenciling the office walls. It’s a time-consuming, detailed task, but we think the end result will be worth the effort. Final photos should be ready soon.

Best Sentence Ever Uttered By A Sixteen Month Old: Clara’s gem: “Iss my hoo hat.” She said it after insisting we help her put a jacket and a crocheted owl hat on over her pajamas. Fashion-forward at sixteen months.

Most Three-Dimensional: Our comparison of three different 3D interior design tools—an overview of the pros and cons of each way to visualize spaces.

Most Intense: The Blogiversary week. If you missed any posts, here’s a quick recap of the topics we covered:

• Our hour-by-hour “day in the life” breakdown
• Pie charts showing how we spend time and make money
• Numerical stats and curious facts about the blog
• A video answering personal questions from readers
• A reader poll to gather your thoughts and stories
• Goal-setting for year five and a review of year four’s targets
• Practical blogging tips, including basic coding advice
• A behind-the-scenes look at how a post goes from concept to completion
• Ten lessons we’ve learned over four years of blogging

So that’s September in review. What did you accomplish this month? Do you ever pause to list wins and milestones? It’s a nice break from perpetually adding to the to-do list to simply appreciate what’s been done—just for a minute. Then it’s back to the stencil.

Psst—You can check out July’s superlatives and August’s recap if you want to revisit earlier highlights.

Pssssst—We’re excited about a curated collection we assembled for Joss & Main that goes live soon. If you’re interested, sign up to get alerted when the sale begins.