Holy cats — has it really been six years of blogging?
It feels like Blogiversary 5 was just yesterday and that 2007 wasn’t that long ago, when we posted tiny photos and a few lines each night about whatever was happening at home. Every year has brought surprises, but the past 12 months have been especially wild: our book landed on the best-seller list, we designed a lighting collection with a local Richmond company, a short film we worked on aired on Oprah, and best of all — we moved into a house in a neighborhood we’d dreamed about for years.
For our sixth blogiversary we considered hiring an orchestra to serenade you while you ate your Toaster Strudel, but logistics got in the way. So instead we planned a week of blogiversary festivities: fanfare, behind-the-scenes stories, and a few favorites we’ve done in past years. The celebrations start now. Here’s what we have lined up this week:
- a “day in the life” post with photos and details about an average day for our family
- a big giveaway that includes plane tickets
- a data-packed post with pie charts and stats about how we spend our time, income sources and expenses, plus surprising figures
- a Q&A video answering personal questions you submitted on Facebook
- a behind-the-scenes look at our Oprah segment, including a funny story about how that day began
- a candid post about a side gig that didn’t work out — because you win some and you lose some
- a chance for you to share about yourselves so John can turn it into an infographic recap
We always enjoy revisiting our past “Day In The Life” posts to see how our family and surroundings have changed over the years. For this year’s edition we stuck to iPhone photos only to keep the day feeling real instead of full of camera setups — so forgive the imperfect lighting and grainy shots. That’s life.
6:15 AM — John’s up for a run around the neighborhood. Some days he hits the gym, and some days he stays in bed. After his run he answers a few emails before the rest of us get up.
7:45 AM — Clara wakes and spends a slow morning playing with John in her room — they built a Lego dragon. I’m out of the shower getting dressed, and Burger pops up for a quick potty break before returning to bed.
8:30 AM — Breakfast is scattered around the house. Clara eats yogurt while watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates after some magnet-doll play with me. I start moderating and replying to comments that arrived overnight while John squeezes in a shower and a shave.
9:00 AM — Running a bit behind, I dress Clara quickly while John packs her snack and drops her at preschool. I stay home to proof the morning post before its 10:00 a.m. publish time, checking links, images, and making last-minute edits.
9:45 AM — After dropping Clara off, John runs to the grocery store to restock. I reply to a few emails and hit publish on the post at 10 a.m.
10:30 AM — John’s back and I’m busy with comments. He uses the quiet house to back up photos, answer emails, and begin selecting images for another post. I take advantage of the sunlight to shoot a few photos for an upcoming post, handle some showhouse emails, and start drafting the next day’s post.
NOON — Time to pick up Clara. We have a meeting afterward, so both of us head out. After pickup at 12:30 we grab a quick lunch at Jason’s Deli before our 1:30 appointment.
1:00 PM — We drive about 30 minutes to photograph the Massey Street of Dreams for a House Crashing post. It’s one of those days we spend a lot of time in the car.
2:15 PM — John photographs the homes while I gather details from our guide, Justin. At one point I publish the afternoon post from my phone. Justin’s 10-year-old daughter tagged along, so Clara spent the visit playing with her before both of them started to rest since Clara’s nap time was approaching.
3:00 PM — We leave and make the 40-minute drive home. I use the car time to catch up on comments. Clara reads in the backseat while John checks to make sure she doesn’t fall asleep — we avoid letting her nap in the car so she’ll sleep at home.
3:45 PM — Back home, Clara naps. This is usually prime project time, but I have a phone interview about the Super Soul Sunday segment and a showhouse call coming up. John changes into work clothes to caulk trim and nail holes in the sunroom while I juggle calls, emails, and try to finish the post I started earlier.
5:30 PM — Clara’s up, so I fetch her and we play in her room for a bit.
6:00 PM — Family walk time. We don’t walk every night, but the weather is perfect and we catch up on Clara’s school day, the posts we’re working on, and our project plans for the next day.
6:45 PM — Dinner time. Tonight we make a family favorite — chicken squares — and Clara helps with mixing while I check comments and finish the day’s post. Sharing multiple posts in a short span means we’re constantly editing, writing, and answering questions.
7:30 PM — We eat together and clean up. John catches up on emails while Clara and I snuggle on the couch to finish an episode she started earlier.
8:15 PM — Bedtime routine for Clara: tonight I handle teeth and pajamas, and John reads the story.
8:30 PM — With Clara in bed, we squeeze in a few productive hours before shutting down our laptops. John finishes the post he prepped earlier while I answer social messages and send book outline material to our publisher — yes, we’re working on Book Two. Eventually we relax on the couch, half-watching TV as we wrap up final emails, comments, and tasks. Since we didn’t tackle much DIY today, we plan a project-heavy evening tomorrow after Clara’s asleep.
10:00 PM — To force ourselves to stop working, we tidy up downstairs, put away our computers, and watch TV in bed. Lately we’ve been catching up on Scandal on Netflix.
11:30 PM — The TV episode ends, lights go off, and we wind down. John reads a few pages while I browse Pinterest and text friends. Burger finally squeezes between us for a late-night snuggle, and the lights are out by midnight.