Welcome to our first episode of 2020 — and we’ve got plenty of news to share. This update covers a handful of small wins for us and the duplex, a quirky table swap story with friends, a thoughtful holiday gift idea for honoring a loved one, a progress report on our bathroom renovation, an Instagram account that makes us laugh, and our favorite geography-based game.
You can also find this episode on your preferred podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.
What’s New
- We finally upgraded our podcast recording setup. I graduated from the tiny “baby chair” and we now record from a more permanent spot in the office. It’s still a work in progress, but the new arrangement means we don’t have to haul chairs, computers, and cables into the living room every time. Small convenience, big improvement for podcast life.
- If you want more background on our bathroom remodel or details from our Costa Rica trip (both mentioned at the top of the episode), we wrote three posts that cover the updates and takeaways:
- Master bathroom progress over the holidays
- Costa Rica with kids — recap and FAQs
- IKEA PAX master closet renovation — before, after, budget, and a video tour
- Next week we’ll share more stories about how the bathroom came together during our winter break, including a few unexpected curveballs that popped up along the way.
Our Big Duplex News
- The details of this announcement are easier to hear than to summarize briefly, so if you want the entire conversation you can read the full transcript or listen to the first 22 minutes of the episode using the player above.
- During the episode we referenced a couple of previous posts for context. They include:
- The ongoing costs of running an Airbnb
- How much the duplex kitchens cost
- The dining table shown above is the one our friends Ryan and Ahren swapped with us around 2013. We sanded and refinished it, and it lived with us in Richmond for years — even appearing in a photo for our second book (the darker image below shows it before refinishing).
- The large round table we once had has stayed with Ryan and Ahren in Richmond, and we reconnected with it at their holiday party in December.
- Their Cape Charles home is full of charm. If you want to see more, we highlighted a quick peek of the space in the episode.
Game: Weird Town Names
- The map we used for the episode’s game — Weird Town Names — was shown during the show. The post that inspired it includes many more amusing town names organized by state.
We’re Digging
- For a meaningful holiday gift, we purchased StoryWorth for my parents. StoryWorth sends weekly prompts to encourage family members to share memories and life stories; at the end of the year their answers are compiled into a printed book. We found the service through an Instagram ad, gave it a try, and everyone has enjoyed the prompts so far.
- If you want a lighthearted Instagram account to follow, we recommend @InfluencersInTheWild. It consistently gives us a good laugh — the post Sherry mentions in the episode is a perfect example.
If you’re hunting for anything we’ve recommended in past episodes but can’t remember which show notes to search, we compiled a master list of all our “We’re Digging” picks across past episodes. You can also find every book we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, thanks to You Need A Budget (YNAB) for sponsoring this episode. Their free video course “Four Rules to Less Money Stress” is available to everyone, and new sign-ups receive the first 34 days free.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.