Welcome to our first episode of 2020 — and we have big news to share. This update touches on our ongoing efforts to simplify life, includes a quirky story about swapping tables with friends, and highlights a thoughtful holiday gift idea you can use to preserve family memories. We also check in on our bathroom renovation progress, share an Instagram account that always makes us laugh, and name our favorite geography-based party game.
You can also find this episode on your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.
What’s New
- We finally upgraded our podcast setup. No more hauling a chair and laptop into the living room every time we record — the new configuration in the office makes setup faster and easier. We’re still fine-tuning acoustics and positioning, but the change has already made podcasting more comfortable and consistent.
- If you want more detail about our bathroom remodel or our family trip to Costa Rica, we’ve summarized both in recent blog posts:
- Bathroom renovation progress over the holidays
- Costa Rica vacation recap and FAQs
- Closet before & after, budget details, and video tour
- Next week we’ll share more behind-the-scenes stories about how the bathroom came together over winter break, including a few unexpected curveballs we had to navigate.
Our Big Duplex News
- We cover this topic in depth on the podcast, so if you want the full details you can read the full transcript here, or listen to the first 22 minutes of the episode above.
- During the conversation we referenced some helpful posts about duplex ownership and renovation costs:
- Ongoing costs of running an Airbnb
- How much the duplex kitchens cost
- The dining table shown above is the one we sanded and refinished after swapping furniture with our friends Ryan and Ahren around 2013. Their round table ended up being a tighter fit for our space, so the swap worked out for everyone. That table lived in our Richmond dining room for years and even appeared in a photo for our second book before we refinished it.
- The round table has remained with Ryan and Ahren in Richmond, and we were happy to see it again at their holiday party in December.
- Their Cape Charles home is full of charm — we shared a few photos in the episode and you can view more on their listing if you’re curious about the style and layout.
Game: Weird Town Names
- We played a geography-based game on the show using a map of unusual town names. The map and the accompanying blog post from Estately include many quirky examples for each state — a fun, family-friendly game for road trips or holiday gatherings.
We’re Digging
- For a meaningful holiday gift this year we bought StoryWorth for my parents. StoryWorth prompts family members with weekly questions so you can record stories and memories over the year; at the end, the collected responses are printed in a keepsake book. We discovered it via an Instagram ad and it’s been a thoughtful way to capture my grandmother’s stories.
- For light-hearted Instagram entertainment, we recommend following @InfluencersInTheWild. The post Sherry mentioned in the episode is one of our favorites for a quick laugh.
If you want to revisit recommendations from earlier episodes, we’ve compiled a master list of everything we’ve been digging, and you can find all our book picks on the Book Club page.
A big thank you to our sponsor for this episode, You Need A Budget (YNAB). Visit YNAB.com/YHL to take their free video course “Four Rules To Less Money Stress,” and sign up to get your first 34 days free.
Thanks for listening — we appreciate you tuning in and following along with our projects and adventures.
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