It’s that time again—our month-in-review roundup where we look back at what we tackled, round up the links, and share a few never-before-seen moments. This month we covered a lot: kitchen demos, appliance shopping and installations, office updates, yard work, and even some Halloween crafts. Below are our month’s highlights, served with yearbook-style superlatives for fun.
Most Destructive: Demoing our fridge cabinet, which officially kicked off our kitchen makeover.
Best Timing: Buying appliances at the right moment, which saved us nearly $1,400.
Best Moves: Swapping the fridge and pantry to improve kitchen flow—Sherry’s face says it all when she moves big things.
Best Removes: Removing the wall oven, its cabinet, some counters, and the cooktop to make room for new appliances.
Thriftiest: Great secondhand finds from our road trip to Brevard, NC for a family wedding.
Cutest Couple: Clara and her BFF Gee—she named him—packed and ready for our weekend road trip. Sidenote: the cabinets are watching over them.
Cutest Couple (Runner Up): A tie between Sherry & Katie’s giggly performance and our cameo in a Q&A video during the Bowers’ visit to Richmond.
Worst Looking: Our kitchen mid-electrical work while preparing outlets and connections for the new appliances.
Most Killer: Stenciling the office walls, a project that took Sherry three sessions of roughly 4.5 hours each. Exhausting but worth it.
Most Likely To Include Ceramic Animals: The “Curator’s Collection” we created for Joss & Main—yes, we are excited about dog lamps and map art.
Cheekiest: Our office chairs, refreshed with green paint and bold new upholstery.
“Gone To the Dark Side” Award: The lower half of our office walls after we painted them a darker gray—it makes the room feel more grounded.
Least Likely To Take Themselves Too Seriously: The bright, sentimental DIY office art we made for about $13—a cheerful break from the daily grind.
Sloppiest: Clara’s finger-painting on our psychedelic, kid-friendly Halloween pumpkins.
Spookiest: Our mildly creepy Halloween decor, including bloody candles, wooden snakes, and green apples and gourds.
Most Hair Raising: The spider that interfered with our quick mum upgrade on the front porch. We’ll spare you the close-up of “Charlotte.”
Most Open: The view of our front yard now that the bush fence is gone.
Most Open (Runner Up): Outlining several kitchen decisions, including plans for open shelving.
Most Grounded: The new flooring choice for the kitchen—dark cork bought on sale.
Most Well Rounded: The penny tile we picked for the backsplash—Clara gives it two thumbs up.
“The White Stuff” Award: Choosing white Corian countertops instead of granite for the kitchen.
Deal of the Month: Saving more than $300 on cabinets by buying them at the ReStore instead of a big-box store.
Most Likely To Catch Flies: KB & SP announcing the return of the Pinterest Challenge, mouths agape and all.
So that’s our October in a nutshell. Can you believe it’s already November? What did you accomplish last month? If you don’t usually track wins, try jotting them down or share them in the comments below—it’s nice to pause and appreciate progress before getting back to the to-do list. Next week we expect a new 8′ opening into the dining room, so back to the kitchen for us. Open your mouth if you’re excited.
Psst—You can check July’s superlatives here, August’s here, and September’s here.
Pssst—We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Check the original post to see if you’re one of them.