Hooray — our publisher has finally confirmed a handful of upcoming dates you’ve been asking about, and even added a few more tour stops. We’ll share those at the end of this post. But first, here’s our biweekly recap of the most recent events — the last ones of 2012 before the tour resumes in … Read more

OK, it’s day two of our organizing week and today we’re sharing how we manage Clara’s growing collection of toys and books. This isn’t a step-by-step makeover post (that comes later) — it’s a practical system that’s worked for us to keep kid clutter under control and make playtime more enjoyable for Clara. We get … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*** Yes, this giveaway is about cleaning, but calling it simply “nice” doesn’t do it justice. Take the stunning Australian house we virtually toured back in February — it’s far more than nice; it’s remarkable. The homeowners behind that gorgeous home are also the creators of Murchison-Hume, a luxurious, … Read more

As many of you know, each month we treat ourselves to an inexpensive—or sometimes free—bouquet to keep the home feeling fresh. The tradition actually began with a thoughtful Christmas gift from my husband. This month John’s solo grocery run produced a cheerful surprise: a $4 bouquet of yellow alstroemerias he picked up along with milk, … Read more

So, my basement workshop. I admitted it was a mess a few months ago. When I built Clara’s dollhouse it forced me to tidy up a bit — just enough that you could actually see some of the floor. Then the deck project happened and the workshop slid back into chaos: sawdust, scrap wood, and … Read more

We finally painted the area below the chair rail in our office a shade darker than the stenciled wall above so the room feels more balanced. The stencil above the chair rail made the top feel heavy, so we slid one square down on the Benjamin Moore swatch from our wall color (Moonshine) and chose … Read more

We have a theory: roughly 75% of the things we bring into our home are white. To test that idea, here are some of our recent favorite finds and purchases. One of our all-time favorite additions is a ceramic playmate for the concrete greyhound John gave me for Valentine’s Day. This jumbo ceramic dog was … Read more

Ever since MyPublisher shut down last year, one of the most common questions we’ve received is “who are you going to use to make your family photo book now?” For months we didn’t have a good answer because we only create our annual family yearbooks in January, after the previous year has ended. Now that … Read more

File this under fab and nearly free mini-makeovers anyone can do. We had two yellow chairs—leftovers from a brief apartment stay with a balcony—that matched our old yellow door but clashed with the current red one. Two cans of Rustoleum Universal All Surface spray paint solved the problem in no time. This spray paint is … Read more

We’re thrilled to take part in the 48-Hour Challenge with Better Homes & Gardens and The Home Depot. For this event, Home Depot and BHG selected five of their favorite home and garden bloggers to design clever weekend projects for outdoor living using $500 in materials from The Home Depot. We’re honored to be included … Read more