Even though the idea to buy fresh flowers once a month started as my little Christmas gift to Sherry, I haven’t contributed many of these budget-bloom posts — mostly because talking about flowers isn’t my strongest suit. This month’s arrangement, however, isn’t really about the blooms so much as the bottles, which suits me perfectly. … Read more

We slipped away to the beach over Memorial Day weekend to spend time with John’s family at their lovely beach house near Bethany Beach, Delaware, and thought we’d share a few highlights from our house-related adventures. A reader (thanks, Ann!) suggested we check out The Old Screen Door in nearby Lewes (about 30 minutes from … Read more

After reading every one of the 750+ suggestions you left on that post and weighing dozens of options, we went with our very first instinct: a bright turquoise-teal. There were countless creative ideas from all of you—multiple colors, dipped legs, ombré, upholstered seats—but the turquoise-teal felt right from the start. Here’s how we transformed those … Read more

Sorry for the slightly late post this morning — two of the three humans in our house have the flu. Boo. For everyone asking where the February Superlatives went: here they are. We were in Hawaii the week they were supposed to run, so they rolled into this week instead. And truthfully, we’re glad February … Read more

What happens when you spend more than two months living in a smaller house in a quieter town? That’s exactly what we experienced this summer while staying at our beach house to manage the duplex rentals — and honestly, it was the best summer of our lives. The lessons we learned from living in a … Read more

If an email arrives with the phrases “1950s ranch,” “knock down walls,” and “kitchen makeover,” you can be sure our interest is piqued. When that message includes before-and-after photos as striking as Jessica’s, the result is irresistible. I had to take a moment to pick my jaw up off the floor. Here’s her note: Hey … Read more

It’s Tuesday the 10th, which means it’s time for this season’s unofficial Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else). Katie dreamed this up to get us to stop pinning and start doing, and I happily joined in. Cue the choir of glue-gun-wielding angels! I decided to try painting again just for fun. Aside … Read more

We’re back with the second half of our tree-decorating adventure, sped up and set to some festive music to get you in the holiday spirit. We left off in the previous video when we discovered a strand of lights in the middle of our pre-lit artificial tree was out. Fixing it was simple: we listened … Read more

Remember when we mentioned snagging these old iron keys for $8 in an antique shop in West Virginia while visiting John’s grandma? I finally painted them and added them to our hallway frame gallery (see how we made that here). The cardstock key in the frame was only a temporary placeholder. I could have spray-painted … Read more

Since many of you asked, I’m sharing some practical technical blogging and coding advice. I’ll be honest: I’m still very much an amateur. Asking me for web design tips is a bit like asking your waiter to teach you how to cook. I can describe the basic ingredients and what’s worked for me, but building … Read more