My dad gave me a toolbox when I was in high school. It contained just a few essentials: a hammer, a handsaw, a set of screwdrivers — and a photo of his dad, a reminder that being handy ran in the family. As a teenager I wasn’t particularly interested in tools, but that small kit … Read more

Before we get into the latest progress on our office, we want to thank everyone who left such kind comments on yesterday’s announcement. Your support has been surreal and deeply appreciated. Now, back to the office updates. You may recall from our initial planning post that we were still letting the concept simmer. After testing … Read more

We’re still making progress on the kitchen—an update is coming soon (probably closer to update #19 than #561). This week should bring some major milestones: new countertops and a working sink at last. While that’s underway, we’re easing into the holiday season. There’s something extra special about celebrating our first real Christmas in this house. … Read more

It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years since we started this little blog — originally just a place for friends and family to follow our kitchen makeover on our first home. So much has happened since then. To celebrate, we’re kicking off a full week of blogiversary festivities and behind-the-scenes posts. The celebrations … Read more

Let’s talk about breathing room. One thing we learned from our last house was that we prefer to let rooms breathe a little. That means resisting the urge to fill every corner and wall with furniture, plant stands, coat racks and baskets. After some thought, we decided to clear the shelf-cluttered corner by the fireplace … Read more

Dyeing your clothes might sound intimidating, messy, or complicated—but it doesn’t have to be. I’m the person who dyed her wedding dress so she could wear it again, so trust me: anyone can dye clothes at home. It’s simple, inexpensive, and a great way to refresh pieces you aren’t wearing. Rather than donating items that … Read more

We’re about 90% packed, which is a relief with moving day just around the corner. We’re loading the truck on Sunday and hope to officially move on Monday afternoon—fingers crossed our closing doesn’t get pushed to Tuesday. Here’s the progress on the to-do list we shared on Wednesday: Remove every item from the walls and … Read more

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. We spent time with family (more on that later this week) and are slowly regaining momentum after our big paneling project last week, but we did manage a small porch refresh. When we were house hunting last fall we took a couple of terrible photos of the … Read more

During our weekend visit with the Bowers, we shared a few quick Instagram story photos of an irresistibly charming children’s bookstore and immediately got dozens of messages asking for a proper post so the spot wouldn’t disappear from people’s radars. So here it is: a full look at The Story Shop in Monroe, Georgia—one of … Read more

When Jen sent us photos of her stunning kitchen makeover from England, we were excited to share them. Here’s the note she sent: I absolutely love your blog and find your style so inspiring. I wanted to share my latest project with you as I am so pleased with it. I created a wall of … Read more