In Monday’s appliance post we mentioned a few swaps (wall oven out, range in), but that was just the start. Yesterday we floated the idea of moving the fridge, and now it’s official: we’re relocating it — and we couldn’t be more excited. First, though, a bit more about the demo process. This past weekend … Read more

We all grumble about mushrooms online, but sudden fungal clusters in the yard are just as unwelcome. Case in point: On our evening walk yesterday I thought rain had flattened a pile of leaves, but when we got closer it was a dense mass of mushrooms that had appeared in under 24 hours. Not exactly … Read more

Thank goodness we learned from our first-home experience and decided to pay for professional radon testing this time. During our new home inspection we hired a local radon testing company to run a multi-day test to verify there were no dangerous radon levels. We chose a company that only performs testing, not remediation, to avoid … Read more

We did it — we finally cut the cable cord. Thanks to many of your suggestions, the transition went smoothly, and we’re sharing exactly how it unfolded and how much we expect to save this year. Don’t worry: Sherry still has her beloved Bravo shows. We also uncovered some surprising tidbits about a few well-known … Read more

We love looking back at the empty photos of our first house because, while they’re bittersweet, they’re a joyful reminder of how a house becomes a home. It’s the moments shared with family (and our chihuahuas) that matter most. So we immediately took empty photos of our second house too. I assumed the rooms would … Read more

It was fun to open up a little of our personal “stuff” last Tuesday for this post about the real $herdog (yes, I’m still waiting for that nickname to catch on) and John’s J-Boom version. A funny thing happened after sharing those: not only did they attract over 1,200 thoughtful and encouraging comments (note to … Read more

We’ve had a blast planning kids’ birthday parties with offbeat themes like worms and dragons (yes, there was even a fire-breathing kid photo). After our last party post in 2014 — remember the Pink & Gold Everything Party? — we took a break from the blog for a year. During that time we wondered if … Read more

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 … Read more

After our sunny time in Hawaii, we almost forgot we still had more to share from a much cloudier destination. We already wrote about our day at the Portland Home & Garden Show (you can read more about that on our site), and if we met up that evening there’s a photo from the event … Read more

How did we add a significant amount of livable square footage and increase our listed home from 1,300 to 1,550 finished square feet in just 48 hours? No overnight addition was built. We simply added a permanent heat source to our existing sunroom—and now it counts as livable square footage. A realtor friend told us … Read more