Several readers have asked how we’re preparing Clara for a younger sibling. Aside from giving her a baby-boy doll after we learned we were expecting a boy (she still adores Captain Barnacles), we’ve been taking gentle, practical steps to help her adjust. Mostly, we talk with her about what it will be like to be … Read more

After readers asked for more family travel ideas following our guides to Charleston with kids and Palm Springs with kids, here’s a recap of our three-night family trip to New Orleans. It was our first time in the city, and we were pleasantly surprised by how family-friendly it felt—far more than just Bourbon Street and … Read more

When Jamie shared photos of her elegant striped walls—directly inspired by our bathroom painting project—we had to showcase the impressive makeover. Here’s the note she sent us: Just wanted to tell you “THANK YOU” and send a big cyber-hug for inspiring me to get off my duff and add some oomph to my home. After … Read more

This week my small “Dude, Get On That Already” project was to hang three floating vases that I bought from CB2 about four years ago. They used to hang outside the kitchen in our first house and then got tucked into the playroom after we moved. I finally tracked them down and put them up … Read more

The weather hasn’t been ideal for photos and the landscaping isn’t at its best right now, but I’m so excited about our painted brick house that I couldn’t wait to share the pictures. I’m a 36-year-old suburban mom and this project has me genuinely thrilled. In this post you’ll find the full details about painting … Read more

This project comes with a clear “don’t try this at home” warning for two main reasons: It involves open flame and broken glass—exercise extreme caution and proceed entirely at your own risk. Despite repeated attempts, I couldn’t get a reliable result, so you may want to consider whether it’s worth your time. I persisted through … Read more

We’ve got some big news this week that you probably didn’t see coming (and yes, we might be a little crazy). In this episode we share how we paid off our mortgage, and how a decade of small financial choices and house projects set the stage for that milestone. We also talk about items you … Read more

Sorry it’s taken so long to share this — we heard from a lot of you after we returned and wanted to put together a proper recap. True to form, we took way too many photos, debated which ones to use, and then decided to include plenty of words too. The result is this long, … Read more

In case you missed this week’s podcast or didn’t get to read the transcript, we wanted to put our big news into a proper blog post. This is one of the biggest life changes we’ve made in the last decade, so we wanted to make sure everyone is up to speed. Thank you for all … Read more

Many of us want a more organized home, but are we approaching it the right way? In this episode we talk with a home efficiency expert about rethinking how we organize so it actually improves our day-to-day lives — helping us feel calmer at home, be more present with our kids, and even become more … Read more