Last Thursday I turned 27, and my family and friends made it a memorable celebration. My thoughtful husband surprised me with dinner at a delicious Mediterranean restaurant, Cous Cous, and the following morning we drove up to his parents’ beach house in Delaware for a birthday weekend with my mom, stepdad and the in-laws. By … Read more

We asked. You voted. We listened. Recently we put out a ballot to choose a new color for our bland bookcase, and you helped pick the winner. There was support for a few subtle, neutral choices as well as a couple of new color ideas, but the majority selected green. Below is the finished bookcase … Read more

Star jasmine is a fast-growing, fragrant evergreen vine that provides excellent coverage and privacy whether trained to climb or used as a creeping groundcover. In spring it produces abundant, highly fragrant white star-shaped flowers. Native to Asia, it’s widely planted in the southeastern United States and parts of California where the climate suits it well. … Read more

Since our daughter started elementary school a few years ago, spring break has become an increasingly valuable chance to get away, spend quality time together, and enjoy some much-needed warm weather. Last year’s spring break in Cape Canaveral checked many boxes, and we almost repeated it this year. Instead, we pushed ourselves to explore a … Read more

2, 4, 6, 8, Who Do We Appreciate? Planning! We appreciate planning because we learn the hard way when we skip it. Case in point: the picture-frame arrangement we recently hung above our sectional. Here’s what happened. We always planned to fill the big empty space above Karl with a grid of large frames. The … Read more

Attention, fans of tidy spaces and picture-perfect displays: this week three lucky readers will each win a set of stylish, functional prizes. The first prize comes from StickyGram, a company that transforms your Instagram photos into attractive little magnets. Each winner will receive five sheets, each containing nine different magnets (45 magnets total), perfect for … Read more

Truth: Sherry was surprisingly eager to add two fans to keep our newly opened sunroom cool and create a steady breeze to ward off mosquitoes while we relax. I, on the other hand, was not thrilled about the idea. We actually have a lot of experience removing fans (see earlier projects), and I’ll admit I’ve … Read more

We’ve only done a few store-crash visits before—like that charming local kids’ consignment shop or the office crash in Charlotte—but when Gelati Celesti opened in our neighborhood, we had to stop in. The ice cream is excellent, but the interior design is what really caught our eye. Much of the look feels approachable and adaptable … Read more

We made four small updates around the house, so here’s a quick recap of one of the easiest and most satisfying changes we made: converting a toilet to a dual-flush system. We’d been meaning to add dual-flush functionality for a while — we’d already updated the hallway toilet and the one in our first house … Read more

Ever since we saw a rain barrel in action at Matt & Kristin’s bungalow last fall, Sherry and I have been eager to collect our own otherwise wasted rainwater. We recently attended a local rain barrel workshop and are sharing a clear, practical rundown of what we learned. Why install a rain barrel? Positioned beneath … Read more