It was time to mulch all our happy little bushes (all five million of them) to help retain moisture and provide insulation through the cooler months, even though the temperature is still hovering around 65°F here. Mulching is good for the plants and for your back: a proper layer of mulch greatly reduces the time … Read more

So… our afternoon post is a few hours early. Surprise! Fancy meeting you here. After teaming up with Joss & Main on one of our most popular giveaways, they invited us to curate a short sale event on their site. That meant doing a lot of virtual window-shopping—sifting through hundreds of items—and selecting pieces we … Read more

As we work through our biggest and most wallet-draining project to date, this week’s episode shares our system for planning and managing costs during any large-scale renovation or upgrade. We also offer a few practical money-saving tips. Plus: how a few simple house updates brought a great return for a friend, why it’s rude to … Read more

It’s Tuesday afternoon, and that means it’s time for some honest oversharing. Yesterday a fresh, hot-off-the-press copy of our book arrived via FedEx, and seeing it in person honestly made my head spin a little. We couldn’t stop smiling and saying things like, “It’s real! It has pages! It has a cover! It has our … Read more

Note: This is a retroactive post I put together in December 2011 to compile monthly recaps for our first year in the new house. I like details, so here’s everything we tackled in February — yearbook-style. Coupon-lovingest: A post about how I try to save money by cutting coupons. Sneakiest: Our tape-to-catch-drywall-dust trick that made … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!*** And the randomly selected person who’s starting their new year off with a prize is… Jennifer, who answered this week’s question with a Canadian folk lyric. Congrats, Jennifer! Have you ever heard of a bathymetric chart? It’s essentially a topographic map of underwater … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!*** And the random person getting their fixture fix this week is… Anne L (who simply described the problem in her bathroom as: “Pink carpet in bathroom?! Nasty!”) Congrats Anne! If your bathroom could use a refresh—new faucets, a better showerhead, or a complete … Read more

Linn’s built-in project is a great example of how transforming freestanding bookshelves into attached built-ins instantly upgrades a room. Here’s her account of the process: My husband and I built these custom built-in bookcases ourselves. Our old bookcases weren’t attractive and didn’t provide nearly enough practical storage, and we didn’t want to spend a lot … Read more

Yesterday was a delightful whirlwind. We spent nearly the entire day exploring the Portland Home & Garden Show at the Expo Center, with a brief break to sample the much-raved-about Voodoo Doughnut (yes, we tried the maple bacon — delicious). The hall was packed with stunning gardens, inventive green-living ideas, and an endless stream of … Read more

TGIF… or rather, thank goodness it’s February. This new month brought another cheerful delivery of fresh flowers, a gift from my husband: a bouquet a month for a year. This time we grabbed a plump bunch of white daisies from our local grocery store for just $4. I split the flowers into three simple arrangements … Read more