It’s Wednesday the 2nd, and that means it’s time to share this season’s (completely unofficial) Pinterest Challenge — a friendly push to stop pinning and start making. This quick craft challenge was dreamed up by Katie to get everyone crafting, and I decided to tackle ornaments early so I’d be prepared for the holidays. I … Read more

Alternate post title: The Vow (Not The One With Channing Tatum). Okay, now it’s the one with him in the title because I mentioned him, but he has nothing to do with this post. He’s not my type anyway — I like ’em tall, lanky, and bookish, not from a male dancing background. This year … Read more

When Monica sent in photos of her dresser makeover, we were excited to share the results. Here’s the note she sent: I recently discovered your blog and I’m absolutely in love with everything you do. Your how-to tips are fantastic. My boyfriend and I just moved into a rental and, like with anything that isn’t … Read more

Maybe it’s the seasonal urge to organize, a bit of last-minute nesting, or simply my lifelong love of order, but lately I’ve been focused on putting everything in its place. I’m talking about finding a home for every paperclip and utensil, and even sorting our photos into coordinated leather albums with chronological numbering. It may … Read more

We’ve finally reached the moment many of you have been waiting for: a simple, easy-to-browse mood board gallery. After plenty of late-night tinkering and more than a few coding headaches, we created a Mood Boards section you can explore by color or by room. You’ll find the new Mood Boards tab near our blog header. … Read more

We’re back with a quick kitchen update since we promised to share every step of the process, just like we did more than four years ago with our first kitchen makeover. The electricians arrived this week, and because electrical work in an older house can be risky, we hired a two-person team recommended by friends … Read more

It’s already February, so we finally replaced the outdated December calendar in our kitchen — and this year John wanted to make one himself. His idea was simple: pick a handful of our favorite inside-joke quotes and place them on long, narrow numbered pages so we’d smile every time we checked the date or wrote … Read more

We’re slipping in one last December roundup to catch anything you might have missed and to remind ourselves we didn’t spend the whole month in a cookie-induced haze. Taking a moment to celebrate what we actually finished each month gives us a boost to tackle the projects that remain. It’s that nice “you did it … Read more

Yup, this highly embarrassing video can only mean one thing: it’s Pinterest Challenge time. Not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else — this was dreamt up by Katie Bower to push us from pinning to doing. My favorite part is the outtake. Yes, at one point I joke about nearly peeing my pants. Graceful? Not … Read more

We made great progress on the deck this weekend — despite an unexpected water main break right in front of our house that sent gallons of water rushing down the street. We called it in, and a crew of five worked roughly seven hours (with our street’s water turned off) to repair the break after … Read more