After a few “settling in” months, we’re now in that stage I jokingly call the What We Really Need (And Don’t) Phase. Like many people after a move, we tried to donate, sell, or give away the obvious items we wouldn’t use anymore so we wouldn’t waste time or energy moving things only to store … Read more

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries.*** This week we continue with an eco-friendly theme featuring a giveaway from Bright and Bold. Bright and Bold is an online shop offering sustainable home goods, including popular Envirosax bags, jewelry, gifts, and other eco-conscious items. Everything on their site ships to the US for free, which makes … Read more

We made some simple Valentine’s Day goody bags for our daughter’s classmates. First we wandered the aisles at Target—checking The Dollar Spot, the Valentine’s candy section, and the kid’s party aisle—to see what was left. In The Dollar Spot we found a set of 20 small clear bags for $1. They were perfect, so we … Read more

All aboard! (Can I get a choo-choo?) As promised in our Instagram and Facebook sneak peek, here’s the story of how we built a train board for Clara. Why a train board? Clara is absolutely obsessed with the one at Barnes & Noble: a large track secured to a pedestal board that kids swarm to … Read more

Which eyesores? The glaring ones in our hallway, of course. After spending the time to install board and batten, we didn’t want a bland light fixture, a dingy ceiling vent, or a gaudy doorbell distracting from the finished look. Here’s an overdue recap of the small but impactful updates you might have noticed in last … Read more

Our freshly painted laundry room feels bright and cheerful—so much so that it makes me want to sing and dance. I started by repainting all the trim with an off-the-shelf Olympic No-VOC semi-gloss white and painted the brown quarter round near the baseboards so it would blend with the trim. I applied three thin coats … Read more

We spent the weekend crossing off several hands-on projects in the girls’ room at the showhouse. The space still feels a bit sparse and is far from done, so it will likely keep evolving up to our deadline. The bed needs to be raised and we’ll add a colorful throw. Linens need ironing and we … Read more

The other night Sherry and I decided to challenge each other to create something using only objects found around the house. The twist was that the other person got to choose the items. It wasn’t meant to be a serious competition, but we did set a few simple ground rules: Use anything you like to … Read more

We’ve painted kitchen cabinets before and installed Ikea kitchens before, but painting Ikea kitchen cabinets was a new combination for us. Despite initial doubts about painting a slick, factory-finished surface, we’re very pleased with the result. It turned out to be easier than expected — no paint sprayer or specialized gear required — and the … Read more

Here’s a quick recap of a few small projects and updates we knocked out—each one took less than ten minutes. Think of this as a “tapas” post: bite-sized projects that were fast and actually worked (sometimes quick projects spiral into long ones, but not this time). First up: wooden tattoos. I bought two temporary tattoos … Read more