Our month-long shopping hiatus ended last week, so today we’re sharing everything we learned. What was the hardest part? How did it change our habits? What did we buy first when it was over? Most importantly, how did it affect our bank account? We cover all of that, plus offer alternatives if a full shopping … Read more

Here’s a simple, budget-friendly idea in the same spirit as our vacation jars and framed key art: save a postcard from each trip and write one to yourselves. The idea came from my husband early in our relationship. While addressing a few postcards home, he suggested we keep one for ourselves to capture a few … Read more

Somebody put a cork in us, because we’re done with our latest quick and easy DIY project. We wanted a handy bulletin board in the kitchen to keep favorite recipes and meal ideas visible—out of sight means out of mind when it comes to recipe clippings. But we didn’t want those clippings to clutter countertops … Read more

Last week we shared our DIY flower mobiles but intentionally left out the rest of the wall because it felt unbalanced. To set the scene, the wall above the dresser looked a little bare and needed something substantial to balance the mobile and the changing pad area. We knew we wanted a mobile above the … Read more

Believe it or not, we’ve lived in our new house for over six months now. Half a year. This felt like a good milestone to revisit the goals behind our move and downsizing: what’s met or exceeded expectations, and what challenges have surfaced along the way. This is a long and detailed update because there’s … Read more

We realized it was high time to give a proper tour of my mom’s house, especially since we stopped by during a recent whirlwind Thanksgiving visit. When in Manhasset, NY, right? My mom has always favored a formal, traditional aesthetic—different from our own style, but absolutely admirable. As an accomplished attorney who works long hours, … Read more

We mentioned a while back that we were going to do a fill-in-the-blank project, and this time we finally painted the bedroom finials to match Ed the Bed. In the photo they looked a bit too white compared with the bedposts, so we decided to tweak them to blend in seamlessly. Matching paint to an … Read more

Holey moley. After some electrical work last week, our ceiling had a few holes that needed fixing (warning: $herdog cameo in this post)… We suited up with sunglasses, hats and breathing masks — safety glasses were nowhere to be found thanks to a busy book shoot — because ceiling dust is unpleasant and gets everywhere. … Read more

A bunch of readers have asked for a deck mood board so they can picture how this big project will look once it’s finished. Since funds are tight and we still haven’t fully furnished the patio we built last year, this won’t come together overnight — and some items on the board could sell out … Read more

We went from zero closet space in our bedroom to having the same amount of storage as our previous house’s large walk-in closet. We installed Ikea Pax wardrobes and made them look built-in, and now we’re opening every door and drawer to show how we organized everything. If you want practical tips to maximize storage … Read more