Holy cats — has it really been six years since we started blogging?
It feels like Blogiversary Five was just yesterday. Back in 2007 we posted tiny photos and a few sentences about whatever was happening around our house. Every year of this adventure has brought something new, but the past 12 months have been especially surprising: a book that landed on the best-seller list, a lighting collection we designed with a local Richmond company, a short film featured on Oprah, and perhaps most exciting for us, a new house in a neighborhood we’ve long dreamed of living in.
To celebrate our sixth blogiversary, we thought about hiring a twenty-piece orchestra to serenade you while you scroll and eat your Toaster Strudel, but logistics got in the way. Instead, we’ve planned a week of festivities with behind-the-scenes posts and fun extras — the same kind of celebration we’ve done in past years. This week we’ll share a variety of content, including:
- A “day in the life” post packed with photos and details about a typical day for our family (keep scrolling — it’s below).
- An exciting giveaway that includes plane tickets.
- A deep dive into blog stats and finances: pie charts, time breakdowns, where income comes from and where it goes, plus some surprising figures.
- A Q&A video answering many personal questions you submitted on Facebook.
- A behind-the-scenes account of our Oprah appearance, including a funny story about how that day began, and a clip for you to see.
- A candid post about a side project that didn’t pan out — because you win some and you lose some, and we like sharing the lessons.
- An opportunity for you to tell us about yourselves, which John will turn into an infographic-style recap.
One of our favorite blogiversary traditions is the “Day In The Life” roundup. It’s fun to compare past years and see how our lives and surroundings have changed — you can find previous ones from 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009 on the blog.
This year we decided to document our day using only iPhone photos so the day would feel more natural and less staged (apologies for any less-than-perfect photo quality — that’s real life!). Here’s how our typical day went on the day we recorded it:
6:15 AM: John gets up for a run around the neighborhood. Some days he heads to the gym, and some days he stays in bed. When he returns there’s usually time to answer a few emails before the rest of the household wakes up.
7:45 AM: Clara wakes up and spends a slow morning playing with John in her room — they created a Lego dragon. I’m out of the shower and getting dressed, and Burger the dog pops up for a brief potty break before returning to bed.
8:30 AM: Breakfast happens in bits and pieces. Clara enjoys yogurt while watching a bit of Jake and the Neverland Pirates after some magnet-doll play. I start monitoring and answering overnight comments while John squeezes in a shower and a quick shave.
9:00 AM: Running a touch late for preschool, we get Clara dressed quickly and John packs her snack. They head out for the 15–20 minute drive while I stay behind to proofread and finalize the morning post, making sure links and images are all set before publishing at 10:00.
9:45 AM: Clara’s dropped off and John runs errands, including a grocery stop to restock the fridge. I use the quiet to answer a few more emails and prepare to publish the post at 10:00.
10:30 AM: John returns from the store and focuses on computer tasks: backing up photos, replying to emails, and selecting images for a later post. I take advantage of a sunny moment to shoot a few last photos for an upcoming post and handle some showhouse emails before drafting the next piece.
12:00 PM: Time to pick up Clara. We have a meeting immediately after, so we pick her up at 12:30 and grab a quick lunch at Jason’s Deli before a 1:30 appointment.
1:00 PM: We drive 30 minutes to photograph the Massey Street of Dreams for a multi-house House Crashing post. Some days start to feel like we live in the car.
2:15 PM: John photographs the homes while I gather details from our guide, Justin, and at one point I publish an afternoon post from my phone. Justin’s 10-year-old daughter came along, so Clara played with her while both girls rested as nap time approached.
3:00 PM: We leave and make the 40-minute drive home. I catch up on comments during the drive while Clara reads in the backseat and John checks she hasn’t drifted into a car nap — we try not to lose a real nap at home.
3:45 PM: Back home and Clara’s down for a nap. I juggle a phone interview about the Super Soul Sunday clip, a showhouse call with the builder, and a handful of emails. John changes into work clothes and starts caulking sunroom trim and filling nail holes while I attempt to finish a post.
5:30 PM: Clara wakes, and we spend a little time playing in her room.
6:00 PM: Family walk. We don’t do one every night, but beautiful weather calls for it. We chat about Clara’s day, upcoming posts, and the projects we hope to tackle next.
6:45 PM: Dinner is a family favorite: chicken squares (we use a simple Pillsbury recipe). Clara helps with mixing while I check comments and wrap up the day’s post. With seven posts scheduled over five days, we’re constantly juggling writing, editing, and answering reader questions.
7:30 PM: We eat together, clean up, and spend a few quiet minutes on the couch finishing an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates with Clara.
8:15 PM: Bedtime routine: tonight I brush teeth and help with pajamas while John reads Clara’s bedtime story.
8:30 PM: With Clara asleep, we get a final burst of productivity. John finishes a post he prepped earlier while I respond to social media messages and send book outline notes to our publisher — yes, we’re working on Book Two. Eventually the TV goes on and we half-watch while finishing up last-minute emails and tasks.
10:00 PM: We put computers away, tidy up, and head to bed to catch up on TV. Lately we’ve been catching Scandal episodes on Netflix — John’s mostly caught up while I’m slightly more obsessed, thanks to a recommendation from his sister.
11:30 PM: The TV is off after an episode, teeth are brushed, contacts are out, and John reads a few pages while I unwind with some late-night Pinterest browsing and messages with friends. Burger sneaks under the covers to snuggle, and the lights are out by midnight.