Woohoo! We’re celebrating three wonderful years of sharing our home improvement adventures (and occasional misadventures) in this virtual place we call home. That means blogiversary festivities are officially underway.
As we head into year four, we expect more projects—big and small—and we always use blogiversary week as a chance to give a little behind-the-scenes peek and set the tone for the next 365 days. This week will include a handful of fun extras: a video with hilariously ugly “before” footage from many of our projects (let’s just call it “vintage”), some candid behind-the-scenes stories about how we live and work, and other bits that show how we manage everything in between.
We also have an exciting blogiversary giveaway lined up, so stay tuned for that later today. But first, here’s an answer to a reader question we loved:
Q: Have you two ever written a “typical day in the life” post? I just finished reading about your latest project and realized that every time I read your blog (after a profound “FANTASTIC!”), I wonder how you schedule to get done all that you appear to be doing—house projects + two blog posts a day + mood boards/other work + responding to comments so frequently + baby + all the rest that comes with life and house maintenance. I’d be fascinated to know if you have any scheduling/time-saving tips. I’m a very organized, list-making, master-scheduler myself, and I still can’t figure out how you do it. Regardless, WELL DONE! – Constance
Interestingly, Southern Flourish magazine asked us to write a “day in the life” piece for their recent issue, and it appeared online just last week. We covered everything from diaper changes and Clara feedings to project work and post writing—yes, even what we ate for breakfast. If you catch that feature, it lays out how a typical day looks for us, warts and all.
As for scheduling and time-saving tips: we’re still learning the ropes of juggling a baby with work. We once assumed that having two adults around after Clara was born would instantly double our productivity, but in practice it often feels like one parent is on full-time baby duty while the other tries to tackle the blog and projects. Despite advice from others, we hadn’t fully grasped how all-consuming a baby can be.
The good news is we’ve become much more efficient through experimentation and flexibility. Nap time has turned into our most productive window—short bursts of focused work, one hour at a time, repeated between naps. Babywearing has also been a lifesaver: baby carrier plus Clara equals hands-free time for typing, cleaning, or small project tasks. We’re also not above eating cereal for dinner when it helps carve out a few extra minutes for work or rest.
We’ve sharpened our post-production skills too. We’ve gotten faster at taking and editing photos, sizing images for the web, writing posts, and responding to comments—skills that free up more time for makeovers, DIY projects, and of course, Clara cuddles. A big lesson we learned is that single-tasking beats frantic multitasking: when we concentrate on completing one task before moving to the next, we actually get more done and make fewer frantic runs around the house.
We rely heavily on lists. Seriously. Lists help us prioritize and track progress, and John famously clings to his list like a talisman—often whispering “my list!” as we head out the door when I inevitably shout back to grab it. That tiny ritual keeps us organized and ensures important tasks don’t slip through the cracks.
We’re also grateful to have John working full-time on the blog. Being able to trade off baby duty makes it possible for one of us to focus on content while the other cares for Clara, and we can’t imagine how we would manage without that arrangement. And above all, Clara makes every sacrifice worth it—she’s the reason we’re even more motivated to create a warm, functional home tailored to her needs.
Stick around for the rest of our blogiversary hijinks—expect paint rollers, hammers, and lots of gooey home-improvement goodness. We can’t wait to open the next chapter and share it all with you.