After many readers asked for more detail about how we organize everything from bills to receipts, we realized our recent post about a few small life-simplifiers barely scratched the surface. So here’s a deeper look at the systems and habits that keep our home tidy, accessible, and mostly running on autopilot. Below is how we … Read more

Let’s get wreath the program, shall we? Forgive the pun — I’m genuinely excited about our latest holiday project. You might recall Cardboard Safari from a recent Sponsor Shout-Out. They sent us two of their beautiful white cardboard snowflake wreaths, and we loved assembling them. One of the best parts of Cardboard Safari’s products is … Read more

Even before I had a positive pregnancy test, I found myself scrolling through BabyCenter for articles about early pregnancy signs. The minute a stick confirmed I was expecting, John and I logged on to figure out when our baby would be due. I also signed up for weekly emails tracking our baby’s growth—emails I would … Read more

Ok, now we’re really moving on this bathroom renovation. We’ve made a lot of progress since partially demo-ing the room last week, and I wanted to share the final floor plan, our tile selections, and some of the design decisions we made along the way. The changes are such a dramatic improvement that it feels … Read more

You might remember the quick sunroom makeover from a few months ago when we converted our former third bedroom—previously home to a West Elm daybed and a desk—into Clara’s nursery. Since we like to make the most of what we already own, we moved that old daybed into the sunroom. We mentioned at the time … Read more

Every year we’re asked for theme ideas from my family’s long-running Christmas gift exchange. We first mentioned this tradition on a podcast episode in 2016, and nearly a decade later we’ve gathered a full, updated list here in an easy-to-reference post. If your family or group is stuck or overwhelmed by holiday shopping, introducing a … Read more

Our $35 secondhand chairs — originally found here — aren’t completely finished yet (imagine me tapping my foot while I impatiently wait for the paint to cure). We wanted to share the makeover progress and the decisions that led us to the final color choice. First, a quick rundown of all the hues John and … Read more

In all our years of DIY, we’d never used a solid stain—until a recent project made it the perfect choice. A professional house painter recommended it for our outdoor shower, and we were surprised by how easy it was to apply, how well it covered, and how durable the finish feels. The result was better … Read more

We tackled a small foyer ceiling refresh recently, and since many of you spotted it in the background of yesterday’s post, we wanted to share the full details. We actually completed this update before our larger kitchen painting project, but that post got published first because it was just too exciting to hold back. The … Read more

I often hear the saying “things are as easy or as hard as you make them,” and when you stop to consider it, that idea really holds up. As I go through my day I frequently ask myself: am I making this more difficult than it needs to be? Is there a way to make … Read more