Welcome to our 2025 Holiday Gift Guides — all compiled into one post to help you shop this season. These picks include gifts we’re buying for family and friends this year, items we already own and love, and finds from small businesses and larger retailers. Nothing here was gifted or sponsored; these are things we … Read more

Between finishing our 260+ page book manuscript (deadline Jan 4 — yikes!) and hosting family for the holidays, we’ve also been deep into priming our kitchen cabinets. Can I get a “holla!”? Or, more likely, a “you’re crazy.” Either way, we’re making steady progress and learning a lot about prepping and priming cabinets for paint. … Read more

The wall is down and the drywall is up. That means it’s time for trim. I actually enjoy trim work. It requires focus and attention to detail, but there’s something deeply satisfying about turning rough edges into crisp white borders. Before I could start on the trim, though, I needed to take care of the … Read more

Let’s take a tour through someone else’s house, shall we? Meet Karyn and Eric — now they aren’t strangers anymore. Eric is a well-known house rehabber in the Richmond area and Karyn is his partner; she also designs beautiful jewelry. They live in a charming sixty-year-old home Eric bought years ago when it was in … Read more

The closet in the spare room used to be a chaotic catch-all: luggage, rolls of wrapping paper, stacks of gift bags and a random assortment of other clutter. We knew we needed to clear it out so the room could actually function as a playroom and a place to store Clara’s things now that it’s … Read more

To the tune of Katy Perry’s “Hot N’ Cold”… we’re almost there: we’ve bought and we’ve sold—or at least, our home sale is officially pending. Late yesterday evening we learned that the final negotiations with buyers on our current house went through, so that contract is now pending. That means the offer we have on … Read more

Always eager to refresh our home for the season, I turned a $30 thrift-store coffee table into a lighter, airier focal point for the living room. The original piece had a low, bookish silhouette that worked in cooler months, but with spring and summer here I wanted something brighter and less visually heavy. The updated … Read more

Corn plants (Dracaena fragrans) are a familiar, low-maintenance houseplant often seen in nurseries, offices, and homes. Recognizable by their spear-shaped leaves and sturdy, cane-like trunks, these plants can reach up to six feet indoors when given favorable conditions. There are several varieties of corn plants, some of which are smaller and better suited for shelves … Read more

Since many of you asked, I’m going to share some practical technical blogging and coding advice. I’ll be honest: I don’t consider myself an expert. Asking me for web design tips is a little like asking a waiter to teach you how to cook — I can explain the basic ingredients and techniques, but building … Read more

John and I have noticed that our Florida road trip has given us a fresh perspective on the house situation. We’re still head-over-heels for the new place — nearly two months after moving in I’ll wander up the stairs and whisper, “duuuuude, we have a second floor” — and each wall we strip and paint … Read more