As I mentioned briefly in a previous post, Clara chose her own party theme this year. Of all the things a two-year-old could love—monkeys, ice cream, firetrucks, and the mailman—she picked worms. That decision set the tone for invitations, decorations, food, favors, and activities, and we had a lot of fun pulling everything together. First … Read more

Growing up, my aunt and mom sewed constantly—they made all my Halloween costumes and my aunt even sewed my mom’s wedding dress. Every time I tried to learn on my mom’s machine, though, I managed to break it. Not just jam it—completely ruin it. At least six disasters ended with my mom hauling the machine … Read more

The bathroom makeover Gemma sent us is impressive for many reasons: the moody dark-framed mirror, the thoughtful reuse of shower tile above the sink, and most of all the custom-built vanity. The entire transformation was a DIY project, and the result is a fresh, functional, and stylish small bathroom that feels larger and more luxurious … Read more

As our freshly painted stools dry in the sunroom (pics tomorrow!), we wanted to finally share our May superlatives — sorry to those who have been asking. Below is a recap of the projects, moments, and small victories we checked off in May. We even included a few never-before-seen bits for fun. You can browse … Read more

How about a post on hunting for door knockers? Not that kind of knocker—this is the follow-up we promised yesterday about replacing and refreshing our door knocker and doorbell. Here’s the situation we started with: a charming but clearly aged door knocker. Its biggest issue was that the previous owner’s last name had been etched … Read more

Every day we get about fifty spam comments that promise everything from naked pictures of Lady GaGa to free payday loans (all of which get caught in a spam filter and then get deleted). Most of these are boring, repetitive, and easily ignored: the same offers, the same broken English, the same suspicious URLs. The … Read more

Here we are — after more than a year of planning, second-guessing, last-minute scrambling, and stuffing our car with vases and chairs, we’ve reached the end of the Homearama Showhouse tour. To celebrate finishing this whole-house marathon, we opened the post with a relaxed, room-by-room video tour — nothing fancy, just me walking through the … Read more

Ever wondered what goes into writing one of our posts? Even if you haven’t, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at our process. We tend to take post writing seriously—partly because it helps pay the bills—so this is how we typically work, though it’s by no means the only way. Most of our project posts follow a … Read more

Last week Sherry and I saw the freshly refinished floors at the duplex for the first time. Even though we went through a similar process at the pink beach house last year, we were still surprised by how dramatically the refinished floors transform a space. One surface can take a room from “construction zone” to … Read more

Our family loves the classic Jack‑O‑Lantern pumpkin carving tradition, but when our kids were toddlers we leaned heavily into toddler‑friendly and even baby‑friendly decorating ideas. Below are six simple, creative, and kid‑safe pumpkin decorating projects we’ve used over the years—easy enough for little hands, and plenty of room for grown‑up tweaks. Each project includes materials … Read more