October has arrived, but before we jump into a new month of projects, it’s nice to look back at everything we finished in September. From revamping Granny’s bathroom and building a train board to turning side tables into ottomans and celebrating our fifth blogiversary, it was a busy month full of small victories and creative experiments. We’re even sharing the first stop on our upcoming book tour below. Here’s a roundup—organized like our usual quirky yearbook superlatives—so you can quickly scan what we did, get inspired, and find posts you want to revisit.
Most Surprising: After loving the blue metal stools in our kitchen, we were surprised when new swivel stools from Craigslist joined the household. We’ve already got a spot in mind for the original blue stools (they’ll live in the sunroom), and these new swivels have quickly become favorites.
Biggest / Most Gradual Transformation: Our bedroom has evolved a lot since we moved in, but it didn’t happen overnight. We documented the room’s changes with plenty of photos to show the slow-but-steady progress. The takeaway: don’t stress if your home doesn’t look perfect right away—improvement is a process.
Biggest Missed Opportunity for a Quad City DJs Reference: We built a train board for Clara that begged for the title “C’mon Ride The Train,” yet somehow that pun never made it into the post. Clearly someone needs to brush up on their musical references.
Video Killed the Comment Section: We published a long post about how we make our videos, but despite interest from some readers, the post drew surprisingly few comments. Maybe not everyone shares our passion for camcorders and behind-the-scenes geekery.
Creepiest Project: We decorated with a preserved butterfly found in our yard, which we placed on a bookshelf. It’s a little Halloween-appropriate, but visually interesting—just waiting on us to add a small glass dome for protection.
Toughest Decision: Letting go of our Craigslist dining chairs and replacing them with discounted new ones. We loved trying to make the old chairs work, but the swap ended up being for the best—sometimes you have to acknowledge when something’s not salvageable.
Biggest Oops: I broke our camera when it fell off a board I was cutting. The upside: it gave us a valid reason to upgrade to a new camera that shoots HD video, which has already changed how we make content.
Oddest Couple: For our latest house tour video, I held the camera while Sherry narrated behind me. She’s a little shaky on camera, so it became a two-person operation—me as the steady hand, her as the storytelling voice.
Biggest Relief: Releasing our promo video for the book felt great—especially since we filmed it months ago and had to keep it secret. We also finally shared some behind-the-scenes book projects that had been completed earlier in the year.
Most Burger Approved: We converted old X-based side tables into little ottomans at the foot of our bed so Burger can climb up easily. Practical with a touch of charm—Burger gives it two paws up.
Most Likely to Require Eating Lots of Tomato Soup: We used special edition Campbell’s soup cans to make a playful wall display. We softened the edges with a cork board and added colored pencil accents—plus an update: we did, in fact, finish all the soup.
Most Uplifting: Visiting Granny in West Virginia to update her downstairs powder room was equal parts work and joy. After a full weekend of improvements, we left exhausted but elated knowing the space is fresher and more functional.
Biggest 24-Hour Improvement: By the end of day two on Granny’s bathroom project, the room already looked worlds better thanks to paint, a new floor, and attention to rough spots that had been ignored for years.
Breakout Star: Granny herself stole the show when we revealed the finished bathroom on video. Viewers loved meeting her, and it warmed our hearts to see others connect with her the way we do.
Most Academic Shopper: Sherry shared her system for scoring clothing and hunting deals, introducing the idea of a “closet GPA.” Readers liked the structured approach to evaluating their wardrobes.
Biggest Rivalry: We compared rooms from our first house to the same rooms in our current house, picked winners in each matchup, and were surprised at how close the final tally felt. It’s fun to see progress and remember where we started.
Littlest Updates: We made several small but handy changes around the house, such as adding another dual-flush toilet in the guest bath and creating a hidden spot for our shredder—small improvements that make daily life smoother.
Longest Graphic: For our fifth blogiversary we created a timeline graphic tracing our history back to 2004. It was an extreme outlier in length—over 4,100 pixels tall—and it was a fun way to reflect on the journey.
Most Ordinary: Our “day in the life” post for blogiversary day was an ordinary weekday for us, but readers enjoyed the peek into our regular routine nonetheless.
Biggest Conspiracy Theory: Fans speculated about what happened to Olivia the pig’s ear after we mentioned its loss in a blogiversary facts post. The truth: Clara bent it until it snapped. No mystery—just a kid being curious.
Most Scene-Stealing: Clara and Burger featured in their own blogiversary Q&A video and charmed viewers—sometimes even more than the grown-ups answering questions. They certainly know how to work the camera.
Most Nostalgic: We dug through our archives and pulled favorite old posts (and a few cringe-worthy ones). Revisiting the past felt both sweet and revealing.
Most Ambitious: For our fifth blogiversary we listed goals for the coming year: embrace more variety in posts, write a mix of shorter and longer entries, and involve readers more. Goals are flexible, but they keep us accountable.
Most Graphic: We shared results from a reader survey with fun infographics. Turning reader feedback into charts made the data more entertaining—Beyoncé references included.
Most Likely to Make Pigs Fly: We’re excited to announce the first stop of our book tour: Cincinnati, the “city of the flying pig.” The full 17-city itinerary will be revealed soon, and we can’t wait to share more details.
How was September for you? Did you finish any major projects, make over a friend’s room, celebrate an anniversary, or just have fun with something silly? We’d love to hear what you tackled last month.