1. A few months before starting this blog we had never painted brick, ripped up a carpet, upholstered a chair, made a headboard, caulked anything, changed out hardware or done pretty much any of the other tutorials we’ve since figured out and shared on our How To page (we’re true believers in learning as you go).
2. Our license plate says “Burgrr” (custom plates are only $10 here so we couldn’t resist).
3. John’s middle name is Freeman in honor of his grandfather (his first name honors his other grandfather named John).
4. My first name is actually not Sherry, it’s Sherry-Beth (my mom thinks it flows like Elizabeth, but it doesn’t- in fact it pretty much ruined my life growing up so I quickly adopted Sherry to avoid the Bobby-Joe-Becky-Sue country bumpkin comparison).
5. The irony of my good ol’ girl name is that my mom’s side of the family is extremely Italian (for example, her name is Diana Teresa DeCesare LaPadula and I have an Uncle Vito, a Grandpa Carmen, and a Cousin Dominick) so the odd country/southern reference in my name is totally out of left field (and my brothers and cousins got totally normal monikers: Daniel, David, Adam, Tim, Jennifer).
6. John kissed me first (anyone who knows us is blown away by this because he’s generally the shy one and I’m the loud crazy one).
7. John used to do improv comedy in college and in NYC after he graduated but opted out of that lifestyle after he realized he liked to sleep at night and be awake during the day (thank goodness or I never would have met him working in advertising). Many of his improv acquaintances have gone on to be super famous (he knew Kenneth from 30Rock and a girl named Jenny Slate who’s on SNL this season).
8. I had a tumor in my airway (between my nose and my throat) in middle school. Can you imagine how many times I had to hear “it’s not a tumor”? Thankfully it was benign and two surgeries later I was as good as new. I also had teeth that grew in near the back of my throat and had to be slowly pulled to the front of my mouth through a series of torturous wire tightening exercises (but in hindsight, having a normal smile is totally worth the effort). I always ask my mother what the heck she ate when I was in the womb but she has yet to tell me.
9. John doesn’t drink. Not a drop. He never has, which almost everyone at work quickly learned after a few happy hours with him (he was still the life of the party, just never the one we had to put in a cab at the end of the night). His unwavering willpower and amazing ability never to be “that drunk guy” made him incredibly intriguing and appealing to me… and still has me hooked to this day. Update: We’re not Mormons – which is actually a pretty popular “internet rumor” about us – haha! More on that here.
10. John and I tried out for the Amazing Race back when we were friends right on the cusp of dating (our hook was that the race would either ruin any shot at a relationship or bring us together). We didn’t even get a call back, which I now realize is a good thing as my terrible sense of direction and loud mouth would probably have made us a pretty lame team. I still think John could win the entire thing with a better partner though. He’s great at reading maps, having a strong sense of direction and running (three things I don’t do).
So that was a fun little Friday departure. What about you guys? Any strange facts that will blow us away about you, our lovely readers? Anything that we revealed above that totally surprises you? Number 1? Number 9? Number 10? Do tell.
Little facts about a regular reader:
I don’t drink, either.
I took trampoline lessons as a child. I don’t use this much as an adult.
My family is of Scottish origin on both sides and it shows. I married another American of German and Norwegian descent and you can see it in him, too. We anticipate tall kids someday, but we already know where to shop.
I love cooking and sharing recipes. I have a group of friends that I regularly email great recipes to all over the world.
I was born without wisdom teeth. Apparently, wisdom teeth are now a receding trait in humans because we don’t need them. Because of this, I like to think of myself as slightly more evolved. My husband and parents, all of whom had impacted wisdom teeth, find my lack of dental suffering quite unfair.
Love you guys and your fur-baby!
You two are soooo cute!
My mom is MaryBeth and wanted to name me after her with avoiding ‘two name first name’. They went with Christel Elizabeth. I am happy with their decision!
These are great. I was most surprised by #1, #4 & #10 (you both are such naturals in front of the camara). Have you guys ever posted your full story of how you actually got together? I love a good love story especially when it is real life and turns out as good as it did for the both of you. You are great, keep doing what your doing.
It’s so nice to “know” you both a little better!
Some of the comments that have been left about drinking have surprised me. I went through a phase in my life when I was dry for health reasons and didn’t have any opinion about people who were drinking around me at restaurants or social occasions. Some of teetotaler comments seem to lump social drinkers in with alcoholics. There are plenty of people who can enjoy having drinks with friends or going to a tasting while not drinking to excess.
I LOVE the vanity plate! I’m been thinking of getting one myself since they are so inexpensive in Virginia.
I just love this post it’s so personal and sweet. Sherry, I also had a tumor in the throat in highscool and yea I got that joke a lot too. The Serry/John dynamic reminds me a little of me and my sweet love..he’s shy and I’m really loud..it’s a great mix and he kissed me first woohoo. Do you think you’ll honor any of the family names for your kids one day?
Jackie- Here’s an old post about our relationship timeline. Ah the memories…
Tiffany- We definitely want to honor members of our family when we have kiddos one day, but we’ll have to be pretty creative because a lot of family names are already in use with three new babies being born this year in our fam!
xo,
s
My husband doesn’t drink at all either–funny to see so many non-drinkers here! Must be because when you’re not hungover, you can get a lot of home improvement projects done.
I have to admit that reading that John doesn’t drink was a pleasant surprise. I too have a husband that never has and I respect and admire him for that.
Thinking about it, I think you should resubmit an application for The Amazing Race. Your team will be “The Bloggers” and you’ll have the entire decor blogging community behind you!
I thought my husband and I were the ones that don’t drink. Sure, we do have shots occasionally but we’re not drinkers, we don’t like beer or wine.
You definitely should try again for The Amazing Race! Last season there was a deaf guy on the show with his mom. He went to my school and it was truly an amazing experience.
Sherry I totally had the same problem with some of my teeth so I know your pain. :)
Love this post! Thanks for sharing a little bit about yourselves. Definitely surprised me about the name ‘Sherry-Beth’ but I think it’s great you come from an Italian family. My husband and I love all things Italian (even though he’s part Irish, part English and I’m Filippino!).
A couple of facts about me? I have a celtic cross tattoo on my back, which I got while on a mission trip in Ireland. I also got bitten by a dog when I was little and have grown up with a phobia of dogs. However, a dog like Burger’s size doesn’t bother me :-) These aren’t too interesting but nonetheless, they’re “me”!
My husband and I are basically non-drinkers. We never acquired the taste and don’t “need” to have it. It’s amazing how many people want an explanation for this. They think there must be some big reason for someone to “make that commitment”. They always think it has to do with our religion, which it does not. We just don’t like it! Why is it such a big deal? They look at us like we are circus freaks but they are the ones who have such a dependence on alcohol.
More on names LOL…my mom named me: LeahDeborah Aida…no there’s no hyphen or space. She was being “creative”. I dropped the Aida and seperated the names when I was 12. I couldn’t take it any longer! I also told everyone at age 5, to please call me Debbie. I have no idea why my mom did this to me but at least she didn’t name me after her. Her name is LLima. Ummm…yeah. My grandmother was very “creative” as well apparently!
Fun Fact about me: I am 40. But you couldn’t tell, right? :)
I love this post. You should do this more often, Sherry-B.