I’m someone who loves those detailed “what worked & what didn’t” posts where someone looks back on the choices they made and shares what didn’t work out as well as they hoped – and how they adjusted to make things work better for their family (more comfortable/more practical/more beautiful/etc). And since we furnished this house over two years ago – can you believe we did it in the fall of 2017?! – I thought it would be fun to share the changes we made since then in one big rundown post. So here we go. The Front Porch The Change: New front porch swing The Reason: The old one was already rotting! The original porch
#156: Renovations Are Stressful. Here’s What Helps Us.
It’s no secret that house projects can be stressful. Sometimes REALLY stressful. So today we’re sharing three ways we’re keeping a handle on it during our bathroom renovation, especially around common stress points like broken budgets, creeping timelines, and decision fatigue. Plus, how you can you stop second guessing yourself! We’re also spilling the details about a part of this renovation we haven’t mentioned much, which oddly enough happens to be one of the things we’re looking forward to the most. We also have some holiday life hacks for you that were submitted by our listeners and why part of Sherry’s childhood has come back to haunt us (in the best way possible). What’s New
Exterior Updates After Painting Our Brick House White
This is a smorgasbord of an update, since the exterior of our house has changed in a bunch of different ways since last year when we painted it white with masonry paint that lets the brick breathe (you can read all about that project & the cost right here). It’s my very favorite makeover we’ve ever done to date, but as I mentioned in that post (probably 10 times if I know myself), the exterior was still very much a work in progress after the house got painted. So without further ado, let’s talk about the new path we added, the awning, the new porch lights (we not only switched them out, we lowered them
#155: Can “The Rule Of Age 10” Really Predict Your Future?
Today we’re exploring an expert’s theory that your childhood passions (specifically around 5th grade) could hold the key to what you’ll love doing most as an adult. It was fascinating to take a look back and see if the idea really held up for us. We’re also confessing to a mistake we made when hiring a pro for a recent house project and sharing what we’ll do differently from here on out. Plus it turns out that plants aren’t the powerful air purifiers we were promised, and the nerdiest decorating project you’ve ever heard in your life. What’s New We’ll have a post this week with more photos of all of our outdoor updates, but
How Much Does It Cost To Run A Vacation Rental (With Real Numbers)
We’ve gotten hundreds of questions about the financial side of running an Airbnb or other short term vacation rental. Specifically: “can you detail the expenses and fees that take a bite out of the profit? Are there hidden costs? How exactly do rental taxes work? Insurance?! ACK!“ Whether the person asking us was considering doing one themselves, or just plain curious (talking about money = interested face emoji), we’re laying it all out in the hope that it demystifies it a little bit, and is helpful to anyone who might be on the fence about whether or not this is a viable side hustle. We actually really enjoyed learning the ins & outs of this
#154: How To Pare Down When Everything Is Precious
Getting rid of stuff is hard, especially when it comes to kids and their creations. So this week we’re sharing the simple trick we use to keep everything from arts and crafts to forts and cardboard box villages from taking over our house, without putting a damper on creativity. Spoiler alert: this trick works for adults and our favorite things too! Plus, armed with an expert’s advice and a new guideline for how much indoor greenery a home should have for optimal air quality, Sherry doubles down on our home’s plant collection. Also, why things got weird when we switched sides of the bed – and the embarrassing dangers of moving furniture. What’s New Update
How To Hang Peel & Stick Wallpaper
If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the wallpaper bandwagon, let this post be the soothing voice that gently strokes your hair and says “don’t worry my pet, wallpaper doesn’t have to be hard, permanent, or expensive. Also your hair looks good today, and I should probably stop touching it because I don’t know you like that.” Adding wallpaper to the middle bedroom at our beach house took us just a few hours and cost us less than $100. It’s a whole lotta bang for not much buck (or extra high skill level). Plus it’s 100% removable so if we ever tire of it or want to swap it for something else, it’s not a
#153: Easy Ways To Make Your Day Less Annoying
You guys submitted your favorite life hacks over the last few weeks, so today we’ve got an episode bursting at the seams with all of those cheap & simple tricks for making your home run smoother and your day a little less frustrating. We’ve got everything from clever cleaning tips and unconventional storage ideas to both high and low tech ways to keep you more organized. We’re also sharing why we’re giving a BIG EYEROLL to the latest part of our bathroom renovation and a new money saving tool that we got for our kids. What’s New Life threw us some curveballs this week so we didn’t get very deep into the “unglamorous middle” of
Thanksgiving Craft: A Glass “Thanks Jar”
A little glass etching cream, a homemade stencil and thrifted apothecary jar and suddenly we’ve got the perfect spot to show off what we’re thankful for.
#152: The Haunted Room At Our Beach House
In honor of Halloween, we’re sharing a spooky occurrence at our beach house that we legitimately couldn’t explain for a few months (even I, the perennial skeptic, was like… “how did that just happen?!”). We’re also chatting with author Miranda Anderson about how her entire family took on a yearlong shopping ban, and how that choice led to more gratitude, patience, and a sense of adventure for the entire family. Plus, an update on how things are getting real (and real messy!) in our bathroom reno – and a tool we’re using to help keep our sanity throughout the process. What’s New Here’s a peek at the current state of our bathroom after all of
#151: When Is It Worth It To Splurge?
Today we’re sharing how two recent treat yourself moments in our house turned sideways on us and how it shed some light on when to splurge and when to make like Elsa and let it go. One even involves a feature in our bathroom reno that we’ve dreamed about for years, but suddenly can’t seem to justify in actual practice (although it sounds great in theory!). Also after nearly 11,000 people took our “Side Of The Bed” survey, we have some surprising insights about why people sleep where they do. Plus there’s been another Color of the Year development and we find the silver lining to a recent personal event that shook us up. What’s
Ikea Kitchen Costs – A Full Breakdown
As our bathroom reno continues (current status: more demo happened, our vanity, tub, & toilet arrived, and we have our plumber & electrician scheduled to rough things in and then we can prep & tile) we thought it would be fun to share a duplex kitchen budget breakdown. *Also, for anyone who has inquired about renting the duplex this fall, there’s an announcement about that later in the post* Obviously, there are LOTS of factors that affect how expensive a kitchen renovation will be, so let this post just be a reference point for you – not a prescription for how much a kitchen reno should cost. The average kitchen reno in 2019 was $24,047
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