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.
Love number 9! Current boyfriend of 4 years doesn’t drink. I love it, but sometimes makes happy hour a little stressful for me..for no good reason. I enjoy there are others out there that make it work..sometimes it seems like everyone drinks (eyes rolling during that everyone)!
Love your blog..keep it up!
sg
I’m impressed that John doesn’t drink! I have always said that you do not have to have alcohol to have a good time!
It was fun to read these fun little facts.
p.s. I like Sherry-Beth, but then I live in Alabama!!
Love these! Thanks for sharing.
I become allergic to sugar snap peas when I’m preggo. Random…I know, usually I can eat them like candy, but each time I’ve been pregnant they close my throat and make my face itch like crazy!
Jenny Slate was the one that dropped the f-bomb on the season premier of SNL–my friend Jeremy started the “Don’t Fire Jenny Slate” web site…which was mentioned on Comedy Central during the whole thing. Very interesting!
I’m right there with John on #9. I’m 27 yo and have never had a drop; it just never appealed to me. I still have a blast out with my friends at the bars, it just costs me a lot less, I don’t have to consume all those extra calories, I can drive myself home & I actually remember it all the next morning!!
i think Sherry-Beth is a great name, but i understand dropping the beth part. I didn’t have you pegged for Italian either – you look like you’re from somewhere more exotic – this is a good thing. Thumbs up for John and his no drinking! I wish more people would be like this – i like drinking socially, but i never understood the whole drinking just to get stupid drunk thing. Finally – i would have totally loved to watch you guys on Amazing Race – perhaps this is something you should re-consider??
Enjoy your weekend :)
PS. love the license plate too
Sherry-Beth, do you also have a middle name? I am Karrie Beth (no hyphen), but I was born in raised in the south. :)
Hey Karrie (or should I say Karrie Beth?),
Nope, no middle name since the first name is so multifaceted. Which for an Italian mom with about ten names actually shows particular restraint. I’m lucky I’m not Sherry-Beth Thelma-Ray or something equally long winded!
xo,
s
How funny that your mom named you Sherry-Beth due to its approximation to Elizabeth.
My parents have always told me that was why they went with Melissa Beth; luckily they had the foresight to leave “Beth” officially as a middle name, but I wanted to share that there are other mothers out there with similar rationale!
All of these are great! I think the last few were the most surprising, however Sherry-Beth might be my favorite! My hubbie doesnt drink either! I really love this post :)
#1 surprises me the most! I am addicted to your website and am very eager to own my own house one day (hopefully soon). You guys are such an inspiration. I hope to find a charming older home as well and fix it up like you guys did. Great little post :)
So cool! I think Sherry-Beth is very pretty.
I am the non-drinker in my house. Hate the way it makes me feel.
A little of my history.
I met my husband Mikel (pronounced Michael) my senior year in high school. He was a blind date, which I refused to go on for about a month. Then finally I gave in just so my friend would leave me alone. (I had just gone a miserable blind date the month before.)
I am glad I gave in. Though the first date didn’t go that well, he was so shy! I went out with him again, then again, well you get the picture. 20 years later we are still two goofy kids in love!
This was fun!
Jack McBrayer went to University of Evansville, which is in my hometown of Evansville, IN and also where my husband went to school. : )
That’s funny about your family. I have Italian on both my mom and dad’s side, but my dad’s grandma was off the boat and his grandpa was 1st generation. My grandpa’s first name is the innocuous George, but oh no, wait for it… his middle name… Guido! Love it. Wish I had an Uncle Vito though… that rocks.
Love the license plate and love Burger’s blog. I knew he was destined for stardom from the visit to True Value with the photo of him in the cart!
I was kind of surprised by Sherry-Beth, but it’s cute. I can’t see John doing improv, he seems more reserved and quiet. You guys would be great on the Amazing race, I am not a fan, but I’ve seen a few episodes, and I would definitely watch it if you were on. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Ann,
You’re totally right about John being pretty reserved. He was sort of the one-line zinger guy back in his improv days. He’s a super quick thinker but also really quiet so he’d sort of sit back in each skit and let everyone else take the spotlight and then pipe up with the one line that surprised everyone and they’d just lose it. I love his sense of humor because he’s not always cracking jokes every minute, just going for quality over quantity- you know?
xo,
s
Hey – your plates are expired! :-)
And EWH about the teeth growing in at the back of your throat. Really… OUCH.
Hey Kara,
We knew someone would say that about our plates! It’s a super old pic (see how little the Burger boy is?) so it’s from back when we got them. Of course now all the stickers are updated but we didn’t want to take them off the car to reshoot the pic so we used the old one. Ha! Maybe fact #11 should be: we’re lazy.
xo,
s
My name is Sara Beth, but it’s not hyphenated, Beth is my middle name. Beth is such a popular middle name, isn’t it? Also – I would mourn for no more wine in my life, however not drinking sounds really good when I remember the nights I ‘had too much’ – worst feeling ever!
I think that #9 is awesome. I don’t drink either and sometimes it is hard when everytime I go out, everyone else has to get “hammered” or pretty close to it to feel like they are having a good time and then I have to make suer that they all get home safe and sound. I am so happy to have found another person that doesn’t see the need to drink. You shoudl write a post about. I bet you would get a lot of comments and would probably help inspire some people too by showing them that it is not necessary to have a good time.
Thanks! :)
These were very cute and super informative :) :) :) Its nice to hear fun random things about people you read about!
Super cute puppy photos of Burger! Also- my husband kissed me first too, and I am the loud one. Although I said “I love you first”- but he will fight me to the death on that one.
#8 was most surprising! So you weren’t born perfect, you were engineered perfect! Which teeth were the nomads?
Sandra- It was actually my eyeteeth (also called canines I believe, you know the pointy ones on the top row one tooth away from your front teeth)? So weird. Doctors originally just thought they were missing until they showed up in the back of my throat on an x-ray.
Rebekah- Unlike John I do occasionally drink, although never to excess (I’m someone who gets loopy off one glass of wine and feels like crap the next day so I keep to to a minimum amount on special occasions).
Natalie- Yup, Jack McBrayer is totally like his character in person. We used to watch him in an improv group called “Baby Wants Candy” in NYC and he was always the geeky nervous one just like on 30Rock.
Bree- Quirky is never a bad thing. We totally take that as a complement! In fact one of the most common reactions to us when people meet us in person is that we’re “not as straight/more quirky” than they thought we were from reading our blog. I guess sometimes weird doesn’t translate on the internet so you have to meet us in person to “get it.” Ha!
xo,
s
Sherry — do you drink? Why or why not?
What a fun post! I too did improv comedy in college. I loved it, but I can’t say I was as good as John was! And I don’t drink either! Wow, the funny little things you can find in common with people, eh?
I think that these are amazing! I love reading your blogs they inspire me to do more to make our home more like us. Thank you so much for sharing! Lots of love, Katherine Anne
#4. I feel your pain. While my first name is normal – Krista, my middle name is Jo. Talk about 1980’s country bumpkin, Facts of Life wanna be! Hate it. Especially now that I live in Central America and it is pronounced Ho. Krista Ho. Lovely. Oh and my husband and I too had and still have aspirations of doing the Amazing Race. I’m pretty sure we would win, just not so sure that I want the world to see my true colors in situations of pressure!
Totally jealous you know Jack McBrayer from 30Rock. He is my favorite character on that show. Plus, from what I can tell he is a toned down version of Kenneth in real life or at least I’d like to think so. =) So fun! Loved this entry.
#10- shut up! no call back?! We love that show and always think that you two would be the best candidates. Your on-camera-appeal and quirkiness would be SO entertaining!
ps. I hope you don’t take offense to my quirkiness comment, its totally a good thing! :)
Love this post..
My SO is also a non-drinker, too. It’s nice because there’s always a DD!
I’ve always wanted to do Amazing Race, too, but we’d KILL each other. We get snippy on regular vacations, so we’d fall apart under pressure.
Gotta love the Non-drinking type. I too am lucky enough to have one of those! And ironically, we met at a bar! (we were both the DDs of our groups that night).
John, I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me that you don’t drink. My alcoholic dad’s life became an example to me of why not to drink. He’s 49 and he’s been an alcoholic since high school. He got in a drunk driving accident last year and hurt 3 people really bad. Everyone was lucky that they survived. He’s going to prison for this in 3 weeks. He will be in for 7 years. If he never started drinking none of this would have happened. I wish people would realize that. I never drink and people think I’m crazy. It’s so nice to hear that you and a few other commenters don’t either. I agree with Kiran. I would love to see a post from John about what it’s like not to drink. How it is going out with friends or colleagues. It would be so inspirational.
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.
This is great! I didn’t know any of this. I think your name is interesting, Sherry, but I can definitely see why you wouldn’t care for it. Thanks for giving us another little glimpse into your lives!
love this post! Sherry-Beth is the most surprising to me, for some reason. When you got married, did you change your name to Sherry-Beth (maiden name) Petersik, or did you officially drop the Beth?
Hey Katie,
Good question! I actually am now officially on record as Sherry Beth Petersik so I seem to have shook the hyphen for good! Although every card I get from my family still says “Dear Shery-Beth” on it. Old habits die hard!
xo,
s
Haha.. hilarious! I can’t believe he knew Kenneth!! And I’m glad you didn’t make it onto the Amazing Race or we might not be reading this awesome blog right now!
I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks!
I love reading things like this!
That’s so cool that you tried out for The Amazing Race. My family did too! We made a silly video and sent it in but never heard back. I think going on the show would be so fun. You and John would do great and be very entertaining I’m sure!