If you want to know the best designer hack right now, read today’s post. This new product has become something I absolutely depend on (and collect), and I haven’t painted a room in the last 3 years without buying a few. Samplize is a company that sells large sticker paint samples that are made with real paint from almost every paint brand (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Farrow & Ball, etc), and they arrive the next day. It’s almost too easy (and at $7 a pop, it’s affordable enough to ensure you are making the right decision – and don’t be afraid to keep them for next time, like me). It’s a total game-changer versus fan decks or paint pots. So today we used Samplize to order 12 of our favorite whites or neutral paint colors and show you how they look in two rooms – one with a ton of natural light and another with way less.

Whites or light neutrals are harder for me (and anyone, really) because it’s SO hard to see the undertones on a small paint sample. Additionally, the wrong white in a low-light room can look so sad and dead, while the right one can bring warmth and dimension. All the samples we tried actually look so light and white once the whole room is painted, but as you can see above, some are so much darker!

These Samplize stickers are big enough to really see the color, are repositionable so that you can try them on different walls or different rooms, and you can keep them up for a few days to really look at the room at different times. My two biggest rules for choosing whites are this:

1. Don’t paint a dark room white. White can look really flat and dead without natural light bouncing off of it. But in a room with a ton of natural light, you have a lot more options (it’s easier to not go wrong). I get it, you are scared of a really dark room – just do a more medium tone that has a lot of undertones then.
2. Stay away from overly blue or overly yellow undertones. Most of our favorites are so nuanced – they have so many undertones that work well together. Gray and beige both have tones that can be so pretty, but if they are too simple/basic, they look cold or dated.

Bright Natural Light Versus Low, Natural Light

Sherwin-Williams – Extra White

Sample: Sherwin-Williams – Extra White

This white is best for really bright natural light and definitely has the coolest undertone, but I wanted to show you what a cooler white would do to a room (and mixing it with wood is a great idea). But this white doesn’t look as good in our living room, which has a lot of indirect but not direct light.

Farrow & Ball – Strong White

photo by tessa neustadt for ehd | from: our modern english country kitchen reveal

photo by ryan liebe for ehd | from: my living room design, updated

Sample: Farrow & Ball – Strong White

This is a gorgeous taupe-y gray-white that I painted my cabinets (the perimeter, not the green island, obviously). I loved it so much that I went ahead and painted our living room the same color – I miss that living room! The swatch online reads very beige, but it’s a lovely creamy grayish tone that can still read white enough in a large setting.

Benjamin Moore – White Dove

photo by zeke ruelas for ehd | from: silver lake hill’s living room reveal

Sample: Benjamin Moore – White Dove

Arlyn painted her living room this same white, and she said this: “It’s a creamy and warm white in the way that vanilla soft serve looks creamy without being beige-y. It’s the type of color you strangely just want to look at, except it’s white, so you feel weird being kind of obsessed with it. Evidently, it was Benjamin Moore’s “Color of the Year” a few years back, if that says anything to you. But yeah, it works well for homes with more character (i.e., nothing super modern), and is warm without being the least bit yellow.”

Benjamin Moore – Soft Chamois

Sample: Benjamin Moore – Soft Chamois

We recently shot our furniture line at Catherine Sheppard‘s house for Room Service (her house is absolutely gorgeous). She painted her walls BM Soft Chamois, and trim is BM Simply White. It was so pretty and yes, light and airy, but still warm.

Farrow & Ball – Pointing

photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: jess’ small space living room reveal

Sample: Farrow & Ball – Pointing

Arlyn wrote this, which I think is totally accurate and well put: The swatch online of Pointing looks SO warm and beige-y, but in person, it’s such a lovely warm yet neutral white. Jess used this in her living room and kitchen and was very happy with it. It’s warm enough that crisp white curtains pop against it, but looks very “white” against most other colors. Farrow & Ball paints tend to be more expensive than traditional hardware store brands, but the paint is VERY thick and super high quality with a wide range of finishes.”

Benjamin Moore – Edgecomb Gray

Sample: Benjamin Moore – Edgecomb Gray

We had our retreat out at The Carly in Oregon wine country (it’s incredible) and couldn’t believe that the warm neutral on the walls, which felt white to all of us, is in fact this dark!!

This is such a great example of how you need to rethink whites to include medium-toned neutrals that you think are going to be really dark, because in a larger space with a lot of soft indirect light, it will read lighter. We loved this light neutral so much in person.

Sherwin-Williams – Alabaster

Sample: Sherwin-Williams – Alabaster

We shot the “low natural light” portion of this in my brother’s upstairs hallway. It actually gets great natural light, but we closed the shades so they just let some light in to give you an idea of what these would look like without beautiful light bouncing all around.

I absolutely love how Alabaster looks in every room of their house – in fact, I’d go as far as to say that if anybody asked me on the street what a no-fail good white is, without seeing their house, I’d tell them Alabaster. We looked at it with the wood flooring and moved the Samplize sticker around in many rooms in their house, but it worked in every single one of them. It’s so solid and pretty, with a slightly creamy taupe undertone that makes a room feel really balanced and inviting.

Benjamin Moore – Simply White

Sample: Benjamin Moore – Simply White

Kaitlin painted her entire house Simply White, which is pretty dang similar to Alabaster, if not a tiny more saturated. Creamy undertones that still read as very white, yet with warmth.

Farrow & Ball – Ammonite

photo by tessa neustadt | from: my master bedroom reveal

Sample: Farrow & Ball – Ammonite

I loved this color in our old primary bedroom in LA. If you are looking for the softest, lightest gray that is so warm but not taupe, then this is for you. I love how subtle the color is, all while bringing some different hues into the home besides white. This color felt really clean, even though it has a lot of nuance.

As you can see, the #9 swatch looks, even a bit muddy, but with the amount of natural light the bedroom got, it felt bright and happy, but definitely a tone.

Benjamin Moore – Super White

photo by tessa neustadt | from: how we styled the living room to sell

Sample: Benjamin Moore – Super White

This was our go-to white for a while (I used it in our old Glendale house, and Brady used it in his kitchen). We still love it, FYI, but have since turned to Pure White by Sherwin-Williams for recent projects. This color is great if you are looking for a modern, clean color. It reflects light in such a pretty way and doesn’t have any cool tones that would make it go blue or warm tones that would make it yellow. It’s just really white.

Again, my advice is that a clean, bright white like this is best for rooms going for that extremely airy vibe, which requires a lot of natural daylight. So don’t put this in your dark bedroom – it will just look cold.

Sherwin-Williams – Oyster White

photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: the portland project family room reveal

Sample: Sherwin-Williams – Oyster White

For many of the public living areas of the Portland Project, we used Oyster White from Sherwin-Williams. It’s almost a touch taupe-y gray in comparison to the crisp white of the molding (Pure White from Sherwin-Williams), so it works really well in that sense. During the big open house event, the most asked question about anything in the house was “What is this paint color?” It’s cozy and comforting but still white enough not to run too deep into gray territory.

Benjamin Moore – Decorator’s White

photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: michael’s vintage-filled living room reveal

Sample: Benjamin Moore – Decorator’s White

This is called “Decorator’s White” for a reason. A ton of decorators and designers use it (honestly). Michael picked it for his current home because it mixes really well with other neutrals but also pops of color. It’s calm yet bright and an “elevated” sophisticated white. Not too clinical, just a great backdrop for lots of styles.

If you are about to paint a room, I can’t express how important it is to order these samples from Samplize, that is, unless you walk around with some magically inherited paint color confidence. Sometimes I’ll just order the final two, just to make sure (ordering a ton can add up, I know). I’m seriously so grateful that this product was invented and that it comes so dang fast (faster than going to the paint store to take home those tiny chips). It’s been an absolute game-changer. And for your convenience, here are all of my white and neutral paint color samples to choose from in one easy place! Let us know what paint color roundup you’d love next 🙂

*Unless Otherwise Noted, Photos by Kaitlin Green

*Hopefully you were able to participate in the General Strike yesterday (and thanks for the comments). Now onto a post we shot a few weeks ago for those who are interested. We appreciate you being here.

Under “Things I never thought I’d be so enthusiastic about when I was 22,” I’d say that “meal prep” is near the top. And yet, I legit enjoy it. Not because I love to cook, I’m still not very good. But because I love a project that keeps me home on a Sunday afternoon, so I can listen to my gripping podcasts and audiobooks, have some me time, and enter the week armed with a few good meals and non-ultra-processed snacks my kids will actually eat. I’m sure there is some sort of neuroscience around the dopamine released when you feel like you have your shit together. Like how buying new workout clothes makes you feel like you’ve done something good for yourself. Now, I vascillate on what I meal prep (on a perfect Sunday I might roast a chicken for dinner and leftovers, then make broth from the bones, make a big soup for Brian and I, cut up veggies for salads and make homemade salad dressings) but today I’m showing you the three VERY easy healthy snacks we make for the kids (and us) that they actually love.

Here we go – they are all EXTREMELY easy, only require one bowl each, and have hidden healthy stuff. We are talking chocolate veggie muffins, no-bake energy bites, and turkey and veggie meatballs (gluten-free). I didn’t develop the recipes, so I’m going to link to the food creators who did to make sure they get the love. But I did tweak them 🙂

Chocolate Veggie Muffins

I’m not a baker AT ALL – too scientific, too specific, too easy to mess up. But these muffins only require you to dump all of the ingredients into your blender, blend, and then bake in muffin tins. We’ve made these probably 10 times now, and I modify the veggies (you can sub spinach for kale or add protein powder easily). At times they’ve looked more green (which my kids, of course, have an adverse reaction to), and at times I’ve put more cocoa powder to ensure they are sweeter.

You can easily substitute maple syrup for honey or almond butter for peanut butter. I’m sure most of you are more intuitive bakers than I am, so you probably knew that. But I am a firm recipe follower, so subbing things out feels like a real life-threatening risk to me.

As far as the dry pantry stuff goes, if you buy enough at first, it can last you through multiple batches. I found the recipe here (and I’ve tried doubling the recipe, but they don’t get eaten fast enough). Oh, and you have to refrigerate them, or they’ll mold (mine did last time).

Kaitlin is always ordering me to do a slight smile so I don’t look angry in the shots, but I know that I don’t typically look so pleasant while meal prepping by myself.

You can also add nuts during or after with the chocolate chips 🙂 Again, original recipe here.

I didn’t shoot the other two snacks (I had made them the night before), but here you go:

Turkey Veggie Meatballs!

I JUST started making these, and my goodness, they are the best protein snack hack for the whole family. I’ll pop no less than like 8 in my mouth a day, working from home. We have a lot of growing 12-year-old boys who come over, and they devour these guys. And they have no gluten, dairy, or sugar. Just turkey, zucchini, and herbs/spices. We doubled the recipe one week (made 96 of them, which was aggressive), and I found that adding way more seasoning than the recipe calls for helps a lot. I used my Trader Joe’s ranch flavoring (probably 2 tablespoons), and it added so much more flavor (and made it taste a little Mediterranean). Big fan. Original recipe HERE (just add more salt and seasoning if you aren’t adding to another recipe, imho).

No-Bake Energy Bites

These are the snacks that my kids ask for the most out of all of them, likely because they are dessert adjacent and pretty sweet and chocolatey. But honestly, anything is better than them grabbing for a bag of ultra-processed stuff, because at least I know what is in this. It’s pretty basic, recipe linked HERE, but you can add hemp seeds, protein powder, nuts, dried fruits, coconut flakes, etc. You’ll need to throw on a tray in your freezer for at least an hour to let them harden, and we leave ours in there until gone instead of transferring to the fridge (the kids just like them more that way). Just don’t make them so big, or they remain super hard when frozen. (Brian made them the other day as big as golf balls, and they were like jaw breakers from the freezer). Again, can substitute honey for maple syrup and different butters for peanut butter. I can’t imagine these are low in calories, but that’s not the point here – I just want whole foods that they’ll actually enjoy eating.

If anyone has go-to healthy snack recipes, please let them know in the comments! I recently made these other muffins for our kids, and they were excellent. But I don’t want my kids to burn out on them, so always looking for new options. And y’all, even though my kids are 10 and 12, they still don’t LOVE veggies, so any stacked with greens, please share. xx

*Photos by Kaitlin Green

Today, we are shut down, the office is closed and EHD has elected to participate in the national shutdown. Since I’m in charge, it was an easy decision for me, but we totally know it’s not everyone’s privilege to be able to participate. Most kids are going to school and in Portland a lot of small businesses are open which I think is good to support them. I think one of the strongest things you can do is not buy anything today from large companies which are the ones that carry government sway. Its all over my feed, but the national news didn’t really pick it up and the vote got delayed which is good! But listen, we figured its always good to buy local and small and take the time to call or write senators, make signs for protests (many happening tomorrow) and for me plan some. In a perfect world, the corporations would feel a hit and send their folks running to DC to demand change. We love our immigrant friends and families. Most of us understand or are amenable to the importance of border security, and we recognize the need for some deportations. But not like how ICE has been doing it with poor training, no due process for the immigrants and no accountability.

I really appreciate all views and the conversation on Monday was healthy for the most part (I didn’t finish reading the comments so hopefully it held strong). If you are conservative and republican (like many of my family members), I really appreciate you saying you don’t support how and what is happening right now. What you say could be a real domino effect with your own friends and relatives who might be secretly thinking the same thing. Saying “this is not ok” or “not like this” doesn’t make you a leftist, just means you have eyes and ethics. I believe that people can show up in their own ways, and you don’t have to do it perfectly. Changing your mind and admitting it shows a lot of bravery and courage.

On Influencers “Speaking Out”

I’m grateful to be able to do this today and to have a platform that people read, and I don’t take that lightly. When it comes to “speaking out”, I’m a big fan of “there is no wrong way to do it, just do it” in the ways you can. If we learned anything from 2020 (good god, I hope we learned A LOT), it’s that policing each other on how or what people say only makes things worse and is actually a huge part of the problem. The left really excels at this type of cannibalism. People need to feel empowered to talk, not be full of fear that they aren’t doing it the right way. And some influencers or celebrities might stay silent and that’s their business. Maybe they have family that work for ICE or in the government or military. You can unfollow or like them less, but you don’t know what you don’t know. Do I think some people are tone deaf? Yep. But Let them.

On Monday when I wrote the post, it honestly didn’t feel like I was making a ‘statement’ or even ‘taking a stance’. I slacked my team the night before and said ‘guys, we can’t. I wrote something else’ and they all immediately agreed and jumped in to spell/grammar check. I was just really sad, upset and figured you were too. I didn’t think it was particularly controversial since we all saw the video of Alex being killed from different angles, and then heard the government lie about it ( …at first, glad there is an “investigation” now). It felt like a turning point after months of confrontations.

As you can tell, what I like to do is create some common ground through conversation, not through alienation. I understand that some of you want me to do it differently to be angry, combative and tell people they are wrong – I really do get that. As Scott Galloway says, there is a difference between being right and being effective.

And not all influencers should act like (or be) social justice warriors for every cause. In fact, I don’t think people should come to design influencers to mirror their own feelings or expect them to do it exactly how they want them to, when they want them to, and certainly not for every cause. Honestly, most of us aren’t equipped with researched knowledge, we aren’t educated in all the things. We should never pretend to be news sources. We’ve seen what happens when people believe the wrong people on social media. It’s very dangerous. And I’ve been wrong before, letting my emotions and the wave of ‘I’ve got to say something now!’ influence my public reaction. I’v been wrong and I’ve learned so many lessons.

We have to use our specific strengths to help, and know what will resonate with our audiences to inspire change should we feel strongly about it. We need all people on all levels and in all ways, in all fields, to make more universal change, and I’m really proud of my team for always showing up in a way that brings people into a conversation (it’s always scary, TBH). We have things we won’t tolerate, as well as our own boundaries and limits. We hope you respect that. It’s a fine line to balance, and ultimately, I’m very aware that losing our audience and business actually helps no one.

Creating more division in our audience is a lose/lose on every single front. We are real human beings, running a business that we love, with jobs that we are so grateful for, and readers we so appreciate. We are doing our best at all times, with more conversations behind the scenes than you could possibly imagine. We are really, really proud to have a platform that feels like a healthy break from the news cycle. And through creating common ground and conversation, we hope to inspire small shifts that can turn into larger waves. But I might do it in quieter ways, here, than people might want. And that’s ok.

Ultimately, we love how home design content can connect us all, and as the leader of this company, I won’t let us do anything that creates more division. It’s why we never even write about “trends that are so last year” or “what not to dos”. We don’t like or snark about home reveals or product lines that missed the mark, even though I know that would be good traffic. We don’t allow comment battles even though thats good for time on site. That will never be my MO.

My main driver here (and in my life/home/family) is to create a place where people come to feel good, or even just a tiny bit better. To have some fun, to feel connected to others who are into design, to learn or feel inspired, to be entertained, and to enjoy a part of their day. We don’t take that for granted. We love being here, too.

It doesn’t mean I don’t get angry, frustrated, or cry in the shower out of fear or sadness when I think about what some families are going through here and around the world. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want things to change, or to “go my way”. My head is very much out of the sand, and yet I’m grateful to have a platform that can support the unifying message when it is very clear to me, like it is right now. I’m not telling anyone how to vote or what party they should align with (because that won’t work). My hope is that at the bare minimum, we can all agree that there needs to be more accountability, due process and training (and empathy). Seems pretty reasonable, right?

It’s not a political stance, it’s an ethical, moral and legal one.

Thanks for being here. Today and always. xx Emily (now go get out there!!)

Opening art by artist Scarlet Soleil

We had a sponsored design post today – scheduled for a few weeks. I just couldn’t put it up. I had “emotional life whiplash” this weekend – where you have to live your life with kids while also trying to stay present to the tragedies that are unfolding in real time. We went to Bend because the kids had two extra days off school and skied (or, in my case, “tried”). Every few hours I would pick up my phone and be reminded of the very clear, horrifying actions of our government on its own people. The back-and-forth was stark and unsettling. Maybe you can relate.

I have one of those personalities where I try to see most sides of most situations. I know that there is always context, nuance, and perspective that should be considered. I lean left, but I also understand that my bubble isn’t always right and that different communities, states, and groups of people have their own set of experiences that form their beliefs (and listening to others has helped shape and reshape mine). I know I don’t know everything and its impossible to understand all points of views. But this weekend hit harder than usual. Living in Portland, I knew the false narratives around immigrants here and the unnecessary “crackdown” by the government. We’ve never once felt any “negative effects” of having immigrants in our lives; in fact, our personal experience is the 100% opposite (which I recognize might not be everyone’s experience, but its ours). Everyone here together, sharing lives and cultures, is what makes living in the US so beautiful. But I’ve tried to understand that in many border states, government officials or the media portray a different experience. I also do believe that every news source is biased (because they are edited by humans… for now), so trying to feel confident about what you are reading is an absolute chore (I read a lot of news sources for this reason). But as ICE has escalated in Minnesota, it all became clearer than ever. The actual video evidence of Alex Pretti is inarguable. Watching the video over and over from different angles was horrifying and surreal. And our President’s and his government’s reaction was somehow worse.

So this is to my conservative readers. I genuinely want to understand if you think what is happening and how its happening is ok. I understand there will at times be casualties and accidents that are out of our control, but the volume of masked men, with barely any training, following brown people around town with guns, with zero accountability for their actions, surely can’t be what you wanted. I understand all the arguments about border control, I do. And I understand that Biden and Obama both deported a lot of people – millions more than Trump in his last term. It’s not about deportation as an idea; it’s how they are doing it. With such violence, cruelty, and a desire to almost torment and terrorize. Families being ripped apart who were in the midst of the immigration process. Children as bait. Moms and nurses killed due to untrained panic or maybe something more sinister. Most of the conservatives that I respect are being silent right now (*as of Sunday evening), likely scrambling to frame it in a way that is possibly aligned with their morals and political careers.

I know that America wanted change when they voted for Trump, and I accepted that desire as a criticism and referendum for how things were. It wasn’t the change that I wanted, but America spoke, and I really did try to listen. But this last year has been so damaging to democracy. In the big M macro way. I’m a huge history lover (it was my major in college), and America is a tiny blip in our world history, and it’s increasingly not looking good. There is no guarantee that we will be around in 200 years. America has only been this “experiment” for 250 years, but so many of our founding values have been challenged in this last year, and I really think that if we don’t get this guy out of power soon, we are in HUGE trouble. He’s playing by no rules, disregarding international protocol, let alone his own government’s laws on every front, with zero accountability because he has taken over every branch of government that could hold him accountable. While he’s not the only one to blame, I certainly think he’s the driving force… and I don’t think that most people would have voted for this version of him.

I guess the point of writing this is to hear from readers outside of my bubble. My hope is to hear from conservatives and republicans. I totally understand that there are things you hoped he would change and improve when he got back in office, but I genuinely want to know if you think that this is too far? The tariffs were/are troubling for our small business economy. The “being bought off by the tech billionaires in exchange for no regulation” is extremely problematic for our kids and economic futures. The cancellation of all the international aid felt cruel. I could go on… But seeing a city protest in a peaceful way, with people allowed to videotape and whistle at barely-trained masked men grabbing brown people off the streets, seeing a nurse trying to help a woman stand up and then being killed…it’s too much, too violent, too deadly.

It’s un-American. We are flawed with bureaucracy, run by people who are so imperfect and have a lot to learn. But our founders built our country to make us feel safe and free.

And right now, almost none of us do.

I’m a few weeks into my winter hibernation and have finally recovered from the holidays. My social battery is back to a normal level (shh, I’m still hibernating). This January, I had nothing to do at night but listen to audiobooks while I organized every. single. drawer, made soup after soup, eat healthy, walk/yoga, read juicy novels (or books on how to talk to our spiritual guides or be a better leader), and put on soooo many face, hair, and even feet masks. And you bet the sauna blanket and red light therapies were at the ready for TV binging. Today I’ll dive into the dumb but SO WORTHWHILE beauty stuff that makes me feel great (yes, even the cheap stuff). I run dry, especially after the cortisol highs and over-indulgence of the holidays. But you see, I have a philosophy that most masks, like most forms of exercise, are worth doing, and are even GREAT. Of course, some are “better” than others, have better ingredients, are more effective, blah blah, but honestly, they almost all improve your skin and make you feel better. The cheap ones still give that glow and, more importantly, give you that sense that you took care of yourself. I would even theorize that the act of simply setting aside the time away from others and rubbing it on your skin, face, and hair sends a happy signal to your brain – Hey brain, I care about this body.

It all starts with the bath…

I have bought so many fancy bath oils over the years (my favorite is still this Jo Malone, but it’s too expensive for day-to-day use), but since I bathe so much in the winter, I really only use Dr. Teals foaming bath in lavender ($11 for two bottles). It smells good, foams up so easily, and lasts for 20 baths (the whole month). I do NOT like any jars of garbage that leave weird flakes or residue in my bath that I then have to clean, and this one doesn’t (a side of “chores” with your relaxing??? No thank you.) Oh, and I do NOT like a rock in my bath, waiting for them to dissolve to “work”. I’ve got feelings.

I recently bought a huge jar of magnesium flakes (I bought it locally, but found it $9 less on dumb Amazon – GD you Amazon!!). It’s unscented, so you can combine the flakes with the bubble bath. There are soooooooo many oils, salts, and rubs out there. My suggestion is to stick to one scent you love because it tells your brain that it’s time to relax when you smell it (that Jo Malone scent will always remind me of lockdown, as I used it almost nightly then, so it has an odd nostalgia for me now). I don’t have a scrub that I can recommend, but in my experience, they all make your skin so soft, and the fancier ones are slightly better but go so fast.

After bath, I’ve been dry brushing and my goodness I LOVE it (I just learned how to do it properly). Now I dry brush right before bed, too (it’s so exhilarating). I already had the HigherDOSE drybrush, but was given it again by a friend who is super into this stuff because it’s her favorite as well (I’m sure a more affordable one like this would also work well). P.S. I don’t believe dry brushing like a normal person actually gets rid of cellulite (hello, marketing), but it’s a huge mood boost and stimulates your largest organ in such a fun way (I don’t doubt that it does good things for your lymphatic system, but just get annoyed with slogans like that). And then I’ve been putting on this body butter that was gifted to me from Kai, and I feel like quite the woman sliding into bed – I smell soooooo good.

medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum | ExfoliKate Intensive Treatment | Clay Face Mask | HigherDOSE Dry Brush | Pure Radiance Foot Mask | Depology Serum-Infused Microdart Patches | Snail Mucin Sheet Mask | Dr. Teal’s Foaming Bath | PRDN Collagen Jelly Cream

Face Masks

I’m not the lady with 1/2 used face mask jars – I LOVE a mask. Gel, Clay, sheet masks – $2 or $200. I will put it on my face. I still love the Exfolikate “Hollywood’s 2 minute facial” (I’ll notice a distinct glow for 3 days) and recently have become a FULL CONVERT of all things Medicube or any Korean beauty products with good old-fashioned Salmon Sperm. I LOVE these PDRN masks (4 for $20, so more for special occasions), but for an everyday mask, this one is awesome and under a dollar a piece (also Korean PDRN). PDRN is basically salmon sperm DNA (I’m confused TBH) that helps you rejuvenate skin cells and promotes collagen reproduction. It’s both topical and internal. It’s no joke, and it’s absolutely noticeable. When I was first recommended it (like 8 months ago), I stockpiled it because I was so nervous that it was going to sell out (it’s oddly affordable). So now I have all of these and just smother the hell out of them on my face:

Allover Gel for Collage and Skin Barrier Hydration and PDRN Peptides for All Over Evenness (and Moisture and Plumpness, etc) – These were my gateway into it; I just couldn’t believe what a difference it made instantly in plumpness and firmness.
PDNR Jelly – I think it’s more expensive because it has more salmon sperm in it…(LOL). I got Jess and her friend in love with this one, too.

I don’t have any great nightly moisturizer right now, thus the amount of masks (I need recs for Korean PDNR moisturizer, not just jelly), but I’m trying Charlotte Tilbury’s “Magic Cream” because I had a sample pot and it feels really good. I also got a few solid recs from Natasha Glasgow, a clean beauty expert whom I follow and trust a lot because she doesn’t get paid by brands – FOLLOW HER. She told me about INNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Eye Cream, and I’ve been using it for 2 weeks and really love it (it’s so soft and creamy). Kaitlin also loves it:)

Hair Masks

For hair masks, I’ll try anything and do. I have famously dry, fine, curly, and porous hair (and I highlight it) – the real trifecta of “bad,” so I should be masking weekly. Here’s what I’ve been using in January:

Briogeo – I think the whole “Don’t Despair, Repair” slogan got me. Love it.
Kerastase – This is the one every hairstylist I’ve had recommends or sells at their salon. I use it and like it, but can’t tell a difference between the two masks, but trust them.

I just ordered this one because the reviews of it are so good. Listen, one time on a two-week shoot, my hairstylist ordered me to put normal conditioner on my hair, wrap it in Saran Wrap, and sleep on it. The next day it was the softest and silkiest it hasever been. So, again, I think if you have real damage, do some research to address your needs, but also, anything is better than nothing, and sometimes the cheap stuff really works in a pinch 🙂

I feel like I could keep going… But I’d really love to take a break and force you to witness my first nude photo shoot of 2026. I was so sick of shooting myself in front of my vanity putting on a cream, so we did this instead, and equal parts hilarity and regret. OK, other important things:

1. Get yourself a waterproof Kindle – I read self-improvement books as hard/softback so I can highlight and come back to them, but all my fiction is on Kindle. Then read my recs for romance novels and turn up that hand nozzle!
2. Light a candle – Duh. Again, most candles are created fairly equal to me. I love the viral Heirloom Tomato from Flamingo Estate and also any $8 fancy wannabe from Target (I stay away from anything too fruity).

Before we had a nice tub, I would put a stool next to our smaller tub and put an iPad on it, throw on Veronica Mars (back on Netflix!!), and sit in the tub for an hour. I’ve also been red-lighting it all over the place. The hat (for follicle regrowth), the face mask, and the blanket (yes, I’ve had partnerships in the past and am so grateful to use them). I’ve now gotten into the habit of daily use (4-5 times a week), which all the research says simply works. Red light stimulates collagen naturally and does a billion other good things.

I won’t bother to get into my supplement routine (I had to buy an XL weekly pill organizer). I’m tackling that heart inflammation in 2026, 13 huge pills at a time. I’m excited to get my second round of Function Health lab testing to see if any of it has actually worked…

Anyway, that turned into quite the rant. I stand by my thesis – Just like working out, any time you take for self-care is a net positive, a big “value add,” they say in business. If you have some solid recs, leave them in the comments. I love to try new things and am your #1 sucker for enthusiastic recommendations:)

*Photos by Kailtin Green

It happened slowly, then all at once. When we first revealed the pantry, we barely lived in the house, and I had no idea how much I’d cook or entertain here. Turns out it’s a lot (which is wonderful), and therefore the needs of “the hardest working room” expanded quickly (and messily). It is not only a dumping ground for school stuff (piles of notebooks) or hiding quick mess during parties, but Brian and I have become quite the collectors of counter appliances that we actually use. And while putting them on the stairs down to the basement seemed like a fine idea at first (“we barely use this!” we said), not when you actually use it 1-2 times a week. So slowly, I’ve removed the pretty things to make room for what we need – food, my ever-growing supplement library, and appliances.

Styled – 2023

When I saw this shot recently as the opener to a blog post about staying organized, even I was like, “Whoa, this is not a real person’s pantry”. But at the time (3 years ago), we didn’t have the inventory we have now. First, the tall oils needed a home, then the bags of vitamins, then the larger platters and bowls we pull out for most parties. Every few months, I would reorganize (always so messy) and take pretty but rarely used stuff out to the prop garage, making room for actual life.

Real Life – 2026

TOP SHELF: Let me walk you through the changes. Top left is random stuff (including some Brez, which I order online – a 2.5 mg THC drink that is a great weekend wine replacement and super light), then all my protein, creatine, and Gruns vitamins (spoiler, some kids love these, mine do not, but I like them). My slow cooker (love), and platters we pull for parties.
LOWER SHELF: Peanut butters/honey/syrup, dog treats, panini press (kids love these sandwiches), basket for some treats out of reach of kids. Then the air fryer (weeknight chicken strips), which we can plug in below and not even move it down, and the Instant Pot (weekly hard-boiled eggs).
COUNTER: We try to keep this as clear as possible. It has our house alarm keypad, a couple of cutting boards, our bread box (which indeed has our bagels and bread in it), and our $18 toaster that could probably use an upgrade, but we’ll use it til it breaks.

What We Didn’t Change: Three Years Ago

This wall has remained very similar to how we styled it originally, mostly because it’s a sightline that you see from entering the house and while in the kitchen, so it has to look really pretty, or it would bum me out on a daily basis. I love our decanted jars (and for the most part keep up with them). Naturally, the pretty apron and broom were crowded out by the one billion coats that you need in Oregon. Here’s what it looks like now:

I obviously needed a place for that incredible vintage still life painting of pears and figs (on that red and white tablecloth? SHUT UP). That pitcher full of pretty wood spoons is for my own visual pleasure, which I’m comfortable with admitting in public 🙂 I added more jars of decanted beans and lentils (hot tip: keep the bag folded up inside of it so you know what it is and how to make it), and then there are more bowls and cookbooks as I add to my collection.

This is the exact sight line from the kitchen door where almost everyone enters through our house, so while the walls on the left and right can be totally disgusting, the back wall has to remain clean and pretty (Or I need to put a door on this room, which is not on my five-year plan).

What About The Drawers??

These drawers look far more real than they did. I originally designed them to have that gap so that we could put potatoes and onions in them, or just have them easy to access. But it’s just bags of popcorn and chips. The gap doesn’t bother me, but would I do it again? Dunno. This is the first time I’ve thought about it 🙂

Coffee Bar Side – Styled 3 Years Ago

Now good news is that while I haven’t used one scoop of that fancy ass tea I bought to style out this shoot, this side is pretty much the same. Sure, we have more to-go coffees and the plant is now dead (RIP), but it’s almost exactly the same (sorry, we didn’t re-shoot it).

A quick shout-out to the hidden cheap microwave – if you are designing a kitchen soon, I highly suggest this instead of something more built-in. I’ve heard too many stories about the microwave breaking, and then what? This allows us to have a mediocre microwave that works just fine (mostly to reheat coffee and make popcorn).

While there are some rooms I do like to keep looking pretty, this one just stopped making sense, and once I started the transformation, I let her rip. It’s wildly more functional (especially using the appliances actually in the pantry and not even needing to bring them out). I suppose a door on this pantry would make a massive difference, but I know what would happen – I would use it even more as a dumping ground when people come over, a “don’t even look in here” room of shame. 🙂

*Photos by Kaitlin Green

When it comes to choosing permanent materials, I take my risks carefully. I have to really love the style or visual aesthetics of something to sacrifice function. Our kitchen island is the perfect example – would a big “engineered stone topped newly made cabinet island” function “better” than our all wood vintage store counter turned island? What we did was far more expensive, complicated to design (we added the overhang and had it stained to match), and yeah, the drawers are heavier and kinda stick. But this island brings me joy every day, and I’m honestly never annoyed at the wear and tear or the stickiness – I bought into those years ago, mentally. But not everything needs to be “the moment,” and if I’m not super passionate about something aesthetically, I err on the side of function/durability, easy to clean, cheaper, or simply “the easiest thing to do” (yes, designers make that choice ALL the time, too). Take our painted stairs for instance – not stunning, but totally good enough and saved us thousands from having to patch, stain, and repair the OG wood stairs that were in terrible condition that you can’t even notice through the paint. This brings me to the reclaimed wood walls in the guest cottage…

The wood paneling in the cottage is one of the things that I’m willing to spend more on to keep or even add to. The living/kitchen shared space is such a pretty wood on the walls and ceiling, with a lot of imperfections (as you can see) that will be stripped and sanded to be uniform, then we’ll figure out about staining/sealing it. We aren’t considering painting it. WE LOVE IT. The rooms that are already painted (the old prop room and the stairway/upstairs) will get repaired and painted (not stripped and stained). We are still figuring out flooring, so stay tuned on that.

Today’s discussion is trying to get vintage or reclaimed wood to match the OG bathroom wall.

The Guest Cottage “New Bathroom” Walls

That wall is so dang pretty. It’s 5″ tongue and groove (likely old-growth fir or some other softwood species), and while it has a ton of variation, I think once it gets some TLC, it would look pretty uniform. It’s exactly what I want. But it’s the only finished wall. The other three walls are exposed and need insulation, electrical, etc and then would need to get fresh paneling – vintage or new.

So the question became: Is it possible to match the OG paneling on that wall for the other three walls and the ceiling? Or is this a fool’s errand? Will it cost way more than a new simple tongue and groove? Or should we partner with Stuga and put drift on the walls like we did in my favorite room at the river house? I want to do the more interesting thing (and admittedly, new wood would be far less charming), but I also don’t want to negate common sense in order to do it (and we’ll have a lot of other bigger moments in here anyway – i.e., the much-debated “outhouse” and handmade tile by yours truly).

Let’s Talk Numbers: How Much Do We Really Need?

The existing paneled wall is about 153 ft² (minus the door, it’s about 135). If we’re able to match that wall and panel the remaining three sides, we’ll need about 380 ft² with overage. If we include the ceiling, we’ll need to add another 200 ft² to the order (plus a little overage). If we redo the entire room in inexpensive paneling or if we’re unable to match the existing and want to start over with all matching reclaimed, all in, we need roughly 735 ft² (so let’s call it 750ft²). So to recap, just the three walls and ceiling would be around 600ft², but the entire room and ceiling would be 750ft².

That’s a decent amount of square footage. We needed to do some research, so Brian and I went to McGee Salvage, which has the most in town. And the owner, Tobey, was WONDERFUL.

Tobey Parsons. I love nothing more than meeting people who have been specializing in something for decades and are simply a wealth of experience and knowledge. When we went, we were exploring reclaimed wood flooring for the entire downstairs. We honestly didn’t fine anything that made sense (yet) but still exploring it. We plan on painting the flooring a pattern (since the walls are all wood) so it stopped making sense for us to splurge on reclaimed wood flooring.

His inventory was vast and fairly intimidating, but so exciting. He had a lot, and everything had a story. But we weren’t sure if any would directly match the wall we wanted to keep.

The thing is, I don’t want the “reclaimed wood” wall – you know what I’m talking about (see below). I want it to be uniform and have a pretty smooth grain. I want what is similar to the kitchen/living room in the cottage. I don’t want it to be a mix of different tones and grayed-out woods that look more cobbled together.

What I Don’t Want:

Now, it’s not that I don’t like that look ever, but it’s just not what I’m drawn to for this project. To be honest, I don’t even need reclaimed wood to get what I want (which is just a pretty wood-clad room), but I think it’s a nice way to use what we have, and then yes, use what the earth already made. Reclaimed wood inherently has more character (especially old growth that has such pretty grains and ring patterns). Not to mention the good energy – if you are into that sort of thing (which I am). I want wood that has lived a happy life – either happily in a forest treated with love or a former barn where life was lived (which is why I bought all my wood flooring for our house from Zena Forest Products – which, wait, I just realized I should probably consider for this project!). That’s not to say that I won’t use new wood from Lowe’s where it makes sense (that’s what we did in the Art Barn and the garage), but I love anything that holds a story more, which should surprise no one. I’m not super freaky about it, don’t worry, but I’m telling you it makes a difference in how your home feels to have vintage or storied pieces and finishes. Ok, enough of the woo woo stuff!!! Back to wood!

There was some wood that I totally fell in love with, but not enough square footage to meet our needs (the one on the right was so pretty though!). Other wood we liked would need to be sanded and planed, which is something we are considering, but it adds to the cost. When we first went, we didn’t know that we needed either 600 or 750 square feet, so it was more of an information-gathering session.

We pulled together all of these boards, which we thought maybe we could clad and then stain the same, so they had a bit of uniformity (the grain was really pretty), and it’s still something we are considering.

In general, like everything in life, the stuff that I was more drawn to was the most expensive ($8-$10 per linear foot), which will certainly add up. But listen, drywall isn’t on the table here, so it’s either reclaimed or new wood, and no, I’d much rather this room be all wood than paneled and painted (which would be cheaper). I’m open to also just doing what we did in the garage and art barn (just pine tongue and groove), but that seems like the less interesting choice.

I’ve given Tobey (McGee Salvage) our quantities now and am hoping that he can sort through what he has and give us some options. And then I hope those options make sense financially. I’m open to splurging on the wood if it’s stunning, but not if it’s just “good”. One benefit of doing reclaimed is that I think that Brian and I could potentially clad it ourselves since reclaimed is more forgiving than newer paneling – it tends to already have awkward cuts and lots of nail/screw holes, so mistakes are easily camouflaged (I would imagine that Brian and I would specialize in those).

So as of now, I don’t have the exact options for you, but I am also curious if any of you had experience in this or sources that might have the uniform quantity that we want (that makes sense on the walls – not 2″ reclaimed old gym flooring). I just want to be inspired by the beauty of the wood, not “ok great, yeah we can see if we can make this work”. So while the uniform quantity is important, the richness of the grain and the tone of the wood are really important to me. Any insight or ideas are much appreciated.

If you like reading other people’s diaries, peeking into medicine cabinets, or just oddly curious about how other families and marriages really work (or don’t), you might be into today’s announcement – something we’ve been wanting to do for a year and a half. Brian has wanted to write more here for a while, about us, mid-life expectations (and disappointments), parenting, masculinity – literally all the challenges. Life as we experience it. I’ve also wanted to write more from the personal angle with a lot of “inside the business” stuff (I’ve got stories). But it’s all solidly non-design related, and at times this platform felt wrong for it, both in subject and in safety. And yet we have little embarrassment or shame around our failures or challenges (ask our friends), and Brian is a fantastic writer and sharer that I think a lot of you (or your partners) can connect to. So we are launching a personal Substack newsletter, which is a weekly paid newsletter that comes to your inbox, called “Brian and Em”. It will essentially be a landing place for a lot of the dangerously vulnerable posts that we don’t want to be so open for public consumption (and the potential backlash that can ensue). Posts that I have wanted to write here (or have already written), but have been too scared to push publish. I think about them, write, draft, edit, and they just sit in the back end waiting for “the right day”. This blog will remain 100% the same – I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll still write some personal posts here. These other posts will be both thoughtful and off the cuff. It will be all the stuff we talk to our friends about, just shared online with those who are into it.

Like What? What Will You Write About??

I figured a list of titles might better give you an example of where my head is. Here are some I’ve already finished or want to write:

1. How (and Why) We Made Our House Safe From Porn and Online Gambling to Protect Our Kids (I Had No Idea You Could Do This)
2. Why So Many Mormons Became Bloggers in the 2000’s (As a Former Mormon, I Have So Much Insight). Speaking of which…
3. Which of the Mormon Cultural Traditions My Own Family Has Adopted (Super Solid Ideas)
4. All the Times I’ve Listened to My Gut in Business, Where I’ve Been Dead Wrong, and What it Taught Me Instead
5. My Daughter Wants to be a YouTuber. Here’s How We Are Handling It
6. What We Are the Most Strict About in Our House (It’s Def Not How We Grew Up).
7. Small Business Stuff – My PTO Policy, Who Handles Our HR, and Do I Have a CFO??
8. Why We Didn’t Have a Third Kid (And Do I Regret Stopping at 2?)
9. How We Talk About Money with Our Kids (Oof, This is Like a 10-Part Series)

The list really goes on and on. Every day as I walk, I have new ideas, things that I think would be so fun to gab about, but don’t necessarily feel right here on the blog. Some are more long-winded (duh), and some are just thoughts, theories, or recommendations that I want to share, and I wonder if other people would connect with.

What About Brian? What Will He Write About?

This whole thing started because of him. He’s been working on a novel for a few years (and finished a creative writing program last year), and now that it’s done and he’s pitching it, he has a lot he wants to write, on the more personal side. I’ll brag for a bit, but he’s just really thoughtful, willing, curious, and open (not to mention the most supportive partner and father). Dax Shepher adjacent (he’s going to kill me for saying that, but if you listen to Armchair Expert, you know what I’m talking about). But putting it out there on a very widely read design blog felt off to him (since his posts were never design related and frankly some of his humor wasn’t that well received, even though I find him personally hilarious). You might remember his post documenting his vasectomy, or even how therapy changed his life. They will be more in that vein (LOL… no pun intended).

From Brian…

“Over the course of the Substack, I’ll be exploring things all sorts of men’s issues from my own personal stories. I’ll walk you through my journey with therapy and how it saved my marriage. I’ll answer questions like: How does it feel to be the husband of a breadwinner? How does being the lead parent affect my masculinity? Why do I still have a hard time talking to my wife about certain things? Why do I sometimes withhold affection? How do I raise a boy in today’s culture? Why am I still insecure about sex after all these years?”

He continues: “I also want this to be a dialogue, so I’ll be answering reader questions — well, ‘answering’ isn’t quite right. But if there’s anything you’ve been struggling with at home or in life, with your spouse or partner, I’ll give you my honest take from a male point of view. Kinda like Ask Amy, but with a jock strap. There will be blind spots— I’m just a middle-aged white dude after all. But hopefully, if I write personally and candidly enough, something universal will pop out that anyone could relate to.”

Obviously, we aren’t perfect nor experts in anything relational, but after 25 years together, we just feel really comfortable talking about stuff that most couples go through. Or maybe we are just indulgent know-it-alls and like to give advice ….

How Much Is it? How Does It Work?

The lowest you can charge is $5 a month (and then Substack takes a cut out of that, credit card fees, etc), so that is what we are starting with (it’s just us right now, so our overhead is just our time). For us, this provides a safety barrier, a buffer that keeps people invested in us and hate readers out (unless they pay). If you are a long-time reader and this is a barrier, please email hello@emilyhenderson.com, and I will give you 3 months for free. Right now, the post will land on Saturday or Sunday mornings in your inbox (which is when we read the Substacks we subscribe to). But anything can change based on learnings.

This is an experiment, something we’ve really wanted to try, but there are a lot of unknowns. At times, we think we could expand this into a podcast, and other times, we are nervous about exposing our marriage and inner thoughts to the public. We will protect our kids, obviously, and mostly write about common issues concerning raising kids, but not specifics about ours, in a way that we would regret later. Our phone and social media policy? Sure. How are we managing video game addiction tendencies? Yep. Because those are more universal problems. But nothing too personal about each one – it’s about us way more than them.

Brian wrote the first post that is a reflection on the therapy that changed his life and our marriage (and it’s not just normal talk therapy). Head over there for a 2-week free subscription and see what you think. Substack makes it super easy to cancel or you can opt in as a non-paying subscriber and get the emails (which will show you the first few paragraphs) and then upgrade to paid if a subject really compels you. Its juicy, but its not for everyone 🙂 And if you are a longtime reader and the $5 is a barrier let me know in the comments and i’ll reach out and figure out a way to gift it to you.

xx – Emily and Brian

*Photos by Kaitlin Green

Over the holidays, anything “non-urgent” got moved to the back burner (or just put in the freezer, out of sight/mind). So, outside of partnership deadlines and timely end of year admin, I let myself indulge in my family and totally forgot that I had this adorably run-down house that needed my attention. But I’m back and so excited to keep this project moving (but don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything since this post). Today I want to walk you through a few bathroom ideas I’m VERY excited by, that are more fantasy than practical. It’s a big room, 12×16, so it’s going to be perhaps an oddly large bathroom with vaulted ceilings…and a urinal. Just having the basics (toilet, sink, shower) felt dinky and weird. So I’ve got some fun guest cottage bathroom ideas, and I wanted to share them…

Hoping to keep the paneling on one wall and find reclaimed wood to go around the rest of the room. I need 600 square feet (3 walls and ceiling). I have the vision of it clear in my head, but it’s hard to explain. It’s going to be rustic (but cohesive), with a side of “summer camp” due to the amount of wood, but with a cohesive color palette and fun tile and fabric. More to come on the materials.

Ok, so since the room is big and has high ceilings, I want to divide it up and do a “room within the room”. And since I’ve promised Brian a urinal, I want to put that and the toilet in its own room. There are, I’m sure, many ways that I can do this, but I have two main ideas that I love almost equally.

Toilet Room Idea #1: The “Outhouse”

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Ok, so picture this – a small, roofed room inside the paneled bathroom. It would be almost free-standing (grounded against the back wall) with double doors going into it. It could be shaped like an outhouse (but stretched out wide, for double doors and to fit the urinal). I can 100% picture it, and I have zero doubts about this, as odd as the idea sounds. It could be paneled and painted so it fits in the same world but pops off the wood walls (which we hope to match and keep).

I was heavily inspired by this bathroom, below, with the tiled toilet room and shower.

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What a totally delightful (and ballsy) design. This designer put two tiled rooms (with glass blocks, no less!) inside what seems to be more of an old-world bathroom.

One room is for the toilet and one for the shower. Now, while a tiled version of my “outhouse” would be incredible, I think the tile budget might be totally out of control if we did this. But I think it’s the best representation of this out-of-the-box, fantastical idea. Well done, Buchanan Studio! When we first saw it a few years ago, our “Watercooler” Slack channel was a-BUZZ. I know it’s controversial, but we all thought it was just a totally fascinating idea, executed so well.

Toilet Room Idea #2 – The “Through A Secret Armoire”

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I mean, I’ve always wanted to do this (who hasn’t). You walk in, and it’s just an unsuspectingly large armoire (flat roof, not pitched), and then you open it, and it has a toilet and urinal. What a delight! The only caveat with this is that in order for the toilet to fit with the right clearances, it needs to be pretty deep, which, from the side, would give itself away (no armoire is that deep). Most of the ones that I’ve found online steal space from the adjoining room, which we don’t want to do here. So while this idea is a 12 on the fun scale, I fear that the execution of it is more challenging. Not only do I need to either find a massive, beautiful armoire, OR make one, but I need to build it out to be at least 4′ deep, and I think it would stick so far out that it would look dumb.

Our First Renders…

My team is having so much fun using Spoak, so we created some elevations here to show you. Now it’s rough, but it hopefully demonstrates what I’m talking about enough to visualize it and either agree with me or not. Depending on the size of the fixtures we go with (toilet, urinal, sink), we might not be able to bump the structure out from the side wall like this, but I like how it looks with some breathing room if the spacing works out. The sink would likely be vintage (and possibly wall hung), and the water heater location is still TBD (and would have to be small), but we wanted to account for it (it’d likely be hidden within a faux cabinet).

When I was in the space, I mocked up the depth of the outhouse to be a lot more, but now I’m realizing it could be a lot less deep (toilets are about 30″ and front clearance needs to be 15″). But you have to account for framing, so I think we are at least at 60″ from the wall. There are a lot of things to troubleshoot (and build), and this whole idea might not work. But picture this – you are over in our yard at a big outdoor party, and you are told the bathroom is through “that door over there”. Then, when you walk in, you see this quirky room that says “restroom” or “toilet room” on impossibly cute stained glass doors. Then you open them and inside is your own private toilet and urinal (might need to figure out a privacy situation for the stained glass doors, lol…). Maybe it’s a tiled wall inside (or the OG paneling). Maybe a little sconce, too. How cute does that sound???

And Where Does One Shower?

Ok, we’ve got our toilet/urinal and sink covered, so where should the shower go? And what does it look like? Now this might not be a heavily used shower (at least not for many years), so again we can be more creative with it. I had two ideas bouncing around…

The “Floating” Circular Shower Pan

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How fun is this?? I found this as I was researching how to do a shower without having to do all the hot mop shower pan waterproofing stuff (I was trying to avoid hiring out for that). What’s the least amount of “work” to get a shower without using a plastic insert (which I totally considered BTW and might be worth a blog post). So I found these images on Pinterest, which show exposed plumbing with shower curtains all the way around (no tile, no waterproofing walls) and what seems to be just a marble round shower pan on the floor (there are also cast iron claw foot versions). Now, would this possibly pass US bathroom code or inspections? I have no idea, but I’d bet not? But that didn’t stop me from spending no less than 5 hours planning out the bathroom with this in mind. Ultimately, I decided that future-proofing the bathroom by putting in a tub would be smart, which would shift this floating circular shower into the corner, in which case having it be round made less and less sense (I did find some corner quarter-round showers that were really fun, but started to feel a little too complicated).

Corner Shower With Chest Height Pony Wall

Ok then, I pivoted to doing a square or rectangular shower in the corner, but making it look more analog with a chest-height pony wall for privacy (and because I like the idea of a higher wall). And then above the wall, a super cute hanging curtain (almost like a cafe curtain, but that goes from the ceiling to the top of the pony wall), which gives me an opportunity to add a fun pattern/print and texture/softness. Fabric and tile are two of my favorite design elements, so I want to add them in as much as possible. I also love the idea of a column or some sort of decorative (and seemingly load-bearing) post or newel to add some architectural grounding (and for the paneling to butt into).

Here’s the birdseye view, which is not necessarily accurate yet but gives you a better idea of where everything is going to go. We might make the shower a rectangle, and we might do a floor-mounted faucet for the tub, etc (and pretend the sink inside the outhouse is a urinal). But I think it’s super helpful to see where we are headed.

Here’s where we left off. Since then, the framed floor has been started so that we can attach pipes to it for plumbing. But a lot left to consider:

1. Flooring – If all the walls and ceiling are wood paneling, then a tiled floor sure would be nice, but at 12×16, that’s a big floor, and tile is substantially more expensive to install than wood flooring. And we are planning on painting a pattern on the wood floor of the living/kitchen, so I don’t want to do the same in here, or it will be a circus house. We also might need to do under-floor heating in here, as we aren’t putting a Quilt mini split in this room. More to come.
2. Walls – So my goal is to find reclaimed wood that matches the tone of the wall that has beautiful existing paneling on it already (the wall where the outhouse would be). So far, I haven’t found it. It doesn’t need to be exact, and I don’t even mind if the width or profile is slightly different – it can look a bit hodgepodge, but I want the tone of the wood to be similar.
3. Windows – I think we are getting rid of the one on the far wall since it looks out to a fence and is frosted. I think we are going to put skylights in here anyway. We’ll keep the big picture window.
4. Framing – We have to frame the floor to be higher, so I’ll need to troubleshoot raising the door and creating some sort of step-up on the outside.

It’s pretty exciting, and now that my head is fully back on straight (dude, that holiday break killed me this year), I’m extremely excited to keep moving. Just need to get the plumber to respond to me 🙂

*Photos by Kailtin Green

Four years ago, I was struggling pretty hard, mentally. In short, I was telling myself a really terrible story about myself, living inside my failures, unable to really see anything positive I was doing (work-wise). This was around the time when TikTok disrupted media so much, dispersing the attention away from blogs and even IG (it’s shifted back, thank god), which affected all of our numbers drastically. So my reliance on social media had to increase. And listen, I’m extremely grateful for social media because it basically supports my team and my family, but living inside it can be super toxic if you aren’t mentally taking care of yourself, which apparently I wasn’t at the time. I constantly compared myself to others (my looks, my weight, my likes/views, my house, even just sheer volume of content I was able or unable to produce). I only saw myself falling short, looking old, and not performing at the level that others were. And then I shamed myself for caring about all of those things, knowing that I was also failing at being as evolved as I thought I was. And while I was proud of the boundaries that I had in place to protect my time with my kids (done by 5 pm, no weekend posting), it seemed as though restricting my social media usage wasn’t good for business. So I felt trapped – not wanting to sacrifice my time with my kids for something that I didn’t value, but fearful that if I didn’t, the business would dive off a cliff, and then what? While I never wanted to fully give up, I stopped saying yes to annual contracts or anything that would lock me in for more than a few months, giving myself the out if I needed it, or just a sabbatical to be able to rethink it all with a clear head. And then I would feel so much guilt and shame around that – to even think about giving up a career that provided so much autonomy, fun, and financial security felt like a slap in the face to everyone else stuck in jobs that they actively didn’t like. I still loved the work, and I adored my team, but I didn’t feel like I was good at parts of it anymore (mostly the social media part). I was just beating myself to a pulp. I worried severely that I was a relic from the past, totally irrelevant and not keeping up with the times (let alone the Joneses). I was really grateful for everything my career had given us, but I was so clouded by my negative self-talk that I was spiritually very sick. I needed a massive mental shift. Outwardly, I was still positive; only Brian and my closest friends knew I was struggling. It’s not that I thought my life sucked, just that I sucked. It was a genuine midlife career crisis, a spiral so long and deep that I didn’t know how to reset it on my own. 

For years, I had done a winter girls trip with my three best friends from childhood, but this year was a 911 for me. These are my soul sisters (so cheesy, but no other descriptors make sense). Thirty-five years of friendship, support, and deep spiritual connection. The four of us are open to anything (we’ve always incorporated some sort of spirituality in our weekends – sound baths, tarot, mediums, spiritual counselors, etc). So I pitched a “wellness resort” – Canyon Ranch in Tucson (I admittedly cringe at the word ‘wellness’ these days). My newly minted sister-in-law worked there at the time and could get us all 90% off with a friends and family discount. What was typically $1,200 per person, per day, would be $120 for us. Truly insane. The kicker? No alcohol. No sipping on wine. No end-of-day martinis. But it was planned for January when I don’t drink anyway, so we were like, yeah, let’s go for it. (Canyon Ranch now has some alcohol, but it’s restricted to just an hour happy hour.)

One of my best friends brought us all the book Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein. Admittedly, it’s a TERRIBLE cover, but I was willing to do/read anything that might help (and honestly, sometimes the exact material doesn’t matter; it’s the act and dedication to the process that is effective). I dove headfirst into it, doing the work (mantras, journaling, dismantling my blockages, calling on my spiritual guide). I’m a good student, and while skeptical, I had had a few spiritual experiences in the past that changed my life/perspective, so this didn’t feel too foreign to me. And this 100% changed my life (again). I’ve read a lot of these books and they all circle the same things (The Four Agreements, Lacy Phillips’s How to Manifest and Many Lives, Many Masters also had massive impacts) but I think this one hit harder not just because of how she writes (which is friendly and entertaining) but because of this combination of the weekend – exercise, friends, sleep, time, nature, space. I also just started Tara Swart’s The Signs. Her first book The Source, was more about manifestation (she’s a neuroscientist), but this one is about talking to the other side, and it’s WILD.

We exercised 2-4 hours a day (including hiking), ate so healthily, slept so much, read, journaled and then verbally digested for hours with my best friends, who were reading the exact same book. 

It was an epiphany. I felt watered and fed on all levels, and I was bursting with new growth. I came back from that weekend bouncing off the walls, filled with so much love, not just from my friends and me, but from the universe/God. I know how that sounds, but there is no other way to say it. I was so positive, filled with lightness, I saw everything so differently, like I was literally wearing rose colored glasses. The same things that triggered me 6 days before, I now saw as a gift, an opportunity, a fun challenge. It wasn’t that “only” 60k people viewed my reel, it was “how lucky am I that 60k people viewed our reel”. 

Ladies, we can not make meaningful change without giving ourselves healthy time and space away from our triggers and chaos to dive into learning and growing. You can’t just “get better” or “figure things out,” especially if you are a working mom, which means you have two full-time jobs, ripped apart on a daily basis, desperate to be great at both, and likely beating yourself up for falling short at all. 

We went back three more times to Canyon Ranch (once just Brian and me) until my sister in law stopped working there. But I’ve now re-prioritized my girls’ weekends to be focused on feeling better (inside and out) instead of just “fun”. Life is just too short to come back needing to recover. Obviously, these weekends are very, very fun, too, just in a different way.

I’ve now been to 6 different “wellness resorts” (none as high-end as Canyon Ranch, but some even better in my opinion). If you are interested, I could review them all. It’s a bougie topic for sure (even having the time to get away is a privilege, let alone the budget) – so I want to make sure the appetite is there. I’ve even conducted 2 DIY retreats at Airbnbs when we wanted to save money and get a similar result. When the elements are there, you can kinda do it anywhere.

Now, not everyone is in the same life mind-frame, and this might just seem so boring to some. But it’s all I want to do now, I’ve consistently felt so much improvement in my mental and physical health after each one. If you are interested, I’ll review the resorts that I’ve been to (trust me, it was hard to find reviews online from people I trusted). None were sponsored or discounted; I don’t think I even posted organically while there. Just some middle-aged ladies taking a break from it all to connect with each other and our spirituality, workout, eat healthy foods, read, journal, sleep, spa like crazy, and come home like 40% better humans 🙂