The San Jose flip (also known as the EGR flip) is coming along! We just got the cabinets installed. Soon, the quartz counters will be installed followed by the kitchen backsplash! We also have an exterior door and a couple of sconces to replace and some paint touch up to tackle. And finally, after staging and styling, our darling home on San Jose will be on the market!

This being our 7th house, we put a lot of thought into every detail of the build! We have learned a lot about practical design after living with 7 different kitchens, laundry rooms, etc. We absolutely love our new home and how it turned out, but even house #7 isn't perfect! Here are some things I wish I would have done differently after living here for a few months!

We recently returned home from our second time snowbirding in 30a! We stayed for one month (spending one of the those weeks at the cabin in GA). We cherished each day down South as a family. Brooks absolutely LOVED playing in the sand. Each time we went to the beach, he would squirm in my arms the minute we crossed the walkover and could see the sand, eager to get down and play! He could play on the beach for hours. I'm pretty sure he crawled several miles during this trip!

Ty here. My favorite annual post (and only consistent contribution to the blogosphere other than editing) as become somewhat of a fan favorite...yes, I am looking at all 11 of you who have told me you look forward to this post each year. Post Brooks, I did not think we'd be able to make it to as many coffee shops, ut we surprised ourselves. With Hannah's new role, there was much more travel and plenty of opportunities for new additions to the list! This year, we tried 45 new coffee shops. As always, any shop on this list must be a new addition to our repertoire; we try to avoid repeats! And with that, here we go…

Ah, the kitchen, the heart of the home. By far, this is my favorite kitchen yet! It's cozy, inviting, and functional. I'm thrilled with how this space came together after months of planning and coordinating! I really wanted this kitchen to have some soul and character. While I have loved our previous kitchens, most of which were white-on-white, I was ready for something with more depth. I do think white kitchens are timeless and fresh, but I was eager to design a kitchen with more color and variation to bring some uniqueness to new construction (which can lack character!)

Coffee table books have a way making a space feel complete. They belong in short piles on the TV console, dresser, dining room buffet, kitchen shelf, and (duh) coffee table. I haven't counted how many we have gathered over the years...some things are better kept unknown (Ty is already telling me that my little "collection" is outgrowing our new abode!).

Ah, our doors. The amount of time and thought I put into selecting our interior doors is slightly embarrassing. Originally, I planned to do all wood trim work in the house...doors, baseboard, window casing, etc., which is very uncommon in new construction and most commonly seen in older homes. I wanted to do some unusual things in this house to make it feels aged and to bring in some character. After significant thought, I decided against wood trim and went with white because I did not want the large kitchen window to be trimmed in a dark color due to the warm wood island and flooring. Ultimately, I decided to keep only the doors a stained wood!

Since before we began construction, I knew I wanted the house to be dark. Originally, I had my heart set on black. You can read about that here and here. Long story short, we changed our minds last minute and decided to go with a deep dark GREEN! Ah, the single best design decision of the whole project, if you ask me! I appreciate our dark green siding every single time I drive up to our house.

This is definitely my favorite type of conversation to have when I find out someone is building...where to save and where to splurge! With building, there are endless possibilities. So many options, products, new technologies. Coming up with a budget certainly helped keep me in check and forced me to prioritize what was important to us vs. what we could live without. While kitchen splurges are most common, it's always fascinating to learn what people prioritize in their homes!

Our first full room reveal is here! Meaning, one room at the new home is officially done! We "completed" our new home about a month ago and moved in. While the home was complete according to the occupancy permit, there was still a punch list of "to do's". We built this home ourselves and are still finishing a myriad of final details...fireplace installation, washing machine hookup, linen closet shelves, etc. We've been slowly tackling the decor since our move in date as well, but travel to the cabin, the holidays, and a wave of sickness have delayed those efforts as well. That said, we are thrilled to have the primary bathroom fully decorated!

We've rounded up all of our favorite gifts! Many of these things we own and love. A few are on a "hint hint" list that I sent to Ty. We just put our tree up yesterday and are eager to wrap some gifts to put under the tree!

Due to an inordinate amount of messages about our kitchen backsplash, I thought I would whip together a blog post with all of the details! I have to say, our Moroccan zellige backsplash may be one my favorite things in the home. As I have mentioned before, one of the greatest challenges with designing new construction was finding ways to bring character and personality to each space. Brand new homes simply don't have the character that you find in an old home! We tried to counteract this by installing products that have age, character, and celebrate imperfections.

I shared on instagram last week that we decided not to go with black for the exterior color of the new build! I opted not to share what color we ended up reselecting; instead, planning to share a big reveal when the siding installation was completed. Well, I had no idea the hype that would ensue after sharing the big news! Not sure I’ve ever gotten so many messages asking to know. The drama! The suspense!

The kids' bath shower tile installation is occurring in less than two weeks! EEEEK! The excitement is ramping up. We can't wait to move on in this fall! You better believe we talk about it every single day.

Welp, here we go again! A few weeks ago, Ty showed a house in East Grand Rapids to a homebuyer he is working with. She decided not to pursue the home. A few days later, Ty showed me the house and said, "This would make a good flip....wanna?" I took a glance at the listing photos and said, "Sure." ​​Honestly, it was about that short of a conversation. I actually can't believe that we are doing this. We had just been talking about how much we love new construction...so predictable, clean, and comparatively, seamless. Renovating is messy and full of unexpected twists and turns. Ha!

Wintering down South has been a goal of Ty and I's for years. There are many things we love about Michigan...mainly, our families and the summer and fall seasons. The winters, however, are grueling. While we invite the white fluffy snow for Christmas, we would like to bid it goodbye shortly after! Once February rolls around, we long for sunshine and outdoors, as many Michiganders do! We were incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to spend 6 weeks of this past winter down in Florida! This was something we had worked so hard for. The idea of getting to enjoy the outdoors in the winter is a driving force behind our business. It's this goal that has motivated us to create a life with more location independence! We recorded a new podcast about our WHY as to embarking on the snowbirding lifestyle. and more on why we selected this particular location!

Alas! The kitchen design! I have put many, many hours into thinking of every single detail...from materials, to layout, to storage (but as always, there are so many specifics yet to iron out!). I want this kitchen to stand the test of time! As our lives grow busier, we are also prioritizing practicality and putting concerted thought behind how the space will function. I literally cannot wait to organize each cabinet. Our current kitchen is a little tight; we have bottles and sippy cups bursting out of each drawer. You better believe we are looking forward to having a designated space for each and every item!

This post is long overdue, but who's keep tracking except Hannah and I ? (and my mom, probably!). We ventured back to the beautiful state of California for our baby moon--and spent a week at an incredible AIRBNB in Corona Del Mar, walkable to coffee, restaurants, shops, and most importantly, the pacific ocean! We walked all over Corona Del Mar (CDM is a neighborhood within Newport Beach), choosing a slower paced vacation than usual--featuring a lot of beach time, walking every neighborhood we could, and trying a plethora of new coffee shops and eateries. The sauntering was just what we needed to gear up for the super busy summer season which commenced right upon our return.

We love to make a good travel guide...we felt it was about time we do a travel guide for Lookout Mountain/Chattanooga! We had an amazing week at the cabin this January and enjoyed relaxing and taking it the solitude. The cabin is booking up quickly for the Spring! In preparation for the upcoming Spring and Summer seasons, we are sharing our favorite things to do near the cabin! Link to rental here

On the way down to Florida, we spent some time at the cabin (VRBO link here). It was our first time visiting the cabin "for fun." We had been once to tour the cabin when it was for sale, and then twice furnishing the home in preparation for renters. This was our first time visiting for enjoyment. We did do some small maintenance projects and ran a few errands, but overall, we got to take in the peaceful views and enjoy time as a family. Bringing Brooks to the cabin for the first time felt nothing short of monumental; we will truly cherish these memories! We hope for the cabin to be a place that we will make many memories in for years to come. That reality sunk in, envisioning our future...family hikes, kids playing ping pong in the basement, board games overlooking the mountains. It felt like a first of many family visits.