The Top 10 Posts That You All Read The Heck Out Of This Year

There are all sorts of metrics and data that we have for every post but what we care most about is the fact that you all dedicated time to read all the way through (THANK YOU) – and this we can tell by average ‘time on site’. It’s like an artist selling a painting or a furniture maker selling a chair – these words are our ‘product’ and when they actually get read, we feel really really good. So these are the top ten ‘longest time on site’ posts which is different than most highly trafficked or even ‘popular’. These have nothing to do with google or any algorithm – just good old fashioned ‘reading’ and almost all of these are very personal. In many ways some of these are our favorite posts of the year.

10. The True Cost Of Moving Into A New Neighborhood, Sorry I Mean Gentrification . . .

I LOVED Sara’s honest post about her buying her home in a gentrifying neighborhood (and what you can do to not be part of the problem while still trying to get into the market with your first home).

9. Our Guest Room/Office Basement Suite Reveal … + How To Make A Basement (Office) Feel Warm, Happy And Functional

Basements HIT this year – especially office/guest room basements for obvious reasons. I loved how ours turned out, after 3 years of living with it as a storage room we styled it right (just to sell it). OH and the house is going BACK on the market in January (we wanted to do some repairs that came up in inspections during both escrows). So if you know anyone…

8. REVEAL: Our Boy/Girl, 2-Twin Bed Shared Kids Room… With A HEAVY Dose Of Mama Drama

I’m so glad you guys loved our kids room – I LOVE it even though the kids have never actually slept in it. We are taking all of that to Oregon (even though now that I think of it we’ll likely do full beds in their non-shared rooms…).

7. The Hendersons Are Homeschooling… On Our Own (Here’s The “Plan” Or What We Really Hope Will Happen)

I’m a little surprised about this, but at the same time as a pandemic mom, I would read the crap out of someone else’s home school situation. An update: we found part time childcare 9 am – 12/1 pm a few times a week and she is GREAT with having them do reading/writing/math in the morning then Brian and I share afternoons with them for cooking class, PE, and lots of nature. Some weeks are fine, some aren’t but we know that so many other parents with less flexibility/privilege are struggling so hard so there is no complaining from me (publicly anyway). We are VERY excited for in person school to start in the fall.

6. Like Most Guys, I Didn’t Want To Go To Therapy. I Did, And It Saved My Marriage.

That man is the best and this year he’s just gotten more and more open. He’s made it his own personal goal to normalize guys going to therapy with all our friends and his family by just talking so openly and frequently about it.

5. All The “Hows”, “Whys” And “How Much’s” Of The Turf At The Mountain House + Introducing My Landscape Designer – Brian Henderson

I had no idea that you guys would love reading about turf so much! Update – we love it and I just wish I had done it around the now hot tub and made the fire pit area smaller, but oh well 🙂

4. Happy 10 Year Anniversary, Brian (Plus a 20 Year First Date Anniversary Update)

Like me, you all love getting inside other people’s relationships (have you guys seen the Showtime show called ‘Couples Therapy’?? It is just that and it’s on Hulu now and totally addictive and real and sad and hopeful). In this post, I wrote about our ups and downs over the last 20 years (spoiler, after some downs + therapy the last 4 years have been the happiest we’ve ever been, we aren’t ‘cured’ but we’ve finally figured some things out!).

3. Caitlin’s Roller Coaster House Hunting Saga Continues…

Oh yah, I was riveted by this post. Caitlin is such a funny writer with such a great voice and her saga was THRILLING. You HAVE to read it.

2. Why I Went Back To Church (Even Though I Don’t Know If I Believe In “God”… Yet)

One of the big things that I’ll miss when we move to Oregon (besides friends) is this church we found. It’s so accepting and inspiring (all due to an amazing pastor, pastor Kyle who is in AA and is just so nonjudgemental, open, vulnerable, and funny!). If you live in LA and are curious about a Christian church where I didn’t even have to believe in a the traditional Christian God to feel accepted and to learn so much about myself and the world, Silverlake Presbyterian Community Church on Hyperion is wonderful. I looked forward to it every week, which I didn’t know was possible. Brian even loves it and he’s totally agnostic – so that says a lot. When the world opens up I hope the kid’s nursery that I designed actually gets some use!! I actually need to finish it now that I think about it. Anyway, I didn’t want to advertise the church before for privacy reasons but now that we are leaving LA I’d love for that sweet place to grow (Kyle just started there a couple of years ago). Tell him ‘Hi’ for me 🙂

1. We Are Moving!!! But To Where???

It’s hard to resist a major life update post and many of you read the heck out of this. We announced we are moving back home to Oregon and in the new year you are going to hear about where, what, and when it’s all happening (we finally closed on the property two weeks ago). It’s all VERY exciting on every level. Those of you renovating are going to want to watch the blog this year – a ton of major reno content coming at you soon!!!!

Thanks again so much for reading this year. We hope that these more personal posts kept you entertained or distracted from what was certainly a challenging year for us all at home. xxx