I can guarantee I’ll share my many mistakes and lessons learned, paired with beginner-friendly DIYS, rental-safe upgrades and many, many before and afters. My hope is to create a space that feels like a warm hug where friends never want to leave and we always want to stay.
How I Left My Dream Job To Find Myself Again
The question every little kid is asked on their first day of kindergarten: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
My answer was always confident, unwavering—a ballerina.
My childhood was spent in the dance studio, training in ballet, jazz, and tap. Eventually, I earned the right to be fitted for my first pair of pointe shoes—a moment that lives on in a photo tucked away in a keepsake box with a signed program of Julie Kent. That passion led me into a professional career, and by the age of 27, I found myself leading a ballet organization as its newly appointed Artistic Director.
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
I’ve been having more conversations lately—the kind that start quietly, almost hesitantly, and then spill open. Conversations with women who have found themselves in eerily similar situations, whispering stories they once thought were too embarrassing, too “gross,” too “un-lady-like” to say out loud. And what I’m realizing is this: our vulnerability is our strength.
Before the Blog: The Real Starting Point of Our 1920s Rental
I remember packing odds and ends in our Connecticut kitchen thinking that we were not going to have a place to live. Dramatic? Definitely. But in all honesty I was not prepared for the competitive real estate market in the Bay Area. Our Connecticut lease was up in 4.5 weeks, the moving truck company date was set, and we were still falling short of finding a place.
How a 1920’s Cottage Rental turned me into a DIY girly
As cliche as it sounds, I didn’t plan on becoming a DIY renovation girly. I always enjoyed design, and decorating spaces, and of course like most of America, I too was a fan of Chip and Joanna as they completely transformed the idea of “fixer upper”. Though I never had time to pour my creativity into anything other than dance.