Is it just me or does it feel like everyone is remodeling their home these days? I’m a total HGTV addict—on the rare occasion that I have time to relax and turn on the television, I almost always go straight to the remodeling shows. I also follow designers and architects on social media. Not only do I love design and seeing what people with different budgets and in different locations are doing, but we moved into a new home a little over a year ago and I have many dreams about making changes. Remodeling, no matter the size of the project, is an investment, and even if you plan to live long-term in your home, you should always consider the resale value and practicality of your remodel before you move forward. Here are a few key things to consider before jumping into a remodel:
Month: April 2017
3 Money Mistakes My Parents Made and How I’m Doing it Differently
My parents both came from typical middle-class families, and until I was a teenager, they were making a comfortable living. When I was 13, their software company went public and they literally became wealthy over night, which significantly altered our standard of living. They constantly hammered home their one money mantra–live below your means–but that meant very little to me without any context. Lucky as my hand was, my parents made a few key mistakes when it came to teaching me about money, and it wholly affected the way I understood and spent money. I’ve vowed to do it differently for my kids.
Packing Light(ish) for Kids
Traveling with kids. Some people love it. Some people think it’s torture. I’m somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. When we had my daughter, we continued to travel without hesitation. R was on her first flight at four months old, and she was on a total of 14 flights in her first 14 months of life, including two international trips. Once we had D, all traveling came to a halt. Part of it was circumstantial due to work schedules, but much of it was my own trepidation of traveling with two children. Determined not to be home bound for the next few years, I opted to face my fears and book some travel. Whereas I used to have a You-Can’t-Be-Too-Prepared attitude about traveling with kids, I now realize that unless I’m planning a trip to a remote locale, even with kids, less is definitely still more.
Let me be real with you guys. In theory, I envision myself on vacation in some sexy new bikini with my hair perfectly “beach-waved” under an adorable Panama hat with glowing skin and perfectly poised for an Instagram-worthy photo op. In reality, my vacations (the last real one I took was three years ago) are an opportunity for me not to have to wear makeup for a week, pull out the eight-year-old bikini that I haven’t worn for two summers, and slather my pale-ass skin in SPF 50 every 30 minutes so I don’t burn to a crisp. And those sunset photos where I’m casually laughing on the beach with my family? They look more like me running after my toddler who got naked because she didn’t like the sand in her butt, a baby crying because his sister knocked over his pile of sand, and a husband catching up on emails because there’s no such thing as a real vacation from work. It’s not a pretty picture.”
