Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Any Given Day

Can you believe it has already been almost five months since we shared a house tour with you guys? So I decided to walk around with the Flip cam and show you how each room can look on an average day (since we had lots of fun with a no-cleaning-first tour back in April). And yes, this is the real deal. I didn’t pick up a thing (as demonstrated by my embarrassing bra on the chair in our bedroom, so just pretend you didn’t see that, ok?). Oh and for those of you who are at work, you can watch it on mute and pretty much get the gist of the average everyday glory. Or just try to read my lips (just kidding, I’m not on camera).

Things to note:

  • I taped this before ORBing the daylights out of the hardware on the front door and the sliding doors, which is why it’s still brassy (it always takes me a few days to remember to upload videos)
  • I’m terrible at walking around, talking, and holding a camera (it’s too much multitasking, so pardon the Blair Witch Project-ness)
  • I’ve listened to this five times trying to hear Natalie Portman or Mila Kunis (since you guys say you hear it) and I can’t. I really tried though.
  • I have no idea why I take time to point out that we have a Ruby Tuesday’s coupon on our desk. It’s so weird what you think is noteworthy.
  • I should have paused to turn the ironing board so it points up during the video, thereby resnagging the win in Ironing Board Wars on camera (more on that here).
  • Burger is so cute. I love how he’s just chilling under the covers. Life’s good when you’re a nine pound chihuahua.
  • Sorry I’m almost completely inaudible for the second half of the video. Sleeping baby = paranoid whispering mom (which is ironic because we hammer while she naps – just not right outside her door).
  • You can see that I still have yet to rehang the ribbon chandelier from Clara’s closet that I took down to paint and stencil the closet (it’s in a pile in our disaster of a playroom).
  • Yes, it sounds like there’s a waterfall in Clara’s room. It’s her sound machine (mentioned here) which drowns out things like DIY projects and our barky dog.
  • I like how I completely forgot an entire room (the sunroom) and galloped back through the house to show you things like squished pillows and a blow-up whale pool.
  • The rocker in the sunroom really is trying to kill me (remember when I talked about it waaay back here in November – um yeah, not much progress)
  • My dramatic ending on Clara’s stuffed animal is beyond weird (yes, we named her Georgia because she’s from there). What is wrong with me?

What about you guys. What would people see if you randomly made a shaky nausea-inducing video of your house before picking up a single thing? Anything embarrassing out there like a Carebear night light in the bedroom or an NKOTB poster in the closet? John actually had a Britney Spears calendar when I met him in 2004. Not lying. And she was wearing things like red leather bodysuits and braided pigtails. What can I say, my man has good taste.

Speaking of which, I was just going through old folders on my laptop and I found a bunch of funny old pics that I thought I’d share in the spirit of “any given day.” Here’s me and Alicia Keys back in 2005. We’re old friends. Just kidding, but I did get to meet a bunch of celebs when I used to work in advertising back in NYC (and they were all super nice except for one “star” who is rumored to be not nice – and let me tell you the rumor is true).

Me Alicia

Here’s John’s passport pic from when he was 16 next to the one snapped when he was 24. Aw, Johnny’s all grown up.

John Passport

Here’s John as a life-sized doll back in 2005 when we worked together (we met at an ad agency named Lowe where I was a copywriter and John was an account guy – aka: a suck up). The entire office cracked up about this project (it was for a certain deodorant client of ours). I definitely prefer John The Doll to the smarmy Ken doll that I had growing up.

John Doll

Aw, here’s our engagement announcement photo (that we emailed to a bunch of friends and family, hence the photoshopped writing) from 2006. It was snapped about a minute after John got down on one knee at the top of a mountain (more on that here). Best day ever. Well, top five at least.

Engagementpic

So how’s that for Friday randomness? What odd old photos are sitting around on your computer? Would you ever have guessed where you’d be today five years ago? We had no idea we wouldn’t both still be working in advertising (we really liked it and miss it all the time!) and after six years of calling NYC home, I never thought I’d leave. So funny how things work out.

Psst- Check out our first ever messy house tour here (it’s fun to see how many rooms have changed since April when we filmed it).

Comments

  1. Candace says

    Reppin’ the Colonial Williamsburg! I live not 5 minutes from CW- born and raised, so I’d recognize TJ anywhere!

    Reply

  2. Annalea says

    Have you thought about just pulling the office rug towards the kitchen, so it doesn’t have to lay folded back and trip-worthy? I totally would have eaten it by now. lol

    And the John-in-the-Box is hilarious. He had the perfect smile totally nailed!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, in the other direction it’s not as long as the sofa so it looks like a tongue sticking out. We just have to put all the furniture back the other way and get working on our built-ins for it to make sense I think. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, John wore it to death. Once at a gas station someone tried to talk about The Eagles (the team) to John thinking that’s what his jacket meant. Don’t think he knew what American Eagle was. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  4. Leslie says

    oh thank you thank you thank you. this made me stop, take a deep breath, and accept the messiness of my house today! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, back in May. Hope she doesn’t watch the video! Haha. Although I did tell her the other day that you can hardly walk in there again. She wasn’t surprised. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  7. Christy says

    DEFINITELY Mila Kunis…Images from the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall were popping into my head throughout the whole video!! On a side note, i’m definitely impressed at how clean your house is with an active toddler running around!!!

    Reply

  8. Leah says

    This has pretty much nothing to do with your post today, but I found out about something that I thought you guys would love (if you don’t already know about it). It is an app called My Measure (there is a lite, free version) that lets you take pictures of items or spaces and then add measurements to store in your phone. It can be something you see at a store, or a space in your house that you are shopping for. You should check it out.

    Reply

  9. Nicole says

    Long time lurker who has been stealing all of your ideas for her own place (well, some of ’em; I’m but a wee 24-year-old renter in San Diego). I have nothing to contribute to the conversation except that now that you mention it… MY GOD, you sound EXACTLY like Mila Kunis!

    (total compliment, btw, that girl has got it goin’ on!)

    Reply

  10. Iomay says

    I watched it (earlier in the day) while my daughter was crawling around the house and when your voice came on she looked at me as if to say “Mom, where did you hide the lady?” and looked in several places after that to find you. So funny!

    I love that you are willing to put yourselves out there by showing us your messy side!

    Thanks for the Friday post! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw that’s cute! When we’re editing or playing videos of Clara or ourselves she gets all confused too. I think she thinks we all have twins who live in the computer. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  11. [email protected] says

    This w&m alum and former park ranger is geeking out at 1. yall @ my favorite TJ statue right across from campus & of course, the nps Richmond brochure. Hope all your guests decide to go. :)) Yall are so cute!

    Reply

  12. Jamie B. says

    Are you (Americans) still allowed to smile in your passport photos? My passport looks like an angry mugshot.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm good question. I think we are, right? Here in VA you can’t smile on your license anymore, but John and I don’t have to renew our licenses for a while- so we still have smiling mugs!

      xo,
      s

  13. danielle says

    i love that you all display that you are sometimes no as perfect as we all think you are! gives us all some hope! i also LOVE LOVE LOVE that you guys put a bubble blower in the tub! My son is only 7months old (only child thus far) and I never thought of putting the bubble blower in the tub! I am gonna steal the idea though! how fun!

    Reply

  16. ashlee says

    you think your playroom is bad, lol! oh my goodness. you need to see ours. i’m going to upload some pictures to my blog within the next few weeks. ‘before’ shots. and hopefully i’ll get some work done on it and can post some ‘after’ shots as well. it is absolutely atrocious in there. you’d think a tornado hit it.

    on a given day, you’d see toys and tiny bits of torn paper all over my house. my kids are 6 & 7, and they LOVE making books. so..as a result…i have pieces of paper and staples and globs of glue and pencil shavings all over this house. constantly. it never ends!

    Reply

  17. Erin says

    K, so I totally love how you blamed the “icecream scoop”on the sink/window sill on John lol
    You have made me feel a bit better about my messy house that needs to be cleaned, and food prepped before our guests arrive at 3pm tomorrow.
    I hope that my husband can keep them distracted by the pool, while I likely will be finishing up inside lol

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- that man has ice cream at around eleven pm every. single. night. It’s hilarious. Even if we go out to dinner and get dessert, two hours later it’s ice cream o’ clock. And I have tea so I can still fit into my pants. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  20. Teresa says

    So this has nothing to do with this post…but you must must watch it. It is a video of an interview with a one-year old and I think it is priceless…and a possible idea for Clara!

    Reply

    • Steph says

      Hah, that’s hilarious! I watched that and found this video from their youtube channel. It’s the same guy who “redecorates” his wife’s beautifully decorated room. So funny!

  22. Nancy says

    Great tour! Can’t wait to see the direction
    that Clara’s mobility takes you in decorating!

    Love Burger! Funny dog!!

    Reply

  23. Emily says

    No need to be embarrassed about what your house really looks like. Our family room is a perennial mess – and I mean MESS. Bedroom is always a semi-mess.
    Gotta love real life. :)

    Reply

  24. Kacey says

    Thank you, thank you for this post! I have been a big fan of yours ever since last summer when a friend forwarded me posts on your wedding. I was planning my diy/affordable wedding for the fall, and I found in your blog not just inspiration for my own wedding, but also encouragement that my wedding was going to be just fine. I had a major fear that it would be talked about like an article I saw from the Onion (titled something like “Couple says their wedding is laidback and casual, but everyone knows it’s just a poor person’s wedding”). Anyway, I repeatedly looked over your posts to reinforce my vision, and my wedding was beautiful and just like I wanted it to be.

    But back to this post. This post made me feel good because my husband and I just bought our first house, and we’ve been here a little over a year and there is still “stuff” everywhere. It’s great to know we’re not the only couple who has a work-in-progress house, and it’s particularly encouraging to see that you (because I really admire you, your blog and your house!) also have an occasionally not-totally-magazine-cover/everything-is-exactly-in-place house. Thanks again!

    Reply

  27. Patti says

    I love seeing glimpses into your past, looks like you had a blast at work back in the day! NYC is the best place to be when you’re young and just starting out! (I’m a slightly older NYC working girl myself). On a different note, I appreciate your video Mila, and I truly luv ya girl, but ya gotta pull back on the zoom and slow down! I’m gonna be sick!

    Reply

  28. Emily says

    What’s your square footage? It seems really big for a 50s ranch. I love that era of architecture but we’re having a hard time finding one big enough for us (3 kids in our current 1320 SF 50s ranch but we’re house hunting!). Any additions other than the sunroom d’ya think? (P.S. I looooove your site/blog……gives me lots of hope.)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Our first house was 1250 square feet so we were definitely used to less space! This guy is around 2400 square feet, which we originally were scared of because we thought it was too big but since we plan to continue to grow our family and we both work from home (and host guests from out of state a lot) it has turned out to be really nice. The master bedroom, bathroom, and living room were actually added on in the 70s, and the sunroom was added in the 90s we think (it used to be a screened in porch). We think it’s really funny that someone added such a big addition to such a relatively “new” house at the time, but we definitely appreciate it since we do a whole lot of living in the living room and master bedroom!

      xo,
      s

  29. Stacey says

    I am also very glad to see that you all do live like real people. Even though you had some toys and clutter items, I didn’t spot many toiletry or cleaning items. What is your solution to keep those things organized but out of sight?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re minimalists so we have a few cleaning products under the sink (Mrs Meyers & Dr Bronners soap, and Method Glass Cleaner). As for toiletries, we both use the same organic shampoo, conditioner, and soap, so hanging in the bathroom on our rack you’d find those three things. I keep my makeup in a small makeup bag in the car (I never have time to put any on unless we’re driving somewhere – while John’s driving of course). John keeps his hair stuff and we keep our toothpaste in the drawer of our sink vanity in the bedroom. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  30. Karen says

    I recently stumbled across your site and LOVE it! So many great ideas.
    I read that you both worked for the ad agency Lowe in NY. It’s a small world…I used to work in Sports Marketing and Lowe & my agency worked with the same account. It was back in the early 2000s (you guys were probably still in High School!) but we might have known some of the same people.
    Thanks for all the daily inspiration!

    Reply

  33. Anna says

    I thought it was starlet Johansen at first, then I remembered her name is scarlet. But I heard she was a princess.

    Reply

  35. jeannette says

    somebody in the sherry/alicia pic looks stoned out of her gourd and it’s not sherry. wow.

    thanks for the house tour, i love the sprightly touches of what i’m calling chartreuse throughout the house. very pretty without being, like, too girly? love to the burgerman, he’s hilarious.

    Reply

  36. Carla says

    You’ve changed your masthead. The yellow door is really cute. I never thought I’d love a yellow door so darn much. Now I’m really curious what you’re planning to do with the rest of the exterior. I think you mentioned that you plan to remove the arch at the top of the porch, but what about the columns? My dad made brand new columns for his house … what a nice difference. I saw one house with rescued gorgeous columns from another country, very extravagent in terms of cost but very farm/country and lovely. And I love the original brick, but I wonder if you might feel bold one day and paint them? Anyway, it’ll be fun to see how things transform, although the house was perfectly cute when you first moved in.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw shucks, that’s sweet. It always sounds more shrill in videos than I think it does in real life, but I guess no one thinks their voice sounds like their own on answering machines and in videos. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  40. Lauren says

    Tribe Pride, Catch It. LOVE the shot at W&M (Class of ’01), well done, my fave bloggers! Also, I worked in NYC for 5 years, dealt with the (faux)celeb who is neither confirmed nor denied, and, oh yea, she is NIGHTmare. Wow…sers.

    Reply

  41. Julie W says

    I’ve missed a few posts but I did want to comment on a few of them. I think you should cut down your magnolia and plant an apple or orange tree where you want it. About painting your door two colors, the side that swings into the room should be painted the same color that the door is on that side of the room. In your case the side of the door where the hinges are should be painted yellow and the side closest to the knob should be white. That is just a useless bit of info taking up brain space. Probably the space where grammar should go, but I digress. Anyway those are just my $.02.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I never knew there were rules when it came to the skinny little sides of the front door! I assumed that the part that used to be painted maroon should just get yellow paint, but it’s funny that the side of the door near the handle should be white while the side with the hinges should be yellow! Who knew?!

      xo,
      s

  43. Bea says

    Just because your best friend’s plastic container reminded me of it …
    here is my humble ‘any given day’ comment :
    my best friend and I happen to live 500 miles apart, in two different countries (separated by two other countries inbetween…) and only see each other every now and then..sorry for the long explanation…just to give you a good picture of the situation.
    Anyway, we’re seeing eachother next week and have agreed on swapping table lamps for few months…I’m wondering if one of us will get cold feet…But that seemed to us like a fun and cheap way to change our decor for a while.
    Cheers!

    Reply

  45. Izzy says

    it’s a great video – you don’t give yourself enough credit. I love the hooks in the closet you use – I also recently added a basket in the foot of the closet to help collect some more of those clothes from the floor for bigger items like jeans, ect. Still adjusting to having small closets tho – so jealous of your big one!

    Reply

  46. Christy says

    This is the highlight of my month! A little pathetic, perhaps, but I feel so much more normal now, knowing that you guys are, too! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

  47. Esther says

    my daughter saw the picture of Burger and wondered if it was a dead pig. I couldn’t help but laugh, because he does kind of look like a pig in the photo.

    Reply

  49. Tristin @ Two Girls Being Crafty says

    I feel like family gettin’ to see a bra on the chair… I only move my strewn-about bras for “real” company. Thanks for keepin it real!

    Your home is beautiful. The toys on the floor only add to its beauty–it screams, “A child lives here”–beautiful!

    Reply

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