You ready for a post full of embarrassing photos (of me and Katie B) and adorable photos (of Clara and Will) with a few house crashing and shopping-on-the-road sneak peeks mixed in? Oh yeah. Let’s do this.
The crazy thing is that even though this little recap of our four days spent in Atlanta has over 40 photos in it, it’s just the tip of the iceberg road trip, so we’ll be back with a few detailed House Crashing posts, a nice juicy window-shopping post from on the road, and a thrift store video that Katie and I cobbled together all in one take (yes, someone comes up to chat with us right in the middle of it). Just gotta go through our 1000+ photos and make sense of everything. So there’s that to look forward to. But for now let’s focus on trying to encapsulate the amazing/embarrassing/inspiring/delicious/nerve-wracking lovefest that was Haven. We had a blast. And to the people who organized it… I can’t even imagine how much work went into it. It was so much fun to just show up and wander around with tons of fellow DIY and blog-lovers.
Pic above from Rhoda.
We were asked about a year ago to be the keynote speakers and we agreed before we could get too nervous and second guess ourselves. Then we had a whole year to think about how not to make a fool of ourselves. Did it work? Of course not. Somehow I worked the word fart into at least five sentences. You had to be there. Seriously, who has a video of that, because no amount of explaining will do that justice. But amazingly, we heard some very kind words from the organizers, sponsors, and attendees when it was all over. So I’m calling it a success. If you’re consumed with curiousity about how the word fart slipped in there, you can check out a pretty detailed rundown of our chat here.
Pic above from Sarah.
Did we know we would be speaking to a room of hundreds of people? Nope. But we tried not to think about it or say the word fart (only 50% of that plan worked out). We had put together a little slide show about the 11 mostly-subconscious “decisions” that had steered the course of our blog, so we basically just got up there and talked about everything that we think got us to where we are today – from deciding how often to post to how we accidentally became a business. And every time I looked out at the crowd expecting someone to be yawning or texting I was greeted with a smile. Seriously, we felt the love in that room and it was awesome. I think it’s why John and I felt so comfortable and a little fart or two slipped out. Wait, that sounded wrong. Of my mouth. A mouth fart. This isn’t getting better.
I totally could not have done this without John. It was actually kind of fun to go up there with him because we could just be dorks together and sort of chat and keep each other feeling comfortable. And apparently from certain angles I enjoyed hiding behind him.
Pic above from Debbie.
I definitely did that thing where I locked eyes on a few people throughout the entire chat and sort of smiled at them/creeped them out. So thanks to you guys, for not crying or getting up and leaving when I gave you my crazy too-long gaze.
Pic above from Rhoda.
And as you probably saw over on Katie’s blog, she hung out with my bean and her tinkler up in our hotel room while we got our chat on. Are they not the cutest couple ever? Not that I’m biased.
Pic above from Katie.
Then we all came downstairs and mingled. Weird things like this scene from an eight grade dance ensued (that’s Dusty from All Things G & D, my new real-life friend – she’s hilarious and amazing and Katie and I just let it all hang out with her).
Pic above from Katie.
There were really awesome and inspiring sessions, like one from Builder/Temptress Ana White (she was so nice in person, I couldn’t stop giggling around her). Let me just tell you, that girl knows her way around a drill and a pair of stilettos. Consider me impressed (and substantially less coordinated). We also checked out Layla and Kevin’s photography/styling session and I learned a ton.
Pic above from Katie.
We also got to meet people that we feel like we’ve known forever- like the lovely and super sweet Kate from Centsational Girl.
Pic above from Katie.
The guys (John and Katie’s husband Jeremy) took off with the kiddos so we could attend those sessions, just because two crazy toddlers and an eight pound chihuahua (yes Burger came with us too) weren’t exactly easy to wrangle in the crowds. And something happened to me and Katie when the kiddos and spouses left. It started feeling like ladies night out. Which explains that picture of us gyrating against Dusty two photos up.
There was a pretty sweet cocktail hour at the end of the day, complete with shrimp, brie, and those little triangular pastries that taste like croissants. Good times. This is when I got to meet a ton of people and just chatted and hung out and laughed and my mouth hurt at the end from smiling.
Pic above from Katie.
Now I’ll admit something to the internet that I didn’t think I was going to: I worried people would be haughty. Or standoffish. Or sort of like Mean Girls but grown up. I don’t know, I’m a nerd, so I just went into it worrying people would be clique-y and closed off. SO NOT THE CASE. I don’t know what I thought conferences were like, but this was nothing but eating, drinking, and being merry.
Pic above from Katie.
And at the end of the night, we somehow ended up shutting down a restaurant with four other awesome Haven chicks that had us at wanna-go-to-dinner-together? (Dusty from All Things G&D, Beth from Unskinny Boppy, Kent of Peachy Keen Designs, and Colleen from The Restarter Home). Apparently the place closed at 9 but the waiter didn’t even tell us until after 11.
Pic above from Katie.
Can I just tell you the last time I shut down a restaurant. Never. And after a little dancing outside of the hotel to Low by Flo Rida (yes, $herdog was in the hizouse) we somehow found ourselves in another teenage pose. This time, of the prom variety. I like how we’re all holding each other and Katie’s holding her baby.
Pic above from Katie.
As for what our children were doing while we were being completely responsible and not at all embarrassing parents, John kept me posted by sending little iPhone pics like this:
And then the next day Katie ended up taking us all to a really fun public pool with all sorts of suped up stuff (lazy river? check. water slides? check). It was awesome. And it was fun to spend time with the kiddos/family after a day of “business and lady-bonding” at Haven.
I missed mah man the day before, so it was nice to be reunited. Oh yes, cheesy but true. I guess when you work together all the time, you notice when your other half is gone. Thank goodness I had Katie B as my wifey-for-the-day at Haven.
Speaking of Katie… dude, the girl has a waterproof case for her Flip camera. Consider me amazed. Apparently amazed enough to add a caption to this picture in third person. Totally normal, right?
Yup, we all recorded ourselves going down the water slides. Except I was wearing shorts (yes, I have a fear of standing up with a giant swimsuit wedgie after many childhood experiences on water slides) so I went about one mile an hour down the slide thanks to my not-slippery-like-a-bathing-suit shorts. It was hilarious. I think people might have thought I was stuck at one point.
These next three photos are Katie’s but they help demonstrate a few key things. For example, this one’s the best we could do with our kids in our lap. In other words: our kids be wiggly.
And this photo is to hopefully squash pregnancy rumors (I’m talking to you, Mom). They tend to start when I’m blocking my belly with something, like plywood or a kid (see above). I’m not gonna lie though – I’m totally sucking it in. Not an imaginary baby, just a leftover-from-Clara roll or two.
See, I told you I was the cool kid at the pool rocking jean shorts to block water slide wedgies.
This photo is just to demonstrate how ruggedly athletic I am. Never mind that I’m not actually swimming and am just resting my belly on the bottom of the shallow end of the pool.
To keep the water theme going, Beansie had the best time down at the creek behind the Bower’s house with Will. He was a little explorer and she followed behind him dutifully.
The next day we hit up Zoo Atlanta. It was the best. I feel like I’m saying everything was the best, but it was a series of fun days, so bear with me. Or lion with me. Hmm, that was a smoother pun in my head.
I love this picture. So I’m fighting my instincts to make an even more terrible pun like “my daughter likes to monkey around.”
Oh and we went on the train at the zoo, which was easily Clara’s favorite part- except for the “scary, scary tunnel.” She made it through like a champ though. I think it helped to know she had her man behind her to defend her.
Then it was carousel time. Clara liked it, but I loved it. Nearly all the photos are of me with my mouth open too wide. What can I say? Too Excited is my middle name.
The next day it was Georgia Aquarium time. The whales? Awesome. I have no words. Except awesome apparently.
It’s a really interactive place, so Clara had fun climbing into little nooks and bubbles to peer at all of the cool fish swimming around her.
She especially liked spying on the penguins.
And peering up at the fish as they swam by overhead in the underwater tube where you could see creatures of all shapes and sizes on all sides.
But her favorite specimen was still Will. Here she is inching over…
She’s a close talker, just like her mom.
Oh my gosh, and this is my favorite room there: the giant tank with all the whale sharks. I think we stayed in there for a good half-hour, just staring.
Oh and I guess the whole Clara-liked-all-the-nooks-and-bubbles-she-could-climb-into was a like-mother-like-daughter thing. Because this series of embarrassing photos was shot in plain sight of anyone walking by at the time. First there’s me growling and trying to do some kind of water aerobics by incorporating a sexy side lunge:
But then I inexplicably switched gears, stopped growling and made a completely nondescript face, and added jazz hands.
We thought it was pretty funny to see a Home Depot logo in the middle of the aquarium, so you know we all posed like the big DIY dorks that we are. Except for sweet Jeremy, who was happy to take the picture, wrangle Will, and pretend he didn’t know us. Haha.
Check out the hair situation I have going on here. A giant chunk of hair shooting over my sunglasses like a wave = a sure sign of a good time.
Of course it wasn’t all fun and games bacon and Bower fun. We actually squeezed in more than a few house crashings. Woot! So here’s a little taste for ya from two houses that couldn’t have been more different (which is totally why we love house crashing – there are so many different rooms to snoop around, snap, and share):
Just know there’s more where that came from. Can’t wait to get those images organized and uploaded.
Oh and we did a little window shopping too, first at the Pottery Barn Outlet in Gaffney, South Carolina…
… and then at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store right outside of Charlotte, NC. I actually got two yards of awesomeness, so I’ll have to share more shopping details whenever we can throw together a window-shopping rundown.
And we can’t forget our little trip to Goodwill to record another annual thrift store video for ya (like this one of yore).
So between the current DIY projects and updates, we’ll be sprinkling in some fun little ATL adventures over the next few weeks. Anyone else do anything fun this weekend? Any other Haven attendees with hilarious (slash highly embarrassing) photos to share? Any big road trips coming up for you guys? I gotta say, we dreaded 8.5 hours in the car each way with a toddler and a dog, but it wasn’t that bad!
Michelle says
Looks like it was so much fun!! I love that you spent some fun quality time with the Bowers :-) I’m a regular on both of your blogs..You guys rock! Keep ’em coming!! ;-)
Btw, in the pic of you, Katie and Kate (from Centsational Girl), I love that there’s a tiny hand tugging on Katie B’s shirt..haha, so cute!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oh yes – we were surrounded by kids. Wait, it was just our two. No one else brought theirs. Smart! Haha. We also had Burger at one point so it was basically a circus.
xo,
s
Meredith says
I can’t wait to see the Goodwill video!! You two are hilarious together :o)
cristina says
Im semi new to the ATL area and am dying in this heat. My neighborhood pool is 500 dollars for the summer and I can’t seem to find a public pool. The one you guys went to looks amazing. Could you tell me the name? Thanks!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It was just a county pool that Katie took us to! We still had to pay to get in though! Here’s hoping she drops in with that info!
xo,
s
Stephanie M. says
Looks like you had a ton of fun! We are road tripping to ATL to visit my cousin this weekend and we are planning on visiting the aquarium and the laser show at Stone Mountain. I’m totally bummed I missed you guys there, I would’ve totally geeked out to run into you or Katie B.
P.S. You MUST find out where that public pool location is from Katie, my 16 month old daughter would love it! :)
YoungHouseLove says
I hope she drops in with the info for ya!
xo,
s
Sara says
Did you see the Dolphin show? My husband is one of three actors who alternate playing the narrator, the “star spinner”. Glad you had such a great time in GA!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We saw it!!! It was awesome! I wonder if he was the narrator or the star spinner that day. Does he look like a Disney prince? That’s what the guy singing looked like to us. Haha.
xo,
s
Sara says
Yep, that was him! My Disney prince :)
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! He’s a great singer!
xo,
s
Michele says
great trip, guys!!! i was at the Atlanta Aquarium (while living there for a month about, oh, 6 years ago) and STILL remember the Whale Shark tank with awe. what an amazing, amazing place!
Meg says
we love the Georgia aquarium! It’s hard going to any other aquarium after going there, no others compare!
Meg
jess@hillcountryhomebody says
Wow what a fun trip! I bet EVERYONE was nervous about it being awkward. Why oh why do we ladies fret over that stuff? Geeze! Love that Haven was a comfortable place to be!
Crystal says
OMG! You were in my neck of the woods. I would have so stalked you if I saw you at Mary Jo’s.
skye @ neathering our fest says
I’d just like to point out that THE BACK OF MY HEAD IS ON YHL. and my life is now complete. (from the photography session – up in the front with the gray shirt).
i was SO excited to get to hear you guys speak and put your lovely bobbing internet heads with a body! that was one of the highlights of the conference for me and yall are just as cool in person as you are on here, if not more, fart jokes notwithstanding. ;)
thanks for being yourselves and keeping it real! woot woot!
shameless plug: read my miniature recap here http://www.neatheringourfest.com/2012/06/five-things-i-learned-at-haven2012.html
YoungHouseLove says
Great recap! Though reading it kinda made me wish we did have a bodyguard or something to help us wrangle Clara. Man, with Will by her side she was on overdrive!
-John
Caitlin says
Looks like such a blast. My husband had a work event at the Atlanta aquarium a few years ago and they shut down the whole thing so his company could have a private evening there. I was BEYOND jealous.
Elizabeth says
Too Excited is your middle name?? LOVE IT.
Roo @ NiceGirlNotes says
“Low” came out when I was pregnant with my first girl. I listened to that song so much that I swore she’d be shakin’ it to Flo-Rida the second she was born.
Looks like suuuuuch a fun trip!
Joan @ the baloney bug says
Looks like an awesome family trip! The picture of Clara and John is beyond precious. And you definitely don’t look pregnant! People be crazy :P
heather says
I just almost peed myself (internally) laughing at so many different parts of this. It was hard to keep quiet while I read it haha. Friggen love it. Thanks for also noting that Haven isn’t stuffy. I sort of wanted to go, but I didn’t. One, funds. Two, I’d be going alone (Andy does work on the house, but he’s not the blogger) and I wouldn’t know anyone. I have nightmares of being this chick no one knows who the eff it is with a Maine accent (or so I’m told I slightly have one) in a maxi dress who slips and falls with a mouth full of brie and everyone is like *oh my God* and turns their back on me.
heather says
Wait, I didn’t almost pee myself internally. Uhg. This is why I can never go to Haven.
Jae says
THIS was a funny comment!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahhahha, I love you Heather.
xo,
s
Kasey M. says
Heather, you’ve got to go to Haven next year! We can be awkward together and chat on the floor while eating our brie after we’ve both klutzed out.
Allyson M says
Sherry, I was eating crackers while I was reading this, and I seriously almost choked/spit cracker out/died laughing when I read about your shorts on the slide. In fact, I’m still laughing. lol, thanks!
Allyson
Ann Ulery says
How hilarious! You all packed a bunch into a few days! I really enjoyed your opening session at Haven. It was a very informative fun conference. And I love the Atlanta Aquarium. Atlanta has a lot of fun places! Hope to see you at Haven 2013!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Ann! So sweet of you to say!
xo,
s
Amy @ For the Love of Georgia says
Looks like y’all had a great time with the Bowers! I absolutely loved your presentation and it was great to see you at Haven… even though I was way too shy to say “Hi” and get a photo… and I say that hoping John has completely forgotten about the awkward girl who asked to meet Burger (and not the rest of the Petersik fam.) and then suggested a “Burger the Bachelor”-style dating game with our Chihuahuas. Um, yes, please forget about that and hopefully if I get a chance to see y’all again, I will be totally normal and not-weird. [no promises]
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha- you were so cute! We remember you! Next time I’m going to make you take a picture with us and we’ll all make weird faces to break the ice/embrace and awkwardness. Hahah.
xo,
s
Amy @ For the Love of Georgia says
That sounds perfect! The weirder the better ;)
Ally says
What a fun weekend you all had! :)
$herdog, I *love* that when confronted with a big painted whale and a Home Depot sign, you suddenly turn into Annette Funicello with the coquettish “leg lift”, right before she kisses Frankie Avalon in all those Beach Blanket Bingo movies…ADORABLE! :)
(I hope JBoom gets the same romantic leg-up? :)
xox
YoungHouseLove says
Hah, apparently I can’t control my leg. It’s up in that dolphin pic too. Haha.
xo,
s
Ally says
Oh, was that a dolphin? I’m quite obviously NOT a marine biologist! :)
Cindy * Daisies & Crazies says
Sherry and John, it was the highlight of my Haven experience to meet you guys, Katie, Ana and Rashon. And to meet some other fun new girls that I hadn’t heard of until last week. You two did a wonderful job on your keynote, you were everything I hoped you would be in person, and Clara was adorable (“It’s a GORILLA.”) Love. Thank you for being a part of a wonderful experience!
I signed up with Bluehost yesterday! :) xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re so sweet! I can’t believe Clara corrected you on the gorilla thing. Hilarious. She’s a know it all at 2. It was so great to meet you and you were hilarious! Katie and I had so much fun chatting you up!
xo,
s
Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says
Oh my gosh, sounds like so much fun! Seeing you and Katie together with your kiddos makes me want to have a baby at the same time as one of my besties.
Also, you should print that picture of you “sucking it in” because you look beautiful, like an old fashioned pinup girl in your swimsuit and shorts. Those are the kind of photos you’ll look back on when you’re old and gray and say, “darn, I was smokin’ hot!”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I have to thank John, for shooting us from above. It was very nice of him. Haha.
xo,
s
Michelle @ Ten June says
You forgot to tell everyone how clairvoyant Clara guessed I’ve got a baby boy in my belly! ; ) So glad y’all had so much fun at Haven and in Atlanta. I’d love to meet up for lunch or dinner next time you’re in town to see the Bowers… or maybe on book tour? I can do prom poses with the best of em ; )
Your speech rocked and everyone was super motivated. Way to tear it up at Haven, J & S! Thanks for all you do! xo
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! She’s totally the unborn baby whisperer. By the way she thinks Katie B is having a boy, so we’ll see if she’s right in a week or so! Wahoo! And we’re dying to know what she thinks Mrs Limestone is having, but it only works if she touches the belly, so we have to get up to NYC soon! As for the book tour, we’d love to see you then! Let’s prom pose it up. Haha. Thanks so much for the sweet words about our speech, we were nervous but once we got up there and everyone was smiling up at us it wasn’t so bad!
xo,
s
Sparrow says
First of all – you and Katie are freakin’ gorgeous in that goofy aquarium pic! Secondly – where did you get your bathing suit? It’s kinda rocking a retro/Marilyn Monroe vibe.
YoungHouseLove says
I got it from Piperlime because Real Simple told me to. Haha. It said it worked on every body and I’m terrible at bathing suit shopping so I got it with blind faith- so glad it fits!
xo,
s
Kate says
I’m going to be a total creeper and say I think we could be BFFs. I need to start a blog so we can have a virtual relationship. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- do it, do it, do it!
xo,
s
Kate says
In the interest of full disclosure, I started a blog, but once I started talking about zombies, I knew it was all over. My DIY skills and patience are lacking.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love zombie blogs! Well I don’t read any, but in theory I think I’d love it!
xo,
s
Andrea says
I went over to misskopykat’s blog because, yes, I was curious about how you incorporated the word “fart” into your DIY presentation. While there I saw the part about the negative comments, particularly involving Clara.
I just have to say that you have the most beautiful, bright eyed, intelligent child ever. I’m not sure why I’m defensive of a baby I’ve never met, haha, but I totally am.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Andrea! We definitely don’t let one creeper a year saying something crazy like that get to us. It actually makes us laugh. I have a secret conviction that it’s a 12 year old kid or something, just being silly – like how you might have written “you’re an ugly alien” about someone in grade school. Haha.
xo,
s
ErinEvelyn says
Gotta say, I love Katie the Southern Belle and all her sweet tea, but now I’m secretly hoping there will someday be a trip to Wisconsin (my neck of the woods) to visit Dusty. You Petersiks would love Madison! It’s like the, uh…. Richmond of the Midwest! ;) Can’t wait for the house crashing posts! Yay!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to visit Dusty! She’s awesome! So real and easy to talk to!
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
Oh Sherry. On your toes and still the shortest girl in the group. You’re so adorable.
The captioned flip cam pic is awesome too. Great post. Thanks for sharing your good times.
Katie says
It was so great to meet you at Haven, Sherry! Y’all were so sweet and inspiring. I’m glad you had a great time. Here’s my recap, which includes a cute photo of y’all on stage and a picture of me geeking out at getting to meet you!
http://everyday-pretty.com/2012/06/25/haven-conference-recap-my-kind-of-place/
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks! I love that recap! And that pic of you and I make me magically look tan so I love that even more! Hahaha. So great to meet you!
xo,
s
Natalie @ A Turtle's Life for Me says
Beyond loved your speech at Haven and that’s saying a lot because I’m not a morning person and couldn’t get over that the toasters weren’t working and I had to eat an untoasted bagel. Gah! But you guys had me laughing at every other comment and it was just such a perfect way to set the mood! I was beyond nervous about attending my 1st ever conference especially since I knew no one and would have loved to have shut down a restaurant with you or any of the other fab ladies that were there! Oh, and back to your speech, I loved the way you guys watched each other when the other person was talking and flowed together so nicely. You didn’t interrupt or contradict each other and it was just so inspiring to watch… made me rush out of that room, call my hubby and tell him I love him before I headed to the 1st session. Yeah, I had to leave a voicemail, but I think he felt the love!
And my goodness, what is that tube in the penguin shot?? It looks like a teleportation tube from Star Trek and is sooo cool!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw Natalie!!! That’s the sweetest thing we’ve read in a long time. John actually read it out loud to me since I was in the other room and I came running in to write you back. We had so much fun at Haven and were so nervous that we’d cut each other off or say something stupid, so we’re so glad to hear that you thought we did a good job! And as for that tube in the penguin shot, it was totally like a teleportation device. Except that you stayed in the aquarium at all times. Haha. Loved it there!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Hah. I just love you guys. It sounds like you had an absolute blast. Wish I could have been there and met you guys. These pics are just awesome.
Hey, I don’t know if you know this but your projects page is a little wonky, at least on my PC. I can only see 2.5 pics in each row and the lettering is beside the pic and then under it.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmmm, weird. Can you tell us what browser and version you’re using (like Internet Explorer 6 or Firefox 13.0.1)? Thanks!
-John
Stephanie says
I’m using Internet Explorer 8.
I just checked on my cellphone (android phone) and it looks fine there. I’ll have to look when I get home too. I think I have a diff version of IE there.
YoungHouseLove says
So weird! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Ashley/Happy Penguin Press says
Don’t you love how the lions at the zoo come with a shot of the yellow pages? Ha!
Did you by chance get to eat at Pasta da Pulcinella in Midtown? If not, you’ll have to try it if you make it back to ATL. It’s one of my favorite places to eat! Delicious Italian. We love it.
YoungHouseLove says
Not this time, but we’ll have to mention it to the Bowers for our next visit.
-John
Debbie C says
Oh my gosh this looks like soooo much fun! I was laughing throughout the post…love when Sherry is in the hizouse! Yeah!
Justine Wilkinson says
I love how in the last of the three side-by-side photos at the aquarium, Clara is actually standing on Will’s foot – to prevent him escaping, perhaps?!
Having seen those shots, I’m really keen to take my little boy to an aquarium sometime soon. Thanks for inspiring me in all things non-DIY too!
Kristi says
Do you have to be invited to the Haven conference? I don’t even have a blog anymore but I still think it would be very useful and fun. Maybe I’ll start my blog back up after grad school…hmmm.
YoungHouseLove says
Nope! Anyone can register, although this year it did fill up pretty fast I think. But there were definitely non-bloggers there for sure.
-John
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says
Love this recap of your Haven experience! I enjoyed it so much and thought your speech was great – let’s face it, no conference speech is complete without a barrage of fart comments. ;) I loved meeting Dusty and Beth too! Sorry I missed out on this dinner. I totally would’ve thrown in an Olan Mills “gazing off into the distance” pose if I had been there. Next time!!
-Erin @ DIY On the Cheap
YoungHouseLove says
LOL at “Olan Mills.” Totally forgot about them!
-John
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
Pregnant? You look thinner than ever!!
I’m still sad I couldn’t go to Haven and meet you guys, maybe someday :)
Teri says
Awesome post today, can’t wait for the house crashing posts! I’ve always been a fan of House Hunters and your house crashing is sort of similar but better. You know, the camera LOVES the both of you. I know you’ve mentioned you don’t want to do TV, but a house crashing show of your own on HGTV would be great!
Stephanie says
omg I so agree! A house crashing show with you two as hosts would be AMAZING. I’d never turn off HGTV. (Not that I ever do now anyway.)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that could be fun!
xo,
s
Liz says
I love the pictures of Clara inching towards Will … especially because she ends up with her foot slightly ON TOP of his! So adorable!
Elizabeth@ wake&gather says
As someone who has crawled with their bff and infant through the tunnel to get to that penguin spy bubble at the GA aquarium, I totally applaud John for making it through. Serious hands and knees crawling needed.
YoungHouseLove says
It was tough! I thought I was going to get trampled by some 6 year olds! And I give Sherry props for actually getting that photo. We were in that bubble for a hot second because of the line formed behind us.
-John
Sammy says
This trip just looks like soooooo much fun!! I wish they had things like this here in Spain. If they did, they’d probably be in Madrid or Barcelon, a zillion miles away from where I live…Reading these things just makes me smile =)
Mandy says
Ok, I mean, I loved you guys before, but seriously $herdog, mega girl crush going on over here!!! You are just too cute for words, I wish I could have gone to Haven and met you for real!
Can’t wait to see everything else you have in store, and I totally understand missing your man ;)
Mandy says
Ok, I meant that is in “I totally understand how you feel cuz I miss my man like that too”. I mean, John’s awesome, but I just re-read what I wrote and didn’t want you to think I was missing John…
And I’ll stop rambling now!
Kerri says
Looks like you all had a great time! Thanks for sharing :)
Michelle W. says
What a great post! Also, thanks for including the link to Kopy Cat. Her write-up about Haven was so good I felt like I was actually there. So something new I learned from her blog was that after you’ve completed big renovations to your current house, you’re considering purchasing a rental or vacation home to do some magic on? I love that!
One more thing and then I’ll leave you alone :), I loved the pics from the zoo! The whole family seemed to really enjoy themselves. I’m from Omaha, NE and if you ever come to the midwest you MUST visit our Henry Doorly Zoo, it’s incredible!
GreenInOC says
The picture of you, Katie and Kate? It looks like your hand is resting low on her right hip. At first glance I thought wow, that’s intimate and Sherry’s arms must be looooong!! Then I realized it’s a baby hand reaching up – funny optical illusion though!!
The neckline of your bathing suit is fabulous – very Lucy Ricardoish.
Looks like a fantabulously fun trip!
Chrissy says
Hi guys! I LOVE reading your blog and can’t wait for the book! Are you going to be going on tour to do signings? It would be so cool to get to meet you!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we think we’ll be going on a 15-20 city tour this fall! Can’t wait! No ideas where we’re going yet (the publisher decides that) but we’ll keep you posted!
xo,
s
holly says
my 3 year olds name is Haven, so I have loved seeing all of you post about the conference.
I have gone to Mary Jo’s since I was in utero, so I am so glad you got to experience it. Did you meet Mary Jo? Were the ladies there nice to you? There are normally some really fussy, old, women working there that have worked there my whole life. Did you love the hand written signs from circa 1970? It is the best! I took my youngest a few weeks ago and took a picture of her touching all the fabric, just praying that she will always love it as much as I do. So special!
Hope you enjoyed NC!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I always have so much fun there! Don’t think I’ve met Mary Jo but I’d love to! Everyone was actually really nice this time! I think I got yelled at last time for putting Clara on a stack of fabric and taking a picture though- haha.
xo,
s
Sarah says
Didn’t realize just how much Clara looked like you Sherry until that last picture. She def. has your eyes! Love the pictures of the aquarium and Clara with Will…so cute!
I noticed that Haven was put on by Home Depot. Is that your “go to” store?
YoungHouseLove says
I think we like to share the love. Sometimes they have what we need and Lowe’s or a local hardware store doesn’t and sometimes it’s the other way around! Just like we shop at lots of accessory and furnishing stores, we tend to shop at lots of hardware stores too!
xo,
s
karen says
so fun!!
that aquarium!!
love the second pic of the house crash!!
Kate says
It looks like you guys had a lot of fun! I must admit, I’m a bit jealous of Katie’s baby bump, it’s so cute!
In two weekends we’re headed to the tip of the thumb in Michigan for a little family reunion. It should be about a 9 hour drive, but no baby or dog so you win. :) It should be super fun; we haven’t gotten to go up there in a couple years, and I always love being back near home and seeing family. There are some of my cousin’s kids that I’ve never met yet, and we also get to tell them that I’m (a little bit) pregnant!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Congrats on the little bean you’re carrying Kate!
xo,
s
Casey says
I can’t wait for the post about Mary Jo’s!! I live in SC and I have been dying to go there for a while….Hopefully I will be able to make it soon!