My recent post about my house contentment hack seemed to resonate with y’all, and I’m not surprised. A lot of us seem to struggle with feeling like our houses are less-than, instead of loving them for what they are: safe, warm, dry, comfy places to shelter our families. There’s a lot of wisdom in the comments of that post so I’d encourage you to go back and take a peek, but as a follow-up I wanted to share a story… Anagram Photo Earlier this week, a friend called me up after reading my post. She and her husband stayed overnight with us for the first time this spring, and truthfully, I was a little nervous before their visit (and spent more time preparing and cleaning than usual!). She’s an impeccably thoughtful hostess and has a BEAUTIFUL home by any standard, and I wanted to make her feel welcome! (And, okay, look good while doing it…) To my surprise, on the call she shared that their stay had come with an epiphany, that she left saying to her husband, that’s how I want our home to feel. The reason? Precisely because it WASN’T perfect. She specifically mentioned noticing pet fur on furniture, crumbs on the high chair, toys out on the rug. Not exactly what most of us want our homes to be known for (ha!), but there you have it. Instead of being embarrassed, I’m choosing to be honored that my thoroughly imperfect home gave her permission to loosen up a bit in hers. The lessons here, as I see them: 1. Say the encouraging thing. Don’t just think they already know it. Everyone needs to be encouraged, and you’ll never regret saying something kind. 2. Your home, as crumb-filled or outdated or lacking as it may seem to you,

I’ve been meaning to write this post for months, but I always stop just before doing so – perhaps because it seems too simple? It’s something that’s really made a difference for me, though, so I’m finally sharing! Photo by Anagram Photo from our last home tour (since which a lot has changed – maybe time for a new one?) On occasion, I find myself feeling disgruntled about our home. On any given day, maybe it’s the reddish tint in our wood floors. Or the size of our lot. Or the lack of natural light. Or that we still haven’t replaced our sofa pillows to match the vision in my head, four years into living here. Or maybe it’s just a vague feeling that creeps in of our home being less than, unsatisfactory, wanting… Want to know the fastest way I’ve found to snap myself out of that (totally ridiculous but still very real) funk? It’s not rearranging the furniture, and it’s not even buying something new. It’s cleaning something. Or, more accurately, sometimes it’s simply tidying. I am most content with our home in the moments before a dinner party (or a pumpkin party!) is set to begin: everything is in its proper place, the counters are wiped and free of lingering mail and crumbs, the place mats are straightened on the table, the rug has vacuuming lines, the table lamps are on, and a candle is glowing on the coffee table. I look around and think, wow, this place is so nice! (Ha!) Everything feels fresh and loved. As my friend Robyn said at Articles Club earlier this week (and I’m paraphrasing), we find ourselves loving things more that we spend time loving. Of course, with a full life and a toddler bent on finding a new home