Recent Posts

Ruminate & Ramble: Nothing Gold

Ruminate & Ramble: Nothing Gold

It’s Monday. I’m trying to wrap up a work project that is insisting on just-one-more day. A real bummer because, as evidenced by the dust and mounds accumulated around me, I desperately need to get back to my life. I’m wearing the same shirt I […]

Not Another Ikea VITTSJO Hack

Not Another Ikea VITTSJO Hack

You know it. You’ve seen it. Just google “VITTSJO hack” and behold the sheer quantity of times this versatile and economical shelving system has been painted, had stuff glued to it, it’s glass swapped for wood. VITTSJO has been reborn as everything from glam to […]

Ruminate & Ramble: Shields Down

Ruminate & Ramble: Shields Down

My therapist told me that a friend of hers once said that every time she moves to a new city, she gives herself two years to become grounded. It’s permission to feel aloft, a little bit out of control, lonely, with a promise there will […]

Holding out for Spring

Holding out for Spring

This morning I am sitting in the car dealership getting some maintenance done on the Honda. I barely made it here on account of the SNOW STORM. We all realize it’s March, right? I mean, Minnesota is hard and I know what I signed up […]

The Oakland House Redux

The Oakland House Redux

The other day I was talking to my sister-in-law about paint colors. They were thinking about putting their house on the market and living in a sea of red and yellow. It was very exciting and I quickly sent her an unabashed flurry of texts […]

The Shape of Water and my own forced evolution

The Shape of Water and my own forced evolution

Last weekend, Mike and I went on a date to see The Shape of Water. We both love all things Guillermo del Toro and couldn’t wait to feast our on eyes on this beautiful film. Which it was. Incredibly beautiful. Amazing. If you haven’t seen […]

Updating the Screened Porch » Repair

Updating the Screened Porch » Repair

The screened porch on the back of this house is a summer sanctuary. Now. Nothing is a given and I always seem to have to walk through fire first, and for this porch that meant a whirlwind spring spent repairing, cleaning, scraping, and painting. I’ve […]

Updating the Screened Porch » Intro

Updating the Screened Porch » Intro

When I first saw what would become our home, one of the most exciting rooms was the screened porch off the back. Even in the dead of winter, I could tell this is a place for living, 6 months out of the year anyway. I […]

The Proper Way to Indulge

The Proper Way to Indulge

Here’s something that drives me mad. I’m watching the Real Housewives of New York last night (Yes. I know that is crap. Yes. I watch it on Thursday On Demand instead of when it airs on Wednesday because my daughter needs me bedside every night […]

If I Ran the Circus

If I Ran the Circus

Welcome to the first, official post of Happy Go Home. Disclaimer: I realize that makes no sense seeing as there are a whole bunch of older posts here. The thing is, I used to blog about our house in Oakland, California. It was called Paint […]