We need to break into programming for this one… Mark built a pocket door!!! It’s for our bathroom…since we don’t have a lot of space, we thought this would be a great option. He got a “pocket door kit” and framed in it. Then we took an old door that was in the house and shaved down the sides so it would fit. The bathroom is almost finished and so is the neighboring room that…

Today is my 2-year wedding anniversary which means I have accumulated LOTS of wisdom that I’m now allowed to disperse to others. 🙂 I had no idea when I walked down the aisle that I was not marrying Mark, but a superhuman who is the epitome of Bob Vila, Ty Pennington and Scott McGillivray all in one person. When we tied the knot, I figured we’d have a nice house in the suburbs with a…

Kelly is my younger sister and I’ve always seen myself as the one who needs to protect her, but now I know she’s stronger than I ever imagined. Today’s post isn’t about our house, but about something that happened to Kelly that was heartbreaking for our entire family. Back in May, Kelly told us she was pregnant. It was a COMPLETE SURPRISE and the whole family was so excited that we didn’t know what to…

Ohhhhh, this is exciting!! LIGHT SWITCHES! And can lights! That actually work! We also have working outlets… Hot and cold water lines that have water in them… And AIR CONDITIONING! This place is finally starting to look like a HUMAN could actually live here! 🙂 **FOLLOW ILOVE2SWEAT! Just click the “+ Follow” button at the top of the page & put in your email address…some of you might see the FOLLOW button on the BOTTOM…

All we needed was some MC Hammer pants to go with this bad boy. We rented a jackhammer from Home Depot to bust open the concrete and dirt in our basement. We had to open the floor so the plumber can tie our new lines into the existing pipe. Mark picked up some ear plugs because he jack hammered the night before without them and was slightly hard of hearing the next day. We plugged…

While I was at the Jersey Shore tanning, swimming and eating my way to the next pants size up, my saint of a husband was hard at work on our house. Let’s be clear…Mark WANTED to stay behind and work on the house, I didn’t ask/tell/make him. The word “can’t” is NOT in this man’s vocabulary. He rented himself a lift and started putting drywall on our ceiling. If you know anything about drywall, it’s…

My sister and I are HUGE spinning fans…nothing like riding 25 miles on a bike and never getting anywhere. 🙂 We took some spinning classes in Avalon, NJ while we were at the beach and our one instructor was called “Crazy Mary.” She was probably 60 years old, had ZERO body fat and went so hard and fast, we both thought we were going to die. It was awesome! Then we went from Crazy Mary…

The beach is the best place to run, walk, bike…pretty much any physical activity is made better by the cool ocean breeze. After sweatin’ to the oldies (hello Tina Turner), we refreshed ourselves at Coffee Talk, a great spot on 97th Street in Stone Harbor. I got a green detox juice with pineapple and my dad got this little gem… We might be the only family in the world that hasn’t tried (and doesn’t like)…

We have an “open house” policy at the beach. After my friends Tiernan and Rich left, my sister-in-law Trish popped in. It was great to have her and her two boys (who weren’t scared of the slightly inebriated and very loud adults) playing Left, Right, Center. The next day, Bridget and her friend Ally arrived. Bridgey and I haven’t seen each other in a year, but we still showed up with the same clothes. (We…

Every time I go to Stone Harbor, I walk right into this shop. I don’t buy anything, I just go in for the smell. As my friend, Tiernan, put it…”This is what heavens smell like.” After a glorious day on the beach (I was too busy enjoying it to take a pic) we hit the Whitebrier in Avalon for some sushi. We sent these photos to our dads and to some strange woman/man because I…