In 2004, a mutual friend introduced me to my future husband because we were the only two non-LDS people she hung out with. If you’re not from Utah, you probably have no idea what that means. But, imagine your mom trying to set up two gay dudes because they are the only two gay men she knows. It’s like that.

Except that it worked out.

In 2010 we got married, moved into a condo in Salt Lake City, and adopted our fur baby, Bella. And from that moment on I was a paint chip collecting, IKEA furniture hoarding, home magazine saving, HGTV binge-ing, insane person on a mission to figure out “our style”. Chad, who was very busy working, participated as the person who put up with the furniture and wall colors constantly changing.

In 2015 we decided that it was time to find a house with a backyard for the most important member of our family (Bella, in case that wasn’t clear). After a few months of searching, we found a lot to build on that was in an established neighborhood. This to me was the best of both worlds: no remodeling, and it wouldn’t be empty dirt lots being built on around us for the next several years.

We sold the condo in 30 days, moved into the model home (temporarily), and moved into our newly built home in September. That’s when Chad really came out of his shell to become the DIY master he is today. And I gained so much room for activities, which are mostly organizing and moving furniture around.

Our favorite things include Disney, using tech to be lazy, running collecting medals, taking photos of our dog when she’s sleeping, listening to unsolved podcasts, athleisure wear, using acronyms semi-ironically, Target, Harry Potter, Batman, animals – especially dogs, video games, cooking, BBQ, wine, coming up with perfect playlists, and hunting for the best garlic fries – with fry sauce of course.

What I most often love to share are my efforts to get organized, anecdotes involving our dog, my attempts at interior design, cooking, gardening and landscaping with Chad, medal collecting, sometimes the running that wins those medals, and travel.

We hope you enjoy!