Before After August 6, 2018 The minute my daughter got the keys to her new house in Texas, she began asking how soon I could fly out to help her decorate. “I’ll get there,” I assured. “I can’t just drop everything.” A long pause followed, during which, I’m pretty sure, she was wondering what […]
July 30, 2018 “Our lawnmower broke,” my daughter Paige was on the phone, calling from her new home in Texas that she and her long-time boyfriend, John, just moved into last month. Like many first-time homeowners, John and Paige have big dreams and a dinky budget. “The one you guys just bought?” I asked. They’d […]
July 23, 2018 Teepees and tents, lofts and ladders, playhouses and pirate ships. My inner child is in overdrive as I imagine what I would want in a bedroom if I were a kid again. And my kid-hood just took a giant step backward, sinking further into my past as abruptly and without any time […]
Before After July 16, 2018 The house guests came. They ate. They slept. They laughed. They cried. They used dozens of towels. They created laundry blizzards. They ate some more. They made our two dogs very tired and happy. They played board games and watched movies. They went out and came back. And all that […]
July 9, 2018 Reader Note: This week, I’m interrupting the series of columns on outfitting my outdoor space for the tactical reason that the furniture I was counting on arriving before my guests arrived did not arrive — though the guests did. I’ll let you know next week how that all worked out. Those who’ve […]
July 2, 2018 “Honey, I’d like you to meet the man who saved our marriage,” I say introducing DC to Tony. DC extends his hand gratefully. “I’m indebted,” he says. “Can I get you a drink?” Tony nods, wipes his brow and takes a long pull of ice water. A jovial fellow built like a […]
June 25, 2018 The big test run for our growing blended family and our Happier Yellow House is just days away. Soon eleven humans, including three kids and a baby, will be sharing our address for a week. It will be madness. Which is exactly what I want. The whole reason DC and I moved […]
June 18, 2018 I did the math until I ran out of fingers. DC’s three grown kids were coming to town for a week bringing with them two spouses, an 8-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 2-year-old and a newborn, whose baptism was behind all this. That makes nine, plus DC and me and I’m out of […]
June 11, 2018 Buy it and they will come. That was our thought, anyway, when DC and I bought our new house, which had a few extra bedrooms, so our blended family of five grown and far-flung kids – and their kids — could come and stay. And now, well, they are. The Happier Yellow […]
June 4, 2018 “I want to paint,” my daughter tells me. Paige, age 25, and her long-term boyfriend and family fixture, John, also 25, are buying their first house, in Texas. “Of course you do,” I say. Being my daughter, Paige is already remodeling even though the sale isn’t official for two weeks. “What color […]
At Home With Marni Jameson