People ask me this more than anything else: how did we build our own home? The short answer — we planned to GC it ourselves from day one. The longer answer is two full-time jobs, spreadsheets after dinner, and a few years living with my parents to make it happen. Here's what it really looked like.

Finding land is the hardest part of DIY building — and no one warns you. We got ours through pure luck: a farmer selling acreage off-market, after 3 months in my parents' basement with zero luck elsewhere. My husband saw it once, we made an offer, and 20 acres became ours. Here's our story, plus exactly where to look, what questions to ask before you buy, and why you need to be ready to drop everything and drive the second a lead comes in.

What It Actually Cost to Build a House And the Budget Mistakes We Wish We’d Avoided.

This is probably the question I get asked most often. Not what flooring we used. Not how much our house cost. Not even what paint colors are on the walls. It’s simply: “We want to build a house someday. Where do we even start???” Here’s the general order I’d recommend based on our experience.

One of the things that surprised me most during our home-building journey was how much had to happen before construction could actually begin. Here's everything you need to know before you break ground.

This is your one stop shop to learn about the steps necessary to getting electric on your rural land.

Before we got into this process, I honestly thought a “septic system” was just one thing you install and move on. Turns out, there are actually several different types—and which one you can use depends almost entirely on your land.

Before starting this process, I honestly never gave much thought to where water comes from. You turn on the faucet and water comes out. That’s about as far as my knowledge went. 😂 Here is all we learned along the way!

Buying land is exciting… until people start throwing around words like perc test, elevation, compaction, and grading plan like you’re supposed to know what any of that means. Here's everything you need to know to start the process confidently.

After going through the custom home process ourselves, here’s what I wish more people knew before sitting down with an architect for the first time.

There was nothing wrong with our starter home. But we always wondered what if. Here is our story.

We had a starter home. Stability. Predictability. And we were talking about walking away from all of it… without a clear plan. We either take the risk now, or we keep talking about it forever.

If you’re buying land to build, this is the part no one talks about—but it can completely determine whether your land is usable or not.

Not sure if you’re ready to build a house? Here’s how we decided to move forward with our custom home—even when the timing felt risky.

We didn’t build our house the “right” way—but it worked. Here’s how we managed a custom home build while working full time and doing things differently.

Saving money during a build doesn’t always mean doing everything yourself . It means being intentional. Here is how we saved money while building our dream home.

When we tell people we built our home while working full time, the first question is usually how—but the second is always, “What would you do again?” Here's the things that didn't just add value, it improved the way we live day to day.

We were full-time working parents who built their dream home on 20 acres with ZERO prior experience. Here's how we made it work.

Buying furniture is exciting. Returning furniture is not. Before you click “add to cart” or fall in love with something in a showroom, there are a few critical measurements that can save you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration. Here’s exactly what to measure before you buy.

From unexpected flooring costs to skipping extra square footage, here’s how we built a 2,201 sq ft farmhouse we could actually sustain — without stretching beyond our means.