Last week we vacationed in the Yucatán Peninsula region of Mexico with our two kids (ages 8 and 12) and yes, even our dog Penny came! This was our second time traveling internationally as a family, so we definitely don’t qualify as experienced world travelers or aspiring travel bloggers. But just like the last time we went abroad, we wanted to share the details for anyone who is considering something similar – especially if it’s your first time going to Mexico. So here are a bunch of answers to the most common questions we got. We’ll also cover where we went, what we ate, and how we navigated the logistics of bringing a pet with us.

Oh, and as usual, no part of this trip was sponsored. We paid for all of the flights, lodging, food, and activities ourselves (thanks in part to a lot of saved credit card points, which is our favorite way to book big trips).

Continue reading Our Trip To Mexico With Kids… And A Dog! at Young House Love.

We have so many good things to say about our family vacation to Costa Rica, and we were excited to hear from so many of you who were interested in a giant blog rundown about it. Do you know me at all? Of course I’m happy to write – at length, sparing no detail. Let’s get into it. But first I wanted to mention that no part of this trip was sponsored and we paid for all of the flights, lodging, and activities ourselves (thanks in part to a lot of saved credit card points that covered all but $219 of our flights and lodging!).

Not only are we going to cover some basics like “where did you stay?” and “what did you do?” – we’re also going to answer some of your broader curiosities about traveling internationally with kids for the first time (boy did we get questions from you guys on Instagram and Facebook!).

Continue reading Costa Rica With Kids: The Details Of Our First International Family Trip at Young House Love.

Earlier this month we took the whole family (dog included!) up to Brooklyn for a few days to put together the space we’ve be designing for this year’s Real Simple Idea House over the past five or so months.

I realize there’s a lot to unpack in that sentence (especially if you missed our podcast episode or Instagram stories about it) so we’ll catch you up right here and show you the *almost* finished space. And explain what’s still left to be done before their big photoshoot for the magazine and tell you about how some last-minute curveballs actually made the room better. And tell you what they do with everything in the house once the idea home is all said & done. That’s a lot of ands, so buckle up because we have a lot to tell ya.

side table | daybed | wallpaper | art | lamp | pillows | quilt | rug | octopus

This is the second year that Real Simple magazine has taken over a home in Brooklyn, assigned each room to a different “designer” (there’s typically a mix of certified interior designers & bloggers & design TV personalities, etc) and then they photograph the finished spaces for their magazine (this one will featured be in their October issue).

Continue reading Our Room For Real Simple’s Idea House at Young House Love.

I know it’s odd to be posting a beach-centric travel guide after summer’s over, but Sherry has been fielding so many questions lately about what to do in Cape Charles that we wanted all the answers in one place. Now people can just drop in on this post for all the details. And boy, are there details (have you met me? If not, hi, I’m John “Thorough” Petersik).

The first question is always for the link to our Airbnb (the Doublemint Duplex) so here’s a link to the left side & here’s a link to the right side.

And no matter where you stay, if you’re thinking of making a visit to our favorite little beach town (which was also recently voted #3 Happiest Seaside Town by Coastal Living!), or are just curious about why we chose this place to renovate two vacation homes, this post is for you!

Continue reading A Guide To Our Beach Town: Cape Charles, Virginia at Young House Love.

Since our daughter started elementary school a few years ago, spring break has become an increasingly precious opportunity to get away, clock some quality family time, and soak in some long-overdue warm weather. Last year’s spring break vacation to Cape Canaveral, Florida checked all of the right boxes and we were tempted to just repeat that trip again this year. But we pushed ourselves to see if we could make this year’s getaway even better and explore a new part of Florida while we were at it – and we are SO GLAD WE DID. So for anyone else looking for a great family vacation spot or, like us, if you’re just ready to start dreaming about next year’s spring break – here’s a quick recap of our family’s trip to South Florida.

Where We Went

Our #1 priority for the trip was “guaranteed beach weather,” and going to South Florida was the most convenient destination that could guarantee us hot temperatures in early April.

Continue reading Our Family’s Favorite Spring Break Yet at Young House Love.

You might as well just pronounce us Mr. and Mrs. Puerto-Retersik, because we recently snuck off for a few days to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (!!!) in Puerto Rico. Also because Puerto-Retersik rolls right off the tongue if you try hard enough. Promise.

As we mentioned in last week’s podcast we wanted to share a few more pictures and details about our anniversary trip to San Juan because we LOVED it and we couldn’t recommend it more highly. So here’s the gist on where we stayed, what we did, and what we ate in case any of you are considering a trip to that area.

Why Puerto Rico?

After taking our actual honeymoon to Anchorage, Alaska in 2007, we wanted a destination that was decidedly beachier. Alaska was wonderful, but not necessarily relaxing (we always describe it as an “adventure honeymoon”), so for this trip we wanted to give ourselves plenty of excuses to just sit back, chill out, and enjoy not having to fetch snacks or clean-up toys for a few days.

Continue reading Celebrating Ten Years (!) Of Marriage In Puerto Rico at Young House Love.

Exactly eight years ago today, Sherry and I picked up and moved from NYC to Richmond, VA together. Apart from the towns that we grew up in, neither of us have ever lived any place longer – and it’s the only hometown that Clara has ever known. So we thought it would be fun to commemorate this date – and this city that we love. Especially since you guys ask us plenty of “when in Rome Richmond” questions – the biggest one being “what thrift/discount stores should I hit up when I pass through?”

Three years ago we celebrated our 5th anniversary by sharing a quick post about our “Five Richmond Top Fives” – but that only mentioned two thrift shops – and we’ve definitely found other haunts, activities, and eateries since then. So we thought a more thorough guide was in order… complete with an interactive map and an itinerary (you know me – I love a good graphic).

Continue reading Our Favorite Richmond Virginia Activities, Shops, & Eats at Young House Love.

The last few weeks have been deliciously random and so productive for us! I think we should bounce around from room to room all the time like this… at least until we dive into a big renovation that demands all of our attention. So far this week we’ve painted raindrops & a pink door in Clara’s room, had some fun with Shannon’s design dilemma, finally finished our big sunroom floor project, and we’re actually starting to work on something in the kitchen for Monday (ahhh! that room needs more help than I did in Calculus class).

And this week’s little crafty project didn’t bomb, which is a huge relief because there were definitely a few moments of doubt. I decided to tackle something I’ve been meaning to do for, oh, about two years: displaying our vacation keepsakes in a charming and easy-to-see way. So here’s where I ended up…

It’s sort of like a vacation-memory-jar-meets-snowglobe-or-cloche, and it was actually really easy and only ran me $2.79 to make each one.

Continue reading Weekly Crafty: Making Vacation Keepsake Globes at Young House Love.