# #312: When Your House Doesn't Feel like Home

An episode of [A Beautiful Mess Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1485472892), 10 Aug 2026, 58 min.

Audio: https://mgln.ai/e/498/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/abmpodcast/ABM_EP312_Final.mp3?dest-id=1624655

Today we're discussing what to do when your new home isn't speaking to you, and you aren't sure what it needs to feel cozy. We're also discussing whether we think modern design has lost its charm, and we're sharing a few of our favorite home decor books and art books Thank you to this week's sponsor: Download the Bilt app and join the membership for where you live, at joinbilt.com/mess. Get an additional 20% OFF plus Free Shipping with our code MESS at Jiyuskin.com Mentioned in today's episode: Mud Witch Berek Poshmark Papier Grandma Moses: An American Original Julie Blackmon: Midwest Materials Robert E Smith Mothers and Children A Tale of Interiors Island Hopping Sarah Sherman Samuel Memories of Home You can support us by leaving us a couple of 5 star recipe reviews this week at abeautifulmess.com Have a topic idea for the podcast? Write in to us at podcast@abeautifulmess.com or leave us a voicemail at 417-893-0011.

## Transcript

[0:00] Emma
[0:01] You're listening to the Beautiful Mess podcast, your cozy comfort listen. I'm your host Emma Chapman.
[0:02] Elsie
[0:03] And I'm your host Elsie Larson.
[0:04] Emma
[0:05] And today we're discussing what to do when your new home isn't speaking to you, and you aren't sure
[0:06] what it needs to feel cozy. We're also discussing whether we think modern design has lost its charm,
[0:07] and we're sharing a few of our favorite home decor books and art books. I did art books too.
[0:08] Elsie
[0:09] Love. Okay, love. It is a home episode. I love it. Yeah, this is a long but excellent question from our
[0:10] listener Andrea. Would you say Andrea?
[0:11] Emma
[0:12] That's Andrea. I'm pretty sure.
[0:13] Elsie
[0:14] Yeah, it could be Andrea. We hope it's okay either way.
[0:15] Emma
[0:16] This is from Andrea. She says, "I get the feeling that you two have a knack for feeling at home. As in,
[0:17] when you walk into a room of a new to you house, you know exactly what it needs. Whether it's a new
[0:18] light fixture, new arrangement, built-in shelving, paint, gut it and start over, so on and so on. I have
[0:19] always had a knack for this as well. However, I recently moved into a new home that doesn't speak to
[0:20] me. Like I don't know where to start. I don't know how to decorate it. I just don't know what to do. And I
[0:21] know I'm not feeling at home in it. And I know something is missing, but I just have no idea where to
[0:22] start. Perhaps it's because we sold my dream home for all very practical and adult reasons, and this
[0:23] new home is completely opposite of my natural style. I'm naturally attracted to old homes and cozy, but
[0:24] I'm now living in an open concept, 10 foot ceiling, new build. While everything is really nice and I love
[0:25] our street and our area, the home leaves me feeling wanting. Here's the question: Where do you start
[0:26] when you don't know how to start? I've never had this feeling, and I've always just known what the
[0:27] house needed next. I'm in a state of doing nothing because everything that I've tried to do to date is
[0:28] clearly wrong for the house. I've hired an interior decorator to hopefully help, but I really miss the feeling
[0:29] of the house inspiring me. Okay, this is such a good question, and I have been through this in life. Have
[0:30] you had an experience similar to this? I mean, I think generally. So she kind of in the opener, she talks
[0:31] about how she thinks we maybe both have a knack for knowing what a house needs. I actually would
[0:32] say I don't feel that way. I think a lot of times over the course of our early career and for a long time,
[0:33] people kind of thought of us as one person. Yeah, which I get because we've always done our blog
[0:34] together. We're sisters. We're yeah, we're a team. So I totally get that, and I think that's very very fair.
[0:35] But I would actually say you're really into home decor, and I'm more into it, like on an average level.
[0:36] And I'm not putting myself down for your own home. For my own home, I care about home decor, but
[0:37] I'm actually, I actually don't own that many home decor books at all. Elsie has like so many pinboards
[0:38] about different decor things. I actually have none. I like home decor, but I am not on that level. I'm
[0:39] actually not on the level of like a home decor influencer. I just for many years was doing it alongside
[0:40] you, and so I think people just kind of they think of us as like, or maybe they don't want to be like.
[0:41] Notice you're not as into the cinema. Maybe they feel awkward saying that. I don't know, but I actually
[0:42] don't feel like when I walk into a space that I know what it needs. Not really. I mean, I think I have
[0:43] opinions about spaces for sure, like most people. But I actually don't feel like I have a knack for it. Okay,
[0:44] so I'll also say this. This is such an aside, but a couple episodes ago, someone asked us. I forget how
[0:45] they worded it, but they were like, "Since you've been kind of off social media, you guys have kind of
[0:46] taken a break, and I've taken a hard break, but they're like, had that changed the way you view your
[0:47] body, like how pretty you feel. They worded it better than this, like, or you know, just your relationship to
[0:48] your weight and the way you look and like the way you dress, you know, because you have to see
[0:49] yourself more when you put yourself online. And I remember thinking, no, I didn't really change really
[0:50] anything about the way I think about my body, or the way I look, or the way I dress. I actually feel very
[0:51] similar. What it did change for me was my home decor. Oh, I actually feel like I decorate and think
[0:52] about it very differently. I now don't make my house like I never think like what will people think of this
[0:53] online, I only think. What do me and my family think? And it's not even like that different. It's not that my
[0:54] house is completely different than it would look if I was still putting it online. I don't necessarily think
[0:55] that's true, but it's just a different mindset. You're free. I'm free. I'm free, baby. And I think my house
[0:56] actually feels a lot more extremely eclectic. I also go through long phases where I don't decorate, and
[0:57] I'm fine with that. I'm like, I don't have the headspace for this. Not doing it for six months, you know.
[0:58] Like I do that, and it's also just there's a lot more. Like I think my house feels like when you walk into it,
[0:59] two things you'll think right away. One, they have young kids. Two, this person likes weird art. Yeah, like
[1:00] this person's like a weird art person, and not even just like literally the paintings I have on my walls.
[1:01] Although that's true, but just it's really eclectic and a like weird art kid. Like you know those kids in high
[1:02] school who were like weird art kids. You can tell one of those lives there, and it's me.
[1:03] Elsie
[1:04] So I love that.
[1:05] Emma
[1:06] It's just like not, and it's not that it's not cute or I wouldn't put it online. But I just don't. It's not a part of
[1:07] my life. I don't think about that. I don't even look at other people's houses very much anymore because
[1:08] I'm not online. And so I feel like that part of me did change a lot. Whereas my like thinking about my
[1:09] body or thinking about my personal style actually wasn't affected very much. I don't know exactly why,
[1:10] because I could see why someone would think that, but it wasn't. It was actually home decor that
[1:11] changed a lot. Anyway, this has nothing to do with our listener's question, but I'm just.
[1:12] Elsie
[1:13] It's interesting, though. I enjoy hearing that, and it makes me really happy for you. I think it's a good
[1:14] thing found that like peace and that you're just kind of enjoying it on your own terms.
[1:15] Emma
[1:16] I hope it doesn't sound like I hated everything before and I felt trapped because it's not really that. I just
[1:17] it's just different, and it does feel freeing. It's it does feel really good, and it's mainly just like I can take
[1:18] breaks from it when I feel like I don't have space for it, and I'm like, oh, this room's just not going to
[1:19] have a rug for a while. Oh well, I'll think about it later. Someday it'll come to me. I'm not worried about it.
[1:20] Like it's just like where I'm at now.
[1:21] Elsie
[1:22] So this question I love because I have had a couple times in my life where I got into a home and I
[1:23] struggled, and then I've had several more times, probably more so, a few times when I knew I walked
[1:24] into a home, I knew exactly what it was going to be, and then you know takes a while. But a couple
[1:25] years later, it was that vision. So let's kind of just go through. I think, but she probably mainly wants to
[1:26] hear about the one where it went really bad, huh? Yeah, it's like hearing about how someone like they
[1:27] knew what they wanted to do, and then they did it and it worked out perfectly. That doesn't really help,
[1:28] right?
[1:29] Emma
[1:30] Maybe I'll say one more thing that I was thinking as I read this listener's question, and maybe she's
[1:31] already done this. I don't know, but it sounded to me a little bit like, and this is going to sound woo woo,
[1:32] but maybe you need to kind of mourn the loss of your old home. Yeah, and after you do that, after you
[1:33] really let yourself mourn that loss, because again, it sounds like they moved for all reasons she agrees
[1:34] with. She says that, so I believe her, but it's still a loss. And so, you know, I think maybe like a little
[1:35] moment of that somehow, and then also after that, it's like now I'm going to accept the new, and it's not
[1:36] going to be what it was before because I warned that that's over. But this is my new home, and I accept
[1:37] you, and I'm going to work with you to make this what we need for our family and for myself. And again,
[1:38] maybe she's already done that, but that has nothing to do with actual decorating, or it's actually just
[1:39] very emotional because I think our homes are extremely emotional. It is for me anyway, and I think it is
[1:40] for most people. So I think when you have to move from something you loved, just like something that
[1:41] felt finished and that you were proud of and that you had worked on, I think that's so hard. And I think
[1:42] that giving yourself some space to mourn that is really, really okay. And if that sort of manifests as like
[1:43] I'm not jiving with my new place yet, that makes sense to me. Like, you know, that makes a lot of sense.
[1:44] It's okay to just have a phase where you're like, I just miss my old house and I'm mourning, and it's like,
[1:45] yeah, man, that's tough. It's tough, you know.
[1:46] Elsie
[1:47] I agree. Yeah, sometimes moving is like our choice, and we, and then sometimes we do it for other
[1:48] reasons. And like I've had that experience where we like moved for family reasons, and yeah, that's
[1:49] really hard. Okay, so the most time I ever related with this experience is when we moved from our. So
[1:50] we had a mid-century home in Nashville, and it was like a our first one was like a 70s home, but it
[1:51] leaned pretty mid century. And that home we lived in for almost five years, and we fully finished it. It
[1:52] was I think it was the only home we've ever lived in that we fully fully finished every single room, every
[1:53] single nook, every thing was done.
[1:54] Emma
[1:55] You had changed it a lot. Like it was a very yes. Some older people had lived there before, and they
[1:56] hadn't changed anything for many, many years. Some things were a little in disrepair, and many things
[1:57] were just very, very outdated. And so you had kind of gutted and changed a lot of it.
[1:58] Elsie
[1:59] Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't even call it gutted, but I would say we really redecorated. But it was also very
[2:00] budget friendly DIY. A lot of the stuff we did was just like only changing the tile and painting or like
[2:01] things like that, which are practical and good renovations. And the main thing was we put a lot of heart
[2:02] into it, and also there were rooms that when they didn't. Work out like one of the hard things about
[2:03] renovating is that sometimes your rooms don't work out, and you have to do it again. And it is really
[2:04] hard to accept like selling something on Facebook Marketplace for less than what you paid for it, or like
[2:05] painting over something that you just finished and it was really hard work, and starting over and just
[2:06] doing like, but I think that that is kind of how you get to a dream home is like not just accepting things
[2:07] because you feel like you have to, like continuing to work on it until it feels right. Because like, if the
[2:08] goal is a cozy home, like you won't know that it works until it feels right. Okay, so then after we lived in
[2:09] that home, we had we moved to another mid-century home, and then we moved again really quickly.
[2:10] And that was like an era of my life that I love to minimize and don't like to talk about. We don't need to
[2:11] bring it up. It was a thing. People still like to bring it up to roast me, and that's fine. But it's like I'm more
[2:12] sensitive about that than I am about like things that you would think. So anyway, then we moved to a
[2:13] McMansion and the McMansion because that's I feel like this kind of relates to her question when she
[2:14] says like she's going from an old house to a new house that's open concept, 10 foot ceilings, new build.
[2:15] That is kind of similar. So yeah, I want to talk about the McMansion because it is so so so so so so
[2:16] different to decorate a McMansion than it is to decorate a historic home, and it's much harder, and it's
[2:17] much more expensive. So I think everyone, if you at least know that going into it, you'll feel validated,
[2:18] and you won't feel so blindsided by how much harder and more expensive it is. So a couple of people I
[2:19] love to follow who did a McMansion and made it really great are Pretty in the Pines and Chris Lips
[2:20] Julia. Those were just kind of plain McMansions that turn into these like super charming homes. But do
[2:21] not think that it was easy or cheap to do. Like it was not. It just wasn't. When we got into our
[2:22] McMansion, I was like very inspired by those people and like you know like those sorts of styles. So we
[2:23] bought our house and it was like there was nothing technically wrong with it, which is why we picked it.
[2:24] We didn't want to build on? We were trying to avoid a major renovation, and we wanted something that
[2:25] we could sort of like just paint and do little projects where it was like more bite size, and it would just be
[2:26] easier on our family living through COVID. And the biggest thing that I learned, like really quickly, I think
[2:27] ours actually had 12 foot ceilings, which is like it is insane. Like it might have been 11.
[2:28] Emma
[2:29] It felt crazy when you walked in, it was like yeah.
[2:30] Elsie
[2:31] The difference in decorating is kind of mind melting. The thing that I noticed right away was I ordered a
[2:32] table, like a like a an entryway side table that we had had in one of our previous homes, or maybe we
[2:33] brought it with us. I can't remember, and we put it there, and it looked like miniature, like dollhouse
[2:34] furniture. Yeah, like and that that's the thing that you have to know is that when you make new build
[2:35] McMansions, it's like like it's kind of like dollhouses where you have to get the correct scale of furniture
[2:36] for them, or you're completely. So I learned that, and so then it's like you have to have an oversized rug,
[2:37] oversized sofa. Everything is oversized. Your table is bigger and longer. Like even your breakfast table
[2:38] is bigger and wider, and every single thing you'll buy will be like your curtains will be longer. Like every
[2:39] single tiny thing is way more expensive because it's bigger. And so I think that's like probably the
[2:40] number one thing that I didn't know when we bought that house because I thought like, oh, I'm really
[2:41] good at like making an old house look cute. I can do this, and we did. We did. We definitely did our best
[2:42] with it, and I think we made it pretty cute in the years we lived there. But it was a lot more, like just
[2:43] getting the scale right was really hard. We ended up like returning several sofas, which if you've ever
[2:44] been through that, is is no fun at all. And like sometimes they're like, oh, it's like a $500 return fee or like
[2:45] things like that. You know what I mean? Like it's just like up notch.
[2:46] Emma
[2:47] I've seen friends like build models of pieces of furniture like that, like a sectional out of cardboard, and
[2:48] put it in their space. And you might think that's crazy. Why would you even go to the trouble?
[2:49] Elsie
[2:50] At least do the tape on the floor.
[2:51] Emma
[2:52] If you've ever tried to return it. Yeah, at least do the tape on the floor. But if you've ever tried to return
[2:53] something like that, it is kind of a nightmare, and so it's like this will be your job for this next few days.
[2:54] It's like oh my gosh.
[2:55] Elsie
[2:56] It's the worst. And yeah, so when we moved into that home, we did start decorating it right away, and it
[2:57] took at. Two whole years before it felt like a home to me, and then we moved the next year after that.
[2:58] So it just like almost never felt like a home. So I really relate with this. I think it's a real thing. It's really
[2:59] challenging, but I guess my best advice when you're in this situation where you're like, I have this big
[3:00] home-it's technically a really nice home, but I'm just not feeling like connected. I don't know what to buy.
[3:01] I'm a little lost. My best advice is to do like even one room or even one wall at a time, where you fully
[3:02] decorate a nook. So take like one little spot, paint it, like do whatever you have to do, whatever you
[3:03] know. Steps, make it perfect, and then move on to the next thing. Don't just do a little bit in every room
[3:04] because then it'll just feel like you've done nothing still for a long time. So that's the only thing I can say
[3:05] is like just like yeah, find those safe corners and nooks and rooms where you can make it perfect, and
[3:06] then you can build off of that feeling and expand it through the home. And the other thing I will say that I
[3:07] think you don't get this impression, especially from social media, is that really well curated, warm and
[3:08] cozy homes do take years. I don't really think there's an exception to it because Emma and I did a lot of
[3:09] Airbnbs for a while, and in my experience, I'll speak only for myself. They never felt warm or cozy
[3:10] because they never had enough layers because they never had enough time put into them. Yeah, and
[3:11] it's not that you can't. It's not that it's impossible, but it's like it borders on impossible to get it like that
[3:12] really full, cozy, perfect feeling where everything's curated to do that quickly.
[3:13] Emma
[3:14] So yeah, and I would too like think about in a previous episode we were kind of talking about project
[3:15] management and like so I guess thinking like backwards a little bit. Think of like, okay, we're gonna do
[3:16] some phases here. So phase one is gonna be moving, which means we're bringing all our old stuff from
[3:17] our last house that we didn't want to get rid of or whatever stuff we move.
[3:18] Elsie
[3:19] It's definitely not gonna work.
[3:20] Emma
[3:21] We're moving it all in there. Some of it's gonna work, and some of it isn't gonna work. So phase one is
[3:22] like figuring that out: which pieces are keep forever, and which pieces are like keep until I get a new
[3:23] dining room table, or you know whatever it is that's not quite working with it. So there's that, and some
[3:24] of that you may have to kind of do it. You know, like if you don't have a bed for one of your kids' rooms,
[3:25] you just have to get one. They need somewhere to sleep, so you may pick something kind of budget
[3:26] friendly, or just a box mattress with the mattress on top, or whatever. Because if you're thinking I'm not
[3:27] ready to pick the big, the main thing yet, the final thing, so I'm going to do a kind of a temporary thing or
[3:28] whatever. And there's phases of that. I think that, and then I also think during that phase, which will also
[3:29] be a little bit of morning, it would be a good time to broaden your decor perspective. So, and this is
[3:30] great with books, and we're going to talk about some home decor books. And I also think it's great on
[3:31] social media. But I also think a great place is to look at movies. I really, oh my gosh, we're always
[3:32] talking about movie decor when we do our comfort re-watches. We haven't done one of those in a long
[3:33] time, but I think this is a really good thing to do because a lot of times movie set people there's a real
[3:34] art to this. They tend to the movies are all different. Like some are different than others, but many of
[3:35] them feel very lived in and like almost like messy. And I like that because a lot of things you'll see in
[3:36] home decor books or social media, it looks much more like a real estate photo, like it's staged, like it's
[3:37] this is like a perfectly clean room for you to come view, which is great. I like that look, love seeing it.
[3:38] There's a reason people do that in their books and their social media, but I think movies kind of are
[3:39] trying to make it look lived in. They they don't want it to look like a real estate photo; they want it to look
[3:40] like life's happening, so I think it's a great place to get inspiration. So try to find some movies. You know,
[3:41] I think we're always talking about Nancy Myers, and we'll never stop. But to me, that's a great place for
[3:42] more modern but still cozy decor inspiration. There can be some great ones in there. I personally love
[3:43] It's Complicated, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep's character. Her house is fairly
[3:44] modern, but it's still very cozy. It's very California, so I'm not saying like just watch that one movie and
[3:45] there you go. I don't know about that, but if you're used to a historical home, that house is not historical,
[3:46] but it still feels to me very cozy, and it can be a good reference point. So find five to 10 of those. Again,
[3:47] Pinterest and and home decor books are also great, but I just think movies can be nice because they're
[3:48] not always clean.
[3:49] Elsie
[3:50] That's true. I think everyone thinks of Nancy Myers as having just the like Ratan and Hydrangea
[3:51] houses, like the It's Complicated and the Something's Got to Give House. But you have to remember,
[3:52] there's the intern. There's what's the one no one ever talks about? The one what women want. Yeah,
[3:53] Jamel Gibson, and he. It's like a New York apartment where only a man lives. There's that one.
[3:54] Emma
[3:55] Well, more Midwest historical. Oh, right.
[3:56] Elsie
[3:57] Also, there's like Cameron Diaz's mansion in the holiday. Yep. But it gives, it gives a good ver. Well, it's
[3:58] for for that time. It gives a good version of you know that house, and there are like moments in it where
[3:59] it's pretty cozy too, like the fettuccine scene.
[4:00] Emma
[4:01] Yes. So I've said this other times before, but I do think trying to work with the age of your home and like
[4:02] the style of your home, as opposed to I love historical 1920s. I want that. It's like okay, but if your house
[4:03] was built in 1990, you're going to need to at least at least marry those two things because they're
[4:04] extremely different. But I think as much as you can lean into it, and you might say I don't want to do that
[4:05] because what I love is this, and it's like I get that, but here let me give you a whole different thing, and
[4:06] you think about it. So when I pick out clothing, I think about my colors. I'm a light spring or light summer,
[4:07] light spring. I look good in like lavender and blue. I don't look good in burnt orange. As much as I love
[4:08] that color, I don't look very good in it. Also, I have a pear-shaped body. I love that shape. I feel like
[4:09] sometimes people are like, "Don't say what shape of your body is, because that's like a put down. Like,
[4:10] excuse me, I love the shape of my body, and it is pear-shaped. And so I'm always noticing when other
[4:11] women have that shape of body, things that they wear, things that look flattering on them. Does that
[4:12] mean that I could never wear a shift dress? No. If I see a shift dress I love and I want to buy it, I will buy
[4:13] it. But is it the very best thing for my body type? No. It's going to make my hips look big and my
[4:14] shoulders look small. Like it looks better on someone who's more straight and less hippy than I am. And
[4:15] in a similar way, work with your home because your home is beautiful. She's already got a lot of natural
[4:16] beauty. Work with her, you know, as much as you can, and it doesn't mean you have to lose everything
[4:17] that you love. But like, find a way to marry the two if they're very different.
[4:18] Elsie
[4:19] I think that it's good to accept the kind of home you have and to play up its natural features as best you
[4:20] can. And I think sometimes because a lot of people like don't believe me that I still love mid-century
[4:21] homes, even though I switched to living in historic home because I did completely switch my style. I
[4:22] completely buy different furniture, but that is because of the home. It's not because of like it's not well. I
[4:23] think a little bit of it is my personal taste because that's what led me to buy this home, but I think that if I
[4:24] were to buy a mid-century home, and for whatever reason we had to move, and that's the next place
[4:25] we ended up, I would change back like a lot of furniture choices. You know what I mean? Like I wouldn't
[4:26] try to like put this style into that home. I think you have to kind of let it be what it is. I think, is a good rule
[4:27] of thumb, and I'm not saying you can't lean it in a different direction because you definitely can and you
[4:28] should. But I think you know, embrace what it is, figure out how you can play up its best features, and
[4:29] you know, maintain its its value and its you know what it's meant to be, and then also look for ways that
[4:30] you can put your own personality and your own like you know color scheme and what you love into it.
[4:31] And there's always a way to do both of those things. But yeah, if you feel like you just are living in the
[4:32] wrong house, also like is there any way you could move? I'm just I'm just gonna say it. I'm just gonna
[4:33] say it that I I would be thinking of it like is there any way and like maybe there's not maybe in this
[4:34] situation there's there's not and like so I think like working with the designer is good, selling the furniture
[4:35] all the furniture that doesn't work and replacing it with furniture that does work good. I I think also like
[4:36] starting a new fresh pin board that's based on what kind of house this is. So, like even between the
[4:37] house that I currently live in and the pink house where our grandma lives, even between those two
[4:38] houses, because I did decorate both of them, one of them is so much easier because the scale is
[4:39] small. So, small scale houses are easier to decorate, and that is like just a good thing to know, because
[4:40] I I don't think I knew that whenever I started getting into bigger houses, I was like, oh, it'll feel just like
[4:41] no, it's a completely different yeah you know experience decorating bigger houses. So yeah, lower
[4:42] ceilings easier, smaller porches easier, smaller living rooms easier. It's all just easier. Like even though
[4:43] it it comes with its constraints, and sometimes you'll get something oversized and it won't work. But like
[4:44] other than that, I think it's just overall easier. Yeah, I think so. And a lot of things you can buy at big box
[4:45] stores. Like if you buy furniture at stores. Like Target, it will be made for a smaller home. Like it, it will
[4:46] not be made for a big McMansion, like the scale of it. So keep that in mind.
[4:47] Emma
[4:48] Yep.
[4:49] Elsie
[4:50] Keep us updated. We're really curious to hear if you're able to bond with this home, or like if it just never
[4:51] happens. I think it's going to happen.
[4:52] Emma
[4:53] It's going to happen. You're going to fall in love. It's just going to take a minute. It's going to take a
[4:54] minute. It's all right. Okay, we have another question. This is from Annie. She says, "I have a request
[4:55] for a podcast. There's lots of chatter about how colorless, minimalist, and boring design has become for
[4:56] everyday items. I've also been an avid thrifter and love finding functional items that are also unique and
[4:57] gorgeous, like an antique jewelry box or a tissue holder. I also love looking on eBay at vintage and
[4:58] antique makeup compacts, light switches, and so on. Can you talk about if you have or have seen any
[4:59] new or vintage functional items with amazing detail, materials, design, and artistry? Are there any
[5:00] modern companies that you buy from that have gorgeous packaging or unboxing experiences? I'd love
[5:01] to start buying and collecting new makeup that has refillable and ornate packaging, but open to all
[5:02] categories.
[5:03] Elsie
[5:04] Fun.
[5:05] Emma
[5:06] So it sounds like this is home decor, but she's also like anything, anything, makeup, anything.
[5:07] Elsie
[5:08] Stuff in your purse. Yeah, I love this question. So, okay, I've kind of been through a similar stage where
[5:09] in my 30s, and I think it was like around the time I was becoming a mom, I went through kind of a
[5:10] minimalist phase, especially with my clothes. But also, it was the time; it was that time in history when
[5:11] we were all like all white everything in the home, which was was a choice.
[5:12] Emma
[5:13] It was simple. It was clean.
[5:14] Elsie
[5:15] Yeah, it has its good things.
[5:16] Emma
[5:17] Also, it was simple. It was clean.
[5:18] Elsie
[5:19] And then, yeah, I kind of went through this little renaissance myself, where I was like, "What if
[5:20] everything was pretty, and you know, and what if I like buy a ton of antiques, and what if I make my
[5:21] house look like a movie set, and you know, and kind of just like went in the complete other direction,
[5:22] and then with my closet a little bit too not as extreme, I wouldn't say. I think I'm a little. I think I'm always
[5:23] gonna be a little bit of a minimalist when it comes to fashion because I'm just not a, I'm not a talented
[5:24] outfit maker. So I just love like a dress and a what?
[5:25] Emma
[5:26] So it makes me laugh so hard that you think you're a minimalist when it comes to well, okay, okay, but
[5:27] what I mean is that I mostly wear dresses, right?
[5:28] Elsie
[5:29] And like a dress in a bag is the outfit that it's not like, okay, roast me. Go, go for it. Go.
[5:30] Emma
[5:31] Your closet is like bigger than so many people's bedrooms. It's giant, and it's just so full of like cool stuff.
[5:32] It feels like a tiny like store you would walk into, and it's like wild. You know, it's so great, but it's like not
[5:33] minimalist. If you're like, welcome to my minimalist closet, I feel like no one and no one would believe
[5:34] you. I would be like, "Do you know the definition? Have you ever heard what it means?
[5:35] Elsie
[5:36] Okay. Okay. I think you meant maximalist. I think it's a typo. Okay, I agree. But my point is that I'm not
[5:37] good at layering outfits, and I'm not good at that either. I'm not good at like combining five different
[5:38] pieces to make an outfit, so I pretty much just wear dresses, cardigans, and like honestly, like jeans and
[5:39] shorts, and like I, I my outfits are uncomplicated, but I do agree that my style is crazy, and that's fine.
[5:40] Emma
[5:41] And fun.
[5:42] Elsie
[5:43] And there's a lot of vintage. Yeah. Anyway, yeah. What if everything was pretty? I feel like is the
[5:44] headline of this question.
[5:45] Emma
[5:46] Yes.
[5:47] Elsie
[5:48] Yeah. What if? Like, let's. So let's go more in that direction. A couple of suggestions I have for being
[5:49] crazy without buying a bunch of stuff you regret or without like collecting clutter. You know what I
[5:50] mean? Where it feels like it's a true collection is like you need a mood board. You need a mood board
[5:51] for your house, and you need a mood board for your closet. Like always, and it can be changing
[5:52] through the seasons. It can be an active living thing that kind of tweaks, you know, here and there. But
[5:53] that keeps me. So the biggest thing that I struggle with is like impulse buying random stuff that's just
[5:54] like cute in the store, and when I stopped doing that as much, my whole esthetic became tighter. So I
[5:55] think that if you have this mood board and you make yourself stick to it, you will actually have a style.
[5:56] But if you just buy everything that appeals to you, if you're if you have a brand like mine, you will just
[5:57] have random stuff.
[5:58] Emma
[5:59] Yes, yes. I also say for me, it helps. I keep a little list in my notes app. I've talked about my unhinged
[6:00] notes app before, but I keep a little list that's like things I'm looking for when I'm thrifting or antiquing. I
[6:01] mostly thrift, but this is perfect for antiquing too. So it could be something like I want. Jewelry box, or I
[6:02] want a tissue holder. You know, like if you're like, oh, my guest bathroom could really benefit from
[6:03] having some kind of really beautiful bar soap holder, you know, or something like that. I want to find a
[6:04] really interesting one. So put that on a little list, and then when you're antiquing or at a thrift or
[6:05] whatever, you can be looking for that yard sale, whatever, whatever, whatever you do, you know. So
[6:06] because sometimes I feel like I forget random things like that, small everyday items like a tissue holder.
[6:07] I forget. Oh yeah, I don't have one of those in the guest bathroom. Meant to buy one two years ago,
[6:08] never happened. But I don't really want just an ugly one from Walmart, even though I'm going there
[6:09] again today. You know, or whatever. It's like okay, well, next time I see a really cool one that I'm gonna
[6:10] get it. So now I have it in the notes app, so I don't forget because I forget everything. So that, and then I
[6:11] also, when I read this question, one thing I was thinking about, and I don't think this is true of everyone,
[6:12] but I have noticed this to be a little bit of a pattern. Is a lot of my friends when their kids are young,
[6:13] they're like kind of minimalist in many different ways because you need support. Yeah, sometimes their
[6:14] systems, sometimes their meals. They like we do have these four meals and we just rotate. Sometimes
[6:15] their clothes they have kind of a uniform, a mom uniform, and I've noticed that when their kids are
[6:16] young, they have some version or maybe all of those, and then when their kids get older, like upper
[6:17] elementary, they tend to start opening up. Where like I've just seen a bunch of friends, their house
[6:18] become much more ornate. They become much more like into certain hobbies and things. And so when
[6:19] I read this question, I thought to myself, not yet, but one day because I'm just like not quite there. Yeah,
[6:20] I'm much more in my like minimalist phase where I'm like I have the things I need. If I need something, I
[6:21] will get it. But I'm also constantly kind of like figuring out how to keep the kids' toys from overtaking the
[6:22] living room and like you know not serve only fish sticks for dinner. So I'm just like in that little phase. So
[6:23] I'm not quite on the you know ornate tissue boxes phase. But am I gonna get there one day. Just not
[6:24] yet.
[6:25] Elsie
[6:26] You will. No, that I mean, it's it's just so fun. It's just so fun to have like an eBay routine. I love it. Yeah, I
[6:27] understand. It's like if it feels like pressure or clutter to you, then it's probably just not time yet. Yes, and
[6:28] there's always later. Yeah. So I actually don't have. I don't think I have any makeup that's refillable with
[6:29] ornate packaging. That sounds interesting, but yeah, I don't have that. I do have like weird, like a huge
[6:30] vintage and brass weird collection, and like so, like hand mirrors and like things like that for sure in
[6:31] every purse always modern companies with like a gorgeous unboxing experience. So I think that it's
[6:32] just like what you're into. Like you have to go down your niche interest. The first thing that came to my
[6:33] mind was this brand called Susanna Alexander. Do you know who that is? No. She makes like purses,
[6:34] and then she makes like these like tissue box covers, and but everything is like made out of beads, and
[6:35] it kind of looks like a craft project, but they're really cute. Like there's like this tissue box cover that looks
[6:36] like a front elevation of a brownstone.
[6:37] Emma
[6:38] Ooh, yes.
[6:39] Elsie
[6:40] It's just really cute. So that's like what I think of when I think of like a wonderful unboxing experience.
[6:41] Like someone kind of like shopping from small brands is more exciting than shopping from big brands.
[6:42] Definitely, there's this ceramic girl, her business called Mud Witch, who I love, and she just yeah, she
[6:43] just made these like a pour over that's a daffodil, and then these like flower mugs. I was like thinking
[6:44] about those, like yeah, more quirky. Oh, and she did these like this refrigerator magnet that was like two
[6:45] cherries, and you put a photo in each cherry. Like so, I think that having your favorite small brands that
[6:46] you like buy from a couple times a year, and it just is something that makes you happy, and you kind of
[6:47] collect. I think that's good, but I don't think you can like do that for every single thing in your life. I think
[6:48] it's okay.
[6:49] Emma
[6:50] Oh yeah, I don't think it's a half to. I think it's just a like. What are you excited about?
[6:51] Elsie
[6:52] Yeah. I mean, I personally shop on Etsy like every month. I shop on Etsy. I will probably always shop on
[6:53] Etsy for the rest of my life. I just think it's like a good way to live. I try to buy a lot of my like gold jewelry
[6:54] and things like that from there because I like supporting small businesses and like there's still a lot of
[6:55] people on there who literally make everything by hand and there's like reseller people too. But I don't
[6:56] know. I think that that's pretty special, and trying to think of what was like the number one most special
[6:57] unboxing experience I've had. I would say buying art. Actually, buying art is usually a pretty special
[6:58] experience when you buy it directly from the artist. They almost always have their own packaging and
[6:59] like write a note and like things like that.
[7:00] Emma
[7:01] I'm not much of a luxury person, luxury items. Like we've told our story of like yes about my designer
[7:02] bag and I sent it back. It was just not for me. Too much of a thrifter, I guess. I don't know. But at any
[7:03] rate, for my husband's birthday this year, he wanted a watch. I don't know if he's going to become a
[7:04] watch man. You know, if you don't know, men's watches is a whole thing.
[7:05] Elsie
[7:06] Yeah, and they can be like the price of a car.
[7:07] Emma
[7:08] They can be an insane price. Anyway, he got a watch. It wasn't the price of a car, but it was a nice
[7:09] watch for his birthday, and that unboxing was really cool. Like it came in, and I I took it out of the
[7:10] packaging like the mail with the mail label on it, but I did not open up the box. I just wrapped that
[7:11] because it was like it kind of had layers to it, and then it had a little dust bag, and then it like you kind of
[7:12] it kind of unfurled as you like took it out. It was really cute. It felt very luxury, and so I was like, oh, they
[7:13] are doing it right this is exactly and I don't even remember the brand I'm really not a big watch person
[7:14] he told me which one to buy so he's more like you where I'm like oh tell me because I don't know I got
[7:15] him some other things but yeah and I'm more so here's my fancy unboxing I'll tell you about yes I've
[7:16] been on a bit of a Poshmark bender lately and I have been really into vintage sweater vest. So there
[7:17] was an episode where Elsie was roasting me. Not really, but you were like, "So you're wearing a
[7:18] Halloween sweater vest right now? Go ahead and go on about that. And I was like, "Well, I'm
[7:19] depressed, and I thought this would help, and it did help. And I thought to myself, "I think I need more
[7:20] vintage sweater vest. And so my Halloween one is like a Lord and Taylor brand, but there's this other
[7:21] brand called Berek. It's like B-E-R-E-K. I don't know how to pronounce it, but they do these very quirky
[7:22] t-shirt sweater vest. They're all kind of old-looking vintage. So I got one that's like a beach scene, and it
[7:23] actually has little like surfers on it, and they're almost like little worry dolls. Do you know? Remember
[7:24] worry dolls?
[7:25] Elsie
[7:26] Yeah.
[7:27] Emma
[7:28] It's like that on your sweater vest. And I have one that's like covered in a different one that's covered in
[7:29] sunglasses. And then on the back, it has like one little sunglass in the bottom corner. And then here's
[7:30] the level I'm on. I also got a Texas Longhorn sweater vest, and it is like the most grandma wild sweater
[7:31] vest you've ever seen, and I showed it to my older son, and he was like, "Mama, when are you gonna
[7:32] wear that? Because he knows about long horns and likes to watch football with us now. And my
[7:33] husband saw it, and he was just like, "Wow, my dad's gonna like that because his dad's like really into
[7:34] college football.
[7:35] Elsie
[7:36] Yeah.
[7:37] Emma
[7:38] And I was like, "This is like my way of doing this football season is I gotta find this really cool grandma
[7:39] vest, and it looks awesome on me.
[7:40] Elsie
[7:41] That is so random, but I love it.
[7:42] Emma
[7:43] I actually really like shopping on Poshmark because a lot of times they send it to you and it'll be like in
[7:44] tissue paper. Sometimes they have like a little extra, like just like a little random necklace, nothing
[7:45] fancy, but just like something that comes with it, like a freebie, I guess, and it's cute, and so it makes
[7:46] like kind of fun to open.
[7:47] Elsie
[7:48] I like Poshmark too.
[7:49] Emma
[7:50] Yeah, it's great.
[7:51] Elsie
[7:52] Okay, I thought of one more special unboxing experience. So I recently got a planner, a journal, and
[7:53] some custom stationery from I don't know if you say paper or I think some people say papier, but it's
[7:54] like spelled the French way paper. So they have midyear planners. So if you're in the market, go on
[7:55] there and just look at like the cover designs are so pretty, and then every single thing is customizable
[7:56] with your name, which is really fun. I got the stationery with my name on it, which I love. That it's just
[7:57] like so. It feels so fancy, but it wasn't expensive. It was affordable, and then a journal too. And then just
[7:58] like it's just so sweet how good single.
[7:59] Emma
[8:00] Someone Keeley gave me some stationery one time with my name on it, and it was a baller gift. It was
[8:01] so sweet.
[8:02] Elsie
[8:03] It's a great gift idea, and it's simple. Like it's like simple, but it's so thoughtful. And they're probably
[8:04] definitely going to use it. You know, it's just like a great thing, and yeah, when the package came in, like
[8:05] the way it was wrapped and stuff was really elevated. So I would definitely try that out if you haven't
[8:06] tried them yet. It's a nice little spot. It's cute. Okay, so now let's move on to decor books. So we had a
[8:07] topic request from Emily. She says, "I'm still waiting for you guys to do an episode about your favorite
[8:08] decor books of all time. Wait, decor and art books of all time. I didn't see the art part.
[8:09] Emma
[8:10] See, I only saw the art. Okay, okay. I only brought art books, and then I was like, "Oh no, she wanted
[8:11] decor books.
[8:12] Elsie
[8:13] Okay, I can riff. I can do decor, and you can do it. Sweet. Okay. Um, she says, "I would love to know
[8:14] what books have inspired your personal styles. So yeah, I have decor. You can do art.
[8:15] Emma
[8:16] Yeah, I just what I did was I walked around my living room and took pictures of my favorite art books. I
[8:17] usually have art books like out on the coffee table or like easily grabbable from the bookshelf. That way,
[8:18] if people are hanging out, you can like look at an art book while you're chatting or whatever. I do. I look
[8:19] at them with my kids a lot too. Anyway, okay. So here's some of my art books. So I have a Grandma
[8:20] Moses book. It's called Grandma Moses, an American original. There's lots of different Grandma Moses
[8:21] books. This is the one I have. I love it. It's a really good one. I've looked at at your house. Yeah, it's a
[8:22] good size. It's pretty large, and it's just really pretty, and I love her style. It feels it feels a lot like
[8:23] patchwork, and she was a quilter prior to becoming a painter. And to me, the scenes feel very familiar
[8:24] because I'm from the Midwest. I'm from the middle of the country, and I don't live exactly where
[8:25] Grandma Moses lived. But something about it feels very like makes me think about going out on our
[8:26] grandma's farm when we were growing up, stuff like that. So anyway, that I also have a Julie Blackmon
[8:27] book, Midwest Materials Co. So it has. If you don't know who Julie Blackman is, look her up. She is a
[8:28] photographer. She it's also kind of like almost like digital collage a little bit too because she does quite a
[8:29] bit of Photoshop, but it's is original photography, and it's really interesting, really cool. We both have
[8:30] one of her pieces in our homes, but this is the book, and it's a really big size. It's a really great coffee
[8:31] table book. I don't know if you can always find them. I have one that's like signed. We got it one time
[8:32] when she was having an event. She lives in the area that we live in, but it's really special. This would
[8:33] also make a great gift for someone who like has everything but loves art. That's a great one. My kids
[8:34] also love to look at that one because she has a lot of children in her photographs. It's a lot about
[8:35] childhood and kind of parenting, I guess you could say.
[8:36] Elsie
[8:37] Nostalgia.
[8:38] Emma
[8:39] Nostalgia. So my kids love to point out things like there'll be kids in Halloween costumes or things like
[8:40] that in the pictures.
[8:41] Elsie
[8:42] Her photography is really special.
[8:43] Emma
[8:44] It's really special, and it's also like has this kind of eerie quality to it. It's really cool. Anyway, Googler
[8:45] Okay, another one I have is look at this little book. This is like a mini book so a small one. So if you're
[8:46] like making a small little book, so this was hard to find. So this book is just called Robert E. Smith,
[8:47] which is the name of the artist? It was actually written by someone around here. Robert E Smith is a
[8:48] folk artist from Springfield, Missouri.
[8:49] Elsie
[8:50] Yeah.
[8:51] Emma
[8:52] And I have one of his original pieces in my home. I think you have one, or no?
[8:53] Elsie
[8:54] I don't have one yet. But I found this is one of my greatest scores. Yes, in a little free library, I found a
[8:55] homemade book. I don't know if it was like a catalog from one of his shows. It's like clearly made from
[8:56] like Office Depot, and it's a Robert E. Smith book with pictures of his works. But yeah, he is a famous
[8:57] folk artist from our town. He died probably not that long ago.
[8:58] Emma
[8:59] In the last 10 years.
[9:00] Elsie
[9:01] In our town, he has like a couple murals, and he has a building named after him, and his pieces, yeah,
[9:02] they're still circulating. You can find them on like eBay and things like that.
[9:03] Emma
[9:04] I bought mine off eBay, yeah. But turned out the lady lived in my neighborhood. Great, yeah. So that
[9:05] was pretty interesting. Anyway, his his works very. I think you could describe it as colorful and
[9:06] whimsical. It's quite odd. It's really cool. The one I have is like old people surfing, and there are like
[9:07] dolphins in the water. And it came with like a handwritten story he wrote about the piece. And I have the
[9:08] I got it framed, and I put that on the back in like plastic, so you can still read it. I think I was googling
[9:09] him. I was googling Robert E Smith book because there's not very many of these. I did buy it
[9:10] somewhere weird, but anyway, that's just a fun one if you like folk art. And then I have a Cezanne book.
[9:11] This is like a series. So, what is the name of this author? It doesn't really say, but a lot of art books
[9:12] come in series. Yeah, a lot of them come in series. This is the kind where it's kind of white all around
[9:13] the edges, and then it'll say the author's name real big, and then it'll have one piece. You can find them.
[9:14] They they have them for all different artists. I have one of Cezanne. I love Cezanne. He's one of my
[9:15] favorites. I had a friend of mine. Her daughter makes these really beautiful wool roving pieces, and she
[9:16] does them based off of master artworks like saison or or I don't know Van Gogh, whatever you want. I
[9:17] had her do one of a saison piece that's like a fruit one, and it's hanging in my living room, and it's
[9:18] gorgeous. But I really love his work, so I love having a book from him. And then, last but certainly not
[9:19] least, I have a Mary Cassette book. I have Mothers and Children. It's kind of like a teal book, and it has
[9:20] one of her paintings on the front, and then it's a pretty big one too, pretty big size. And this one, oddly
[9:21] enough, is my youngest son, who's two. This is his favorite art book in the house. He loves to look at art
[9:22] books and just any books. To him, it's like all books are you know whatever. But he loves this book, and
[9:23] I think it's because it's all mommies and babies. And so I kind of narrate the art books. I'm like, that's a
[9:24] tree, and there's an apple, and you know we point to things. He's learning to talk, but this one has all
[9:25] mommies and babies, and they'll be like, "There's a mommy with a baby. There's a snuggle. There's a
[9:26] kiss. Oh, because a lot of her work is, especially in this book and this collection, is centered around
[9:27] mothers with their children, which was something that actually wasn't depicted in art a lot until she kind
[9:28] of started doing it. She's one of the artists that really is highlighting it. It's such a big part of our species
[9:29] and. So I think it's it's really fun, and the and her work is very soft. It feels very soft and very beautiful to
[9:30] me, and I love it. Anyway, those are a few of the art books I have in my home that I look at a lot, and I
[9:31] feel inspired. I just feel happy about life with art around me.
[9:32] Elsie
[9:33] Yeah, no, I love art books. I made a whole like a little mini library in my home just for our books, and I
[9:34] think that it's like I did it when I was depressed. It's a way to like bring more art into your everyday life
[9:35] when you don't live in like a town. I would love to live in like Bentonville, where they have like a really
[9:36] nice art museum, but we just don't. Well, we have an art museum, but it's closed and it's smaller, yeah.
[9:37] So yeah, like I think that when you don't have access to looking at paintings all the time, books are are
[9:38] kind of the best way to do it. And they're like they're very direct. You can collect them from thrift books.
[9:39] They're a great thing to look for at estate sales and flea markets too. They're usually kind of cheap.
[9:40] Emma
[9:41] Sometimes you can find a good one at a thrift.
[9:42] Elsie
[9:43] That's true. Okay, so I'm gonna do my favorite interior design books, and I will say, look, I did want to
[9:44] say like my honest truth, which this might be a little controversial, but I actually think that like you can
[9:45] get more out of Pinterest than you can.
[9:46] Emma
[9:47] Hot take.
[9:48] Elsie
[9:49] I know there are some exceptions, and these are my very favorite books. But a lot of times, when I've
[9:50] bought home decor books, I kind of look through them one time, and I don't go back to them. And like,
[9:51] they're just they're just not always as engaging to me as like hand selecting your own board of like
[9:52] pictures that resonate with you. Yep. So see that, but I will give an exception that Martha Stewart's
[9:53] interior design books-they are really educational and they do resonate with me. But a lot of them are
[9:54] older too. So and a lot of people like that. Like I feel like right now there's like a renaissance of like the
[9:55] '90s butter mom and all that kind of stuff people are talking about. And Martha Stewart's, she has this
[9:56] one particular book. I think it's like about her Turkey Hill house and the renovation, and it shows like
[9:57] before and afters. It shows like her design in the garden and all that. Like that kind of book is going to
[9:58] be pretty timeless, and you should probably go on Thrift Books and get one right now if you're liking the
[9:59] sound of that? Okay, so I have four favorites. So my first one is my absolute all-time favorite designers
[10:00] who are working today are Louisa Pearson Emily Ward from Pearson Ward, and their book is called A
[10:01] Tale of Interiors. So they decorated some of my absolute favorite celebrity homes, and they have a
[10:02] store, and you know the whole thing. Like, but the thing that makes them special is that they really stuff
[10:03] their rooms with vintage, and I like that. Like, that's that's why I'm very attracted to them. And they also
[10:04] kind of do this thing where they they're very unsnobby, and they will they they will like take something
[10:05] from Home Goods and make like like a or like the pop you know the popsicle stick lamps from the 70s
[10:06] like they'll have one of those sitting on like a $7,000 table or something like that. So I think it's just fun
[10:07] and it shows you that it's not about the money; it is about the taste. So love that book. I will say the
[10:08] photography is really dark to me in the book, so like I had to kind of get past that. Like I don't prefer
[10:09] dark photography. Like a lot of the pictures look like they were taken at night when there's no natural
[10:10] light. But whatever, it's moody. It's cool. That's cool. Okay, the next one is for if you prefer a more
[10:11] coastal vibe. is called Island Hopping by Amanda Lindroth, and this book, in my opinion, is like the
[10:12] absolute ultimate creative coastal vibe book. And it's very colorful. There's a lot of painted patterns.
[10:13] There are a lot of murals, and then it's mixed with a lot of rattan and wicker and vintage and seashells
[10:14] and it's like it's charming, but it kind of has a homemade feeling. It also kind of has like a historical
[10:15] feeling, so you feel like you are kind of like getting like rich people from the coast, which is a category
[10:16] I'm obviously interested in. And then for a new book, I have not read this book yet, but the next book
[10:17] that I plan to buy is Sarah Sherman Samuel's new book, and I think it's just called Sarah Sherman
[10:18] Samuel. So her style is like modern meets 70s. So if you like that, you will probably like her stuff, and
[10:19] she has like a lot of product lines, but she has a lot of furniture at Lulu in Georgia that is beautiful. It's a
[10:20] really appealing style to me. And then the last one is Memories of Home by Heidi Callier, and this book
[10:21] is for if you want traditional style that kind of like blends historical with. What's also very currently trendy
[10:22] for 2026. I feel like it's like the best of both those things. Like it's timeless, but it feels very cool for now,
[10:23] and like very what you expect in like an AD home tour right now.
[10:24] Elsie
[10:25] So yeah, those are my books, and for sure, add to that Martha Stewart. Just kind of anything Martha
[10:26] Stewart. Just go on different books. She has passed her milestone of writing 100 books now. She has
[10:27] so many books, and almost every single one of them is a coffee table book.
[10:28] Emma
[10:29] So okay, and now it's time for the best segment: a joke or a fact or a meditation with Nova.
[10:30] Elsie
[10:31] Hey Nova, what do you have for us this week?
[10:32] Nova
[10:33] Well, today I would like to look back on our memories of summer because this week is the week right
[10:34] before I'm going back into school, and I'd just like to look back at all those fantastic memories that we
[10:35] did together because it's one of the most special times for you and your family to spend together.
[10:36] Elsie
[10:37] Ooh, okay. Well, I'm excited to hear what were your highlights of summer.
[10:38] Nova
[10:39] Well, going to our grandma's every Wednesday, and then I really loved going to the pool and seeing all
[10:40] my friends. And then another thing that makes me so happy is I get to spend so much more time with
[10:41] my pugs, pearl and popcorn.
[10:42] Elsie
[10:43] Pug summer cute. Do you want to tell everyone what book series you were reading this summer?
[10:44] Nova
[10:45] And then I was reading Twilight. I finished the very first book, the whole book, halfway through summer,
[10:46] and then I started the second one. I'm probably on the fifth chapter.
[10:47] Elsie
[10:48] Any more happy memories from summer?
[10:49] Nova
[10:50] Well, another one is I loved family vacation, and then I really like. Right now we're having guests over,
[10:51] and I really like seeing them.
[10:52] Elsie
[10:53] Yeah.
[10:54] Nova
[10:55] Our uncle and aunt, our cousins, and then our friends over here, and it's really fun to see them. It's
[10:56] actually more exciting that we have both at the same time.
[10:57] Elsie
[10:58] Ooh, what do you want to say for anyone who is a little sad that summer's ending?
[10:59] Nova
[11:00] Well, it may be sad that summer is ending, but another thing you can think about is I bet you haven't
[11:01] seen all of your friends in summer, which means you can finally see some of the friends that you
[11:02] haven't seen in a long time, and you get to meet your new teacher.
[11:03] Elsie
[11:04] Oh!
[11:05] Nova
[11:06] And another thing is you get to probably meet some new people, make more friends in school as you
[11:07] move up.
[11:08] Elsie
[11:09] Yep, I love it. All right, well, let's say goodbye for this.
[11:10] Nova
[11:11] And one more thing, parents, I hope you enjoy your nice vacation.
[11:12] Elsie
[11:13] What do you mean, like when the kids go back to school?
[11:14] Nova
[11:15] Yeah, when the kids go back to school, the parents get to relax.
[11:16] Elsie
[11:17] Yeah, we're gonna be partying for a few weeks. That's right.
[11:18] Nova
[11:19] Bye.
[11:20] Elsie
[11:21] Bye. All right. We will be back next week with a new episode. Please send us your ghost stories. So
[11:22] every October we do a special episode where we read listener submitted ghost stories. We've done it
[11:23] every single year since the podcast began. So I think it's probably like our sixth or seventh year. Like it's
[11:24] it's something at this point. I think we started in 19.
[11:25] Emma
[11:26] Oh yeah. So yeah, 7 6-7,
[11:27] Elsie
[11:28] Yeah, it's getting it's getting wild. So what we like from the ghost stories is a couple paragraphs to a one
[11:29] page story, and be as detailed as you want to be, but do stay on stay on the ghost story topic. Try to
[11:30] make it be like you know a beginning, middle, ending story. Tell us how you felt in the moment. The
[11:31] feelings are very important. And then our biggest preference is we really like firsthand ghost stories that
[11:32] happen to you, or if not that, then to like someone you know, like your your boyfriend or your mom or
[11:33] something, but not like a story that's like passed down. That's like from someone far, like pretty much
[11:34] firsthand. All right, we'll be back next week.

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