LIVING SMALL by Laura Fenton

Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the most lovely birthday dinner party. At one point the conversation turned towards electrification. I lamented that in our current political climate the media was not writing enough about homeowners making the switch.1 “Yeah, but lots of people are doing it anyway,” my dinner companion replied. “The technology is just better.” He was right, the technology is better.

A quick note: I took the paywall off this post from last year, in case any of you need to bolster your resolved not to shop Prime Day “deals.” When I off-handedly mentioned that I’d only recently begun shopping at Trader Joe’s, many of you expressed your surprise. It’s not that I didn’t like Trader Joe’s before now; rather I have never lived in convenient proximity to a TJ’s, and it never seemed worth making a special trip the way it does for my quarterly Costco trips.

“I’m making over our bedroom,” I proclaimed to my husband back in September of 2022. I had a checklist of tasks, including buying a new bed, painting the whole room, ordering window treatments, and getting a piece of marble cut for our dresser top: My plan was to tackle it all in a month. I even imagined I’d document it all and write about it. I probably don’t need to tell you: This was very wishful thinking. A pair of new pillowcases gave our bedroom a whole new vibe.

The last week has been a rocky ride for my family. My elderly father landed in the hospital (again), a scary situation that disrupted everyone’s plans. Meanwhile, my sibling and mom are both dealing with health issues of their own. The essay I’d been writing had to wait for another day! In Junes past, I’ve created summer bucket lists of sorts (here’s 2024 and 2023)—these were breezy lists of fun things I hoped to do.

Last weekend while we were hanging out, my cousin casually asked if I had any bathroom renovation advice. As someone who had renovated four bathrooms over the years, I did have some advice (a lot of it, actually), but I didn’t want to overwhelm her. So I waded into the conversation like I enter cold water: slowly, checking the temperature along the way. As we talked, it became clear that she didn’t have a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve.

Paid episode The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of LIVING SMALL

Paid episode The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of LIVING SMALL

Paid episode The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of LIVING SMALL

Paid episode The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of LIVING SMALL

It's my favorite time of the year! *NEW WORKSHOP* 6/3: How to get press for your business, brand, or work — co-taught with my friend and fellow author Shira Gill. This is your last chance to grab your spot! Friends, I am practically giddy with anticipation: My CSA share is about to begin! For those of you who don’t know the acronym, CSA stands for community supported agriculture.