If things look different around here, it’s not just your imagination—we’ve been quite busy behind the scenes! Starting with a completely revamped blog, which I designed many months ago and have been slowly working on bringing to life.
After using the same website for nearly six years, this change was well overdue. A lot of my traffic now comes from Instagram users looking for sources and content, and there wasn’t always a clear page to direct them to. The goal was to create an easy-to-navigate layout so you can quickly find what you’re looking for. There’s now a dedicated Houses + Sources page where you can find all the information for each home:
Including a Before/After tour for each home:
And instead of digging through a blog post to find links to the sources, they’re clearly and neatly organized by room:
This new format also makes it very easy for me to update the photos and sources in real-time, which will happen frequently with so many projects going on at once around here.
My DIY Project library is fully up to date, with projects in reverse chronological order (these are still uploading to the site!)
We’ve just launched and are still working out some kinks, but I’d love your feedback if you have a moment. Special thanks to WPBarista for working so hard to bring the site to life over the last couple months!
Speaking of changes… we bought another house!
Here’s the deal—we’ve been checking the local market almost daily since moving to the area two years ago (as real estate investors, our plan has always been to accumulate properties over time). Even though our Riverside Retreat vacation rental is still undergoing renovations, that hasn’t stopped us from looking for the next home.
We love the idea of owning vacation rentals and decided to focus our search on a neighborhood closer to the beach. Having a baby slowed us down last year, but in January we realized it was time to get more aggressive, and ended up putting in offers on three different houses. We were outbid each time, but last week a new one popped up (7 minutes from the beach) that had everything we wanted. Within a few hours of the listing hitting the MLS we were touring the home, and that evening we had an accepted offer. Our closing date is March 27th.
What can you expect to see from this new project? Well, to be honest, probably not a lot right now. Every spare second we have is dedicated to finishing the Riverside Retreat, and when that house is done, we have several projects lined up to tackle at the Heights House. We purchased this new house because it was turn-key, and we wouldn’t need to spend months and tens of thousands renovating it before getting it rented. The style is not to my taste personally, but major transformations are not in the budget or timeline.
However, we will be making a few key changes like painting the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, new backsplashes and counters, lighting, updating one of the bathrooms, and adding a large pergola to the backyard. We also have a living room, dining room, sunroom and four bedrooms to completely furnish (as inexpensively as possible!) Depending on how things go, I’ll share a few projects and updates from time to time. At the very least, there will be a Before and After house tour with all the sources (and details on how to book a stay! ?)
Eventually, I would love to take on some bigger renovations/DIY projects and share them on the blog, but that will depend on a lot of factors including time available between renters, since the house will be available to rent all year long.
We’re really excited about the possibilities with this one—and slightly overwhelmed with everything on our to-do list, to be honest! As with all of our new adventures, we’ll find a way to make it work somehow.
And that’s the big news for this week! I know some of you haven’t been following me for very long, so if you have questions about anything I’ve shared please don’t hesitate to ask! I always love talking about investing and what goes on behind the scenes, beyond the renovating/decorating stuff ?
Coming up next week: our Tropical Oasis master bedroom reveal!
Joanna B says
The website looks amazing! I know that is a BIG undertaking to redo a website, so high five!! 😉
And very excited about your new beach house. Hope you are able to balance it all and can’t wait to follow along.
Rose says
This is so exciting! The place already looks great but can’t wait to see what you do to it! And the new blog looks amazing!?
Marijean says
Congratulations on the house and the newly designed blog is great!
Cathy Tibbles says
Thank you for the mention Jenna – you’re such a dream to work with!
Congratulations on the new house!!
Linda says
I think you are both so talented and enjoy your style. A beach house has always been my dream but it is so hard to find the right one at the right price. Excited to see what happens next.
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Linda! I’ve dreamed of one my whole life too, so it feels pretty surreal right now!
Gina says
How exciting! Looking forward to continue following all of your adventures and renovations.
Jenna Sue says
Thank you Gina!
Teri says
I enjoy your blog more than most that I follow. I so appreciate your creativity and frugal solutions – they are very motivating! Keep up the good work. BTW, your baby daughter is DARLING.
Jenna Sue says
Aw thanks Teri! Glad to hear you’re enjoying our projects 🙂
Lilly says
Love the new site!! So easy to look for things. I was on it earlier this morning and was able to find everything I was looking for.
Can’t wait to see the pergola go up and all the amazing changes you will make!
I must ask, Did something happen to the newsletter? I haven’t received one since 1/24/20. I tried signing up again but it said I was already signed up. I’ve just been coming over and checking for new posts and following on FB and Instagram. I was just wondering.
Lilly 🙂
Jenna Sue says
Thanks so much, Lilly! I’ve been using an outdated RSS subscription service that has stopped working for a lot of people, so we are working to get a new one in place. It was supposed to be working for the launch, but my web designer is looking into it! Give it a few days and try to subscribe again 🙂 Thanks for your patience!
Janice says
Wow! You never cease to amaze me! With a baby and several homes to complete…I am in awe.
I’m late to the game and hubby is not on board, but I can definitely see myself doing this for a living.
I love that you tackle what you can and outsource the remainder. Plus you have time to document , photo and post. Whew.
One more accolade..you always find super deals and you answer every question . .amazing!!
Keep up the good work.
Lilly says
Thanks Jenna! I will sign up again in a few days. Thanks soooooo much for responding! <3
Lilly
Joy says
Congratulations! I have been following you for quite some time now. Your Instagram is the first place I go to for inspiration and ideas when I start a new project (and have used many of your tutorials as they are so detailed and easy to follow). I absolutely love your style and this new website makes it so much easier to find what I’m looking for. So happy for you and your sweet family!
Jenna Sue says
So glad to hear you like the new layout Joy! Hopefully it will be much easier for you guys to find what you’re looking for. Appreciate the feedback!
Pat says
The new changes to your blog sound great! Also, you’re newest home looks really clean and nice!! Great to know you both can work on it at a leisurely pace. Love following all your adventures!
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Pat! It’s quite different to buy something that isn’t a complete fixer for once. This will save us so much time and headaches 😉
Cindy says
Again, no matter what you do, it always comes out GREAT! Have so much faith in you guys. Lots of luck!!! Love the new site… maybe easier to navigate but it was never a problem following you… starting with my fav house in California and your trip s….. lots of luck!!!!
Jenna Sue says
Appreciate the kind words as always, Cindy! <3
Courtney says
I am a long time follower who has been so inspired by you! My husband and I purchased our first investment property (which has been a dream of ours for years). It’s a small 1 bedroom pre-construction condo downtown (the down payment was spread over an entire year which made it feasible for us). It will be a short term business rental since our downtown here in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario is home to many tech giants. Trying to navigate what upgrades we should splurge on has been a little easier because of you! Example: Why pay an extra $500 per door to upgrade to a shaker style when we can stick with the flat panel and I can panel it myself with your instructions? $4000 for a kitchen island? Not after I saw how cute your island turned out at the Riverside Retreat. So excited to keep following along.
Jenna Sue says
Oh awesome, that sounds like the perfect way to ease into investing! Seems like there will be enough demand in that location and you’re being smart with your upgrades. You’ll do amazing I’m sure, best of luck!
Linda Grubbs says
Oh wow!! That IS exciting news. ( both things)
So far I’m loving the new blog. Easy to navigate…visually appealing. Good stuff.
The new house will be fun! Looks to be in great shape. I know eventually you’ll put your spin on it….excited for that!
Jenna Sue says
Woohoo, thanks Linda!!
Ash says
Your new website is beautiful! And congrats on the new house.
What happened with the house you brought a while back that were small individual units? I remember you having issues with a tenant/eviction, but I haven’t seen anything else since. Do you still have plans to renovate that one? Do you still own it? There are so many projects in the works for you!
Jenna Sue says
Thank you Ash, we actually sold the Bungalow last summer! We shared the news in a YouTube vlog update and mentioned it somewhere on the blog I think but it wasn’t a big announcement. It was more of a headache than it was worth, especially with baby on the way. It was a great learning experience but vacation rentals are much more our jam 😉
Sue says
I have been following for a long time actually…. I hope that doesn’t sound strange! You and your journey are beyond inspiring. I love the new features – most heartfelt congratulations!! Beyond thrilled for you and your beautiful family!!
Jenna Sue says
That means a lot, thank you Sue! 🙂
Shauna says
Exciting news, on 2 fronts! Bon courage!
Jenna Sue says
Merci! 😉