Much like politics, religion, and a host of other hotly debatable topics comes the polarizing question of “When do you decorate for Christmas?”. We asked on instagram and the vote was split right down the middle. Friends were fierce in their rationale on both sides. Not to play politician, but we can totally see the point of waiting for Turkey Day celebrations, and also the fun of eeking out every last second of the magic of Christmas! For us, we get too excited to wait. And after my grandparents died, Thanksgiving isn’t what it used to be. We like seeing those twinkly lights just a little bit longer. Here are some stunning holiday spreads we are eyeing this season:

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We’ve been in your shoes a time or four. Some lessons we caught on to pretty quickly, others took (much) longer to learn. Here’s what you should know if you’re buying a house across town, across the country, or across the pond. And if you only listen to one piece of advice, please let it be #4:

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We’re still ironing out the details, but this is the general vibe for the quick refresh on the main floor powder room that we’re trying to make happen in record time. I challenged Jon to a half-day project since it’s a half-bath, and he seemed up for it…ish.

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One of the things we love most about NixonPack and all of our social channels, is the sense of community we have with other DIY’ers and homebodies just like us. We get to cheer each other on, find inspiration for the next big project, and learn something new each day. We are so grateful you’re a part of the Pack, and thought it might be fun to finally have a place to answer frequently asked questions. Here’s a new series you can expect to see here weekly (hold me to it!) with the Top 3 Questions in our Inbox:

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It’s been a minute since we shared a Pack Punch List – mostly because between getting the NY house ready to sell, and flying right into the massive pile of projects at the new house – we haven’t really come up for air. Here’s what we’re working on as we look ahead to the weekend!

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For the past few years, fall curb appeal has gone a bit…vanilla. A lot of farmhouse style, buffalo checked welcome mats, and every shade of muted pumpkin. If you’re like us and looking to (pumpkin) spice things up, here are a few looks we’re loving:

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This Nice List just so happens to fall on a Friday, and National Taco Day no less, so I think we can all agree – it’s going to be a great day. Without further ado, here are some of the things The Pack has been digging this week!

1. Lamp Stamp. I love playing with lighting and aside from paint, fully believe that it is the key to transforming a space. So when we saw the new lighting trend in the kitchen, I was on board immediately. Last year we saw the kitchen become less “kitchen-y” and more an extension of the living space. Less emphasis on appliances, more emphasis on an extra place to lounge with family. So with that lead-in, the small table lamps we keep seeing pop up on the kitchen counter make even more sense. It adds a warmth to the room, and helps eliminate some of those sterile vibes and sprinkle back in the homeyness.

1. Spooky Decor. You may have seen that we decked out the front of our home with spiders bigger than our son. Well thanks to a little insta inspo from our beloved Martha Stewart & @stepheniewatts – we’re bringing the spooky indoors. I love how this look is festive, yet so chic. Remind me to tell you later about the time Grey had an actual live bat in his bedroom, living under his life size bear.

3. Comfort Cooking. We have tried every dutch oven under the sun. I typically stick to the ones you can find in the kitchen aisle at Home Goods because the price point is perfect and so is the quality. Yet year after year, I end up leaving the burner on a wee bit too high, for a wee bit too long and stews stop mid-January. I scored this one on amazon, and while I admit it was love at first sight because of the gold knob, the reviews are on point and this one has been a winner so far. I promise to report back this winter to see if she’s still cookin’!

4. Small Shop Sweetness. We are a sucker for all things custom, and all things home, so when we stumbled upon this gift idea from a small Etsy shop it was a no brainer! Check out the detailing of the mailbox on the gift box. This is a perfect surprise for a friend who just moved, or to order several to celebrate all the places you’ve called home!

5. Winter weight. This woman can do no wrong in my book, and every single recipe she posts is a fast favorite. She makes the recipes incredibly user friendly and finds a way to spice things up in a way I never would have dreamt possible. One of her latest creations is the Creamy Broccoli and Butternut Squash Soup with Brie Pastries. Areyoukiddingme?! Yes, please. This shall be Sunday dinner in the above mentioned crock and I can’t wait to report back. I’ll make a double batch in case you stop by!

Happy weekending!

You know you’re getting older when you start sentences off with “I’m going to date myself with this story…”. Well, here goes anyway. When we got our first listing way back in 2005 (while I was still in college), I had this idea that buyers should be able to sleep over at a house they were strongly considering writing an offer on. Think about it. The average showing is thirty minutes or less, some lasting as little as fifteen minutes. Do you really know if a house is *the one* in under an hour? So let’s say you schedule a second date. Same deal. And then, if all the boxes are checked, you write an offer and live happily ever after. OR, you move in and quickly realize that X,Y and Z were not at all how you remembered them being. Mostly because if the seller played their cards right and put lipstick on the pig, you had a huge surge of dopamine ooohing and ahhhing over all of their fancy furnishings.

Back to the sleepover. Let’s say you had a chance to spend the night Bachelor style and decide in the morning if the house would get the final rose. You could walk to the cute little park around the corner, gauge just how far the nearest grocery store was as you schlepped your reusable bags back to the house, wake to the jarring noise of the rickety air conditioner, see the water seeping in the basement, and actually feel how cramped the kitchen might be for your family of five as you tried to whip up breakfast, pre-coffee. Then you could compare those real life experiences to the perfectly photoshopped listing photos, and decide if the house was indeed what you expected.

Obviously this type of home-buying process doesn’t exist yet. But if I could give our clients one gift, that would be it. And we’d have to jump through some hoops to get the sellers on board – perhaps I show up with my newest footy pajamas and crash in the guest bedroom to make everyone more comfortable? Or for now, we can maybe take the lesson to spend a little more time, ask a few more questions, put on our anti-rose colored glasses to see past the lipstick and have a more critical eye. After all, the average length of homeownership spans more than the average relationship. And you spend way more time courting someone before walking down the aisle than you do before making the biggest purchase of your life. Today’s food for thought!

Thanks for being here with us. We’re so grateful you took the time to stop by! What do you think, do you like the sleepover idea? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

One of the best parts of our job is getting to window shop on the daily. Do they still call it that even though it’s more like clicks and scrolls? ToMAYtoe, ToMAHtoh. Here’s what we’re eyeing this week!

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As we start the sorting phase in our countdown to the big move, I’m taking a good hard look at all of the “things” we’ve filled our home with. From throw pillows to artwork, knick knacks to furniture. No item shall be placed in that moving truck without first passing a bevy of tests:

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