I had a crafty moment this weekend and married two of my favorite of-the-moment design trends: neon spray-painted animals and diy garlands. Trust me, the ceremony was fantastic.

Follow the [super easy!] tutorial at HGTV.com!

Back in January, Ken and I welcomed Nate Berkus’ lovely audience into our home for a quickie house tour and a few before/after shots of our (still in-progress!) renovation. Thought you’d like to see how it turned out!:

Thanks for having us, Nate! For insider details on the entire renovation, see where it all began on HGTV.com.

When Jess Constable hit “publish” on this post, I hope she was proud. The kind of proud that makes you feel you should put on your running shoes and flee for the mountains, much like a curtain-clothed Julie Andrews frolicking about. I hope she twirled that day, because she deserves to.

And when Ez contacted me to start a viral blogging campaign about transparency, fear and anxiety, I hope she was proud, too. Because when I agreed to participate, I twirled. I twirled and twirled and twirled, so fantastically inspired by this community of genuine women that surrounds me. At the same time, the all-too-familiar fears of anxiety and rejection began to creep up inside me as I wondered what exactly I would (could? should?) share with the world.

The truth is, I spare a lot of details about my personal life on this site. For a lot of reasons, of course, which is something people say when they’re scared to admit the true reasons. And for me, those true reasons stem from fear.

When I started my personal blog in 2001, no one was listening except for my college roommate and the computer hacker down the hall in 2B. And now? Now there are thousands of you, which scares me to no end. I’m so much more comfortable highlighting the amazing lives that other creatives are building, rather than let you in to see the cracks in my own foundation. I’m a shack writing about the many Sistine Chapels of the world, and in doing so, I forget that even shacks provide shelter amidst the storm.

So, in honor of celebrating the shack in us all, I present to you a list of Things I’m Afraid to Tell You:

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Friends! I cannot wait to show you the final sunroom makeover (video tour coming in a few weeks!), but until then, I’ve got a handy tutorial on how you can build your own custom bench seating (which is sadly un-styled in the above photo, but I knew you’d understand). We’ve even got a genius solution for those of you that hate backless furniture (raising my hand here!).

Check out our custom design and tutorial on HGTV.com, and don’t forget to tell me what you think in the comment section!

Dudes. My sunroom renovation is completely finished, and now it’s time to DECORATE! I’ll be releasing the final before and after in a few weeks, but for now, check out our insane progress – trim is up, benches are built and our concrete floor is finished! It’s going to be such a sunny spot to work this summer, yes?

Head on over to HGTV.com and let me know what you think!

That’s right, Design for Mankind has birthed (perfect choice of words!) a new sister site: Design for MiniKind! You all knew it was coming, yes? I’m super thrilled to embark on the journey of motherhood (only 3 months to go!) and have been craving a space where I can celebrate that beauty in a larger capacity. I won’t go into detail here, but do head over to read more about the site, my plans and (surprise!) a fun little giveaway.

Thanks for your endless support, friends! And with that, it’s back to regular scheduled programming – art/design inspiration will commence tomorrow!

Ken and I took a break from renovating a few weeks ago to craft three awesome DIY ideas I found online – all inspired by daily walks around our neighborhood. Watch the video at HGTV.com and find out how to make a metallic geode bookend, decorative driftwood hanger and rustic light bulb vase in just a short afternoon!

Oh, midi skirts. You have been saving me for the past four weeks. Not only do you have a nice, forgiving waistline for the massive expansion that’s happening over here, but you’ve been so sweet to offer coverage, as well. That’s right! I can bend over and not reveal which day of the week it is! (That’s an inside joke for my mother, b/c I used to love my days of the week underwear, and gosh, I’d still don them if I could promise myself to do laundry every 7 days…)

Anyway, I’m going to talk about pregnancy weight gain a bit, OK? I’m quite sure every pregnant gal is different, but for me? The second that stick showed a plus sign, my boobs started morphing into someone else’s. They are massive, and getting dressed requires a ridiculous amount of upstairs support. My hips are also in full birthing position, ready to roar. I don’t know why they decided to prepare themselves so early, but I’m sure I’ll be thanking them profusely in the delivery room.

I’m 25 weeks now (although this photo was taken at like, 21, because I’m a tardy blogger), and although my feet aren’t swelling, my face is. Which is unfortunate for someone who already has above-average cheek action. All of this is to say that it’s crazy natural to want to pause the body clock and yell “Stop with the changes! I’m changed out!”

But then you remember that there’s this tiny you inside, and it can’t help but grow bigger, rounder and larger. And that is a beautiful routine. Grow, grow, grow, little one, and I’ll do my best to make room for you – one stretch mark at a time.

PHOTO CREDIT: BETSY KING

I spotted a tripod floor lamp at Anthropologie last week, but didn’t love the accompanying shade. Naturally, Ken and I put our heads together to build a DIY version with our own rustic, seaside-inspired spin on it! Can’t wait to show you how it looks in our soon-to-be-revealed sunroom!

Get the tutorial right here on HGTV.com!

OK, so these pics are a wee dated and I’m looking at that sad little bump and thinking – wowza, I do not remember you being that little. Pregnancy is funny; every little change in your body feels monumental until two weeks later when you meet a whole new set of monumental changes. (My hip is pulsating as I type this – I’m assuming that’s normal, right?)

Anyway, have I talked about the knitted pencil skirt yet? I don’t think so. I have been living in the knitted pencil skirt (this one’s from Target; similar to this style) for the past few weeks. Because it stretches. And stretch right now is the secret ingredient to my comfort and sanity. Plus? It’s double knitted, so it sort of hugs you, making you feel like you’re wearing a chic little sweat pants number. Or something of the sort.

I’m still in crazy color-loving mode, so the bright coral and teal shoes brighten my day like no other. And because my center of gravity is ridiculously off, wedges are a lifesaver for when I want height and fun, but also want to not fall and squish the baby. Double bonus.

p.s. I do not want to discuss my hair in these photos. It’s in a funny little stage, so I’m going to just pretend I’m not noticing the almost-mullet happening.
p.p.s. All photos courtesy of Betsy King!