A Few Announcements 📢

I have a few things to share, and one email felt easier than multiple. There’s a lot to cover today so let’s dive right in.

As many of you know, home design and renovation has been a big part of my content and business for the last few years. In addition to Craig’s 10 years of experience in the trades (carpentry and plastering), we spent the last 7 years renovating two homes (plus another 2 years renovating apartments we were renting). Needless to say, we’ve done a lot of work and learned even more in the process.

We have much to say (and share) when it comes to all things home renovations. I field emails almost daily with questions on the topic. It’s time to put our knowledge and experience to good use. We are launching a new column called “Home School.” It will cover everything from tips on home buying, the renovation process, what to do yourself and when to hire a contractor, decor and design ideas, and more. We have so many projects I’ve never posted that will be shared here too. We will also do a monthly Q&A to answer your home related questions. This will only be available to subscribers, so make sure you’re signed up ($5/month or $50/year).

If you have a home related question for us (myself or Craig) leave it in the comments on this post.

I was planning to keep this news close to the chest until launch but I figured if you’re here, you’re my people, and you deserve to know! I will be re-branding my blog JessAnnKirby.com to The New England Guide. The content will focus on travel and living in New England. Some content will remain similar to what you’re used to seeing on there, but with a greater focus on living and travel throughout New England.

All the existing content on the blog will remain there, with lots of New England focused content coming soon. The launch for the new blog is set for spring/summer 2024.

The New England Guide will also have its own newsletter. I decided to host it on Substack, so you can sign up for it here. If you have any New England related content requests let me know! There will be a lot of travel itineraries and group specific recommendations for families, girls weekends, pet friendly, etc.

This rebrand has been a long time coming. I’ve wanted to change the name of my blog for quite some time now, but nothing ever felt quite right. I was on a call with a close friend (who’s also worked in the industry for many years as a designer) and we were spitballing ideas. The New England Guide came out of that discussion, and it just made sense.

The blog will have less of a personal focus moving forward, with content focused on travel and living in New England. My personal content will live here in this newsletter, which to me feels more “safe.” I am more comfortable sharing certain things here, in what feels like a slightly more controlled environment, than social media or a blog for example.

Being away from social media has given me so much space to reflect, think, plan and figure out what this next chapter looks like. I used to be so worried about numbers and follower counts and metrics that quite frankly looking back, seem so meaningless in the grand scheme. It’s really not about the quantity, it’s about the quality. I want meaningful interactions with people, both on and offline. This feels like (for me) a better way to do that. I hope it is for you too!