Journal

Our friends at Visit Downtown Laurel are dedicated to showing visitors and Laurel natives all that the City Beautiful has to offer. Today, they are showcasing the lesser-known but significant parts that Erin Napier from Home Town on HGTV has contributed to the revitalization of Downtown Laurel to its former beauty. Read More

And just like that, it’s December already. Somehow.  This year flew past faster than any year has before. Our last childless year. Tomorrow, Pancake Day, will be the one year anniversary of our opening the Laurel Mercantile. It’s been a year filled with so much surprise and hard work and magic.  I wonder what magic we will find when we become parents next month. Read More

I’m so glad we finished work in time to make it to the town Christmas tree lighting. We barely made it in time! Read More

We spent the day with our director Jim from season 1 putting together the super fun Home Town holiday special that’s coming in a few weeks! I’ll keep y’all posted on air times as soon as we know. Now I hope we will see you at The Market Beautiful tomorrow (today, if you’re reading on Saturday) when we speak at noon and have a meet and greet inside the Mercantile from 2-3 pm.  Read More

Today was magical, beginning to end.  I’m so tired from having fun from sun up to sun down whilst growing a baby girl, so I will let the pictures tell you the story of the day we went to Sam’s 3rd birthday party at Josh and Em’s when it was brisk and smelled like logs on the fire : Then Walker’s Star Wars 4th birthday party at my brother’s house where mama and I happened to be accidental twins... Read More

Our friend Josh (Ben’s college roommate and 1/3rd partner in the Mercantile whom y’all have gotten to know on Home Town) has invested so much of himself in downtown Laurel and today we got to enjoy the fruits of it. I can’t believe we have a place like The Pearl Diner for lunch with the best mac and cheese on the planet! And I can’t believe there is a toy store and a men’s store right across the... Read More

After filming wrapped, Ben went to the gym to lift weights but all I wanted to do was take a long walk to make my heart beat fast. He worries about me and Helen going alone anywhere these days. Then we remembered he’s not the only protective man in my life, and my 150 lb. pup escorted me on an adventure while Chevy stuck around the house–not much on walking for long like his brother. I talked to... Read More

This afternoon at 1:00, I stood in shock with our friends and neighbors watching as Cafe La Fleur–one of Laurel’s most beloved longtime downtown restaurants, along with our friends’ upstairs apartment was burning, smoke billowing from the windows. I never felt so helpless in my life. Watching Landon and Matt, hands over their mouths each staring at something different–one his home and the other... Read More

For years Lee’s Coffee and Tea has been the center of the universe for downtown Laurel at lunch but they always closed at 4:30 which meant it was never a supper option… Until now. And all I wanted in this whole great big world for supper tonight was Lee’s chicken salad on a croissant. I was at the studio getting a little work done when Ben decided he wanted to grab coffee, so we walked downstairs... Read More

Even with a hurricane bearing down on us, nothing could stop the Loblolly Festival. For the first time ever, we filmed a scene there! Ben was dressed as the lumberjack, as he is ever year, but this time y’all will all get to be there for it. How fun is that? Read More