We’re looking back at our first year as vacation hosts, including what went right, what went hilariously wrong, and the lessons we’re taking into Season Two! Come for the before-and-after photos, stay for the story behind Lincoln’s Lodge.

Nine days to renovate a kitchen during peak rental season. What could possibly go wrong? This is the story of a nine-day sprint, a crushed cabinet, and one very dramatic royal blue after photo.

Our first-ever rental guests were in Montana in February, with no hot water and a nonworking microwave, while we were helpless 1,200 miles away in Texas. Welcome to remote hosting, where your midnight panic attack comes with a side of what were we thinking?!

When we asked for the property to be fully furnished, we were thinking beds, a couch, maybe a kitchen table if we were lucky. What we got instead was… everything. Every single rusty, dusty, questionably useful thing. This is the story of how “fully furnished” became fully overwhelmed. Welcome to The Great Cabin Purge!

We expected some quirks. Some fixes. A handful of items to knock out before hosting guests. What we got instead was a renovation starter pack. A house-shaped checklist of issues ranging from "eh, cosmetic" to "you should have called an electrician yesterday." Let’s break it down…

We pulled up to a For Sale sign planted in the front yard like a question mark. After years of searching, we were staring at a place that was either a hidden gem or a total disaster.

This is the story of how we found, bought, and are now renovating a fixer-upper near Yellowstone National Park, including what we saw in these cabins, why we took the leap, and the adventure that’s only just beginning!