About Me

I’m the creator behind The DIY Playbook and author of Your Home Playbook.

For more than 13 years, I’ve been helping homeowners confidently tackle everything from routine maintenance and DIY repairs to room makeovers and renovations. Along the way, I’ve shared more than 2,000 tutorials, built a community of over one million homeowners, and had the opportunity to teach DIY on ABC7 Chicago and WBBM Newsradio.

Homeownership doesn’t come with an instruction manual.

No one hands you a guide explaining when to service your HVAC, how to fix a leaky faucet, or what projects are actually worth tackling yourself. That’s exactly why I started The DIY Playbook—and why I eventually wrote Your Home Playbook.

My goal has always been simple: help you feel confident taking care of your home.

Whether you’re picking up a drill for the first time or planning your next renovation, I’m here to show you that everything is figure-out-able.

Meet Your Home Playbook

After spending over a decade teaching homeowners online, I realized something was missing.

Blog posts and videos are great when you’re trying to solve one problem. But homeownership isn’t just one project…it’s a lifetime of knowing what needs to be done, when to do it, and how.

You don’t wake up thinking, “Today I need to clean my dryer vent.” You simply want to know what needs to be done, when to do it, and how.

That’s why I wrote Your Home Playbook.

Organized month by month, it’s the practical guide I wish someone had handed me the day we got the keys to our first home. Inside you’ll find seasonal maintenance checklists, beginner-friendly DIY tutorials, renovation guidance, home systems explained in plain English, and a digital Home Diary to help you stay organized for years to come.

Your Home Playbook available for preorder

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My Story

Before becoming a full-time DIY educator, I worked as a television producer, where I had the opportunity to produce a DIY show and earned two Emmy Awards. Those years taught me how to take complicated information and make it approachable.

In 2013, I launched The DIY Playbook as a creative outlet to document the projects my husband and I were tackling in our first home. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a full-time business, a community of more than one million homeowners, and a mission to help people feel more confident caring for their homes.

Today, I live in Chicago with my husband, Finn, and our two kids in a 1920s bungalow that we renovated room by room. It’s where I test ideas, learn new skills, make plenty of mistakes, and create the tutorials I share with you here. You can tour it here!

fun Facts about me

My husband and I are high school sweethearts. His name is “Mike”, but he goes by his last name, “Finn”. It can get a tad confusing sometimes!
We’re a family of four with our two young ones, Rory & Ellis.
I’m an Enneagram 3 and very type-A.
I worked as a TV reporter and producer, before leaving my career to blog full-time in 2018.
My alma mater is the University of Notre Dame, where I was captain of the dance team. Go Irish!

A Look Back In Time…

2004

We fell in love in high school.

This is us at senior prom (such babies!).

2010

I graduated from The University of Notre Dame.

2010

I start my career working in TV

I earned 2 Emmys for my work on a DIY home improvement show in 2014 and 2017.

2013

I started The DIY Playbook

It was just a fun side hobby while working full-time in television.

2014

We got married.

2015

We bought our first home

It was a small condo here in Chicago. You can tour it here.

2017

We started infertility treatments

We started trying for a family and ended up doing a few rounds of IVF. Sadly, we had many losses along the way. You can read more about my infertility journey here.

2018