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Melissa Massello

Boston girl gone Austin + pixie dust spreader on the Tilt-A-Whirl. In her past life, Melissa was the founder of Shoestring Magazine, DIY Boston + The Swapaholics. Now she just wants to drink wine, hike, do yoga + save all the damn dogs, is that so wrong?
    Our Best Thrifting Tips for National Thrift Shop Day
    It’s hard to believe that it’s already been six years since Macklemore and Ryan Lewis captured the zeitgeist of mainstream tag-popping and bin-scouring with their runaway hit song, Thrift Shop. But while hippies and hipsters come and go, the joy of thrift shopping and treasure hunting is forever—so I rounded up some of my favorite tips for National Thrift Shopping Day, culled from my decade of prior experience as the editor of budget living magazine Shoestring.
    Melissa Massello
    Oct 3, 2023
    Are These The Best Outdoorsy Places to Live on a Budget?
    Staying fit and finding that ever-elusive work/life balance shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, so one real estate website set out to find the best outdoorsy cities in America that are still affordable for active citizens. Realtor.com recently released this top five list of active places where the average American can still actually afford to live and be close to natural wonders and outdoor living attractions but without going above the median home price.
    Melissa Massello
    Oct 3, 2023
    Stop Microwaving Your Sponges, Immediately
    Here's why.
    Melissa Massello
    May 21, 2023
    Peek Inside Joanna Gaines’ Industrial Farmhouse Kitchen & More HGTV Stars’ Homes
    Because we haven't hit peak voyeurism when it comes to our favorite home & garden show hosts' own homes.
    Melissa Massello
    Oct 14, 2020
    This Is Why You Have Trouble Sleeping in the Winter
    Winter, the season of cozy hygge, seems like it would be the best time of year to catch up on all those ZZZs we miss out on during the more active months. But it turns out that—whether or not you’re one of the 10 million Americans who suffer from seasonal affective disorder each year—the long and dark days actually wreak havoc on our sleep schedules, both in the quality of our sleep and the number of hours of rest we’re getting each night.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 30, 2020
    6 Things That Prove Jane Austen Was the Wellness Guru of Her Time
    If you’re a fan of both period dramas and wellness, then the recently published “The Jane Austen Diet” by Bryan Kozlowski will be as illuminating as the sun rising over Elizabeth and Darcy’s first kiss.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 30, 2020
    Sorry, Parents: Nobody Wants the Family “Heirlooms”
    In a modern world currently intrigued by minimalism, there’s something that all three adult generations can agree on: the problem of dealing with the collections curated (hoarded?) by our family members. From younger boomers and Gen X’ers sandwiched between their aging/dying parents and their own children to millennials trying to gently manage expectations (and their own limited budgets and storage space) without hurt feelings, the message is crystal clear.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 18, 2020
    Game of Thrones Meets IKEA: Even Westerosi Love a Good Hack
    Before there were The Children, before The First Men, there was a scrappy team of costume designers using anything they could get their hands on to bring the fantasy world of Westeros to life. Including resources from one Scandi retailer we all know and love…to hack.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 17, 2020
    Buy Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mayan-Style Temple in LA for $23M (Yes, the Westworld One)
    Spoiler alert: The real-life version of Bernard/Arnold’s home in Westworld is for sale, and it happens to be one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most hallowed and historic works of Southern California architecture. The Mayan-style temple built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924 almost entirely out of interlocking concrete blocks—also known as The Ennis House—sits on a hillside in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, and just hit the market after a $17 million renovation.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 17, 2020
    The Best (and Worst) Store Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping, According to New Study
    It’s difficult to get through the checkout line these days without being upsold on opening a store credit card. But are the so-called savings really worth it? Heading into the holidays, personal finance experts are weighing in on the should-you-or-shouldn’t-you of single-store “charge cards” and their pros and cons — and a new report has a definitive list of rankings on the best store credit cards available in 2017.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 17, 2020
    JFK’s Saarinen-Designed TWA Hotel Is Air Travel Nostalgia
    When legendary mid-century designer Eero Saarinen designed the TWA Center for JFK international airport, flying was still a luxury (and a fun, even exhilarating) experience. Though the neo-futuristic architect died just one year prior to opening the now-Historic-Register-of-Places building, his legacy will live on to inspire a whole new generation of travelers through a new project that’s reopening the restored and expanded terminal as a boutique hotel, event space, and dining destination.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 17, 2020
    Home Depot Will Be Selling Tesla Products Starting This Summer
    It’s a genius partnership that will make getting Elon Musk’s design-forward solar products into our homes as efficiently as buying DIY supplies: Tesla and Home Depot just announced a partnership that will make its solar panels and Powerwalls available in 800 stores by July 2018, with solar roofs coming as production (and demand) ramps up.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 17, 2020
    Beverly Hills Mansion Formerly Owned By Ellen & Portia Hits the Market for $34M
    This private, massively gated, historic Beverly Hills mansion has a star-studded list of former residents nearly as long as the credits in an Oceans XX film (including Ellen Degeneres and Kelly Wearstler), and just hit the market for a whopping $34 million. The classic five-bedroom residence was built in the 1950s for Diane and Charles Skouras Jr.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 16, 2020
    Fixer Upper Fined $40K by the EPA for Lead Paint Violations
    If you’ve ever watched an episode of Fixer Upper and wondered, “Huh, I guess they don’t have lead paint in Texas?,” you’re not alone. One such viewer happened to be an EPA employee—and now the Gaineses are on the hook for $40,000 in lead paint violation penalties. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had settled with Chip and Joanna Gaines’s company, Magnolia Homes, for violating rules related to lead-based paint.
    Melissa Massello
    Jul 15, 2020
    Here’s How To Fix Broken Household Items For Free—Even If You’re Not Handy
    As the Depression era saying goes, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Easy, at these free community organized workshops for people fed up with throwaway culture.
    Melissa Massello
    Aug 10, 2019
    Here’s How IKEA Tailors Their Catalog for Places Around the World
    The 2018 edition of one of the world’s most widely distributed books, with a scheduled print run of 203 million copies, drops this week in stores: The IKEA catalog. Here’s why it looks different, depending on where you live. That’s right, up there with the actual Bible, the Koran, and Harry Potter, the “bible” of affordable home decor reaches people in nearly every country. One German literary critic, Hellmuth Karasek even reviewed the IKEA catalog in 2015.
    Melissa Massello
    Jun 5, 2019
    An Infographic of Mr. Rogers’ Cardigans (& How We’d Use It Around The House)
    On the 50th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and we can’t help but feel drawn back to the simpler, gentler, make-believe world of the King of Cardigans. Despite being full-grown adults, sometimes you just need Mister Rogers. And there’s a reason that after any tragedy strikes, Fred Rogers’ famous quote about looking for the helpers goes viral.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Permanent Jim Henson Exhibition To Open at MoMI in Queens
    The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Queens is sharing Jim Henson’s magical escapism for generations to come with a new permanent exhibit of his work, including 47 vintage, original puppets and Muppets. From the 1950s to the 1980s, arguably no one has done more to bring childlike wonder and imagination without limits into popular culture quite like Jim Henson.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    A New Brand Claims It’s the Most Environmentally Friendly Paint in the World
    In the quest to create the most eco-friendly paint and most innovative, LEED-platinum buildings on the planet, one Spanish company is throwing it back with one of the oldest building materials known to man: lime.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Check Out Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher’s New $10M Santa Barbara County Surf Shack
    Is Santa Barbara the new Malibu? Judging by the recent $10M luxury beachfront home purchased by Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, the answer may be a resounding: “It’s all alright!” Modest by most celebrity and California coastal real estate standards (and down $2.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Be a DIY Pinball Wizard With the New Makerball Kit
    Like a massive Waldorf toy for grownups, the Makerball DIY pinball machine “toytool” kit is promising to bring back the joys of the 1980s arcade for an entirely new generation — mullets and moustaches not required. The Kickstarter video claims the flat-pack wood kit creates “an affordable, stable, mutable, pure & simple pinball machine that can be upgraded digitally,” all assembled in just 30 to 60 minutes with a simple screwdriver.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Accidental Wes Anderson Is the Sub-Reddit We All Need Right Now
    Need something to keep you occupied between repeat viewings of Grand Budapest Hotel and The Royal Tenenbaums? This sub-Reddit catalogs swoon-worthy places around the world that “accidentally” and perfectly capture the saturated colors and symmetry of director Wes Anderson’s iconic style.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Golden Girl Rue McClanahan’s Former Encino Home Is Listed for $5.5M
    If there’s a person out there who hasn’t fantasized about a slumber party with the Golden Girls’ Blanche Devereaux, we’ve yet to meet them. Now’s your chance to channel the famous Southern belle — the former home of actress Rue McClanahan is now on the market. Curbed reported on Monday that the former home of the late actress (who passed in 2010) was freshly listed in the upscale Royal Oaks neighborhood in Encino, CA for $5.5 million.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    This Gothic Victorian Mansion Inspired by The Munsters Is Under $500K
    If your taste runs a little spooky — or your sense of humor just a little kooky — have we got the Portland listing for you: a gothic Victorian mansion inspired by The Munsters is for sale, and for under $500K.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    The Newest Emojis & How Best To Use Them
    We’re [insert new emoji face with star eyes] about the news that 56 brand-spankin’ new emojis will be hitting our keyboards this year, thanks the preview of Emoji 5.0 released this week. According to Emojipedia, Emoji version 5.0 “includes 56 new emojis from Unicode 10.0, as well as 183 emoji sequences used for gender and skin-tone variants and subdivision flags.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Now You Can Bed ‘N’ Binge at Netflix’s UK Pop-Up Hotel
    The antithesis of a digital detox, this pop-up glamping experience encourages Londoners to literally Netflix and chill while binging on their favorite shows. With hundreds of their friends, in public. The “Bed ‘N’ Binge Retreat” is a first for Netflix, with 15 themed “glamping” bunk room suites and communal spaces popping up on a National Trust park property in West London now through Sunday July 9th, with the last guests checking out on Monday July 10th.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    These Words Were Added to the Dictionary the Year You Were Born
    Some words become a part of our collective lexicon with such zeitgeist that it’s hard to believe there was ever a time when they weren’t part of the English language. And some are so definitive of an era that simply seeing them listed next to a year immediately brings you back to that time and a place — and the movies and songs that then dominated pop culture.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Amy Sedaris is Back with a Wacky New Home Ec Show
    Hang onto your hatbaskets, hosts with the most: nearly a decade to the day after the launch of her best-selling, irreverent, and hilarious book on DIY entertaining, Amy Sedaris is back with a new homemaking how-to show, At Home with Amy Sedaris. HelloGiggles shared the first trailer, and we haven’t been this girl-drink-drunk on Sedaris since her recurring character on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Yes, TV Antennas Still Exist — And They’re Making a Comeback
    A whole new generation of TV addicts is just finding out that antennas exist, and that they get you basic channels for free. It’s actually leading to a revival in sales for “rabbit ears.” Yes, really — in 2017.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    A Dozen Possible Inspirations For This Over the Top Indiana Mansion
    Are you ready for the real estate equivalent that’s the opposite of Coco Chanel’s famous fashion advice — “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”? This 29,500 square foot mansion in Indiana is a cautionary tale of mixing styles gone overboard. It seems as though no designer or contractor ever removed or renovated a thing in the home’s 60-plus year history, simply adding and adding and adding… and adding.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    AI Designs My Little Pony Names That Sound More Like Monty Python
    The scientist who brought us future paint colors named by artificial intelligence like Bank Butt and Snowbonk is at it again, this time using her research and software to dream up new My Little Pony characters.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Check Out These Floor Plans From Your Favorite TV Businesses
    If you’ve ever sat there, watching one of your favorite shows, and thought to yourself that hey, you might just know the layout of that house or that business nearly as well as your own, then you’re going to love these floor plans. First shared this week by Co.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Here’s Where To Stream Your Favorite Saturday Morning Cartoons
    We bet the sheer mention of some of these shows from the classic era of Saturday morning cartoons will bring their theme songs back to earworm status. The good news is, many of them are now available to watch again — this time digitally remastered, sans commercials — thanks to the magic of streaming TV.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    This Epic San Francisco Estate Takes Up an Entire City Block
    Considering this San Francisco mansion takes up an entire city block in the most expensive urban real estate market in the country — one of the largest private lots in the Bay Area — and is a compound comprising four separate residences around a sculpture garden, it’s actually kind of a steal at $12.5 million.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    Floyd Mayweather Just Paid $26M Cash for this Beverly Hills Mansion
    Two things are for certain, Floyd “Money” Mayweather loves to make headlines, and it’s been a great year for the boxer. He won the much-hyped “one-of-a-kind superfight” against UFC champ Conor McGregor last month, the estimated $300+ million in winnings from which enabled him to do good (purportedly one of several athletes who promised to donate millions to Hurricane Harvey relief in Houston) and #treatyoself with luxurious new digs.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019
    This Fairytale Cottage in Washington Is a Replica of Snow White’s House
    It took 12 years and two successive, fantasy-loving owners to complete, but this charming little cottage in Ollala, Washington is now an exact replica of Snow White’s House — and it’s for sale. According to Travel+Leisure, the 2,800-square-foot home features four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms on five private, gated, wooded acres — and all the character and charm you could want from a real-life Brothers Grimm fairytale, minus the seven dwarves.
    Melissa Massello
    May 3, 2019