Le Journal

Our home was outdated, so we immediately updated the kitchen.Jenna DeLaurentisMy boyfriend and I spent just over $10,000 to update our 1950s kitchen.We made a few controversial design choices, like tearing down walls and choosing cheap countertops.Not everyone agreed with our design, but we still love our new kitchen months later.When my boyfriend and I bought a new house this year, a kitchen remodel was at the forefront of our plans. Like the rest of the house, it hadn't been updated since the 1950s.The 50s-style cabinets were charming, but the small space wasn't functional for us. It lacked modern amenities, such as a dishwasher, and the narrow space felt claustrophobic.We set a $10,000 budget and made a few unpopular plans.The original kitchen was over 70 years old.Jenna DeLaurentisWe tore out the old cabinets (saving them for other home projects) and set out to design a more modern kitchen. Our budget was limited, and we spent about $10,000 on the remodel.During our design process, we made a few divisive decisions that made our family — and even a few kitchen designers — turn their heads.Yet despite the naysayers, we have no regrets about the design, and we love cooking in our new space.First, we removed walls and a fireplace to create an open-concept layout.The fireplace would've limited our design options even more.Jenna DeLaurentisAlmost immediately after getting our keys, we tore down walls in the kitchen to create an open layout.This was the first controversial design choice we made during the remodel. We wanted to expand the tiny galley kitchen, but unfortunately, this meant removing walls — and the home's original fireplace.The (giant) fireplace was located smack-dab in the middle of the house, which wasn't ideal for an open layout.I like how open our space feels now.The walls and fireplace made the previous kitchen cramped.Jenna DeLaurentisSome of our friends and family members said we were nuts for removing a fireplace. However, a few others (including us) thought it made the space more practical.In the end, we're glad we took the extra effort to create a more open space. The job was messy and labor-intensive, but our kitchen feels so much bigger and brighter now.We still don't regret choosing a small fridge.Our fridge is small, but it fits everything we need.Jenna DeLaurentisPerhaps the most controversial decision we made in our kitchen design was installing a smaller-than-average refrigerator.Every 1950s kitchen remodel comes with its own set of challenges, and our biggest one, by far, was the layout. Due to the placement of windows and doors in the kitchen, we had few areas to put appliances like the oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher.Notably, we couldn't find a convenient spot for a standard-sized fridge, which usually measures between 29 and 36 inches wide.Kitchen designers suggested we move our windows and doors to accommodate a larger fridge, but this would almost certainly break our budget.Instead, we worked with the space we had. We installed an Ikea refrigerator that measures just over 21 inches wide. It fit inside a panel-ready cabinet that matched our other cabinetry.Friends, family, and designers we spoke to said this was a mistake. They couldn't fathom how we would fit our groceries into the narrow fridge.After several months living in the new house, though, the smaller refrigerator hasn't been a big deal. With the nearest grocery store a 10-minute walk from our house, we never shop in bulk. Instead, we shop for fresh ingredients several times a week, and everything fits perfectly into our small fridge.We also chose laminate countertops over quartz to save money.We saved thousands by choosing laminate countertops.Jenna DeLaurentisWhen it came time to pick our countertops, kitchen designers and family members all recommended materials like quartz and granite. They said a higher-end countertop was a must-have to raise our home's resale…

Both Michaels and Hobby Lobby have tons of seasonal sales and home decor, but the retailers are quite different.Terri PetersThis winter, I shopped at Michaels and Hobby Lobby to get a feel for their 2025 holiday merchandise.I thought Michaels had more seasonal craft supplies, and Hobby Lobby had more holiday home decor.My Gen Z daughter preferred Michaels, but I could see the benefits of shopping at both stores.Honestly, I get excited when stores put up their Christmas displays in October. It never feels too early when the winter holiday season is one of your favorite times of the year.I'm a sucker for it all it brings, whether I'm meticulously planning which wrapping paper to use on gifts or sipping peppermint lattes while shopping for decorations.When it comes to the latter, I typically visit craft retailers Hobby Lobby and Michaels. So, for the third year in a row, I went to the two retailers to compare their seasonal offerings. Much to my delight, I found the 2025 winter holidays in full effect at both. However, I found each store shines in some areas but lacks in others.Here's how my holiday shopping experiences at Hobby Lobby and Michaels compared this year.Michaels and Hobby Lobby both had tons of different artificial trees.Terri PetersThere was no shortage of artificial Christmas trees at either retailer.Each seemed to sell every variation of tree imaginable. Shoppers could choose between blinking white lights or solid colorful ones, branches covered in snow or lightly flocked with it, and a wide range of heights.I saw trees that were black, pink, and Grinch-green, as well as ones made from sparkly tinsel. Whatever type of artificial tree you're dreaming of this year, chances are you'll find it at either store.There were also endless options for ornaments at both stores.Hobby Lobby's ornament selection was fun to look through.Terri PetersIn addition to multipacks of ball-shaped filler baubles for just about any tree-decorating color scheme, each store stocked plenty of specialty ornaments.I also saw character-themed ornaments — from franchises like Harry Potter and Elf on the Shelf — at both stores.At Hobby Lobby, I bought a glass camera ornament for my film-loving teenage son.Truly, I'd happily adorn my tree with options from either retailer.Terri PetersAt Michaels, I grabbed both a monogrammed "P" ornament (for our family's last name) and a fuzzy felt mouse wearing a Mrs. Claus-style dress and holding a tray of cookies.Ultimately, my ideal tree would have a mix of fun designs and baubles from Michaels and Hobby Lobby.There were also a lot of other tree-trimming materials at both Michaels at Hobby Lobby.Terri PetersAgain, anything you could dream of for decking your halls was on offer at Michaels and at Hobby Lobby, from strands of plastic Christmas candies to long swaths of realistic-looking pine garland.Each store also had a decent selection of seasonal outdoor decorations — light-up figurines, metal yard signs, inflatable lawn figures, and more.Michaels had several themed sections of decor.Terri PetersMichaels had arranged its holiday decor by theme in a series of three or four aisles.I spotted a collection of nutcracker-themed decor and a section for traditional red, white, and green items. The pink-peppermint decorations and vintage-style collection featuring dogs and cats also caught my eye.Some of Hobby Lobby's decor was also divided by theme.Terri PetersSomewhat similar to Michaels, some of Hobby Lobby's holiday decor was organized by style throughout the store.I perused adorable snowman items on one set of shelves and a collection of holiday trees and reindeer on another. A whole display was dedicated to Santa, and one shelf was packed with baby-pink and light-blue gingerbread-house-style decorations.That said, Hobby Lobby's seasonal displays seemed to be really spread out throughout the store. I had to walk through the front, middle, and…

Jay Graber is the CEO of Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform with over 40 million registered users.Samantha Burkardt/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty ImagesJay Graber studied how technology interacts with society at the University of Pennsylvania.Bluesky's open protocol offers a decentralized alternative to X and Meta platforms.Here is a look at Graber's career and her unconventional path to Silicon Valley.Jay Graber is the engineer behind one of the most ambitious experiments in reimagining social media.The Tulsa-born CEO is best known for steering Bluesky, the decentralized platform she describes as a "billionaire-proof" alternative to X and Meta-owned platforms.Graber's emergence as a Silicon Valley power player was unconventional. In 2021, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tapped her to lead the Bluesky project, which was spun off as an independent public benefit company, just before Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.Since then, Bluesky's user base has grown to over 40 million as of November 2025, powered by its open protocol, customizable moderation system, and promise of a more democratic digital ecosystem.Here's a look at Graber's career timeline, from her early work in cryptocurrency to her rise as the architect of a new, user-owned social media platform:Early lifeKimberly White/Getty Images for WIREDJay Graber was born Lantian Graber in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a mother who is an immigrant from China during the Cultural Revolution and a father of Swiss descent. Her mother, who is an acupuncturist, named Graber "Lantian", which means "blue sky" in Chinese, as a wish that she would have "boundless freedom." She was aptly named for the job she would eventually be given.Her father is a mathematics teacher, and in a 2024 profile of Graber in Cosmico, he is cited as a source of intellectual and academic influence for Graber.EducationErica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesAt the University of Pennsylvania, Graber studied Science, Technology & Society, which is an interdisciplinary program that examines how technological innovation intersects with culture, politics, and ethics.Rather than focusing solely on coding or engineering, the program allowed Graber to explore the broader systems that shape how technology is developed and utilized, an approach that later influenced her views on social networks and digital governance.Some of her key guiding views include a decentralized internet and open source social media protocols. "We believe that the protocol is the fundamental guarantee on freedom of speech," Graber said once during an interview with Fast Company.Before BlueskyPeter Dazeley/Getty ImagesGraber's early career unfolded during the first wave of blockchain innovation in the mid-2010s. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she began her career as a software engineer at SkuChain, a startup focused on utilizing blockchain for supply-chain management. Around the same time, she also built and soldered bitcoin-mining rigs, deepening her technical grasp of decentralized systems beyond software.Between 2016 and 2018, Graber joined the privacy-focused cryptocurrency project Zcash as a junior developer, contributing to one of the most advanced implementations of zero-knowledge proofs. Later, in 2019, she founded Happening, Inc., an events app that aimed to help communities organize and connect through shared experiences.Happening, Inc. never really took off, but these early roles grounded Graber in both the engineering and ideological foundations of decentralized technology, which later shaped the vision for Bluesky as an open, user-controlled social network.Joining BlueskyIllustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesWhen Jack Dorsey, then CEO of Twitter, first announced Bluesky in late 2019, it was a small, Twitter-funded initiative tasked with researching an open and decentralized standard for…

A new Netflix documentary series follows US Marines based in Japan throughout their deployment training.NetflixNetflix's 'Marines' explores US Marines in Japan preparing for uncertain Pacific conflict.The series highlights the daily reality and stress of military deployment training.'Marines' offers insight into modern military life amid US-China tensions in the Pacific region.A new Netflix mini-docuseries released this month turns its lens on an unusual part of military life: not the heat of battle, but the long, grinding calm that can precede it.The series "Marines" follows a handful of service members with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a roughly 2,000-member Marine contingent that deploys aboard a trio of Navy ships, floating sea bases that can be rapidly moved into global hotspots. The 31st MEU is based in Japan, home to one of the Corps' three major bases, with others in California and North Carolina.Marines go through intense training in preparation for such deployments, certifying for missions ranging from disaster response to amphibious assaults. The Netflix show centers on the planning behind a large-scale beach landing, a classic Marine Corps mission. If the exercise fails, the entire unit could lose its deployment certification.Unlike most military-themed television, "Marines" focuses on the tension of preparation rather than combat itself in four 45-minute episodes. Executive producer Sebastian Junger, a well-known wartime journalist who focuses on the human costs of war, told Business Insider that he hopes to show viewers the unromanticized — and stressful — reality of a force that spends years preparing for a war that may never happen."When people sign up for the military, they're thinking, 'I will prove myself to myself, that I'm worthy, that I'm courageous, that I'm brave, that I'm strong,'" he said. "But in order to do that, you have to kind of want to wind up in combat."A Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit fires an M320 grenade launcher during a training event at Camp Fuji, Japan, Oct. 10, 2025.Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola/US Marine CorpsYet combat, especially the kind that the US could face in the Pacific, home to near-peer rival China, could be devastating. Junger said he also hopes his series serves as a way for Americans to think critically about the human cost behind any future conflict."I think the American public would be absolutely shocked at the price tag of a full-scale war," he said. The cost in lives in Ukraine has been catastrophic. A war in the Pacific could be worse.The new series is a narrow but revealing lens into the urgency many troops in the Pacific feel, and traces the experiences of a group of real Marines as they train their teams for deployment: a senior enlisted infantry Marine and his officer, a pilot still mastering his flight skills, and a naval officer balancing command duties with the guilt familiar to many working mothers. There's also a pair of lifelong best friends serving as a machine gun team.All of them are navigating the struggle of belonging to a generation of Marines with little or no combat experience. Most hardened veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have cycled out of service, leaving mostly younger troops who sometimes yearn for the kind of battlefield tests they've only heard about.For many Marines in the post-Global War on Terror era, deployments, the opportunities for which are often highly coveted, are often limited to the maritime MEU deployments. It's not combat, but it's not without its hardships."Life on the ship is tough," said director Chelsea Yarnell of Marines' experiences aboard Navy warships. "The living conditions on the ships are really severe, like extremely close quarters," she said. "No creature comforts, plumbing didn't always work. If you forgot your shower shoes, you would live to regret…