Well hello there! Welcome to my brand new, beautiful website.  Notice I say website, and not blog.  

That’s right, this whole thing just got a lot more professional. 

It’s been a tad over a year since the whole house thing took off, and suddenly tons of people found out about what I’ve been doing, and shockingly, were pretty into it. 

First, let me say thank you.  None of this would be possible if not for interested people like you.  It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly.  I realized many months ago that if people were going to continue to care about what I do, and I wanted to continue to create quality content for them, I needed a much higher quality vehicle to do it.  That choose your own adventure self made blog thing just wasn’t cutting it.  And I get it, I don’t like to consume material that looks bad either. 

And so we started the long, and tedious process of making this website.  A lot of it is the same, and some things are different. The goal is to make me more efficient, so I can make better content for you, and thereby make this whole thing a lot more enjoyable for us all.  Let me show you around. 

First off, as I said, this is a website.  This is the home for all the things I do, not just the blog.  I’m so thankful that you all care about the Mclain house because obviously I do too, but I also needed a space for my professional services. I consult, work on other projects, and love connecting with all kinds of people and companies. So if you’re interested in working with me, check out services. 

The other big thing you’ll notice is the addition of Patreon.  I know.  This is a biggie.  One that I agonized over.  

I heard you guys loud and clear when you asked for video. I considered youtube.  I really considered youtube, because I know it’s free to you. But it’s also a gamble for me.  I’m a professional, but not a professional videographer.  I want to make things for my audience, not work endlessly to try and rank in youtube’s algorithm in the hopes of monetizing that content.  

Patreon feels like a way more personal way for me to create specific video content for you all.  And we’re keeping it simple.  Five bucks a month, for access to more in depth tutorials, video tours, and what I’m most excited about, AFTER TOURS.  Don’t worry, I’ll still post the full project recap on the blog, but the video tours are now going to live on Patreon.  

I hope you’ll consider supporting me on this platform, because I can promise every dollar you contribute will go directly to the Mclain house, or other historic preservation project in the community. 

The next thing you’ll notice: I have a shop! Kind of.  This is where I’ll post links to all the beautiful things you guys ask me about.  Many are affiliate links, meaning if you click from my site I make a small commission, but some are just items I genuinely love from small businesses, artists, etc.  This will come in handy more as I continue to finish rooms. 

Finally, the last big change is the addition of a newsletter!  This is going to be a biweekly run down of what’s been happening on the blog, instagram, patreon, and any other community or preservation news I want to share with you all.  If you’re already subscribed to the blog, you’ll continue to get updates when I post, but if you want the full monty, sign up!

So go ahead and look around.  I’ll have a lot of great stuff coming out the coming weeks, including some finished spaces I have been DYING to share with you guys.  Thanks so much for being here. 

And on one final note, I want to give a big thank you to the people that made this far superior website possible.  

Brandon Essington, of Essington Creative for creating this masterpiece and putting up with my endless edits, questions, and redesigns.  

Kylie Ignace, with Authentically Creative for helping me through the branding process and pointing out oh so astutely that I did not need a blog, but rather, a website. 

Riley Lynn Carpenter of Riley Lynn Photography for the beautiful photos you see on the website, and for being a constant promoter of small businesses, women, and Wheeling 

The Wheeling Heritage staff and particularly Alex, Natalie, and Johnathon whose eyes for design, marketing, and all things digital helped me immensely throughout this process.  And came up with my logo. 

And finally Dan, who is my partner, and personal Kris Jenner.  He cannot stand to see unrealized potential, or bad branding. Thank you for sharing Brandon, and everything else with me.

Hi there, I’m Betsy.  Welcome to my website/blog/portfolio/dog photo album.  I started this blog because I bought a house.  A big, old, falling apart house.  And it seems like if you’re going to buy a big, old, falling apart house that will nearly bankrupt you, you should chronicle it for the masses in the hopes of becoming a #lowespartner. 

So how did I get here?  Well, for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved old things.  One of the greatest motivations in my adolescent life was simply to go beyond the velvet rope and see the upstairs of every museum. This fascination with the unseen parts of old buildings eventually led to my degrees in Anthropology, Art History, and Historic Preservation. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Main Streets, History and Landmark Foundations, and one very impactful position at James Madison’s Montpelier.  In 2018, I decided to change pace, and relocate to Wheeling, WV. 

Wheeling is a major character in this blog, because it is where, as Director of Heritage Programming for the Wheeling National Heritage Area, I am able to combine my love of technical preservation and cultural heritage interpretation. Seriously, it’s a dream job. Wheeling is a small city with big amenities, undergoing a revitalization that I’m thrilled to be a part of.   It is also where I’ve purchased the aforementioned big, old, falling apart house.  Said house (second only perhaps to my perfect dog Marshall) will be getting a lot of air time on this platform. 

But I hope this platform becomes more than just an old house blog.  My intention is to create a space for those interested to read my thoughts and experiences in community development, and place-making, and heritage studies AND rehabbing a big, old, falling apart house.   And also dogs and yoga and food and flowers.  A lifestyle blog if you will, written by someone that hates lifestyle blogs. 

So if that sounds like fun, come on in.   I promise I’ll never ask you to take your shoes off.