HI THERE, WELCOME!
We are Michelle Anderson and Lauren Massarella.
Sisters first, friends always and the driving force behind our blog, The Sister Project.
Like us, this blog has always been a work in progress. When we first launched, we were thrilled to be able to share inspiration – whether it was through stories about women we admire, cool ass shit we love to do, make or have around us and thoughts on experiences that have made our lives richer. We shared anything and everything we could that would cultivate a community of like-minded, badass women (along with some cool men) – and it worked, we did it!
For three years, we blogged daily and took turns sharing details from our personal lives with you all. The irony of this is, growing up as sisters, we didn’t want to share a damn thing with each other and now here we are, sharing with and alongside one another every single day. We have written about serious topics like the struggles we’ve faced with our mom’s illness as well as fun things like our favorite Christmas cookies and the perfect summer spritz. We dabbled in a little bit of everything that interests us and, much like a college student who finally decides on their major, somewhere along the way, we started to feel the urge to hone in on the direction of our inspiration--we’ve grown through the experience and finally realized our true passion--who knew it had been sitting right in front of us our whole lives?
Despite having five of the most active, strong-willed, boisterous children with activities and responsibilities that took us all over the place and often conflicted with everyone else’s schedules, our parents were able to instill the importance of spending quality time at home with family. From Sunday dinners around the dining room table, to evening wine sessions on the front porch with friends, and family vacations - our parents worked hard as hell to have our family of seven get in quality time as a tribe. You can imagine the stories and the memories alone could last a lifetime. One reason it always felt so welcoming and natural to settle in for a night together was that our home was always filled with good smells, delicious food meant to be shared with whomever walked through the door, human connections and conversations, and everyone ready for some good old fashioned down-time.
Fast forward to 2013 when our mom, June, was diagnosed with dementia at the ridiculously young age of 63. Without a doubt, that was the saddest and most difficult moment we have experienced as a family. The woman who we knew and who raised us, was no longer. After we got over the shock and developed a system of care for June, we began to transform her home into the home she would have created had she been able. A sanctuary filled with home-cooked meals made by her incredible caregivers, a copious amount of plants, cozy blankets, candles and her family. The exact type of home she had created for our family growing up. Experiencing this disease has given us a fresh perspective on life. We know how precious time and moments are. We know the struggle to slow down is real, but it needs to be done. These days, we humans are so incredibly busy. It is as if we are in a competition with one another to see who can be the most busy. Sadly, we have become a society of overworked, overtired, and over stressed group of people. Throw in the fact that we seem to be more connected to our devices than with those around us and it paints a dismal picture.
This is where our epiphany comes in--we re-discovered our past and want to share how we are incorporating it into our present. We want to help you reconnect with the important things in life. Time with family and friends, more moments in nature, more time creating and conversing, and more time spent curating a cozy, happy lifestyle chock full of meaningful moments. We relate to you and we understand the daily hustle and grind--the never-ending list of things to do. But, as we have re-discovered, there is a secret to living a more present life and that is why we are refocusing our blog--to show you a more hygge way of living. Consider us your hygge concierge.
The Sister Project will always be what we initially set it out to be, a place for us sisters and you sisters-from-other-misters to gather, converse, sometimes complain, celebrate superwomen and trade lifestyle tips. Now, we just have a cozier twist to our blog. We hope you enjoy it!
Stay cozy,