Joanna Gaines

“I remember, when we first got married, the only money we had was what was in Chip's pocket. He always had a wad of cash, but we were broke. If I needed to go grocery shopping, it's whatever was in his pocket. That's how we paid the bills.”

“Once I tune in to the fact that my family receives my cooking for them as an act of love - that it's actually something that makes them feel cared for - it shifts my entire perspective.”

“Marriage requires effort and time and talking and connecting. You have to maintain it.”

“The reality is that old houses that were built a hundred years ago were built by actual craftsmen, people who were the best in the world at what they did. The little nuances in the woodwork, the framing of the doors, the built-in nooks, the windows—all had been done by smart, talented people, and I quickly found that uncovering those details and all of that character made the house more inviting and more attractive and more alive.”

“Since Chip and I try to go on a date night once a week, we don't feel the need to keep holidays like Valentine's Day all to ourselves. We set the table fancy, we all get dressed up, and we serve a big, beautiful candlelight dinner. It's our kids' favorite, too.”

“A few years ago, I realized I was decorating and designing my house around what was beautiful rather than practical for my family. When I made that realization, everything kind of clicked for me. I started being intentional about designing spaces with my kids in mind rather than picture-perfect rooms.”

“Be intentional with your space. Don't be afraid to step on a limb and design your home the way you love it.”

“In our house, dinner is synonymous with family time. Recently, it has felt like the best chance for all of us to really connect - something that I find myself wanting more of as my kids are getting older.”

“I had always had a dream to open up a boutique of some sort.”

“Chip is like that kid, like the five-year-old kid that's trying to make his mom breakfast, and there's milk everywhere.”

“Chip is the risk-taker. He's all about the big picture but with a get-it-done attitude, and sometimes I'd rather play it safe and really focus my energy on the details.”

“I had to learn that this whole God thing isn't just this big religion. It's really that He wants this relationship with us on a personal level.”

“I was actually a communications major and had never done design.”

“Texans know how to make people feel welcome.”

“One pretty amazing thing we learned early on was that the more time we spent together, the better our relationship was.”

“When you are married to a guy who takes chances every day, who loves risk and has great intuition and great business instincts - when you're married to someone like that who pushes you to dream big, you dream big.”

“With my job, I am designing spaces for families on a weekly basis, and that is where I get my creative outlet.”

“If I didn't have Chip Gaines in my life, I'd still be dreaming in my head - but not acting out on any of that, not living it out.”

“It’s up to us to choose contentment and thankfulness now—and to stop imagining that we have to have everything perfect before we’ll be happy.”

“I finally believed it was actually a beautiful thing to be unique and to be different.”