I am well known in certain circles as the person who watches basically everything that’s on TV. While everyone else is cord-cutting, I’m the one with every cable channel and Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. The television is quite literally always on in my apartment—even when I’m working from home. (Right now, for example, my WFH viewing choice is Suits, in honor of soon-to-be HRH Meghan Markle.) But it turns out my favorite “show” this season isn’t even on TV. It’s on Instagram Stories, and it stars Mandy Moore.

I’ve been a low-key Mandy stan since the days of “Candy,” so of course I was already following her on Instagram. I stuck around to see behind the scenes of This Is Us, and I’m always fascinated to watch as they “age” her in the makeup trailer. But then, many months ago, she started taking followers on mini-tours of the home she purchased in LA and was completely gut renovating. I was hooked from the first “episode” and have been binging ever since.

To say I’ve become deeply and emotionally invested in this project would be a massive understatement. We’ve (LOL, “we’ve”) come so far since the days of tearing out original structures, floors, and walls. Along the way, I’ve also started following her architect, Emily Farnham, and designer, Sarah Sherman Manuel. (Sidebar: I love that she’s got an all-female team spearheading the project.)

One of the things that grabbed me from the start is the mid-century of it all—which is my own personal style. Moore’s house was originally built in 1950 by a well-known architect at the time, Harold Zook, but during the ’90s someone made some seriously bad design decisions. Now, Moore and her crew have spent months demolishing, restoring some of the original flavor of the house. You can check out lots of before pics on Sherman Manuel’s blog, a place I’ve spent a lot of time this spring/summer/fall.

While I’ve been known to watch HGTV from time to time, I definitely don’t consider myself a junkie. There’s just something about this process, with this person that has me emotional knowing we’re nearing the end. Times are really turbulent right now and the future sometimes seems a bit bleak and unknown, but watching this project through to beautiful completion soothes me, especially as a reprieve from the garbage fire that is Twitter. It’s also always a happy surprise—you never know when Mandy is going to pop by the house to check in, and you can feel how excited she is about her new home. And then, of course, there’s the aspirational quality. I would die to be able to do what she’s doing—to create my dream house.

Some might be embarrassed to admit they’re this obsessed with a celebrity’s home project, but not me. Mandy herself even liked one of my tweets about it recently. When you’re open about your odd pop-culture proclivities, you usually find out you’re not alone—which is exactly what happened as friends came out as devotees to the IG Stories, too. Creative Director Elizabeth Spiridakis Olson calls it “every perfect Pinterest dream come true. I’m obsessed with the SSS cabinet fronts.”

Travel editor Jenna Mahoney agrees, “Every time I’m in a hotel my favorite thing to do is watch HGTV. (And as a travel editor, I spend a lot of time in hotels.) The renovations, the reveals, the ‘Hey, I could maybe, probably, totally do this—someday, anyway—in my future and amazing house’ keep me coming back for more. But what is so special about Mandy Moore’s reno is that it isn’t a 25-minute demo toward open concept. It is an artful, intricate experience that we get to experience in real time. She has a very approachable style and way about her in that we are totally friends and have loads in common way. And that is the same for the renovation project.”

Yes, yes, yes to all of that. Let’s just hope I don’t have a full breakdown when the house is finally finished. Maybe there will be a season two?

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