She and her husband, Oren, completed construction of a backyard ADU in November 2014 after meticulously preserving and proudly reusing most of the deconstructed garage that had previously stood on its site. They have been renting out the cottage for short-term stays to guests via Airbnb ever since. Julie briefly toyed with the idea of moving to Italy after college to open a bed & breakfast, and finds that having a backyard cottage and steady stream of guests perfectly satisfies this aspiration, while allowing her and her husband to enjoy raising their two young children in the city of Portland.