Starting a hobby as a couple made us happier; got us off our phones

My husband and I started working on adult paint-by-numbers to try to get off of our phones. The hobby felt out of our comfort zones, but it's been nice to paint together and be offline. We bought larger canvases to have a longer-term project and set up a folding table on the loveseat, water, brushes, and paper towels between us.

We keep our paints separated, turn on reruns of "New Girl," grab our reading glasses and glob the colors on our canvases — him a streetscape of Brooklyn, me a skyscape of London. Soon it became clear we had different approaches: I start with larger areas and hesitate at the edges, while my husband goes for the smaller details in the darkest color and reads the instructions.

Our personalities are similar until they aren't, and those differences get highlighted as we paint. Still, we keep at it night after night. Progress is slow, but on the nights we choose painting over retreating with phones our home feels kinder.

paint-by-numbers, couples hobby, screen time, phones, offline, canvases, brooklyn, london, new girl, relationship