Marcella & Joao
Take one woman with two passports (U.S. and Ireland) and mix with an ex-pat from Brazil, and what do you have? Marcella and Joao Ribeiro. After a whirlwind romance (the pair bumped into each other at the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop and were engaged within a matter of months), the two have settled into life in Easton, Pennyslvania -- home of the Crayola crayon factory.

The Couple: Marcella Zimmer Ribeiro, art director; and Joao Ribeiro, sales representative

The Wedding: January 10, 2004 in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Home Base: A cream and purple Victorian-style house with gingerbread trim in Easton, Pennsylvania

Their Style: Eclectic. Former city slickers, the pair is hoping to add to their urban-style decor with items from future travels (with mothers in Ireland and Brazil, it's a safe bet that trips abroad are on the agenda) and antique furnishings found at local auctions.

Greatest Find: "I just adore my tiger oak American Empire sideboard that we got for practically nothing. It's supposed to go in a dining room, but we have a huge bathroom with an old claw-foot tub, and the piece is the perfect complement for holding supplies," says Marcella.

Fave Room: "Our favorite is the bedroom. It has an original stained-glass window," says Marcella.

Cheap Fix: Paint is the key ingredient to injecting personality into their rooms. Though they're still getting the color right in the hallway going up the stairs ("we tried a peachy tone -- too blah"), an unusual copper hue in the petite garden room that Joao picked out has become a runaway favorite.

Guilt-free Splurge: The biggest thing the pair has bought since their wedding runs more practical -- a washer and dryer and a big-screen TV -- that is, if you can call a TV practical. "I hesitated on the latter, but I gave in and really enjoy it now," says Marcella.

Point of Contention: Neatness. She's a neat freak; he's more relaxed about it. "I think Joao enjoys being surrounded by his things out in the open so that he doesn't have to look for them. I'm constantly reorganizing his stuff to keep it at bay, and he does get frustrated when he can't find anything." To solve the how-neat-are-you debate, the couple formed an agreement that they would each tackle one household chore a day during the week, and that they would hire a professional cleaner twice a month.

Fight Light: "One silly thing we fight about is who's feeding our cat too much. Kitty's huge and it's not me that's feeding her too much. He hates that I smoke. I hate it too, but I'm hooked. And I find it frustrating when he gets really quiet and cranky and doesn't just tell me what's on his mind," says Marcella.

Their Couple M.O.: The two have negotiated a code of conduct: They watch their words so that things don't get hurtful. "We bring things up that bother us and discuss them, and of course it can and does get a little heated at times. It's not always resolved in the end, but we're communicating. We always get to a place where we can continue to work it out and not have to give each other the cold shoulder or continue to be angry."

Typical Weekend: House projects aside, Marcella and Joao kick back by exploring the small towns of Pennsylvania and riding their bikes on the nearby trails. "There are lots of great places to eat Sunday brunch along the Delaware River. But if it's cold or raining, we'll set the afternoon aside for movies and cuddle up on the couch. We're best friends and love doing things together, but we also love that we don't have to do everything together." Joao might go fishing while Marcella stays home and hones her renovating skills, like figuring out how to hook up plumbing or designing the backyard garden.

Lucky Girl: Joao is the house chef. "He has a knack for pulling anything together with what we have. There are no best dishes. They're all really good, and he experiments all the time, so it's always different. I usually clean up the kitchen, and it's well worth it. I do, however, make an awesome cheesecake!"

Boy Meets Grill: These two are party-hosting people. Their specialty: barbecues with a Brazilian twist (can you say caipirinha?). "Even though we only have our little Weber now, Joao takes it very seriously," says Marcella. In the winter the pair hosts casual dinner parties where guests circulate in and out of the kitchen while the couple sips wine and makes traditional Brazilian dishes like feijoada -- basically a Brazilian version of black beans, pork, and rice. Since they're still working on a dining-room table (they're currently on the lookout for an old farmhouse table), they usually serve buffet-style with people scattered around the house or out on the porch.

Bills, Bills, Bills: These two get props for financial compatibility. With a joint checking and savings account, they both take turns paying for things. Joao works a spreadsheet every month, so they can track where their money is going. From pocket money to monthly expenses and the mortgage, they go over the budget to see how they can cut back.

Home-buying Hint: "We saved, we discussed what we wanted, and we did research on everything. Our bible was Home Buying for Dummies. I'm not kidding. It helped a lot!" says Marcella.

Dealing with Debt: Both agreed that the debt they built up after they bought their home was dragging them down, so they made a plan to pay it off in a year. Even though it took a little longer than they planned, they finally got it paid off by putting a set amount of cash toward it every month. As for savings, these two are squirreling their money away, but they still need to get around to starting their 401(k). In the meantime, it's all about the budget they've worked out. "If we stick to our game plan, it's really rewarding -- and life doesn't have to be boring either. You get creative and you learn to live a simple, happy, debt-free life," says Marcella.

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