How and Why We Built Two Humans One Tail in America

Gerard Kirwan

When we packed our bags and moved across the Atlantic, we wanted more than just a new chapter in life — we wanted a place to document the journey. From Boston pubs to marathons and dog parks, this blog is our scrapbook.

But there was a second reason behind creating this site: to play around with new technologies in the IT space. I work in tech, and there’s nothing like a personal project to try out tools in the wild. A blog is simple enough to build, but it’s also the perfect playground for testing how modern cloud services fit together.

So here’s a peek under the hood of Two Humans One Tail in America.

The High-Level Architecture 🏗️

At its core, this is a static website — meaning it’s made up of simple HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, with no complicated servers or databases behind it. Here’s how it runs:

  • Publii builds the site pages on my laptop.

  • The generated files are uploaded to an S3 bucket (Amazon’s cloud storage).

  • A CloudFront distribution sits in front, acting as a global content delivery network (CDN) for speed and security.

  • Route 53 points our custom domain to CloudFront.

  • ACM (AWS Certificate Manager) provides the SSL certificate so the site runs securely over HTTPS.

  • The entire setup is deployed using Terraform, with Spacelift orchestrating the Infrastructure-as-Code pipeline.

It’s clean, fast, and — most importantly — something I can tinker with whenever I want.

Why This Matters

For non-technical readers: think of it this way. The blog is like a house we live in, but the tools I’m using are the construction company, the blueprint, and the plumbing. I didn’t just want a finished home — I wanted to understand how every pipe, wall, and switch fits together.

For the technical readers: yes, it’s “just a static site,” but that’s the point. It’s simple enough to explain at a dinner table, but sophisticated enough to exercise CI/CD pipelines, cloud infra provisioning, and edge delivery optimizations.

The Tools & Technologies 🛠️

Terraform

What it is: Terraform is an Infrastructure-as-Code tool. Instead of clicking around AWS consoles to build infrastructure, you write it down as code. This makes deployments repeatable, auditable, and version-controlled.

Why I used it: I wanted all the infrastructure (S3 buckets, CloudFront distribution, ACM cert, Route 53 records) to live in code. If I break something, I can destroy and rebuild it. If I want to expand later, it’s as simple as editing a file and re-deploying.

AWS

What it is: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s biggest cloud provider. They offer building blocks — from storage to compute to networking — that you can piece together to build almost anything.

Why I used it: Hosting a static site on S3 + CloudFront is cost-effective, globally scalable, and reliable. Plus, AWS integrates neatly with Terraform and Spacelift.

Spacelift

What it is: Spacelift is a CI/CD platform tailored for Infrastructure-as-Code. Think of it like GitHub Actions or Jenkins, but specialized for Terraform. It connects to your Git repo, runs your Terraform plans, and applies them safely.

Why I used it: I didn’t want to manually run terraform apply every time. With Spacelift, I can push changes to my repo, get a plan preview, and let it handle the deployment. It’s automation with guardrails.

Publii

What it is: Publii is a desktop app for building static blogs. It’s user-friendly — think of it as WordPress without the database or server overhead. You write posts, style them, and Publii generates plain HTML files.

Why I used it: I wanted a simple writing experience without managing a CMS or database. Publii lets me focus on content, then handles uploading via programmatic credentials straight to my S3 bucket. Jameson (our dog) approves because it leaves me more time for walks.

What’s Next 🚀

This site is both a living scrapbook of our time in America and a sandbox for trying out cloud tech, I’ll keep experimenting.

For now, though, the setup is solid: Terraform + Spacelift + AWS + Publii equals a fast, secure, low-cost blog that doubles as a personal lab.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for following along — whether you’re here for the stories, the tech, or just Jameson’s cameo appearances.