Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 12, Reveal 2nd Wall Section
It’s Reveal Day! Welcome back to our Curved Fieldstone Wall series. I’m so glad you’re here. In August, we decided to reconstruct the crumbling fieldstone walls in front of our house. We reused the original stone to build the new wall. We used lime mortar to keep it historically accurate. We added a little flair to the wall design to call it our own. After 75 days of solid work, we can finally call this fieldstone wall complete. Thank. Goodness. Here’s how it started. The wall definitely exuded a certain old house charm if you didn’t look too closely to see that it was barely hanging on. This wall was…
Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 11, 2nd Section Swoop
Welcome back to our Curved Fieldstone Wall Series, where we attempt to rebuild the curved fieldstone walls in our front yard using historic masonry techniques. This is part eleven of a twelve-part series, which is your not-so-subtle hint that we are almost done with this project! I don’t know whether to cheer with joy or weep with relief. Maybe both? If you’ve been following along for this entire series, thank you! If you haven’t and want to catch up, I’ve linked the entire series at the end of this post. Today, we are discussing the swoop. If that wasn’t a technical term, it is now. The original curved fieldstone wall…
Fall Break 2025
Hey, Folks! I am taking this week off from the blog because my kids have a fall break. Even college kids get a fall break! They shut down the dorms and cafeteria. You can get an exemption to stay on campus if you live more than 200 miles away, but you’ll have to forage for food on your own. I’m hoping to finish my fieldstone wall this week, too. If I don’t finish it, you’re going to have to commit me to an institution for DIYers with lingering projects. Hopefully, this institution is on a warm, sunny beach with tropical drink service. I tell you when I’m taking a blog…
Happy List: #408
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m pleased as punch that you are here. This week on the blog, I shared how I decorated our fireplace for Halloween. It involved foraging and a potentially embarrassing situation. I also shared how our front porch looks at night, all decorated with pumpkins and solar jar lanterns. I say it every week because I mean it. Thank you for being here. You have an unlimited number of ways you could spend your time. The fact that you spend a few minutes with me is a privilege. I aim for the Happy List to be a bright spot in your day, and I…
Fall Front Porch At Night
Our fall front porch at night is one of the simple delights in life that I’m relishing right now. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy it during the daytime as well. But the glow of the porch at night is what’s really doing it for me. Full disclosure, it’s harder to see the dirt and cobwebs at night, so that’s another point in its favor. Did you notice the colored lanterns on the steps? I sure hope so because I don’t own a blog to be demure. Sharing evening photos of our front porch is a shameless opportunity for me to gush about my continued enjoyment of solar lids with…
Witchy Halloween Mantel – No Cost Decorating Ideas
I’ve brewed up some great, no-cost Halloween decorating ideas to share with you, and they all revolve around my witchy Halloween mantel. I had so much fun decorating my fireplace for Halloween this year. It’s a challenge to come up with an idea that hits the right vibe for our house. Nothing gory, scary, or tacky. I know tacky is a particularly subjective term. Ha! You probably won’t create a witchy Halloween mantel just like mine, but here are some no-cost decorating ideas that work like a charm for anyone. Use what you already have in a new way. It doesn’t take any magic, but it does take a bit…
Happy List: #407
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am so happy to have you join me here on the first Friday in October. This month snuck up on me! This week on the blog, I shared the candle warmer lamps that I’m obsessed with at this moment. I delight in this sort of small comfort. I also provided a stone wall update! It has to do with the gate and mailbox. Let me tell you, we are going to be winging it with that whole situation. I say it every week because I mean it. Thank you for being here. You have an unlimited number of ways you could spend…
Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 10, Mailbox and Gate Plan
Welcome back to our Curved Fieldstone Wall Series, where we attempt to rebuild the fieldstone walls in our front yard using historical masonry techniques. When we last left off, I had shared the progress on the second section of the wall and the potential problem with road salt. You can catch up on that here. Now it’s time to share the plan for the mailbox and gate. Don’t worry. There are also progress pictures on the wall itself. I wouldn’t deprive you in that way. To put it delicately, the gate and mailbox have seen better days. They both have some rot and peeling paint. The gate requires a complicated…
Getting Cozy With Candle Warmer Lamps
Candle warmer lamps are the emotional support item getting me through the bumpy transition from summer to fall. Yes, lamps plural. I have two. Not only did I jump on the candle warmer lamps trend, but I also decided Big Candle could have all my money. Candle warmer lamps do exactly what they say. They warm up the wax in a candle vessel, allowing the smell to waft through your home without you having to light the wick. It’s brilliant. Now, friends. I am old enough to know that melting scented wax is not a new concept. In the late aughts, I had some Scentsy wax melts and a cute…
Happy List: #406
Hi! Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted to see you here. This week on the blog, I shared a roundup of the pretty wall pockets I found online. The joke is on me because I thought I’d only find them on Etsy and eBay. Incorrect. I also shared an update on the stone wall I’m slowly building. I was hoping to finish it this month, but that’s not going to happen. I will finish it, though. Eventually. I say it every week because I mean it. Thank you for being here. You have an unlimited number of ways you could spend your time. The fact that you…
