My Favorite Solar Lights
If I must leave my house and return to it in the dark – shudders – then I want to come home to the cozy, welcoming glow of my favorite solar lights. Outdoor solar lights are inviting, practical, and don’t impact my electric bill. Do not get me started on the electric bill. Ugh. Here are my favorites: The Workhorse Solar Light | Amazon My go-to, all-around MVP for a solar light is this up-light disc. They come with a stake, but I also have them sitting directly on the ground without being secured by the stake in most places. Surprisingly, they have rarely blown away. Hope I didn’t just…
Happy List: #443
Hey there! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is so fun to see you here. I started this week on the blog on a light-hearted, humorous note. I shared how my family actually used the drink table in our kitchen. They aren’t even trying to be funny, but in the context of how I thought the table would be used, it is to me. I also wrote about the pros and cons of reusing the existing wall footings to reconstruct the fieldstone wall in front of our house. Long story short, Handy Husband thinks there are only positives. I think there is one downside. Speaking of downsides, I hope…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 4, Reusing Old Footings
Welcome back to our Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. This is part 4, and we will be discussing the pros and cons of reusing the existing wall footings to rebuild this old fieldstone wall. You’d think this would be the one topic that would be all pros, no cons. But have you met me? I’m not a Negative Nelly. I’m more of a Realistic Rhonda. On this topic, though, my husband would probably say I’m an Obsessive Ophelia. (My actual name is Annisa, in case you didn’t know.) To recap: We’re reconstructing our low fieldstone walls. I do a mini recap because some people come in mid-story, and if I…
Everything But a Drink Table
Last year, I bought a drink table (a tiny side table big enough for a drink) to sit next to the bench in our kitchen. There was no place to set a drink if my family wanted to hang out on that bench with a beverage while I cooked dinner. Slap a cape on me because I was sure I was the hero for solving that problem. However, much to my chagrin, my family uses that table for everything but a drink table. Here’s how I envisioned the drink table being used: A quiet, serene place to enjoy a warm or cold beverage. Peaceful, right? I’ve been married and a…
Happy List: #442
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m stoked to see you here, and I hope you’ve had a fantastic week. This week on the blog, I shared how the trash cabinet we built is holding up. For the amateur stone masons in the crowd, I also wrote a post about how to reuse old lime mortar. We’re down for trying almost anything once, and then sharing how it goes. The Happy List is curated by yours truly to be happy, curious, and light. It’s my antidote to the negative news that’s thrown my way each week. Connection is also an antidote to negativity. To that end, if you’d like…
How to Reuse Old Lime Mortar On Your Stone Foundation
If you have a historic stone foundation that needs repointing, you’ve probably already figured out that you’ve drawn the short straw and have to chip out the old lime mortar from the foundation to repoint with fresh lime mortar. If you’re wondering how to reuse that old lime mortar to make new lime mortar, or even if you can and should, you’ve come to the right place. I have some recent experience with that. Someone has to be the test subject. Might as well be me. Important consideration for reusing old lime mortar: Old lime mortar can only be reused as sand. Over time, lime mortar essentially turns into limestone,…
Under-A-Table Trash Cabinet – One Year Later
I love pretty pictures as much as the next person, but one of my favorite things about DIY and makeovers is learning how they hold up over time. A little more than a year ago, we built an under-a-table trash cabinet. Today, I’m updating you on how this area of our home has held up to heavy, daily use. Would that be considered literal trash talk? We needed a place to hide our trash and recycling. That’s how this project started. We have a galley-style kitchen and, storage-wise, it’s small. Only one wall has any cabinets or countertops, and that’s where the sink, dishwasher, and range are located. The opposite…
Happy List: #441
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. What a joy to see you here. This week on the blog, I shared the next installment of our Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. I also shared all the ways I’ve been customizing visors or hats. Want to take bets on how long it will be before I have to update that post because I’ve come up with more creations? Housekeeping Note: Handy Husband is building us a new website. (Yes, he’s wildly talented.) He’s been working on it at night for months now. If all goes well, we are hoping to switch from this layout to the new one later this summer.…
DIY Custom Visors: 4 Ways to Decorate a Plain Visor
Got a plain visor or hat? Not for long, you won’t. Today, we’re going to discuss 4 ways to customize a visor or a hat. In a land of hats and visors, I’m a visor-wearing gal. If we’re talking fun things to do, I love to customize a visor to give it a little pizazz. It’s pretty much the greatest compliment to have someone ask, “Where did you get that visor?” and I can say, “I made it!” These decorating and customizing ideas are visor-centric, but can easily be transferred to hats as well, especially if you have a sewing machine. Please note: I did not use a sewing machine to…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 3, Sloped Section
It’s time for part 3 of our rockin’ Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. Today, we’re talking about the part of the fieldstone wall that is now sloped. It’s a small section, only about 3 feet long, but it caused us more headaches than that time we accidentally purchased decaf coffee and didn’t realize it. This sloped wall was like the tiny pebble in your shoe. How something so small can cause so much grief is beyond me. Good thing I have a blog to tell you all about it! So, let’s get into it with a quick recap to get you up to speed. The plan for the sloped section…
