• create a Nature Art Gallery Wall using an eclectic grouping of landscape art, flower prints, and leaf stamping.
    decorating

    Nature Art Gallery Wall

    Nature art in all its forms – landscape paintings, dried flowers, prints of bouquets – is my jam. It’s soothing to me. Plus, it’s a bug-free way of bringing nature inside my home. Love nature. Not too fond of the bugs. I’ve been collecting nature art for a while now. My love for nature art and landscape paintings started when my aunt painted a scene of my child running along a trail. There’s nothing like a tug on the heartstrings to get you started down the path of an art collection. Now, when I spot nature art at the thrift store, it often comes home with me. Believe it or…

  • halloween cauldron centerpiece
    happy list

    Happy List: #318

    Hello! Welcome to the Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog was an eclectic one. I like to keep you on your toes! I shared the home maintenance task we’ve been focused on and how that’s led to some ‘interesting’ conversations. I also wrote about hot sauce and all the things the recipes don’t tell you about making hot sauce. Thank you for reading this blog. It makes our day – both mine and Handy Husband’s. If you want to share the blog or an idea we post on social media, we would be very grateful. We also love talking to you. If you want…

  • safety tips for making homemade hot sauce at home picture of bottle of hot sauce
    Food

    Safety Tips For Making Homemade Hot Sauce

    You know what they say. When life gives you habaneros you make hot sauce. What? No one says that? Taco ’bout a missed opportunity. This year we planted a few vegetables in containers on our deck. I’d like to tell you they were lovingly and studiously attend to all summer but that would be incorrect. There was definitely some neglect. Nevertheless, our habanero plant thrived in these adverse conditions and we suddenly had an abundance of habaneros on our hands. What does one do with 50 habaneros? While there is probably not a limit on the amount of fresh salsa a person could eat, there is definitely a limit on…

  • colonial farmhouse exterior september 2023
    colonial farmhouse

    Caulk, Cracks, and Home Maintenance. Oh My!

    Caulking cracks. Chipping Paint. Rotting Wood. When it comes to this old house we live in, it’s us against nature. Who will win? Nature is unrelenting and seems to be in the lead at the moment. But don’t count out me and Handy Husband. We’re tenacious and industrious problem solvers. When you buy a fixer-upper like we did you have to expect to be in it for the long haul, especially if you aren’t doing a major renovation all at once. For the past couple of months, we’ve been focusing on siding maintenance. Like many old homes in the Northeast, we have wood siding. Wood siding can last decades but…

  • fall front porch view from a colonial farmhouse on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #317

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. This week on the blog I shared pictures of our fall front porch. I can’t explain why but I love decorating for this season more than any other. I also wrote about the new curtains in our kitchen, which is another space that is giving off fall vibes. Fall must be my season! Thank you for reading this blog. It makes our day – both mine and Handy Husband’s. If you want to share the blog or an idea we post on social media, we would be very grateful. We also love talking to you. If you want to…

  • tan buffalo check kitchen curtains with beige wainscoting
    decorating

    Buffalo Check Curtains For Our Kitchen

    It takes me a long time to decide on window treatments but I finally hung buffalo check curtains in our kitchen. What’s a long time? 4 years, 2 months, and 19 days. But who’s counting? And it was totally worth the wait. I know these photos do not look like a kitchen but trust me when I say there is a sink full of dishes right behind where the camera is positioned. That’s the perk or quirk of having a galley style kitchen. A kitchen table could probably be squeezed into this space you’re seeing. For reference, the rug is 5×8. However, there are also stairs to the right and…

  • our fall front porch with pumpkin topiary
    decorating

    Our Fall Front Porch

    Our fall front porch feels so welcoming right now. It’s one of those ‘walk up to the front door and grin because of how it makes you feel’ situations. That could have something to do with the smiling trio. Aren’t they the happiest? The smiling trio was created using the simplest idea – transform black duct tape into Halloween decals. Specifically, jack o’lantern faces for these planters but I also made bat decals. You can get the instructions here. “Trio” might be the theme of this year’s fall porch because, on the other side of the front door, I have a pumpkin topiary created with a trio of pumpkins. In…

  • sunflowers in field on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #316

    Hey, hey, hey! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. First, fun news! My Halloween Duct Tape Decals were featured over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Funky Junk Interiors, and Creatively Beth. It never gets old to have your work showcased on someone else’s website. This week on the blog I shared a flower arrangement I made using a vintage toolbox as the vase. I tend to make more flower arrangements in the fall than any other time. I’m not sure why but I’m not complaining about it. I also revealed the new rocking chairs on our front porch. Those have been a long time coming…

  • Annisa Olsson Jones sitting on the front porch of a colonial farmhouse in new jersey double rockers for our porch
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Why We Chose Double Rockers For Our Porch

    There is a new addition to our front porch. Double rockers! Double your fun. (I grew up watching Doublemint gum commercials. I was compelled to say that.)  Why did we choose double rockers over regular rocking chairs or a porch swing? Great question. I’d love to tell you. I have always wanted a big covered porch and this is the first house we’ve lived in that has a front porch big enough for porch sitting. Every romanticized image you can imagine of front porch sitting and front porch living has taken up residence in my brain for years and I have zero regrets about that. I knew I wanted 4…

  • fall flower ideas vintage toolbox flower arrangement for fall
    decorating

    Vintage Toolbox Flower Arrangement For Fall

    The only thing better than a vintage toolbox is a vintage toolbox with flowers in it! If you want a big bang for your flower arranging buck this fall then create a vintage toolbox flower arrangement. Let’s face it, we all want our buck to go a little farther these days. The rustic vibe of a vintage toolbox lends itself really well to this fall season where we are all about getting cozy. I’m sure fall can be fancy but, in my head, I associate fall with things that are a little more rustic and earthy like apple orchards, haybale rides, warming hands around a firepit, crunchy leaves on the…