How To Fix Broken Concrete By A Garage Door
If you have broken concrete by your garage door or somewhere in your garage, congratulations. You’re part of a club no one wants to be a member of. The good news is the dues for this club are not as high as you might think. In other words, broken concrete by a garage door is easily fixable. Plus, you don’t need a bunch of expensive tools or know-how to do it. That will all help, for sure, but you don’t need them. You will need the following: mason mix* Portland cement* water bucket small brush a small disposable container (soup can size is perfect) scrap wood or yardstick, if a…
Why Reading Cursive Is a Helpful Skill For Owners of Old Houses
Here’s a truth bomb. It’s a shame cursive isn’t always taught in school these days because reading cursive is a helpful skill for owners of old houses to possess. Not only do we have to be able to fix all the quirky things and live in houses where nothing is square or level, but now we have to be able to read cursive too. No one told you you’d need to be a jack of all trades when they gave you that mortgage, did they? Why is reading cursive a helpful skill for owners of old houses? I’m so glad you asked. If you want to research the history of…
Happy List: #366
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m excited to have you here. This week on the blog I shared some festive metal Christmas signs that had my idea gears grinding. I also shared how I styled the thrift store finds I bought this year. The hunt is fun, but making those finds come to life in your home is the real joy! As always, thank you for being here. The Happy List is my way of balancing my media diet. It keeps me from doomscrolling! Connecting with you keeps me from doomscrolling too. If you want to reach out, and I hope you do, you can always comment on…
How I Styled My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 8
Welcome to an infrequent, but delightful series where I show you how I styled my latest thrift store finds. It’s not always what you find, but how you use what you find that justifies bringing junk home. At least, that’s what I tell my husband. Pull up a chair and take a sip of your coffee because this is going to be fun! In no particular order, here are my latest thrift store finds and how I styled them. Wood Tray If you look closely at the below photo, there’s a wood gardening tray sitting on the bench. This isn’t technically a thrift store find. It was a free roadside…
Festive Metal Christmas Signs
I was searching for Christmas mantel inspiration in October while knee-deep in pumpkins and apple-everything, as one does. I can seasonally multitask with the best of them. During this search, I discovered the most festive metal Christmas signs. Oh, the world of possibility! This banner-style sign from Pottery Barn was the first one to catch my eye. Partly because I thought it was wood and partly because I thought maybe I could pair it with a wood dove sign I have trouble styling. (I’ll show you the dove at the end of this post.) The $109 price tag is more than I normally spend on all of my Christmas decor…
Happy List: #365
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. You are here on a special day. It’s not because it’s November 1st and we’re now in a countdown to the holidays. It is a special day because this is the 365th Happy List I’ve written and compiled. An entire year’s worth! However, since I write roughly one per week that means I’ve been writing the Happy List for approximately 7 years. That’s a long time in the blog world! The Happy List is my way of keeping my media consumption from being a dumpster fire of bad news. It’s a protection mechanism for my mental health. It is a way for me…
The Halloween Tradition That Is Haunting Me
Of all the things that could be haunting me, particularly since I live in a very old house, I find it is a Halloween tradition of my own creation that haunts me to this day. I can’t shake it. Is it a walk through a spooky cemetery? No. No, it is not. Is it the annual carving of pumpkins that inevitably ends with mom cleaning out the pumpkin guts that no one wants to touch? No. No, it is not. Is it all of the costume drama that inevitably comes with Halloween? Everything from someone wanting to switch their costume at the last minute after we spent a small fortune…
4 Places I Use Outdoor Rugs Indoors
Fun fact about me, I have never used an outdoor rug on a deck or patio. However, I have and do use outdoor rugs indoors. I do this for one main reason…to bring the outdoors in. Kidding! I use outdoor rugs indoors in certain situations because they seem to be a little less precious than their counterparts and can withstand a tremendous amount of wear and tear. And, when something particularly gag-inducing happens (no, I don’t want to talk about it), the ability of these rugs to be cleaned with a pressure washer or hose is a godsend. Now, I know rugs of all types have their particular ways of…
Happy List: #364
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. This week on the blog I shared how we’ve been working on recreating the exterior trim on our house. Logistics have us putting that project on hold until the spring. We’ve been paying attention to the old houses in our area and it is incredible how many old homes have had their old trim replaced with something simple and modern. I also shared (finally!) the pictures of our completed fieldstone porch on the carriage house. That porch has come a long way in the last five years. It’s no longer an eyesore, that’s for sure. I can’t say…
Fieldstone Porch For Our Carriage House
Fieldstone can be used for many things and we put it to excellent use by upgrading the porch of our carriage house. Why did it “need” a fieldstone upgrade? Well, even though it was completely functional it was looking a little sad. Let’s turn that into a DIY word problem. Sad-looking plus completely functional equals unrealized potential! If you combine that with a train leaving the station my recently learned and very basic masonry skills, you get a match made in DIY heaven. First, a mini primer on fieldstone. Fieldstone occurs naturally in the soil, likely deposited by glaciers. The stones are comprised of granite, limestone, and sandstone and are…
