Our Deck Is Ready For Summer
It’s almost Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off to summer in the U.S., and our deck is ready for summer fun! And by fun, I mean eating. I have my priorities. Most of our dinners in the summer are eaten on the deck. Then there are the Double Ds. Drinks and dessert. Those are best enjoyed on the deck in the summer too. We’ll often turn on the party lights and sit on the deck with a drink in hand as the sun goes down and the temperature becomes tolerable pleasant. New Jersey summers are not to be trifled with. They can be hot, humid, and let’s not forget about the…
Solar Landscaping Lights: A Literal Glow Up For Our House
I have a bright idea. Let’s talk lighting today because our Colonial Farmhouse has received a literal glow up with the addition of some solar landscaping lights. One of the perks of living in a rural area without much light pollution is that we can see the stars on a clear night. One of the downsides of living in a rural area without much light pollution is that it’s dark at night. I mean really dark. Dumb ways to die dark. In a ‘better light than never’ decision, I added solar landscaping lights to our, well, landscaping last summer. Every night for almost a year now, I’ve looked out the…
Happy List: #301
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared the visor I jazzed up with fabric paint. I gave the visor a retro stripe and I love wearing it. I also shared 17 uses for ceramic crocks and how to tell if your crocks are antiques and not reproductions. On last week’s Happy List, I shared a graphic of glimmers. Glimmers are small moments that spark joy or peace. One of my readers commented that the Happy List is a glimmer for them. *Cue all the mushy feelings.* Thank you for all of your comments, support, likes, shares, etc. here…
17 Ways To Use Ceramic Crocks
It’s not like I’ve polled everyone I’ve ever met, but so far, I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t think ceramic crocks are cool for one reason or another. They might not be their style and they might not own any but most people seem to acknowledge ceramic crocks have their place. Today, ceramic crocks are mainly used for home decoration but 200 years ago ceramic crocks were vital to survival. Yes, survival. We take refrigeration for granted today. Sometimes my kids just loiter in front of the open refrigerator doors letting all the cool air out while pondering their snack options. *sigh* Without a doubt, the invention of home refrigeration…
How To DIY A Retro Stripe Painted Visor Or Hat
Have you ever used fabric paint to jazz up your clothing? I used fabric paint to DIY a retro stripe painted visor and I love how it turned out. If I can do this craft, you can definitely paint a visor or hat. How do I know? Well, there aren’t many rules. So, most anything goes. This is one of those low pressure, therapeutic crafts that’s also practical because you can wear your creation. Let’s get started. Supplies needed to make a retro stripe painted visor or hat: visor or hat of your choice (mine) fabric paint (this set comes with paintbrushes) paintbrush paint palette or paper plate to mix…
Happy List: #300
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I hope you’ve had a great week and are ready for my weekly dose of ideas and inspiration. This week on the blog I shared our recently wallpapered kitchen alcove. I hope ‘alcove’ sounds fancier than ‘weird hallway’ because I spend a lot of time workshopping that name. Ha! I also shared a post from the archives about Mother’s Day and my own experience being a mom after my mom died having never met my children. I didn’t share it to be a downer. I think it ends on a hopeful note. I shared my story so that anyone else experiencing what I…
From the Archive: Motherhood Without A Mother
Mother’s Day is coming up. It isn’t my favorite holiday. Many people, for a variety of reasons, have complicated feelings about Mother’s Day. Mine stems mainly from the unfortunate fact that my mom died before I became a mom. Navigating motherhood without her, especially at first, was rough. I first wrote about my experience of mothering without a mother in 2015. As I reread this post recently, I thought it would be a good time to share it again in the hopes that it might help someone else feel less alone if they share a similar experience. Here it is… When I was pregnant with my first child, I sat…
Wallpapered Kitchen Alcove With Multiple Uses
I am thrilled to reveal our newly wallpapered kitchen alcove on the blog today! I didn’t know what to call this room, so I’m using the term kitchen alcove because it sounded like something a home that is almost 250 years old would have. However, this not-quite-a-hallway, not-quite-a-room is the ultimate flex space that we use for a variety of purposes. Its functions as a microwave station, a food pantry, a butler’s pantry, shoe storage, a junk drawer, a pool towel holder, a sunscreen station, the place where the lightbulbs go, a hallway to the bathroom, and more. PHEW! That’s a lot of hats for 30 square feet of space…
Happy List: #299
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared an old house essential with you – my slow cooker for removing paint from door hardware. It’s really amazing what you can accomplish with water, heat, and a little bit of patience. I also wrote about my hunt for a ceiling medallion for our living room and I learned something about the history of ceiling medallions while doing it. Win, win. As always, I love hearing from you. It makes this whole thing more of a dialogue than a monologue. You can always comment on this blog post or send an…
In Praise Of: Ceiling Medallions
It doesn’t matter how decrepit a home is, whenever I see ceiling medallions in a home I think, “Ooh, fancy!” Is that your impulse too? That impulse is spot on. Ceiling medallions peaked in popularity in the mid to late 1800s. (source) This was the Victorian era and folks living then liked to make a bold statement in their homes with everything from elaborate trim to fussy furnishings. There was nothing subtle about the Victorians. If you had a ceiling medallion in the 1800s this meant you likely had a hanging light fixture of some sort and these items were signs of wealth. There’s nothing like your neighbor’s wealth hanging…
