Wood Flag Painted on an Old Door
Our Colonial Farmhouse dates back to the 1780s. The small barn on our property isn’t quite that old, but we know it is over 100 years old. On the side of our barn hung a wood flag. Well, what was left of it. The American flag was only recognizable on that strip of wood because that symbol is imprinted on our subconscious. I didn’t hang the wood flag there. I don’t know how long it had been hanging there. Suffice to say, that poor wood flag had seen a storm or two. We actually didn’t realize the American flag was on a wood door until we took the flag down.…
Black and Blue Outdoor Furniture
Our deck is sporting black and blue outdoor furniture. Did that sentence make it sound like our outdoor furniture rumbled after school? While most of our outdoor furniture is second-hand and was in rough shape when I found it, it is looking decidedly better after a little spray paint session. I’ve also done some outdoor furniture switching around in an effort to only keep the things we use. There will be a quiz at the end, so pay attention. To that end, the table in this below picture from October 2020 was set out by the side of the road and now has a new home. It came with the…
Happy List: #213
Welcome to today’s Happy List! Our household is currently in a sugar coma after celebrating two back-to-back birthdays this week. It’s not the worst state to be in, especially since it means another year around the sun with my kids! This week on the blog I shared an up-cycled project – a lamp shade I turned into a planter. It seemed like the right thing to do! I hope these type of projects inspire you to look at everyday items in a new light. If you want more house ideas, please follow us on Instagram or Facebook. Plenty of things happen on social media stories that never make it on…
About That Baby Book
I’m taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming to wish a very happy birthday to my kids! Yep. Both of them. This week. If you are new here, my kids were born 3 years and 1 day apart. I started blogging when they were about this age… Now they are wrapping up their last year in elementary and middle school. Don’t worry. I’m handling it well. Well-ish. Actually, let’s not talk about it. Have I ever told you they started reading my blog this year? The pandemic boredom must have really gotten to them. Ha! They change their minds regularly on what they feel comfortable being shared about them…
Repurposed Light Shade Planter
I adore a good repurposed decor project and my Repurposed Light Shade Planter is just that! What was destined for the dumpster is now being repurposed in my home. This industrial light was on the end of our Carriage House. We took it down because it wasn’t working. Also, hornets had made a lovely home inside of it. I can see the appeal. Handy Husband was going to get rid of the light. *GASP* Did he not see the potential? No. He did not. It’s a good thing I’m here to save all the junky treasures! I’m sure Handy Husband feels the exact same way. Yours truly gave the light…
Happy List: #212
Hello and Happy Friday! Welcome to this week’s edition of the Happy List. It might be the most exciting day, so far, of the year for my kid’s. Our pool is being opened for the season! We don’t have a pool heater, so it will be way too cold for me to swim for quite awhile unless we get a heatwave. Last year my first swim in the pool was at night after a storm had come through the area. One of the outdoor umbrellas had blown out of its stand and into the pool. If the umbrella had stayed closed it wouldn’t have been a problem to extract it…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 13
It has been a good long while since I published a Books My Kids Are Reading post. My kids are 11 and 14, so they don’t want to sit on my lap reading stories like they did when they were younger. Also, they are a little too big to sit on my lap now. *sniff, sniff* I’m not crying. I just have a speck of dust in my eye. Because of our current life stage and the fact that I had a speck of dust in my eye, I almost clicked delete on an email from a book publicist before I fully read it. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,…
How to Fill Gaps in Wood Floors with Oakum
For the small percentage of you living in really old houses (bless you!), let me share one of the more historically accurate ways to fill gaps in wood floors with oakum. This is the information I needed when we bought our Colonial Farmhouse and didn’t know what to do about the gaps between the original wood floorboards. I had to comb through the internet to find bits and pieces of information, so I’m combining what I learned all in one place with links out to the information that helped me. If the gaps in your wood floors don’t bother you, leave them. But if your kids can push things through…
Happy List: #211
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List! I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared what we found when we finally cleaned out our barn loft. The spoiler is I did not find that treasure I’m constantly on the hunt for. I also wrote an early Mother’s Day post about appreciation. Personally, I’m not overly enamored with Mother’s Day, but that’s more about me missing my mom than anything. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. If you like the blog posts I share here each week (or at least you like the sporadic blog post – I won’t get greedy),…
Moms, When Was the Last Time You Felt Appreciated?
Moms, when was the last time you felt appreciated? Really appreciated? The other morning I was sitting in bed drinking coffee and reading a book. It’s my favorite any day weekend activity. I could hear the morning buzz around me of the kids playing Minecraft and Handy Husband grinding more beans for coffee. Next thing I know Handy Husband comes into the bedroom, gives me a big hug, and says, “You pre-sliced the bagels before you put them in the freezer! I thought I was going to have to try and cut through a frozen bagel.” I did do that. Honestly, I did it for the kids because I’ve heard…
