Outdoor Update from this Ol’ Colonial Farmhouse
I thought if I wrote a posted titled ‘Outdoor Update’ that it would force me to actually make an outdoor update or two around this ol’ Colonial Farmhouse. Basically, you guys are my version of a support group to hold me accountable. No pressure. Here’s where we are at with some of the projects that might break me our outdoor projects. Outdoor Update #1: Front Yard I have a grand plan for our front yard landscaping. I mentioned it in this post. Here’s where I’m at with that: I dug up the sod in our front yard, earned three blisters, and made an unholy mess. Then I cursed myself for…
Happy List: #167
Hello, hello! How was your Memorial Day Weekend? Does it feel like summer now? It does feel like early summer in New Jersey. It’s not so overwhelmingly hot yet that I feel like I’m living in the devil’s armpit, so I’m enjoying it while it lasts! It’s also fun to discover all the flowers that are growing that we missed last year like the yellow irises and the wisteria. This week I shared my musings on an old cemetery located near our house. I also revealed my newest furniture creation – a milk can side table. I do have fun with these projects. Here’s the Happy List! DREAMY I’d like…
Vintage Milk Can Side Table
There is nothing I won’t rescue and repurpose for our home. Well, maybe I should throw a caveat in front of that declarative statement. There is almost nothing I won’t rescue and repurpose for our home. Take this rusted out milk can, which I ultimately turned into a vintage milk can side table. It was sitting in our yard when we bought the Colonial Farmhouse. If the big hole near its base is any indication, I think it is safe to say the milk can had been sitting there for awhile. A good long while. It was just waiting to be noticed while it weathered the elements. “Hey, guys! Guys?…
A Cemetery Dating Back to 1774
There is a church cemetery near our house that dates back to 1774. It is the oldest cemetery in our New Jersey township and it predates New Jersey statehood. New Jersey was the 3rd state admitted into the Union in 1787. Prior to that it was known as the Province of New Jersey. A relatively new, but appropriate addition to the cemetery is an arched sign over the entrance that reads “God’s Acre.” The sign was paid for by the descendants of one of the church’s founding families. That term, “God’s Acre,” is a common label for cemeteries and it comes from the German word Gottesacker, which means field of God. We…
Happy List: #166
Hello, hello! In case you missed it, this was birthday week in our house. My kids were born three years and one day apart. Emphasis on the ONE DAY part. Back-to-back birthdays means a lot of cake. On the blog this week I shared the 13th birthday tradition that I had the extreme privilege of carrying on with my daughter. I won’t divulge the details of our conversation, but I’m pretty sure, in good mom fashion, I embarrassed her with my speech. Ha! Any embarrassment aside, it was a beautiful moment and I will treasure it forever. I also shared the vintage game gallery wall that I worked up for…
Vintage Game Gallery Wall
While I’d like you to think I have a grand design plan, some of my favorite spaces in our home happen by accident. The cat’s out of the bag now! Take the vintage game gallery wall in my son’s room. I didn’t set out to create a vintage game gallery wall (say that five times fast) when we moved into the Colonial Farmhouse. In fact, I thought we’d continue with the automotive theme he’s had for quite awhile. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Then one day in a fit of “we must use this or lose this,” I decided to hang a vintage Carrom board on his wall. Carrom…
13th Birthday Tradition
I’ve waited my whole life for the moment I could carry on a 13th birthday tradition with my daughter. Well, my whole life minus 13 years. When I turned 13 my mom gave me a Black Hills Gold ring. This may not seem significant to you, but to 13-year-old me back at the start of the 1990s, this was HUGE. It was a rite of passage to receive my first piece of real jewelry. A ring that didn’t have an adjustable band! I felt so grown up. That ring was probably the most expensive thing I owned at the time and that’s saying something because it’s not an expensive ring.…
Happy List: #165
Hey Everyone! How are you? I only ask that question when I really want to know, so lay it on me. We are still firmly in quarantine lockdown in New Jersey. The only significant restriction that has been lifted is in regard to being able to walk on trails at state parks. However, exercising with a face mask doesn’t seem super fun, especially as the temperatures increase, so we haven’t done it. We will be able to do curbside pick up from non-essential retail businesses starting on Monday. All I really care about is getting a haircut, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. This week I shared the…
Built In Hallway Shelves
Let’s talk hallway shelves today because they can be a game changer! We have a weird space between our kitchen and main bathroom that is bigger than a hallway, but not quite a room. For the purpose of this post I’m going to call it a hallway because calling it “that weird space” just seems, well, weird. And, honestly, it doesn’t really narrow it down because there are plenty of weird spaces in our home. Here’s how that hallway looked on the day we took possession of the Colonial Farmhouse in June 2019. In case you are wondering, that is not our stuff in the bathroom. The seller left it…
Grey Fireplace Mantel in our Master Bedroom
83% of the time I am a rule follower. 12% of the time I don’t know what the rules are so I just wing it. The remaining 5% of the time I walk on the wild side while chanting “rules schmules” in my head. Such a rebel. I save most of my walks on the wild side, where I consider rules more of a general guideline rather than a hard and fast rule, for my creative pursuits like cooking, piano playing, crafting, and DIY projects. Take my latest project: painting our master bedroom. Other than hanging art, this is one room we hadn’t touched since we purchased the Colonial Farmhouse.…
