Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t
Two months ago we switched to a smart lock on our front door. There are three things (at least!) that we love about about this smart lock and one thing we don’t love. Before I dive into the details, I want to mention that we feel so fancy now with a smart lock. We don’t have a Ring doorbell camera. We don’t even have a regular doorbell. If you come to our house, you have to knock on the door like in the good ol’ days. If you do knock, I may or may not “hear you knock,” if you get the excuse I’m throwing out there. Just depends on…
Happy List: #348
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am so excited you are here. It was a dramatic week on the blog. I shared where I installed a time capsule in our basement AND what I included inside of it. Was there treasure? You’ll have to go read the blog post to find out. My lips are sealed. We also celebrated our 5 year house anniversary. House-iversary? However you say it, it’s been a wild ride. I included some never before published photos in that blog post! As always, thank you for being here. Thank you for cheering us on every step of the way. I know your time…
Colonial Farmhouse 5 Year Anniversary
Pop the cork and put on your party hats! We are celebrating five years of living in, loving on, and fixing up this colonial farmhouse of ours. Time flies when your hands are covered in paint, caulk, and lime mortar, to name a few. Our house doesn’t have an official name like some old houses do. If she did have a name, the top contender would be Money Pit. It’s not stately but it does have a certain ring to it. Without an official name, we call it the colonial farmhouse as a descriptor of sorts. It doesn’t have any super distinct architectural markers that would easily identify its style,…
Basement Time Capsule Has Been Installed
We installed a basement time capsule in our almost 250-year-old home and I’m giddy with excitement about it. Why would we do this? Hold onto your Swatch watch and I’ll tell you. It was time. I have been looking for treasure ever since we bought this home. Every time we dug a hole or opened up a wall while renovating, I hoped we’d find something amazing. Gold coins. Prohibition alcohol. Jewelry. I wasn’t picky. What have we found? Nothing of note unless you’re into rats’ nests and lost paperclips. I decided to channel this treasure-hunting energy into something more productive and forward-looking. If I’m not going to find anything of…
Happy List: #347
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. This week on the blog I shared the new and improved gallery wall above our bedroom seating area. I’m enjoying the view of that wall so much now. I also wrote about our house tools and why they are such a distinctive color. I talk about them so much on social media that it felt like they needed a place on the blog too. As always, thank you for being here. I know your time is valuable and I enjoy being able to connect with you. I’ve made the best online friends through this website. If you want to connect, and I hope…
Why You Need House Tools In a Distinct Color
Do you have a set of house tools? It took us twenty years to realize a set of house tools that stay in the house would make life so much easier. Quick learners? Not so much. We typically store our tools in a garage or shed as most people do. However, in our current house, there is no door between the garage and house so you have to go outside if you want to get anything out of the garage. I mentioned to my husband that I needed a house hammer for hanging pictures. I didn’t want to run out to the garage every time I needed to get the…
Bedroom Gallery Wall of Nature Paintings
Do you have something in your home you look at daily? Perhaps this thing has been fine for months or maybe years and not merely fine, but enjoyable to look at too. Then one day, out of the blue, you look at it and it’s all wrong. Has that happened to you? As long as that thing isn’t your spouse, I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction. But what do I know? I didn’t go to school for either psychology or interior design. The thing that was no longer fine in our home was the painting behind the sitting area in our bedroom. It wasn’t specifically the painting. It was…
A Poem For Memorial Day
On this Memorial Day, I want to share a poem by Robert Frost that had me wiping my tears at my desk. Imagining myself as the woman in this poem was – phew – a lot to handle on a Tuesday afternoon. Here’s the poem. Get your tissue ready. Not to Keep by Robert Frost They sent him back to her. The letter came Saying… and she could have him. And before She could be sure there was no hidden ill Under the formal writing, he was in her sight— Living.— They gave him back to her alive— How else? They are not known to send the dead— And not…
Happy List: #346
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m thrilled you are here. I am also thrilled that this weekend is the unofficial (or is it official?) kickoff to summer in the United States. I’m ready. My kids are ready. Handy Husband goes with the flow. This week on the blog I shared all the tiny paintings that I love and how I display them in my home. I also wrote about the new windowsills in our basement – two so far! I don’t know how much repointing work is going to happen down there this summer. It feels like a nice winter job, but it’s also cool down there,…
Stone Windowsills and Wooden Doorsills
Let’s talk about what’s on everyone’s mind these days – window and door sills. Specifically, stone windowsills and wooden doorsills. *crickets* Wait. That’s not on everyone’s mind? Only mine? Huh. What do you guys think about? What’s for dinner? Why “sigma” is teen slang now? A problem at work? How to help your kid with fractions? When you can squeeze in time for a haircut? That embarrassing thing you did in third grade? All the emails you haven’t read? Inflation? War? If the colostrum all the influencers are taking has real benefits or is a gimmick? Fair enough. I guess we’re done here. But…stone windowsills and wooden doorsills are easier…
