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A Pretty Happy Home

Life, DIY and Random Things That Make Me Smile

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
    • Apparel and Shoes
    • Books
    • Crafts and Sewing
    • Decor
    • Furniture
    • Home Improvement
    • Kid Favorites
    • Kitchen
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
    • Holidays
  • Adventure
    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
    • Learning
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
    • Apparel and Shoes
    • Books
    • Crafts and Sewing
    • Decor
    • Furniture
    • Home Improvement
    • Kid Favorites
    • Kitchen
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
    • Holidays
  • Adventure
    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
    • Learning
  • Privacy Policy

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gift and learning

Online Game Budget Form For Kids

We recently set up an online game budget form for our kids and it has helped reduce the amount of family drama around here so much. One of my kids always…

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December 7, 2020
decorating, gardening and landscape

Outdoor Decorating with Farm Junk

My stepmom has put in countless dirty, filthy hours cleaning out old barns and sheds on the family farm. God bless her. There have been piles for Goodwill, piles for…

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August 3, 2015
holidays

Christmas Mantel With Three Wreaths

Our Christmas mantel above our dining room fireplace is decorated with three wreaths this year. Three wreaths. Three wise men. Coincidence? Probably. Last year, I went a little wild and…

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December 12, 2022
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    happy list

    Happy List: #393

    June 13, 2025 /

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It’s Friday the 13th and I’m delighted to have you here. This week on the blog I shared how we are taking down a stone wall in our Carriage House. It’s the first time we’ve done this type of demo. Hopefully, it’s the last too! I also shared the quick makeover I gave to a thrift store table to make it fit with everything else on our front porch. It’s so nice to have another spot to set a drink or a phone when we hang out on the front porch. I hope this Happy List leaves you feeling inspired, encouraged, and maybe…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Plywood Side Table Makeover

    June 11, 2025 /

    Some life lessons need reminders. Today’s plywood side table makeover is one of those reminders. (Yes, I can find a life lesson in almost anything.) I found what was clearly a DIY plywood side table at my favorite thrift store. It was $10. Do you think I overpaid? I never regret buying wood tables for $10 (maybe more depending on the table) because I know the lumber it took to make it, not to mention the time, costs more than ten bucks these days. Plus, side tables are one thing we are short on around here. I knew I was going to knock off the orange-y finish of the table,…

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    annisa 3 Comments

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    DIY

    Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 6, How To Remove A Stone Wall

    June 9, 2025 /

    How do you remove a stone wall? The same way you build one. One stone at a time. That was not intended to be a glib response. That’s the short answer. If you want to know the specifics of taking down a stone wall, including how fun the process is, you came to the right place. The fun part is easy to answer. It’s not. I’m sure there are worse tasks though. It’s best not to think about it or wonder how long it will take. Find that happy place in your mind and get to work. As to the specifics of how we took down a stone wall, I…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Happy List: #392

    June 6, 2025 /

    Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is so fun to have you here. This week on the blog I shared the progression of how we installed a window in a stone building. It’s not something you would give much thought to until you have to install one and don’t know how to attach the window to stone. I also shared pictures of our rhododendrons and irises in bloom. The important part of that story was how my neighbor made me feel with his compliment. It was an important reminder of the good in the world. I hope this Happy List leaves you feeling inspired, encouraged, and maybe…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    October 28, 2022
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    A Neighbor’s Compliment That Stuck With Me

    June 4, 2025 /

    We were doing yard work near the road recently and a neighbor walked by and said, “Hey, Man! Your flowers are so pretty.” “Thank you!” we both responded in unison as if we had everything to do with those flowers blooming. I’m fairly certain he was referencing the rhododendrons since they were in full bloom then. Truthfully, I had nothing to do with the rhododendrons blooming. I didn’t even plant them. We have three of them and I think they are older than me. Not that my kids would believe that since I was born in the *GASP* 1900s. Anyone born in the 1900s must be ancient according to them.…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 5, Adding A Window to a Stone Wall

    June 2, 2025 /

    Welcome back to the series on our Stone Carriage House Gym expansion. Today, I’m going to show you how we added a window to a stone wall. My speciality is very niche topics that less than 1% of you will ever need to know. Below is the stone wall in question. As you can see, aside from the window headers, the entire window opening is fieldstone and brick. The bricks will be removed partly for aesthetic reasons and partly because we need to remove that window grate. We don’t know why there is an iron grate instead of a glass-paned window in this wall, but it made the building drafty.…

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    Memorial Day 2025 + What I Learned About Robert Todd Lincoln

    May 26, 2025 /

    Like some Americans, we have the day off to commemorate Memorial Day. If the weather cooperates, we usually ride our bikes to a nearby town to watch a Memorial Day parade. I kind of miss the days when my kids were little and got so excited to see a firetruck in a parade. Now, it’s just me getting excited. Ha! The other thing I get excited about is history. It’s so much more interesting to me now that I’m older a more seasoned human being. It’s also humbling how much I do not know. For instance, I have not given much thought to Abraham Lincoln’s children until this week. The…

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    Happy List: #391

    May 23, 2025 /

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am delighted to see you here. This week on the blog I shared the changes we recently made to our front porch. That space has slowly evolved in the last six years and I could not be more happy about it. I just need the weather to start cooperating. I’m wearing a sweater and it’s the end of May! I also shared how we ruined a section of our lime mortar. It was accidental and we were trying to avoid a broken hip, but it cost us! Most everything is fixable though. I hope this Happy List leaves you feeling inspired, encouraged,…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    One Thing That Will Wreck Lime Mortar

    May 21, 2025 /

    One thing that will wreck lime mortar on a fieldstone wall are ice melt products, specifically salt. Learn from our mistake this winter. We have a concrete porch wrapped on two sides in fieldstone. The fieldstone is adhered with lime mortar. Not a classic application of fieldstone and lime mortar, I know. Everything was fine until that concrete porch got icy during a winter storm. It was so treacherous. We didn’t even think about it and scattered some deicing salt on the concrete. I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me that stuff is not great for the environment. I’ve vowed to do better, especially after this debacle. …

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    Front Porch – More Seating and a Light Update

    May 19, 2025 /

    It is front porch season in New Jersey. Finally! New Jersey likes to trick you a little on this topic. You’ll think it is front porch season and then one morning you’ll wake up to find everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, covered in a coating of yellow dust. Pesky pollen. I made the mistake of sleeping with the window open during this time and woke up to my nightstand, and I’m sure, all my bedding, covered in pollen. Is this why they call it spring cleaning? Because I had to do a BUNCH of it that day. Regrets. I have a few. Anyway, I cleared the front porch of…

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Hi! I'm Annisa.

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