Happy List: #151
It’s almost February! We’re so close to making it through what feels like the LONGEST month of the year. Go us! If you need a pick-me-up this weekend, go to the grocery store and treat yourself to a bouquet of flowers. It doesn’t need to be the expensive bunch – just something bright and colorful. You need it for slogging through January! I bought myself some flowers this week and it was my favorite purchase in awhile. It sure did brighten up my house and my mood! This week on the ol’ blog I shared the reveal of our built-in computer desk space. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but eventually,…
My Home Could Be In a Movie
It’s true! My home could be in a movie. Yours could too! What? Why? How? Is this a dream? A few weeks ago I submitted our Colonial Farmhouse to be listed as a potential filming site with the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. Most every state is going to have a government entity that promotes tv and movie filming. The process to submit your home for consideration is probably different based on the state, but it shouldn’t be too hard. I’m also assuming there are multiple ways to get on the radar of location scouts and connecting with your state’s film commission is just one of them. For…
Built-In Computer Desk Reveal
I love typing the word “reveal” into a blog post title. It makes it sound like I’ve really got things dialed in on the home front, doesn’t it? So, let’s run with that utter nonsense sentiment and talk about our built-in computer desk. THE DESIGN DILEMMA We live in a colonial era farmhouse that has plenty of weird spaces character. Case in point? There is a narrow, awkward space on our second floor that is a real head scratcher. It’s bigger than a hallway, but not big enough for a bedroom. It is more like a landing. I’ve come to realize ‘landing’ is just a nice word for “you have to…
Happy List: #150
Well, hello there! I hope your week went well. Mine wasn’t too shabby! One of the most random things I did was take my son to try out speed skating. That’s a thing. Imagine really large rollerblades that you wear to race around a regular skating rink. Do you know the 2-second rule when driving? Basically, maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you? THAT DOESN’T EXIST in speed skating. One wrong move and everyone goes down. He had a great, but I think he just likes skating for fun and isn’t too serious about being competitive with it. This week on the blog I shared tips…
9 Parent Tips for Transitioning Kids to Contacts
Disclaimer: I am not qualified to give you medical or health-related advice. I’m just a parent sharing our experience. My husband and I both have terrible vision, which means our kids had little chance of navigating life without glasses or contacts. Sorry, kids. My son switched from glasses to contacts at 8 years old. My daughter started wearing contacts at age 11. That’s young! Our eye doctor said it was less about the age and more about if the child was ready for the responsibility. My kids both got glasses in kindergarten, but convincing them to wear them was always a battle. I think at 6 years old, their vision…
The Case of the Closet Mystery
Old houses are full of mysteries and today’s post is about the Case of the Closet Mystery. Mysteries are not to be confused with surprises. Surprises are unpleasant discoveries that, without fail, pop up every time there is a project or home repair. Surprises inevitably result in any combination of the following: more time spent on a project, more money spent on a project, more Tylenol taken to get through a project, more trips to Home Depot, more grey hair. Mysteries are just things around the house that make you wonder why something looks or operates a certain way. One of the things I’ve wondered about frequently is the closet…
Happy List: #149
Woohoo! We made it to Friday, folks. Barely. I had THE BEST weekend with my friend. Only three things broke in the house while she was here. So that was a win. What were the items? Our boiler (the was an expensive repair), our granite counter (I’m trying to baby along a crack until we remodel), and the toilet (I fixed that all by myself after a trip to Home Depot). Moral of this story, come visit us. It is great. Hospitality as its finest. Stuff breaks, but we promise to fix it. If we can’t, we’ll serve you drinks. Shoot, even if we can fix it we’ll serve you…
Travel: Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park is the site of a pivotal 1863 battle during the American Civil War. It is also where President Abraham Lincoln famously gave his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. We often travel to learn and our trip to Gettysburg National Military Park over the Christmas break was the perfect example of that. Here’s what we learned that might help you plan a trip there because (spoiler alert!) everyone should check it out at least once. WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT If you’re like me, history class was a long time ago. However, there are some topics that we all have a broad understanding of…
Removing Window Decals
Many home makeovers and renovations involve adding things to a home to give it character or function. I’ve spent the last six months removing things from our Colonial Farmhouse. Stencils, wallpaper and window decals have been the worst offenders. Removing these items has let the home’s existing character shine through. Let’s talk about the fun job of removing window decals. The windows on our living room fireplace wall were adorned with colorful, flowery window decals. Truthfully, I didn’t loathe these window decals. There were so many other things in this home that were much more offensive to the eyes. I also knew there would be a tradeoff when I removed…
Happy List: #148
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were pleasant. Our Christmas was quiet because we live so far away from family. We celebrated the New Year with friends though and that was perfectly boisterous! I even stayed up until midnight! Go me! We also spent our holiday break working on projects around the house. There’s always something going on around here…probably far more than makes it on the blog. I haven’t done one of my Happy List posts in what feels like forever. While I consider the blog more fun than work, I do have to spend hours writing each week to make it happen. Getting back on a writing…
