Coffee Table Mashup
Today I have a coffee table mashup story for you. I’m so cool that when I decided to use the word mashup I had to Google it to determine if this slang was written as one word, two words, or hyphenated. So cool, indeed. Wait. Do the cool kids say ‘cool’ these days? I should probably ask my 13-year-old, but I’ve already reached my daily quota on eye rolls. Anyway, you might be wondering what a coffee table mashup is. It’s when you combine different coffee table parts to make a new coffee table. A top from one coffee table, a base from a different coffee table, and bada-bing bada-boom,…
Happy List: #195
Happy New Year and welcome back to the Happy List. I finished the Happy List a few days ago, and then things spiraled out of control in Washington D.C. I’ve deleted and rewritten this intro more than once. Words matter, and I’m not sure I have words adequate enough to address how I’m feeling. Dismayed, but not surprised, is what comes to mind. This blog is my happy place. I’m pretty fortunate that my job and my happy place are one and the same. It wasn’t that way for many years. I need this outlet to recharge so that I can do my part in other ways to fight for…
Is Everyone Selling Their House?
Is everyone selling their house right now? Does it feel that way in your neighborhood? It sure feels that way in mine. I see new for-sale signs popping up seemingly all the time. Two houses directly across the road from us have sold in the last year. Hmm… Is it us? Do we smell? Hahahahahaha! Don’t answer that. I’m going to use our time today to provide you a little tour of what’s for sale in my proverbial backyard. These are houses that I find particularly interesting for one reason or another. A few actually made me gasp! These houses are not representative of the market as a whole in…
Our 2021 House Project Plans
Our 2021 House Project Plans are a bit laughable. Don’t get me wrong, they are solid plans coupled with good intentions to improve this old house we live in. But let’s all remember who is in charge here. The house. The house is in charge. We will do our best to tackle our 2021 House Project Plans, but we’ve also learned to roll with the punches this house and life, in general, dish out. In no particular order, here are our 2021 House Project Plans. #1: Hope That Nothing Catastrophic Happens Hope doesn’t cost us a thing. We’ll also add praying, begging, and crossing fingers to the list. #2: Replace…
Happy 75th, Dad
I know I said I wouldn’t be posting until the new year started, but I changed my mind! My dad is turning 75 this week, and I won’t be there to celebrate with him in person. The next best thing is to write a blog post letting the world know that I think he’s pretty great. Don’t worry, I’m going to call him too. In no particular order, here are 75 things about my dad that warm my heart. He listens more than he speaks, which is a sound policy for life. He can nap anywhere, even on airplanes. It’s like a superpower. He used to play basketball with me…
Happy List: #194 Early Edition
Welcome to an early edition of the Happy List! Since Christmas is on Friday, I thought I’d do an early edition of the Happy List this week. I’m going to take time off the blog until the first of the New Year to celebrate the holidays with Handy Husband and the kids. It’s going to be a quiet Christmas for us. How about you? Thank you for the heartfelt messages so many of you sent me about Monday’s blog post about Christmas during a pandemic. We aren’t out of the woods yet, but I feel like we are finally getting there. Without further ado, here is the Happy List! HELLO,…
Christmas 2020
We are down to the last few days before Christmas 2020. How are you feeling about Christmas during a pandemic? Less stress? More stress? Excitement? Relief? Anticipation? Indifference? Gratitude? Do you feel the magic of the season this year? The hope for the future? Are you making new traditions with your loved ones? Are you keeping old traditions alive? Do the answers to these questions change by the hour? I’d be surprised if they didn’t! One thing is for certain. Christmas 2020 is one we won’t soon forget. It boggles my mind how blissfully unaware we were this time last year of all the ways our lives would change in…
Happy List: #193
Welcome to this week’s Happy List! I thought my kids would be starting their holiday break today, but NOPE! They have a few more days to attend next week, too. *sigh* I really need to start looking at the school calendar more closely. Ha! This week, I shared pictures of our newly organized under-the-stairs closet in the music room. Much to Handy Husband’s dismay, no closet is safe from my critical eye now. I also shared our festive holiday tradition of having Christmas trees in the kids’ bedrooms. As a side note, Christmas lights are the best night lights! Here’s the Happy List! LEAF ART My jaw is on the…
Festive Tradition: Kids’ Christmas Trees
One of our favorite festive Christmas traditions is the kids’ Christmas trees that they have in their bedrooms this time of year. A Christmas tree in my bedroom is something that I always thought would be fun as a kid. Shoot, I think it would be fun to have a tree in my bedroom now! Maybe next year. I started this tradition when the kids were around five years old and gave them each a tiny tabletop tree. It didn’t take long for their ornament collection to outgrow the size of the tabletop trees, and a couple of years ago, I upgraded them to 4-foot trees. Another festive Christmas tradition…
Under the Stairs Closet Shelves
We now have under-the-stairs closet shelves, and I’m pretty darn happy about it. I’m also happy about “Clean Sheet Day,” a fresh jar of peanut butter, and no-show socks that don’t slip off my heel. I guess I’m an adult now. We have an under-the-stairs closet in our music room. When we moved into the Colonial Farmhouse, I found three fur coats hanging in this closet. So fancy…if moth hole chic is your sort of thing. That area looked like this when we moved in: Sorry. I forgot to warn you that picture was going to be a little harsh on the eyes. As a reminder, that wasn’t our stuff.…
