Colonial Farmhouse One Year Anniversary
Today is a big day! We are celebrating our one year anniversary of living in the Colonial Farmhouse! WOOHOO! Can you believe it has been a year since we purchased this amazing, historic money pit home? I can’t! It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how quickly the year has gone. Apparently, time flies when you’re removing endless amounts of wallpaper living in a colonial era home that demands an inordinate amount of time and attention. I still think we were a wee bit crazy for purchasing this Colonial Farmhouse, but some of life’s most fulfilling endeavors are often a wee bit crazy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The most…
Happy List: #169
Hey, hey! Welcome back to another edition of the Happy List! Our summer has officially begun now that the kids are out of school! Usually we have a plan for what we’ll be doing with our summer: play dates, BBQs, community events, travel, visitors coming to stay with us. This summer we have none of that planned and I’m thinking, “Now what?” Ha! Even venturing out of our state becomes tricky with the various quarantine rules for out-of-state travelers. No matter what we decide to do or not do, this will definitely be a summer we’ll remember! Speaking of memorable moments, on Monday I shared a long post about all…
Plan to Makeover Our Decks
We have short and long-term plans for our Colonial Farmhouse. That timeframe is especially relevant when it comes the plan to makeover our decks. Yes, there are two of them. In the short-term, which is this summer, I want to make them safe (that’s kind of important) and improve their visual appeal (also important). In the long-term, I want to burn them to the ground. Woah. That was harsh. I don’t literally want to burn them to the ground. I want to replace them. We are hoping that, in the short-term, by fixing some dry rot and protecting the wood on the decks we can eek 3 – 5 more…
What We’ve Learned About Our Marriage While Quarantined
Handy Husband and I had an insightful chat about what we’ve learned about our marriage while quarantined during the Covid-19 pandemic the other night. I was cutting his hair, so I had a captive audience to discuss all the observations and mushy feelings that had been floating around inside of me the last 49 days, 12 hours, and 47 minutes. Before you think this hair cutting thing was an act of desperation while quarantined, I can assure you it was not. We cannot blame quarantine on how he looks because I’ve been cutting this man’s hair for over twenty years. I’m pretty sure even before we got married he asked…
Happy List: #168
Hello, friends! I’d like to thank you for being here today. This blog is my happy place. I keep coming back here becomes it makes me happy to write and engage with you and sometimes to take a break from the hard stuff that’s happening in life. To that end, this week I shared updates on our front yard landscaping. I’m happy to share that I have made progress since Monday on that project! I also shared a bunch of collapsible bags and baskets that I’ve been using for years and years. There’s a certain irony in the fact that we need storage space to store these storage related items.…
Collapsible Bags and Baskets I’ve Used for Years
Just because bags and baskets serve a useful function does not mean we always have space to store all of those bags and baskets. Especially the ones that help us manage the more tedious aspects of our life. That’s why I’ve become a fan of collapsible bags and baskets for chores such as laundry and grocery shopping. They are available in all their full-size glory when I need them, but I can easily fold them up and tuck them out-of-sight when I don’t need them. Here are the collapsible bags and baskets I’ve used for years. Years, folks. If I’ve used something for years and it still works great, you…
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…
