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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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  • winter home inspiration from new jersey
    colonial farmhouse

    Our 2021 House Project Plans

    January 4, 2021 /

    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, dishes 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 Sunporch Floor We like to play a fun game in our…

    read more
    annisa 1 Comment

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    Front Yard Landscaping Progress

    June 24, 2020
    The 1971 MLS Listing For Our Colonial Farmhouse

    The 1971 MLS Listing For Our Colonial Farmhouse

    September 4, 2019
    Built-In Computer Desk in our colonial farmhouse

    Built-In Computer Desk Reveal

    January 27, 2020
  • under the stairs closet shelves
    DIY,  colonial farmhouse

    Under the Stairs Closet Shelves

    December 14, 2020 /

    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. It was all…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Taking Apart a Piano is Hard

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    September 19, 2018
  • colonial farmhouse dining room fireplace Searching for Hidden Treasure in Our Home
    colonial farmhouse

    Searching for Hidden Treasure in Our Home

    August 26, 2020 /

    I am convinced there must be hidden treasure in our home or somewhere on our property. Don’t laugh! It might not be probable, but it is possible. Our home is close to a quarter of a millennium old. You can’t tell me there haven’t been coins, letters, gold bars, jewelry, or cash hidden under a floorboard at some point in time. After all, I grew up reading Nancy Drew and watching Scooby-Doo. If that doesn’t make me an authority on mysteries and secret hiding places, I don’t know what does. There are several creaky floorboards in our house that are my top contenders for concealing hidden treasure. It’s not just…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Five Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    5 Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    July 31, 2019

    All About Rim Locks (Vintage Door Hardware)

    September 14, 2020
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    The Surprising Way We Cleared 75 Feet of Bushes

    September 9, 2019
  • The Colonial Farmhouse's Curb Appeal
    gardening and landscape

    The Colonial Farmhouse’s Curb Appeal

    August 24, 2020 /

    When we bought our Colonial Farmhouse I knew there was one thing that would instantly improve its curb appeal: actually being able to SEE the house. Funny how curb appeal works. If you can’t see past the curb there is no appeal. If you’ve been reading this blog for the past year (thank you), then you’ll know we’ve been working on that one facet of our Colonial Farmhouse’s curb appeal since the day we bought the place. Are we that slow or was the job just that large? Yes and yes. Yes, we are slow because we tackle things around here in spurts and starts. Yes, the job was just…

    read more
    annisa 4 Comments

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    The Year of the Garden and What We Learned

    September 9, 2020
    Plan to Makeover Our Decks

    Plan to Makeover Our Decks

    June 10, 2020
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    Winter Yard Clean Up

    March 16, 2020
  • colonial farmhouse front yard landscaping
    colonial farmhouse,  decorating

    The Reason Why I Like Old Houses

    August 10, 2020 /

    I had an epiphany while painting the wall of our main stairs about the reason why I like old houses. I’m qualified to speak on this issue because it’s is my blog and these are my feelings, duh I have lived in new construction, 100+ year old homes, homes built between the 1960s and 1990s, an apartment, a condo, and even a duplex in Europe. I know how lovely it is to live in new construction with that fresh-everything smell and a fabulous home warranty where the builder comes out to fix every single nail pop. I know how satisfying it is to take a home that is a money…

    read more
    annisa 0 Comments

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    Kitchen Mini Makeover Reveal

    February 17, 2020
    colonial farmhouse kitchen mini makeover progress

    Kitchen Mini Makeover Progress

    February 10, 2020
    Five Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    5 Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    July 31, 2019
  • colonial farmhouse front yard landscaping progress
    gardening and landscape,  colonial farmhouse

    Front Yard Landscaping Progress

    June 24, 2020 /

    Get ready to bust out your high fives because I have front yard landscaping progress to report. In fact, I’d say we are 80% done with the front yard landscaping. Give or take a few percentage points. In fact, let’s not get bogged down in numbers. Let’s celebrate the fact that front yard landscaping progress has been made. Hallelujah. (If you need a refresher on the landscaping plan, you can read about it here or I’ll just catch you up in this post.) I don’t have a true before picture, but here is more or less how our front yard started out: Now this same view looks like this: Much…

    read more
    annisa 0 Comments

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    August 3, 2015
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    Clearing a Sight Line to the Pool

    August 5, 2019
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    June 10, 2019
  • Colonial Farmhouse One Year Anniversary
    colonial farmhouse

    Colonial Farmhouse One Year Anniversary

    June 15, 2020 /

    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…

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    annisa 5 Comments

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    Wood Chandelier in the Music Room

    August 3, 2020
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    October 14, 2020
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    Black Metal Roof for our Carriage House

    October 21, 2020
  • Plan to Makeover Our Decks
    gardening and landscape,  colonial farmhouse

    Plan to Makeover Our Decks

    June 10, 2020 /

    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…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    $20 Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    August 19, 2019
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    Finally, The Deck is Done

    October 7, 2020
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    The Surprising Way We Cleared 75 Feet of Bushes

    September 9, 2019
  • Built In Hallway Shelves
    DIY,  colonial farmhouse,  decorating

    Built In Hallway Shelves

    May 13, 2020 /

    Let’s talk hallway shelves today because they can be a game changer! We have a weird space between our kitchen and main bathroom that is bigger than a hallway, but not quite a room. For the purpose of this post I’m going to call it a hallway because calling it “that weird space” just seems, well, weird. And, honestly, it doesn’t really narrow it down because there are plenty of weird spaces in our home. Here’s how that hallway looked on the day we took possession of the Colonial Farmhouse in June 2019. In case you are wondering, that is not our stuff in the bathroom. The seller left it…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    May 4, 2016

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    December 13, 2017
  • shellac on pumpkin pine wood floors gaps in original pumpkin pine floors from 1780s
    DIY,  colonial farmhouse

    All About Our 240-Year-Old Pumpkin Pine Wood Floors

    March 30, 2020 /

    I have been unabashed in my utter love for and devotion to the original pumpkin pine wood floors in our Colonial Farmhouse. It was love at first sight. In fact, I might have discounted the problems our Colonial Farmhouse had because those floors were the rose-tinted glasses through which I viewed this money pit. Can you blame me? Look at these floors! Hubba hubba. The oldest part of our Colonial Farmhouse dates back to the 1780s. Additional rooms were added on in the early to mid 1800s. I’ve been so used to living with modern (1930s and after) hardwood floors that I didn’t realize how much I had to learn about…

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    annisa 6 Comments

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    October 14, 2020

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