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A Pretty Happy Home

Life, DIY and Random Things That Make Me Smile

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
  • 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
  • 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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  • how i styled my latest thrift store finds woven basket
    decorating,  thrifting

    How I Styled My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 8

    November 6, 2024 /

    Welcome to an infrequent, but delightful series where I show you how I styled my latest thrift store finds. It’s not always what you find, but how you use what you find that justifies bringing junk home. At least, that’s what I tell my husband. Pull up a chair and take a sip of your coffee because this is going to be fun! In no particular order, here are my latest thrift store finds and how I styled them. Wood Tray If you look closely at the below photo, there’s a wood gardening tray sitting on the bench. This isn’t technically a thrift store find. It was a free roadside…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    No Sew Holiday Pillow

    December 7, 2015
    Annisa Olsson Jones sitting on the front porch of a colonial farmhouse in new jersey double rockers for our porch

    Why We Chose Double Rockers For Our Porch

    September 27, 2023
    Five Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    5 Old Books I Found in Our New Home

    July 31, 2019
  • use outdoor rugs indoor outdoor rug under a bench in an entrance
    decorating

    4 Places I Use Outdoor Rugs Indoors

    October 28, 2024 /

    Fun fact about me, I have never used an outdoor rug on a deck or patio. However, I have and do use outdoor rugs indoors. I do this for one main reason…to bring the outdoors in. Kidding! I use outdoor rugs indoors in certain situations because they seem to be a little less precious than their counterparts and can withstand a tremendous amount of wear and tear. And, when something particularly gag-inducing happens (no, I don’t want to talk about it), the ability of these rugs to be cleaned with a pressure washer or hose is a godsend. Now, I know rugs of all types have their particular ways of…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    sunny handwoven basket wall art from pottery barn in praise of basket walls

    In Praise of Basket Walls

    March 13, 2023
    Convert a Dining Table Into a Coffee Table

    My Dining Table Is Now a Coffee Table

    July 29, 2019
    diy rustic towel bar from an antique harness

    DIY Rustic Towel Bar From An Antique Harness

    August 22, 2022
  • wicker acorns from etsy shop wicker decor workshop pretty acorn decor and jewelry
    decorating

    The Prettiest Acorn Decor and Jewelry

    October 16, 2024 /

    Did you know that acorns and oak trees symbolize, among other things, growth, fresh starts, and potential? Yes, please to all three of those things. I’ve been crafting with acorns for ages. Maybe you have too? There’s just something about them that is so compelling for the fall season. I found some of the prettiest acorn decor and jewelry to share with you today. Maybe this will inspire your fall decorating and holiday gifting. Or maybe, like me, you’ll come away with another idea for something fun you can make with acorns! Let the inspiration begin! Acorn Bells | Etsy A combination of bells and acorns in a rustic patina?…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Dining Room Hutch and Incorporating Kid Art into Home Decor

    September 16, 2015
    diy wood acorn wreath using wood acrons, wood beads, and wire fall wreath

    DIY Wood Acorn Wreath

    August 23, 2023
    bedroom peg rail above a dresser in a colonial farmhouse with tiffany lamp

    Bedroom Peg Rail – One Entire Wall of Storage

    March 12, 2025
  • fall front porch with paint blue ceiling and potted mums and pumpkins
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Fall Front Porch And The Funny Place I Buy Mums

    October 14, 2024 /

    Can we talk restraint? Restraint is experiencing the calendar flip from August to September and knowing you can’t decorate your fall front porch yet because Mother Nature didn’t get the “it’s fall y’all” memo and it is still 85 degrees Fahrenheit outside. So what do you do instead? You console yourself with an apple cider donut (or two, I won’t judge) while you wait for the weather to catch up to the commercialized hype of our existence. I waited 25 days. Twenty five! There are no prizes for this sort of restraint. I know. I checked. Some of you wise ones might say the prize is that the mums I…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Tiffany-Style Bedroom Ceiling Fan

    Tiffany-Style Bedroom Ceiling Fan

    September 23, 2020

    Halloween Mantel That Will Transition Into Thanksgiving

    October 29, 2018

    Halloween Book Covers

    October 2, 2015
  • paint blue porch ceiling
    decorating

    A Haint Blue Porch Ceiling Of My Own

    October 7, 2024 /

    Why did I wait so long to paint my front porch ceiling haint blue? No, really. Why? If I had known what joy this simple change of a haint blue porch ceiling would bring me, it would have been much higher on the priority list. Maybe not higher than replacing rotten siding, but higher than planting those boxwoods that may or may not be growing. Here’s how our porch looked in the fall of 2023. Perfectly delightful. Nothing wrong with it. I love, then and now, sitting out here with a drink in the early evenings and watching the world go by. Pictured below is almost the same view now.…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    back staircase kitchen stairs after

    Back Staircase Before and After

    January 6, 2020
    recent hone photos that made me smile baby grand piano in 200 year old home with piano harp art and silhouette art

    Recent Home Photos That Made Me Smile

    March 6, 2023
    11 Things to Know Before Hiring a Piano Moving and Storage Company

    11 Things to Know Before Hiring a Piano Moving and Storage Company

    April 29, 2019
  • boo halloween mantel with hand painted boo sign, paper bats, and branches
    Crafts,  decorating,  holidays

    Boo! Halloween Mantel

    September 30, 2024 /

    It’s a boo-tiful day to share my Halloween mantel with you! That ghost pun was cheekily intended because the boo sign I painted is the centerpiece of this year’s Halloween mantel. It is simple, playful, and won’t take up hardly any space in storage! I enjoy the fun of Halloween and, let’s be honest, the candy too. I don’t do scary though. Nope. Not my thing. I’ll pass on the haunted houses. I don’t even like going into my attic after dark. I’ll stick with a sugar rush and leave the adrenaline rush to the rest of you ghouls. Speaking of ghosts and ghouls, I have heard some stories about…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    christmas tree 2017

    Christmas Tree 2017

    December 18, 2017

    6 Valentine Card Ideas For Girls or Boys

    January 25, 2017

    Leather Wrapped Basket Handle

    March 7, 2016
  • how to display running medals and race bibs on an old door or cork board
    decorating

    How To Display Running Medals and Race Bibs

    July 17, 2024 /

    Do you know someone who is REALLY into running? Let me show you how to display running medals and race bibs in a fun, artistic way. All you need is a cork board or an old door and some cork. Now take the ever-growing collection of race bibs and running medals that are stuffed in every junk drawer, glove box, backpack, and coat closet you own and staple them to your cork board. That’s it! It’s faster than running a 5k and, dare I say, far more enjoyable. If you’re turning an old door into a cork board to display running medals and race bibs, it’s best to find an…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Going Green-ery

    September 17, 2014

    The Painting I Rescued From the Trash

    December 10, 2018
    magnetic bulletin board made with sheet metal hung on a stone wall in a gym

    Make A Magnetic Bulletin Board With Sheet Metal

    January 8, 2025
  • modern country laundry room in a colonial farmhouse with wainscoting stained glass horse art basket wall and inset wall shelves
    decorating

    In Praise Of: Unusual Stained Glass Art

    June 19, 2024 /

    Let’s talk unusual stained glass art. Normally, when I think of stained glass I think of church windows or sun catchers that people hang in their windows. It’s all pretty (Hello, colorful glass!) but not always my personal style. There is probably a better word to use than unusual, but that’s the first word I thought of when I looked at the stained glass horse head I have that is unusually mounted onto felt and placed in a wood frame. I couldn’t find anything online like this. My horse is further unique in that it might be a combination of stained glass and painted glass but it’s hard for me…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    flower basket centerpiece

    Flower Basket Centerpiece

    March 24, 2021

    Turn a Hutch Into a Freestanding Bookcase

    February 27, 2019

    The Tale of 3 Houseplants

    March 22, 2017
  • yale smart lock on a black front door 3 things we love about our smart lock and one we don't
    decorating,  DIY

    Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t

    June 17, 2024 /

    Two months ago we switched to a smart lock on our front door. There are three things (at least!) that we love about about this smart lock and one thing we don’t love. Before I dive into the details, I want to mention that we feel so fancy now with a smart lock. We don’t have a Ring doorbell camera. We don’t even have a regular doorbell. If you come to our house, you have to knock on the door like in the good ol’ days. If you do knock, I may or may not “hear you knock,” if you get the excuse I’m throwing out there. Just depends on…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Our Best Hidden Storage Purchase

    July 26, 2017
    reclaimed wood try from rotten piece of old growth pine the hidden meaning behind this reclaimed wood tray

    The Hidden Meaning Behind This Reclaimed Wood Tray

    February 19, 2024
    large fireplace in an old house decorated for christmas with seven nutcrackers of varying sizes on the mantel and an off centered green garland with red berries. Layered on the mantel is a handmade nut garland comprised of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. Sitting in front of the fireplace is a skinny christmas tree with a tree collar that looks like a red drum. The tree is decorated with faux red and white berries and ornaments fashioned out of nuts.

    Nutcracker Holiday Mantel Decor

    December 3, 2025
  • bedroom gallery wall of nature paintings sitting area with gallery wall of nature paintings
    decorating

    Bedroom Gallery Wall of Nature Paintings

    June 3, 2024 /

    Do you have something in your home you look at daily? Perhaps this thing has been fine for months or maybe years and not merely fine, but enjoyable to look at too. Then one day, out of the blue, you look at it and it’s all wrong. Has that happened to you? As long as that thing isn’t your spouse, I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction. But what do I know? I didn’t go to school for either psychology or interior design. The thing that was no longer fine in our home was the painting behind the sitting area in our bedroom. It wasn’t specifically the painting. It was…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    succulent in a shot glass

    3 Unexpected Succulent Planters

    June 10, 2019
    wood stool with a grey leather upholstered top sitting in front of a rustic drop leaf table. On the table is a plant, a charcoal vase with pink tulips, a laptop, a candle warmer lamp, and a stack of books. Behind the table is a gallery wall of nature paintings.

    Upholstered Stool Makeover – A Roadside Find

    February 18, 2026
    carriage house interior makeover how to use a headboard as a room divider solid wood headboard divides a room

    4 Tips For How to Use a Headboard As a Room Divider

    August 15, 2022
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Hi! I'm Annisa.

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