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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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  • tan buffalo check kitchen curtains with beige wainscoting
    decorating

    Buffalo Check Curtains For Our Kitchen

    October 4, 2023 /

    It takes me a long time to decide on window treatments but I finally hung buffalo check curtains in our kitchen. What’s a long time? 4 years, 2 months, and 19 days. But who’s counting? And it was totally worth the wait. I know these photos do not look like a kitchen but trust me when I say there is a sink full of dishes right behind where the camera is positioned. That’s the perk or quirk of having a galley style kitchen. A kitchen table could probably be squeezed into this space you’re seeing. For reference, the rug is 5×8. However, there are also stairs to the right and…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Grey Fireplace Mantel in our Master Bedroom

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    Lettered Wall – Work in Progress

    October 6, 2014
  • our fall front porch with pumpkin topiary
    decorating

    Our Fall Front Porch

    October 2, 2023 /

    Our fall front porch feels so welcoming right now. It’s one of those ‘walk up to the front door and grin because of how it makes you feel’ situations. That could have something to do with the smiling trio. Aren’t they the happiest? The smiling trio was created using the simplest idea – transform black duct tape into Halloween decals. Specifically, jack o’lantern faces for these planters but I also made bat decals. You can get the instructions here. “Trio” might be the theme of this year’s fall porch because, on the other side of the front door, I have a pumpkin topiary created with a trio of pumpkins. In…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    5 Places Rechargeable Light Bulbs Won’t Disappoint You

    February 21, 2024
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    Bedroom Peg Rail – One Entire Wall of Storage

    March 12, 2025

    Fall Mantel

    November 9, 2016
  • Annisa Olsson Jones sitting on the front porch of a colonial farmhouse in new jersey double rockers for our porch
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Why We Chose Double Rockers For Our Porch

    September 27, 2023 /

    There is a new addition to our front porch. Double rockers! Double your fun. (I grew up watching Doublemint gum commercials. I was compelled to say that.)  Why did we choose double rockers over regular rocking chairs or a porch swing? Great question. I’d love to tell you. I have always wanted a big covered porch and this is the first house we’ve lived in that has a front porch big enough for porch sitting. Every romanticized image you can imagine of front porch sitting and front porch living has taken up residence in my brain for years and I have zero regrets about that. I knew I wanted 4…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Good Luck Horseshoe

    September 11, 2015
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    A Mixed Bag For Overwintering Plants This Year

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    Pantry Organization That Works (For Us)

    January 22, 2024
  • fall flower ideas vintage toolbox flower arrangement for fall
    decorating

    Vintage Toolbox Flower Arrangement For Fall

    September 25, 2023 /

    The only thing better than a vintage toolbox is a vintage toolbox with flowers in it! If you want a big bang for your flower arranging buck this fall then create a vintage toolbox flower arrangement. Let’s face it, we all want our buck to go a little farther these days. The rustic vibe of a vintage toolbox lends itself really well to this fall season where we are all about getting cozy. I’m sure fall can be fancy but, in my head, I associate fall with things that are a little more rustic and earthy like apple orchards, haybale rides, warming hands around a firepit, crunchy leaves on the…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Recent Home Photos That Made Me Smile

    March 6, 2023

    5 Easy, (mostly) Recyclable Halloween Decorating Ideas

    October 11, 2017

    St Patrick’s Day Craft: Burlap Pot of Gold

    March 1, 2017
  • marshall middleton bluetooth speaker via amazon in praise of pretty bluetooth speakers that look good in my home
    decorating

    In Praise Of: Pretty Bluetooth Speakers

    September 20, 2023 /

    Pretty Bluetooth speakers. That’s what I want. I want to listen to my music and I want it to come from a Bluetooth speaker that looks good in my home. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Eh. Sometimes it feels that way, so I’m on a mission to dispel that myth. If you can design a speaker with killer sound quality, surely you can design a speaker that looks elegant, fun, sleek or any other adjective that fits the style of someone’s home. And I don’t want to use one that comes with a voice assistant like Alexa. No thank you. Just play my music. Don’t try to…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    No Utility Closet? Make An Utility Wall Instead.

    March 8, 2023

    $2.50 Cloth Napkin Art

    July 14, 2014
    entryway refresh with buffalo check curtains and new front door window insert

    Entryway Refresh and a New Front Door Window

    April 16, 2025
  • Fall Mantel With Leaf-Stamped Wood Rounds in a colonial era home with wood beams and original wood floors fall decorating ideas
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    Fall Mantel With Leaf-Stamped Wood Rounds

    September 18, 2023 /

    Last week I shared how to leaf stamp on wood. You know I don’t make crafts unless I plan on using them, so let me show you my fall mantel featuring a grouping of leaf-stamped wood rounds. I do declare that it looks beautiFALL. That probably won’t be the last bad fall pun in this blog post as I’m feeling a bit acorn-y today. Our dining room fireplace is my favorite of our three fireplaces to decorate seasonally. It’s the only one that I change the decor on regularly even though spatially speaking it is the trickiest to decorate. The overmantel, the spot above the mantel where decor goes, is…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    How I Styled My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 8

    November 6, 2024
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    Winter Wreath Ideas To Get You Through To Spring

    January 6, 2025
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    In Praise of a Church Pew for Home Decor

    July 5, 2021
  • needlepoint framed to match wall color navy blue sunporch with matching picture frame when to match picture frame to wall color
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    When To Match Picture Frames To Wall Color

    August 30, 2023 /

    Selecting frames for artwork can be tricky as frames totally change the look and feel of artwork. So, is there a time and place to match your picture frames to your wall color? The short answer is yes! It’s your house. Do what makes you happy. The short answer doesn’t make a good blog post though, so let me briefly elaborate. Match picture frames to wall color when the frame is too distracting.  If the frame is distracting from the real start of the show, the artwork, paint the frame the same color as the wall so that the artwork pops. That’s what I did on our blue sunporch. I…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Plywood Side Table Makeover

    June 11, 2025

    Jewelry Organizer From an Old Door

    September 19, 2016

    Adding Color to the Piano

    February 13, 2015
  • diy wood acorn wreath using wood acrons, wood beads, and wire fall wreath
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    DIY Wood Acorn Wreath

    August 23, 2023 /

    If fall is your favorite season, you are going to love this DIY Wood Acorn Wreath. Bold words, I know. This wreath might not have pumpkins or spice but it does have an underrated but ready for its moment item – acorns. Yes, acorns. Wood acorns to be precise. If you didn’t know wood acorns were a thing, this craft is going to blow open the door of possibility for you. I, for one, can’t wait to see what you create. But let’s start with this Wood Acorn Wreath. Materials Needed: wood acorns (I used 16 acorns out of a package of 20.) 20 mm wood beads (I used 16…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Striped and Flower Petal Denim Pumpkins

    September 25, 2017

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    January 20, 2016

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    March 6, 2019
  • my recent thrift store finds milk glass candlesticks
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    My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 6

    August 14, 2023 /

    Welcome back to the delightful but infrequent blog series “My Latest Thrift Store Finds.” It’s not infrequent because I’m not thrift store shopping. No, no, no. Even I don’t have that much restraint. It is an infrequent series because I forget to write about my thrift store finds unless they are part of a larger story or project. This blog series is my attempt to right (or is it write?) that wrong. Here’s what has come home with me in the last few months. My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Chess Set Did you know chess is really popular with the middle school crowd? It has something to do with TikTok.…

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    Our Not Quite Fall Front Porch

    September 27, 2021
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    Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t

    June 17, 2024

    Mason Jar Snow Globes

    December 2, 2015
  • antique radio cabinet router holder hide a router and modem inside an antique radio
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    Hide A Router and Modem In An Antique Radio Cabinet

    July 31, 2023 /

    What can you do with an unsightly router and modem? Hide them in an antique radio cabinet. Long before we got our entertainment via apps on our phones, radios broadcasting news, music, and entertainment were housed in ornate wood cabinets. Some sat on the floor. Others sat on tabletops. These radios became obsolete ages ago. Even I’m not old enough to have grown up with an antique radio. I had a boombox with two tape decks AND a CD player. I thought I was so cool. And modern. I see antique radios at thrift shops somewhat regularly for not a lot of money because no one really wants them. Even…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Horseshoe Pumpkins Go Mainstream

    September 20, 2017

    Sheet Metal Map

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    My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 6

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