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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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  • colonial farmhouse landscaping with stone wall how our landscaping survived a dry summer
    gardening and landscape

    How Our Landscaping Survived A Dry Summer

    September 7, 2022 /

    Our neighborhood group chat discusses things like power outages, bear sightings, contractor recommendations, and how our landscaping survived or didn’t survive a long, dry summer. So, the usual. Most people I know would categorize New Jersey summers as hot and humid with plenty of rain. That combination lends itself well to New Jersey being nicknamed the Garden State. Fess up! You were thinking of a not-so-nice nickname for New Jersey, weren’t you? It has plenty of those too. Ha! New Jersey has certainly been hot this summer, but also very, very dry. We started the summer with everything looking lush. Yes, it really was that electric green. Then we ended the…

    read more
    annisa 0 Comments

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    Fall Colors in New Jersey 2020

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  • overwinter ferns
    gardening and landscape

    I Successfully Overwintered Our Porch Plants

    May 4, 2022 /

    I hope I don’t jinx it by saying I successfully overwintered our front porch plants which included the ferns and the Spike plants. But I did! For those of you who enjoy gardening and consider it one of your life passions this will seem like not a big deal. To me, it was a big deal to keep my summer plants alive all winter long because I’d never tried to save my front porch plants. Frankly, I’m usually sick and tired of watering them by the time August rolls around and they die a sad death. Then I feel guilty that my neglect caused this catastrophe. But not last summer!…

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    Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    $20 Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    August 19, 2019

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    August 3, 2015
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    What’s Going On With Our Driveways?

    May 25, 2022
  • how to fix a sagging wood bench
    DIY

    How to Fix a Sagging Wood Bench

    November 1, 2021 /

    So you have a sagging wood bench and want to know how to fix it? You’ve come to the right place. If there’s one thing we can help you avoid in life it’s the potential emotional and physical trauma that would come from sitting on a sagging wood bench and having it break. No one wants that to happen to them. But if it was caught on camera and you were okay…Alright, not even then. Now on to the tutorial! First of all, I’m going to assume that the wood that is sagging on your bench is not rotten. You need to double-check that. If it is rotten and you…

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    Refinish Wood Chairs Without Power Tools

    December 6, 2017
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    Back Porch Shelves for Drink Storage

    August 31, 2020
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    May 13, 2020
  • not quite fall front porch colonial farmhouse
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Our Not Quite Fall Front Porch

    September 27, 2021 /

    We have a not quite summer, not quite fall front porch right now. Anyone else feeling like they are sitting on the fence between seasons at this very moment with their decor? No? Just me? You couldn’t even give me a shove either way off the seasonal fence because I like it right where I am at the moment. It’s just so pleasant in New Jersey right now. We can hang out outside without wilting under the intense heat and humidity of summer. It’s not yet sweatshirt weather though with the daytime temperatures still in the 70s. In other words, it is perfect. If New Jersey was always like this,…

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    Cinnamon Broomsticks

    October 21, 2015

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    magic light trick lights using battery operated puck lights

    Magic Light Trick

    October 21, 2019
  • colonial farmhouse landscaping stone path outdoor project progress
    gardening and landscape

    2021 Outdoor Project Progress

    August 4, 2021 /

    Do you know what’s great about blogging? There are thousands of people to hold you accountable to what you say you are going to do. That’s also the downside of blogging. Ha! Today I’m updating you on our 2021 outdoor project progress! We’re a good chunk of the way through summer, so let’s hope I’ve made a little progress, right? If you’ve been following along on social media, especially stories, you’ll be familiar with some of this work. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out on the rollercoaster of emotions that is every single project we tackle: excitement, anticipation, regret, hope, relief, excitement, pride, vows to never tackle that project…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Removing Rotten Trees and a Chainlink Fence

    August 12, 2019
    fall colors in new jersey 2020

    Fall Colors in New Jersey 2020

    November 4, 2020
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    Our Not Quite Fall Front Porch

    September 27, 2021
  • black metal roof carriage house
    gardening and landscape

    2021 Outdoor Projects on our To Do List

    March 31, 2021 /

    This winter I spent an obscene amount of time curled up in a cozy chair drafting an epic list of 2021 Outdoor Projects. While some people find satisfaction in checking completed items off a to-do list, I find satisfaction in having a legitimate reason to never start that list in the first place. Three feet of snow covering the ground as far as the eye can see seems like an excellent excuse to procrastinate.   Alas, the snow finally melted and I’m now 99.367% certain it is safe to leave my cozy chair and start working on these outdoor projects. While it might be safe to start outside work, one of the…

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    Check Out These Old Photos Of Our House

    October 26, 2022
    clearing the bushes

    The Surprising Way We Cleared 75 Feet of Bushes

    September 9, 2019

    Living in Ireland: That Time A Tree Came Down

    October 2, 2017
  • terra-cotta pot makeover
    Crafts,  decorating

    Glazed Terra-Cotta Pot Makeover

    February 24, 2021 /

    Have you ever done a glazed terra-cotta pot makeover? I haven’t either…until now. *insert dramatic music here* I found a glazed terra-cotta pot at a thrift store for $10. It is huge, almost 18 inches tall, and it was begging for a makeover. Begging. You can see the potential, right? This is not one of those situations where I’m going to slap mud on a vase to make it look like authentic earthenware. I already had authentic earthenware. It was just hiding under some painted on flowers and swirly things. My plan for this glazed terra-cotta pot makeover was simple. I was just going to paint it. Easy breezy. However,…

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    Hide Computer Cords With a Shower Curtain

    January 16, 2017

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    November 18, 2015
  • deck with black railing
    colonial farmhouse,  gardening and landscape

    Finally, The Deck is Done

    October 7, 2020 /

    Ding dong, our deck with black railing is finally done! I’ve only been waiting months to say that. While house projects sometimes feel like our full time job, they aren’t! That’s why they take a real life amount of time to complete. Although, this deck project took an extraordinarily long time to finish – even for us – due to factors out of our control. As it turns out, there was a pressure-treated lumber shortage in our part of the U.S. due to the work stoppages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But nobody told us that before we started ripping up the old deck! Oops. We might have put off…

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    annisa 1 Comment

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    I Refinished Our Tongue and Groove Closet Doors and It Could Have Gone Worse

    January 19, 2022
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    Front Yard Landscaping Progress

    June 24, 2020
    black painted doors

    Painted Black Doors in our Colonial Farmhouse

    July 13, 2020
  • gardening and landscape

    The Year of the Garden and What We Learned

    September 9, 2020 /

    2020 sure has been the year of the garden, hasn’t it? You thought I was going to say the year of bread making, didn’t you? Well, that too. So many people seem to have a renewed interest in growing all manner of fruits, veggies, herbs, and other plants while stuck at home with extra time on their hands during a global pandemic. Or maybe they just like dirt under their fingernails? That’s probably it. It definitely has been the year of the garden for our family. I don’t think we would have dove into gardening so heavily if this had been a normal year. Drastic times called for drastic measures…

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    The Tale of 3 Houseplants

    March 22, 2017
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    What Happens When You Set Flagstones Directly On The Ground

    June 15, 2022
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    Black and Blue Outdoor Furniture

    May 24, 2021
  • Bus Stop Gardening Station
    gardening and landscape

    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    July 29, 2020 /

    Gardening stations or potting benches come in all shapes and sizes, but the bus stop gardening station I have to show you today is pretty darn clever. I’m throwing “bus stop” in quotation marks for the moment because this bus stop gardening station is not made from an actual bus stop, but it looks like it could have been. Behold! I take zero credit for this clever idea. It’s not even on my property. This is a Junk Whisperer project. If you’re an original reader around here, you’ll know I’ve featured several Junk Whisperer projects over the years. Who is this mysterious Junk Whisperer and how can we learn her…

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    Living in Ireland: Spring Flowers in Our Yard

    April 5, 2017

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    October 26, 2022

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 Older Posts
Hi! I'm Annisa.

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