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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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  • rhododendrons with barn in background
    gardening and landscape

    A Neighbor’s Compliment That Stuck With Me

    June 4, 2025 /

    We were doing yard work near the road recently and a neighbor walked by and said, “Hey, Man! Your flowers are so pretty.” “Thank you!” we both responded in unison as if we had everything to do with those flowers blooming. I’m fairly certain he was referencing the rhododendrons since they were in full bloom then. Truthfully, I had nothing to do with the rhododendrons blooming. I didn’t even plant them. We have three of them and I think they are older than me. Not that my kids would believe that since I was born in the *GASP* 1900s. Anyone born in the 1900s must be ancient according to them.…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Clearing a Sight Line to the Pool

    August 5, 2019
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    Considering More Rhododendrons For Our Landscaping

    February 20, 2023
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    Why We Chose Double Rockers For Our Porch

    September 27, 2023
  • realistic tree faces from etsy shop tree poetry store fun gardening finds
    gardening and landscape

    Fun Outdoor Gardening Finds

    April 2, 2025 /

    Now that spring is here, many of us will be looking for excuses to be outside and gardening gives us so many excuses. Too many, really. It’s the overachiever of reasons for us to be outside. Between the weeds and the thirsty plants, it could be your full-time job. But wait. You probably already have one of those. Same. I found some fun outdoor gardening finds recently and between Mother’s Day, Easter, birthdays, etc. These are great ideas to treat yourself or someone else. Check them out! Brass Rabbit Spigot Handle | Etsy I’m into bunnies lately, so this brass rabbit spigot handle caught my eye, but it comes in…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Plan to Makeover Our Decks

    June 10, 2020
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    August 16, 2023

    The Year of the Garden and What We Learned

    September 9, 2020
  • overwintering plants on a navy blue sunporch
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    A Mixed Bag For Overwintering Plants This Year

    March 5, 2025 /

    It’s been a mixed bag for overwintering plants this year (2024-2025). We’ve had some successes and some unfortunate failures. Have you ever had one of those restaurant experiences where the food was great, but the service was terrible? You think to yourself, “I don’t know if this was worth trying again.” That’s me right now with overwintering plants. Keep in mind, I also forgot childbirth was painful, and I had more than one child. So, take my whining with a pound of salt, and meet me back here next year for another update. Ha! Seriously though, we have the ideal setup for overwintering plants on our sunporch. It’s like having…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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

    June 17, 2024
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    My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 7

    January 29, 2024

    Using Contact Paper to Make a Deer Silhouette

    December 12, 2014
  • plant your hydroponic lettuce from the grocery store
    gardening and landscape

    How To Plant Hydroponic Lettuce From the Grocery Store

    July 24, 2024 /

    I love buying the hydroponic lettuce from the grocery store. Did you know you can plant your hydroponic lettuce in soil, if it still has a rootball, and it will continue growing? Lettuce try it and see what happens! I don’t have a particular green thumb, so if I can do this, so can you. Here’s my simple process for getting hydroponic lettuce to grow in soil.  First, don’t pick all of the leaves off the lettuce before you want to plant it. Leave some healthy leaves on the plant. I have the best success with the lettuce continuing to grow if I plant it within two weeks of buying…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    The Best Part Of Summer

    August 21, 2023

    The Best $16 I’ve Ever Spent

    August 6, 2018
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    How Our Landscaping Survived A Dry Summer

    September 7, 2022
  • may day basket idea with potted plant may day basket tradition
    gardening and landscape,  holidays

    May Day Basket Tradition – Did You Do This As A Kid?

    April 29, 2024 /

    Did you participate in the May Day Basket Tradition as a kid? I did! May Day is always May 1st. As a kid, I thought it was the best thing EVER to leave a small bouquet hanging on our neighbor’s door, knock, run away giggling, and try to hide before they answered the door. I can’t tell you what the flowers were but they could have been dandelions. I’m unsure if we always hung the bouquet on the door. My brother and I might have just left flowers on the front porch and then skedaddled out of there. It was the thrill of doing something nice but being sneaky that…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Removing Rotten Trees and a Chainlink Fence

    August 12, 2019
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    How Our Landscaping Survived A Dry Summer

    September 7, 2022
    Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    $20 Outdoor Dining Set Makeover

    August 19, 2019
  • green beach club patio umbrella from business and pleasure co in praise of colorful outdoor umbrellas
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    In Praise Of: Colorful Patio Umbrellas

    April 8, 2024 /

    Spring has arrived, the temperatures are warming up, and we are so close to being able to dine alfresco. That’s why I have all things outdoor furniture on my mind, including colorful patio umbrellas. I’ve been solidly in my black and white patio umbrella phase for the last few years. If anything were to tempt me cross over into the land of color, it would be one of these colorful patio umbrellas. Check them out! Bourbana 9′ Market Umbrella | Wayfair A pop of yellow sunshine on your patio would bring a big dose of happy no matter the weather. (image: Wayfair) Having the beach in the background wouldn’t hurt…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Linen Bath Towels: Should I Make the Switch?

    April 3, 2017
    overwintering plants on a navy blue sunporch

    A Mixed Bag For Overwintering Plants This Year

    March 5, 2025
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    How NOT to Make a Book Pumpkin

    October 10, 2016
  • red geraniums growing on a navy blue sunporch in new jersey in winter
    gardening and landscape

    How Many Porch Plants Survived The Winter?

    March 27, 2024 /

    I brought our porch plants inside for the winter approximately six months ago. How many porch plants survived the winter inside on our sunporch? *drumroll please* Technically speaking, all of them. Not-so-technically speaking, our green pepper plant might be on its last leg due to pests but I haven’t given up watering it hope yet. While the pepper plant might be dropping out, the ferns are the overachievers of the group. I really wish they’d dial it back a notch. They’ve already been trimmed multiple times this winter and in the below picture, you can see their current state. To describe it delicately, they are bustin’ out of their britches,…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    The Best Part Of Summer

    August 21, 2023
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    DIY Plant Hanging Rod Secured to the Ceiling

    November 17, 2021
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    10 Fun Gardening Finds

    April 3, 2023
  • 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…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves

    June 5, 2023
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    Petite Bench For An Outdoor Coffee Table

    June 26, 2023
    overwinter ferns

    I Successfully Overwintered Our Porch Plants

    May 4, 2022
  • 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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    Herringbone Rolling Plant Caddy

    June 17, 2019

    A Little Bit of Yard Work Does Wonders

    August 31, 2015
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    Fall Front Porch And The Funny Place I Buy Mums

    October 14, 2024
  • 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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    annisa 0 Comments

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    The Great Guitar Hanging Debacle

    March 29, 2017
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    Did We Finally Find Buried Treasure?

    April 30, 2025
    stones in between studs of old house 3 reasons why old houses have stones in between the studs

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Hi! I'm Annisa.

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