Is Our House Haunted?
Is our house haunted? I am asked that question fairly often. Why do they ask? Is our house throwing off creepy vibes? Well, I don’t think our house is particularly creepy, except for the basement. And the attic. And that spot..oh, never mind. I think people ask the question because the oldest part of our house dates to the late 1700s. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many people have died in this home in the last 250 or so years, which could lead to some hauntings if you’re open to that sort of thing. Am I open to it? Heck, yeah! Not in a scary, horror film sort…
Happy List: #320
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List! I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared an easy-to-make wheat wreath. If you’ve always wanted to make something with those cool, gold floral hoops, this is your project! I also shared the antique music stand that I found for our music room. I’ve idly been looking for a music stand for years and this ended up being THE one. I love it. Thank you for reading this blog. It makes our day – both mine and Handy Husband’s. If you want to share the blog or an idea we post on social media, we would be very grateful.…
Wood Music Stand Hits The Right Note
I found the most gorgeous wood music stand to add to our music room. Did we need it? Absolutely not. But is it perfect for this space? Oh, yes. Yes, indeed. I’ve been idly looking for a music stand for years. As a pianist, I don’t really need one because the piano comes with its own. When I go through one of my “attempt to learn the guitar” phases, I usually just look at chords on my phone, so I don’t need a music stand for that. Although, it probably would help my posture to have the phone propped somewhere more ergonomically correct. When it came down to it, I…
Easy To Make Wheat Wreath
Let me show you an easy-to-make wheat wreath today. What makes it easy? We’re not reinventing the wheel wreath. We’re not doing anything complicated that requires a lot of thought. We’re simply giving ourselves 15 minutes of wreath therapy. That’s a thing. A thing I just made up. But it works for me. I think it will work for you too. Grab your glue guns and get ready to set your creative spirit free for the next 15 minutes. Whatever you create, you create. Here’s what you need to make a wheat wreath: gold floral hoop (I used a 10-inch hoop) dried wheat hot glue gun and glue sticks ribbon…
Happy List: #319
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. The world is a heavy place and I intentionally keep the Happy List light as a respite from that. Hopefully, it gives your brain a chance to rest before you get back to reality. That’s a long way of saying I’m delighted you are here. Feel free to stay as long as you want and come back often. This week on the blog I shared the gallery wall I’ve been working on in our living room. It has a whole bunch of mismatched nature art and I’m infatuated with it. It’s going to make me a little sad to take it down in…
In Praise Of: Pretty Matchstick Holders
Do you know what lights my fire? Pretty matchstick holders. I recently found a vintage cast iron matchstick holder to hold chalk, not matches, but that’s a story for the end of this blog post. The point is you don’t have to store matches in the boring boxes they come in. There are really pretty matchstick holders – new and vintage – to hold your little fire sticks. I flame to please, so check out these pretty matchstick holders. Cast Iron Match Striker | Schoolhouse This cast iron match striker from Schoolhouse is perfect in its simplicity. I love that there’s a place to set down spent matches. (image: Schoolhouse)…
Nature Art Gallery Wall
Nature art in all its forms – landscape paintings, dried flowers, prints of bouquets – is my jam. It’s soothing to me. Plus, it’s a bug-free way of bringing nature inside my home. Love nature. Not too fond of the bugs. I’ve been collecting nature art for a while now. My love for nature art and landscape paintings started when my aunt painted a scene of my child running along a trail. There’s nothing like a tug on the heartstrings to get you started down the path of an art collection. Now, when I spot nature art at the thrift store, it often comes home with me. Believe it or…
Happy List: #318
Hello! Welcome to the Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog was an eclectic one. I like to keep you on your toes! I shared the home maintenance task we’ve been focused on and how that’s led to some ‘interesting’ conversations. I also wrote about hot sauce and all the things the recipes don’t tell you about making hot sauce. Thank you for reading this blog. It makes our day – both mine and Handy Husband’s. If you want to share the blog or an idea we post on social media, we would be very grateful. We also love talking to you. If you want…
Safety Tips For Making Homemade Hot Sauce
You know what they say. When life gives you habaneros you make hot sauce. What? No one says that? Taco ’bout a missed opportunity. This year we planted a few vegetables in containers on our deck. I’d like to tell you they were lovingly and studiously attend to all summer but that would be incorrect. There was definitely some neglect. Nevertheless, our habanero plant thrived in these adverse conditions and we suddenly had an abundance of habaneros on our hands. What does one do with 50 habaneros? While there is probably not a limit on the amount of fresh salsa a person could eat, there is definitely a limit on…
Caulk, Cracks, and Home Maintenance. Oh My!
Caulking cracks. Chipping Paint. Rotting Wood. When it comes to this old house we live in, it’s us against nature. Who will win? Nature is unrelenting and seems to be in the lead at the moment. But don’t count out me and Handy Husband. We’re tenacious and industrious problem solvers. When you buy a fixer-upper like we did you have to expect to be in it for the long haul, especially if you aren’t doing a major renovation all at once. For the past couple of months, we’ve been focusing on siding maintenance. Like many old homes in the Northeast, we have wood siding. Wood siding can last decades but…
