2021 Holiday Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens
Shopping for tweens and teens this holiday season? They can be tough to shop for any time of the year and especially without breaking the bank! I’ve heard this is not the year to procrastinate on shopping, so here’s my Holiday Gift Guide For Tweens and Teens that are tween and teen-approved. Yep, I informally polled my kids and their friends, and here is the consensus of what tweens and teens want this holiday season. Kidding. There wasn’t consensus. Everyone mainly wants something different. Then there is REALITY because this mom knows what her kids can actually handle and what she’s willing to spend. For reference: I have a boy in…
Happy List: #233
Welcome to the Happy List! I hope the first week of November (!) has treated you well. This week on the blog I shared how to fix a sagging wood bench. No one wants a saggy anything! I also recapped a recent thrifting adventure to two new-to-me antique shops. If you don’t follow along with us on Instagram or Facebook stories, please join us there! That’s where all the stuff in between the blog posts happens. Also, here’s your weekly reminder if you create something that makes you happy however big or small, please tag me! I really do love to see what you are making. Now, here’s the Happy List!…
Happy Thrifting: Chelsea Forge Antiques and Quaker Antique Mall
A few weekends ago I left the ten-mile radius surrounding our house to explore some new-to-me antique shops. As you can see, I’m really branching out. I even crossed over the border into Pennsylvania! Although, that’s not saying much because as the crow flies we practically live on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I figured if I was going to leave my comfort zone, I’d better check out an antique shop that had a ton of square footage, so I chose the Quaker Antique Mall in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. As luck would have it, Chelsea Forge Antiques and Design (pictured above) was right on my way, so I stopped there…
How to Fix a Sagging Wood Bench
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…
Happy List: #232
Hello, hello, and happy early Halloween! Welcome to the Happy List! This week on the ol’ blog I shared the Star Ring Story. It was one of those moments in life that just seemed to stick with me in all the right ways. I also shared the inclusion of my Halloween mantel on the U.K. magazine Living Etc.’s website. That was a lovely Halloween treat! If you don’t follow along with us on Instagram or Facebook stories, please join us there! That’s where all the stuff in between the blog posts happens. Also, here’s your weekly reminder if you create something that makes you happy however big or small, please tag…
Proud To Be Part of a Scandi-cool Halloween Trend
Last week I learned Living Etc. featured one of my photos in an article titled “These 5 Scandi-cool Halloween Trends Maintain Your Home’s Style This Spooky Season.” I’m not exactly sure what Scandi-cool means, but if you want to group me in with anything cool, I’m pretty sure I’m down with that. Maybe? I’m not sure. This coolness thing is an uncomfortable feeling. How do all of you cool people handle the pressure? This photo of my witch’s broom leaning next to my dining room mantel is the photo that was featured in the article along with photos from other contributors, including Studio McGee! Yep, THE Studio McGee with a decorating…
The Star Ring Story
I shared this star ring story on my Instagram stories a few weeks ago. It had such an outsized response that I decided it needed to be written down somewhere permanently. Here’s that story. On a rainy Tuesday morning, I found myself doing something I hadn’t done in probably 20 years. I warily stepped foot back into a high school gym. It was pretty much as I remembered it: that elusive smell with undertones of body odor, the squeak of shoes on the floor, the marks on the walls from errant balls, and so many backpacks everywhere. Never mind that I did not attend this particular high school. It’s just…
Happy List: #231
Hello! It’s good to meet you back here for another edition of the Happy List! I hope your week has gone well. This week on the blog I shared how to make Brass Pumpkins. I also revealed our Halloween mantel. My kids still get a kick out of having the house, or in this case, one wall, decorated for Halloween. If you don’t follow along with us on Instagram or Facebook stories, please join us there! That’s where all the stuff in between the blog posts happens. Also, here’s your weekly reminder if you create something that makes you happy however big or small, please tag me! I really do love…
Halloween Mantel With a DIY Witch’s Broom
Hello you gorgeous ghouls and goblins! Let’s dish on all things Halloween mantel and DIY Witch’s Broom related. Do you have a mantel decorated for Halloween this year? I wasn’t going to do any Halloween decorating because I just wasn’t feeling it, but then Handy Husband tossed some proverbial inspiration in the wood chip pile and I dove in right after it. That sentence didn’t make any sense, did it? Let me back up my broomstick and let you hop on for a ride. A few weeks ago Handy Husband was trimming brush and tossed the coolest-looking stick in the pile to be woodchipped. Noooooo!!! I need that!!! It really…
How to Make a DIY Brass Pumpkin
I’ve found a gap in the decorative pumpkin market (gasp!), so today we are remedying that and I’ll show you how to create a DIY Brass Pumpkin. Move over, sweater pumpkins! This brass pumpkin is going to take over the world! What?!? It could happen. Here’s how to DIY a Brass Pumpkin: DIY Brass Pumpkin Step #1: Start with a rectangle of thin brass sheeting. Thin brass sheeting is available from Amazon. Once you buy a roll of this stuff, you’ll be hooked. It’s a gateway to all sorts of crafting shenanigans. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I purchased this particular roll of brass sheeting. It is 1000mm long,…
