Books My Kids Are Reading Part 13
It has been a good long while since I published a Books My Kids Are Reading post. My kids are 11 and 14, so they don’t want to sit on my lap reading stories like they did when they were younger. Also, they are a little too big to sit on my lap now. *sniff, sniff* I’m not crying. I just have a speck of dust in my eye. Because of our current life stage and the fact that I had a speck of dust in my eye, I almost clicked delete on an email from a book publicist before I fully read it. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,…
How to Fill Gaps in Wood Floors with Oakum
For the small percentage of you living in really old houses (bless you!), let me share one of the more historically accurate ways to fill gaps in wood floors with oakum. This is the information I needed when we bought our Colonial Farmhouse and didn’t know what to do about the gaps between the original wood floorboards. I had to comb through the internet to find bits and pieces of information, so I’m combining what I learned all in one place with links out to the information that helped me. If the gaps in your wood floors don’t bother you, leave them. But if your kids can push things through…
Happy List: #211
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List! I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared what we found when we finally cleaned out our barn loft. The spoiler is I did not find that treasure I’m constantly on the hunt for. I also wrote an early Mother’s Day post about appreciation. Personally, I’m not overly enamored with Mother’s Day, but that’s more about me missing my mom than anything. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. If you like the blog posts I share here each week (or at least you like the sporadic blog post – I won’t get greedy),…
Moms, When Was the Last Time You Felt Appreciated?
Moms, when was the last time you felt appreciated? Really appreciated? The other morning I was sitting in bed drinking coffee and reading a book. It’s my favorite any day weekend activity. I could hear the morning buzz around me of the kids playing Minecraft and Handy Husband grinding more beans for coffee. Next thing I know Handy Husband comes into the bedroom, gives me a big hug, and says, “You pre-sliced the bagels before you put them in the freezer! I thought I was going to have to try and cut through a frozen bagel.” I did do that. Honestly, I did it for the kids because I’ve heard…
The Great Barn Loft Clean Out
Last month we tackled The Great Barn Loft Clean Out. Did we accumulate THAT MUCH junk in less than two years of owning the Colonial Farmhouse that we needed to clean out the barn loft? No. But… Here’s an itty bitty detail that’s important to this story. We had never looked in the barn loft before last month. That’s right. We bought the property with the barn loft sight unseen and then ignored it for almost two years. Who does that? Us, apparently. In our defense, the loft doors were nailed shut and it’s not like we weren’t busy dealing with all the other problems this money pit house of…
Happy List: #210
Hello, hello! Welcome to the Happy List. If you’re here, that means it is almost the weekend! Woohoo! This week I shared a tutorial on how to make a no sew privacy liner for woven shades. My first recommendation is just to buy woven shades already lined, but if you’re like me and don’t do that, then this tutorial is for you. I also dedicated an entire post to a $30 vacuum. Who writes over 600 words about a vacuum? Ummm…this lady, apparently. Perhaps I need to find a hobby. Ha! As always, I hope you come see what we are up to on Instagram this weekend! I’m sure it…
Ode to a $30 Vacuum
Did I ever imagine myself writing an ode to a $30 vacuum? No. What’s an ode anyway? Oh, shoot. It is a poem. Ehm. Here goes…channeling my inner Shakespeare… Ode to a $30 Vacuum Who knew there was so much dirt on the floor From feet and pets and crumbs of bread I tried to sweep it out the door But a $30 vacuum works better I said Suck it, all you expensive vacuums! Wow. That ode took an aggressive turn at the end. Here’s how I came to be writing a terrible ode to a $30 vacuum. I think vacuums are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. In fairness, I think everything is expensive,…
No Sew DIY Privacy Liner for Woven Shades
Today I’m going to show you how to make a No Sew Privacy Liner for Woven Shades. If I can do this – a gal who doesn’t own a sewing machine – you can do this! I’m defining ‘no sew’ as not using a sewing machine. My DIY does include a needle and thread. If you are really opposed to that, I have an alternative that is truly no-sew. It gets the job done. However, in my experience, it is more expensive, doesn’t look as good, and it won’t last as long. Yep! I tried ALL the techniques I could think of in my desperation the process of figuring out this No Sew Privacy…
Happy List: #209
Hello! I’m glad to welcome you here for this week’s Happy List. This week on the blog I shared the five categories of kitchen art and the one thing I never mentioned to my kids about refrigerators. I also published a snarky, but helpful guide to wallpaper removal. One of you asked for this blog post minus the snarky part and I’d like to think I delivered on that request. I think the moral of this story is be careful what you ask of me! Here’s your weekly reminder: if you want to see us take forever to update a bathroom or see Handy Husband working his DIY magic, then…
A Snarky, but Helpful Wallpaper Removal Guide
Here’s a Snarky, but Helpful Wallpaper Removal Guide for when you are already over it and you haven’t even started. Don’t worry. This feeling is totally normal when it comes to wallpaper removal. For every beautifully wallpapered room I see online I know there is a poor schmuck that will someday have to remove that no longer beautiful wallpaper. Guess how often that poor schmuck has been me? Eight times in our current house alone. Our house really isn’t that big, but almost every vertical surface, including the stair risers, was covered in decades old wallpaper. Why did I want this house again? Removing wallpaper is like unwrapping a present…
