• cross stitch american flag on a grain sifter 4th of july wreath
    happy list

    Happy List: #346

    Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m thrilled you are here. I am also thrilled that this weekend is the unofficial (or is it official?) kickoff to summer in the United States. I’m ready. My kids are ready. Handy Husband goes with the flow. This week on the blog I shared all the tiny paintings that I love and how I display them in my home. I also wrote about the new windowsills in our basement – two so far! I don’t know how much repointing work is going to happen down there this summer. It feels like a nice winter job, but it’s also cool down there,…

  • stone windowsill in a recently repointed basement in a 240 year old home in new jersey
    DIY

    Stone Windowsills and Wooden Doorsills

    Let’s talk about what’s on everyone’s mind these days – window and door sills. Specifically, stone windowsills and wooden doorsills. *crickets* Wait. That’s not on everyone’s mind? Only mine? Huh. What do you guys think about? What’s for dinner? Why “sigma” is teen slang now? A problem at work? How to help your kid with fractions? When you can squeeze in time for a haircut? That embarrassing thing you did in third grade? All the emails you haven’t read? Inflation? War? If the colostrum all the influencers are taking has real benefits or is a gimmick? Fair enough. I guess we’re done here. But…stone windowsills and wooden doorsills are easier…

  • tiny art packs a big punch tiny painting display on a wood ledge
    decorating

    Tiny Art and Where To Display It

    Let’s talk about tiny art and where to display it so that it packs a big punch. By tiny art, I mean art that is a few inches in size or smaller. I’m not a designer, but I do pay attention when they all say something to the effect that art needs to have the right scale for a space. Same thing for furniture, lighting, etc. Scale, scale, scale. Got it. Then you find the cutest tiny painting at the thrift store. Did someone say something about scale? I tried stepping on one of those once. Didn’t like it. But I do like finding tiny art. Love it, actually. I…

  • pink blossoms on the sidewalk in spring may 2024 clinton nj on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #345

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s do a quick blog recap. This week I shared the reason why we kept the blue tile in our shower. Vintage tile does have a certain charm or so I keep telling myself. I also wrote about all the pepper mills my eyes told me I wanted and the one my wallet let me get. As always, thank you for being here. One of the perks of blogging is being able to connect with you. I’ve made the best online friends through this website. If you want to connect, and I hope you do, you can always comment…

  • zassenhaus pepper grinder via amazon in praise of pretty pepper mills
    decorating,  Food

    In Praise Of: Pretty Pepper Mills

    Let’s spice things up! I went on the hunt for a pretty pepper mill recently because our old one broke. Apparently, there are things we cannot fix around here. We are still recovering from that shock. In the process, I learned if you Google “pepper grinder,” you get a video game, not a spice grinder. Oops. Today, I will try and use the words “pepper mill” instead of “pepper grinder” because I’m fancy like that now. I went to college and everything. Ha! I also learned that spice aficionados are very particular about pepper mills. They know all about and argue over blade material, mill capacity, grinding speed, hand comfort,…

  • why we chose to keep our vintage blue bathroom tile
    decorating

    Why We Saved Our Vintage Blue Bathroom Tile

    Out with the old. In with the new! Or not? I recently read an article in Domino about why designers are saving vintage bathroom tile during remodels. We saved the vintage blue bathroom tile in our upstairs bathroom for a variety of reasons, so the article resonated with me. It was a tricky choice though. Is this vintage blue bathroom tile a tile I would have chosen?  Enthusiastically, no! Not in color. Not in pattern. Not in shape. Has the blue bathroom tile grown on me?  Yes. I’m not ready to pledge my undying love, but I don’t recoil in horror every time I walk into that bathroom either. Why…

  • clinton nj red mill museum in may 2024 on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #344

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is SO fun to have you here. I hope you enjoy exploring the items on this list that inspired me. Before we jump into that, a quick reminder of this week’s blog posts. On Monday I wrote about the new handles we made for our very old fridge. On Wednesday I shared the not-so-obvious reasons why we are clearing brush on our property. Of course, we want it to look better around here, but there are longer-term goals in place too. As always, thank you for being here. One of the perks of blogging is being able to connect with you. I’ve…

  • backyard of a colonial farmhouse clearing brush
    gardening and landscape

    3 Reasons We’re Clearing Brush On Our Property

    We’ve been clearing brush on our property for five long, long years now for three important reasons. One of those reasons is not because we are gluttons for punishment. But sometimes I wonder. It’s also not because it is our idea of a good time. It isn’t. Here’s the view of our backyard in 2019. Looks like an idyllic scene, right? Many things can look idyllic in the right light and from a distance and with the sound turned off, including history. What that photo does not show is that twenty years ago, most of the trees and brush behind where the kids are playing did not exist. That’s approximately…

  • how to make curved wood refrigerator handles
    DIY

    DIY Curved Wood Refrigerator Handles

    Let’s talk about Curved Wood Refrigerator Handles and how to make them. We have an old refrigerator. It’s probably over 30 years old. The thing runs like a champ. Makes ice faster than a snowman could, which means it’s probably not energy-efficient. It holds a ton of food because it’s as big as a Mac truck. It’s a creamy color, which I believe was referred to as “biscuit” back in the day. Basically, it’s in fine shape and I’ve loathed it since the moment we moved into this house. But then a funny thing started to happen. I realized a stainless steel refrigerator would be way too modern for our…

  • yellow tulips in milk bottle on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #343

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is SO good to have you here. If you missed any blog posts from this week, let me catch you up real quick. On Monday I reminisced about an old tradition of May Day baskets. I know some of you give flowers on May Day. Did anyone receive any flowers? Wednesday’s blog post was all about my favorite human, Handy Husband, who had a birthday this week. Let me tell you, he did milk that birthday week concept for all it was worth. Ha! As always, thank you for being here. It’s so rewarding to connect with each and every one of…