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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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  • carriage house kitchenette with blue and white curtains to break up long narrow space
    decorating

    Carriage House Curtains For a Long Narrow Space

    August 11, 2025 /

    I recently added new curtains in our Carriage House to break up the long narrow space, and I’m going to have to file this under “things I should have done a long time ago.” Talk about a change for the better! Our Carriage House is roughly 9-feet wide by 30-feet long. Have you ever decorated a tunnel? That’s the situation with our Carriage House, and we have to fit a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and an office into the space. I have received many well-meaning suggestions to add wallpaper or wainscoting to this space to give the walls interest. However, because it is such a long space, those options will cost…

    read more
    annisa 7 Comments

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    Under-A-Table Pull-Out Trash Cabinet

    February 17, 2025
  • vintage bottle bud vases on an antique radio
    decorating

    Vintage Bottle Bud Vases

    July 9, 2025 /

    A couple of months ago we dug up some vintage bottles from our backyard. Some folks have a garden in their backyard and dig up things like potatoes. We dig up vintage bottles. Perhaps we could trade? Anyway, it’s not that unusual to dig up “garbage” in the backyard of a really old home that existed before a person driving a big truck collected your bins of trash every Friday at 4 a.m. You can complain about a lot of things in modern society, but waste disposal ordinances seem like a good thing to me. The vintage bottles we found were in surprisingly good shape for having been buried for…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    Plywood Side Table Makeover

    June 11, 2025 /

    Some life lessons need reminders. Today’s plywood side table makeover is one of those reminders. (Yes, I can find a life lesson in almost anything.) I found what was clearly a DIY plywood side table at my favorite thrift store. It was $10. Do you think I overpaid? I never regret buying wood tables for $10 (maybe more depending on the table) because I know the lumber it took to make it, not to mention the time, costs more than ten bucks these days. Plus, side tables are one thing we are short on around here. I knew I was going to knock off the orange-y finish of the table,…

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    annisa 3 Comments

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  • farmhouse front porch more seating with rockers and a light update
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    Front Porch – More Seating and a Light Update

    May 19, 2025 /

    It is front porch season in New Jersey. Finally! New Jersey likes to trick you a little on this topic. You’ll think it is front porch season and then one morning you’ll wake up to find everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, covered in a coating of yellow dust. Pesky pollen. I made the mistake of sleeping with the window open during this time and woke up to my nightstand, and I’m sure, all my bedding, covered in pollen. Is this why they call it spring cleaning? Because I had to do a BUNCH of it that day. Regrets. I have a few. Anyway, I cleared the front porch of…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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  • repurposed wood mortar as a wood planter
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    Repurposed Wood Mortar as a Planter

    May 12, 2025 /

    The mortar portion of a wood mortar and pestle set came home with me from the thrift store recently. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s how it was originally intended to be used. It was either that or an oddly shaped bowl. It was made from several pieces of wood (presumably mahogany) laminated together and then hollowed out on a lathe to have sloping sides. I knew I wouldn’t use it for food preparation because, despite all my best intentions, I’ve never consistently used any of the mortar and pestle sets we’ve owned. I’m more of a food processor type of home cook. I’m also the type of person who…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    April 29, 2019
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    September 21, 2020
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    In Praise of Blates (Pasta Bowls)

    January 16, 2023
  • solar fairy light mason jars
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    Fairy Light Mason Jars (Solar and Battery Powered)

    May 5, 2025 /

    Today, it is my privilege to remind you of the simple joy of fairy light mason jars. It’s not a new concept, but it is one I had forgotten about until recently. In addition, there are not one, but TWO easy ways to light them up yourselves. First, how this reminder came about in case you don’t like DIY projects. (There’s something for everyone here.) I was killing time in the lighting aisle at Lowe’s recently because Handy Husband had parked himself in the electrical aisle and I’m pretty sure he was there long enough that folks started mistaking him for an employee. If they offer an employee discount, it…

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    Carriage House Curtains For a Long Narrow Space

    August 11, 2025
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    April 22, 2024
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    In Praise Of: Pretty Matchstick Holders

    October 18, 2023
  • entryway refresh with buffalo check curtains and new front door window insert
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    Entryway Refresh and a New Front Door Window

    April 16, 2025 /

    Last month we did an entryway refresh on our home and now I’m wondering why we waited so long? That’s how it always goes. I prefer to sit with things before I write about them. It gives me some perspective on the change. It helps minimize the number of instances where I have to apologize because whatever thing we changed didn’t hold up or perform as expected. Also, it gives us time to “laugh about this later” when things go wrong and they always do with our projects. I really want to meet these people where things seem to run like clockwork for them. What’s that like? How do they…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Kitchen Mini Makeover Progress

    February 10, 2020
  • wood drink table set next to a farmhouse stye wood bench in a colonial farmhouse
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    What a Difference a Drink Table Makes

    April 9, 2025 /

    The thing you never knew you needed is a drink table. It’s a mini side table that’s just big enough to hold a drink or two. It could also hold a plant. Truth be told, I think the origin story of the drink table is that someone killed a plant they had on a plant stand. After that, this bright bulb decided the only thing they were good at watering was themselves, so they turned that plant stand into a drink stand. Play to your strengths, people! I love a multifunctional piece of furniture, so no complaints here. I just added a drink table to the bench that sits in…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    May 22, 2019
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    DIY Rustic Towel Bar From An Antique Harness

    August 22, 2022
  • scrapbook paper flower garland hanging over a navy blue sunporch and blooming geraniums spring party decor wedding shower decor
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    Paper Flower Garland

    March 19, 2025 /

    Who’s ready for a party? This girl is because I have the happiest paper flower garland hanging up ready for a celebration. What are we celebrating? Longer daylight hours. Daffodils popping out of the ground. The new season of Reacher. A really good night’s sleep. Anything and everything is a cause for celebration these days. Those are the rules. Take your joy where you can get it, folks. Speaking of things that bring me joy, I have proclaimed loudly and often that I am not a garland person and, yet, I seem to come up with excuses for making garlands and hanging them up in my house. Need evidence? I…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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  • bedroom peg rail above a dresser in a colonial farmhouse with tiffany lamp
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    Bedroom Peg Rail – One Entire Wall of Storage

    March 12, 2025 /

    By adding a peg rail to one entire wall of our bedroom, we gained 15 feet of storage and organization space and an unlimited amount of glee over this addition. Is there a Guinness Book of World Records category for the world’s longest peg rail? If so, I’d like to submit our bedroom peg rail as an entry. You’ll have to use your imagination a little because it was hard for me to get a decent photograph of one gigantic wall broken up by a door. That’s why I’m showing the two sides of the peg rail in different photos in this blog post. The hardship, I know. Thank you…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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 Older Posts
Hi! I'm Annisa.

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