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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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  • stone carriage house gym conversion stone repointing lime mortar
    DIY

    Messy Middle – Stone Carriage House Gym Conversion

    August 21, 2024 /

    The messy middle of any project, but especially converting a stone carriage house into a gym, feels exceptionally long. Sometimes it actually is long. I realize time is annoyingly relative. A long time for you might be nothing to me and vice versa. But trust me when I say that when the hours turn into days then weeks of repointing stone walls, you’re allowed to say and feel that the messy middle of this project is taking way too long. I don’t make the rules. I do love to whine about them though. Here’s where we started with the stone carriage house gym conversion. Yes, there is a fireplace wall…

    read more
    annisa 2 Comments

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    May 7, 2025
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    Do We Regret Removing a Wood Stove From Our Home?

    January 24, 2022
  • saving historic window drip edge trim detail on a 250 year old colonial farmhouse
    colonial farmhouse,  DIY

    Saving a Historic Window Drip Edge Detail

    August 19, 2024 /

    When we had the rotten siding on our colonial farmhouse replaced, the window trim needed replacing too and I was adamant about saving the historic window drip edge detail. It was not a necessary component of the window trim but it was part of the home’s character. I just didn’t realize this decision would cause a bit of drama later. To be clear, we were not able to save the actual boards that made this historic window drip edge detail. They had served their purpose and helped direct water away from the house for decades. Decades! And it showed in how the wood had rotted. Some of our windows already…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Faux Copper Metal Awning

    October 14, 2020
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    Searching for Hidden Treasure in Our Home

    August 26, 2020
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    Basement Time Capsule Has Been Installed

    June 10, 2024
  • converting a 250-year-old carriage house into a gym repointing stone walls old house repointing
    DIY

    Plan To Convert A 250-Year-Old Carriage House Into A Gym

    August 14, 2024 /

    Let me share our plan to convert a 250-year-old Carriage House into a gym…a plan we came up with AFTER the hammers came out and the dust started flying. When most people are spontaneous, they go out for ice cream. When we are spontaneous, we embark on back-breaking work to repoint the stone walls of a Carriage House. I think we’re doing spontaneity wrong. Here’s the current exterior of our Carriage House. You can be horrified by the before pictures of the roof here and marvel at how paint transformed this building here. Having a space to exercise at home, specifically to lift weights, was something we’d been contemplating for…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Magic Light Trick

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    June 17, 2019
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    Do We Regret Removing a Wood Stove From Our Home?

    January 24, 2022
  • how to fix misshapen ear pads on headphones
    DIY,  gift and learning

    How To Fix Misshapen Ear Pads on Headphones

    July 22, 2024 /

    If the ear pads on your headphones are falling apart and misshapen, don’t throw those expensive headphones away. You can fix them! I first tried to reshape the old ear pads. Got them wet. Tried to reshape them. Coaxed them to cooperate. It worked better in theory than in practice. But I had to try. That’s when I discovered that for most major brands of headphones, you can find replacement ear pads online. The replacement ear pads should come with directions and replacing them isn’t hard. I’ll show you how it looks to replace the ear pads on these Bose headphones. It should be similar to yours. Step 1: Remove…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Check Out The Terracotta Floor We Found

    September 16, 2024
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    Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves

    June 5, 2023
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    We’ve Added A Lot of Closet Shelves and So Should You

    January 10, 2022
  • white farmhouse with black shutters the curious thing about white farmhouses
    DIY

    The Curious Thing About White Farmhouses

    July 15, 2024 /

    I have recently been assigned the excruciating job of selecting a trim color for our white farmhouse. Who gave me this task? I did. Who decided I was qualified? No one. Who will be upset if I pick the wrong color? Me. I make a million decisions (give or take) a day. Why is picking one paint color so difficult? I have picked baby names faster than I’ve picked a trim color. Not even joking. Anyway, in all of my research (aka Googling and walking around the towns near me), I noticed a curious thing about white farmhouses. Not always, but often, the accent color of a white farmhouse comes…

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    annisa 4 Comments

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    The Most Satisfying Staircase Makeover You’ve Seen Today

    March 7, 2022
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    Stone Carriage House Restoration Reveal

    September 21, 2024
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    2022 House Project Goals

    February 28, 2022
  • colonial farmhouse with hardie fiber cement siding in arctic white how installing fiber cement siding changed our insurance premiums
    colonial farmhouse,  DIY

    How Much Our Insurance Changed With Hardie Fiber Cement Siding

    July 10, 2024 /

    When the wood siding on our very old house started to rot away, everyone told us to reinstall new wood siding because that’s what buyers of old houses on the East Coast expect. Clearly, “everyone” hasn’t had to maintain painted wood siding. We decided to have HardieĀ® fiber cement siding installed instead because our priority for protecting our almost 250-year-old home was to make it fire-resistant, deter wood-eating pests, protect it from severe storms, and add resistance to moisture-induced rot. If an owner of an old house isn’t sleeping well, you know why. We have a lot to worry about! Fiber cement siding protects our home from all of those…

    read more
    annisa 2 Comments

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    Did We Finally Find Buried Treasure?

    April 30, 2025
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    Wood Chandelier in the Music Room

    August 3, 2020
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    Updating Our Home With Antique Hardware

    June 7, 2021
  • old house construction techniques timber framed home from 1800s mortise and tenon carpenter's marks
    colonial farmhouse,  DIY

    4 Old House Construction Techniques We Found When We Replaced Siding

    July 8, 2024 /

    While putting new siding on our very old house (circa 1780s with later additions), we had a first-hand view of 4 old house construction techniques that blew our minds. Not everyone has the opportunity to see the “guts” of their home, so we’ll use my home as an example so that you’re not shocked someday. Fasten your proverbial tool belt and come check out the 4 old house construction techniques we found. #1 Old House Construction Technique: Timber Framed Construction Our home was built before power tools existed. It was built before electricity was invented. It was built before modern nails and screws were invented. In fact, the frame of…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Check Out The Terracotta Floor We Found

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    Under the Stairs Closet Shelves

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    How I’m Connecting Two Decks With Landscaping

    May 11, 2022
  • DIY vintage post office box door picture frame make a picture frame out of an old PO Box door
    Crafts,  DIY

    Vintage Post Office Box Door Photo Frame

    June 26, 2024 /

    What do you do when you find a door to an old post office box at the thrift store? Turn it into a Post Office Box Door Photo Frame, of course! That was my immediate thought when I saw a basket of these vintage post office box doors at my favorite thrift store. The little window on the door would be the perfect spot for a small photo. I believe this door dates back to the early 1900s. From what I can ascertain, the U.S. Post Office used combination locks from the late 1800s to early 1900s. The door is made from brass. Of course, I could clean up the…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    January 15, 2016
  • yale smart lock on a black front door 3 things we love about our smart lock and one we don't
    decorating,  DIY

    Front Door Smart Lock: 3 Things We Love, 1 We Don’t

    June 17, 2024 /

    Two months ago we switched to a smart lock on our front door. There are three things (at least!) that we love about about this smart lock and one thing we don’t love. Before I dive into the details, I want to mention that we feel so fancy now with a smart lock. We don’t have a Ring doorbell camera. We don’t even have a regular doorbell. If you come to our house, you have to knock on the door like in the good ol’ days. If you do knock, I may or may not “hear you knock,” if you get the excuse I’m throwing out there. Just depends on…

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    Antique Nail Caddy Fall Centerpiece

    September 21, 2020
  • time capsule installed in a basement in a home in new jersey in 2024
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    Basement Time Capsule Has Been Installed

    June 10, 2024 /

    We installed a basement time capsule in our almost 250-year-old home and I’m giddy with excitement about it. Why would we do this? Hold onto your Swatch watch and I’ll tell you. It was time. I have been looking for treasure ever since we bought this home. Every time we dug a hole or opened up a wall while renovating, I hoped we’d find something amazing. Gold coins. Prohibition alcohol. Jewelry. I wasn’t picky. What have we found? Nothing of note unless you’re into rats’ nests and lost paperclips. I decided to channel this treasure-hunting energy into something more productive and forward-looking. If I’m not going to find anything of…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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Hi! I'm Annisa.

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