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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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  • diy stone steps building fieldstone steps before
    DIY,  gardening and landscape

    Building Fieldstone Stairs: Part 1

    July 21, 2025 /

    My friends, it is time for our next project, building fieldstone stairs! Have we done this before? Nope. Is that going to get in the way of a good time? Maybe. This project needs a little context, so let’s step on up and get to it. Where will we be building fieldstone stairs? Outside, of course. There is a set of wood stairs in our backyard (4 steps) that we walk down to get to the first floor of the Carriage House. The stairs are set in the middle of a loosely stacked fieldstone wall and below a slightly out-of-level flagstone. Why we are replacing the old steps? For kicks.…

    read more
    annisa 2 Comments

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    June 2, 2021
    fieldstone porch made with fieldstone and lime mortar skimmed over concrete

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    May 21, 2025
    stone carriage house gym expansion removing a stone wall and repairing the floor underneath

    Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 7, The Floor Problem

    June 18, 2025
  • daffodils in front of a stone wall
    gardening and landscape

    Daffodils Along Our Stone Wall

    April 14, 2025 /

    The last few years I’ve been planting a gift for Future Me to enjoy – daffodils along the stone wall that runs the length of our property. This stone wall “protects” our property from the road, meaning it’s very visible to anyone who drives by, so I’d like to think these daffodils are a gift for my neighbors too. Everyone likes daffodils, right? Surely they must be one of the least controversial things on this planet. I put the word protects in quotes in the above paragraph because I’m not sure how much a 2-foot tall stone fence or wall really protects us from anything. The mailman and the deer…

    read more
    annisa 0 Comments

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    You Can Sell a Live Tree From Your Yard

    You Can Sell a Live Tree From Your Yard

    March 23, 2020
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    How Our Landscaping Survived A Dry Summer

    September 7, 2022
    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    July 29, 2020
  • september 2024 google street view caught on google street view
    gardening and landscape

    Caught On Google Street View

    February 12, 2025 /

    Have you ever been caught on Google Street View? Turns out I have! What a way to be immortalized. Hahahahahaha. It really captured me in my element too. I was doing what I pretty much do every day – try to save this house from ruin. The jury is still out if I’ll be successful. The forces of nature are a strong foe, but I am a determined woman. Being caught unaware aside, I am a big fan of Google Street View because you can access the archive of every year Google has photographed your home. Have you tried it? In the top left corner of Street View, there’s a…

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    annisa 6 Comments

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    Bowling Ball Lawn Orb

    June 17, 2016
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    October 9, 2019
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    How We Made Our Front Door Look Bigger With Paint

    September 19, 2022
  • backyard of a colonial farmhouse clearing brush
    gardening and landscape

    3 Reasons We’re Clearing Brush On Our Property

    May 8, 2024 /

    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…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    The Age-Related Reason Why We’re Removing Tree Stumps

    August 16, 2023
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    May Day Basket Tradition – Did You Do This As A Kid?

    April 29, 2024
    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    July 29, 2020
  • The Best Part Of Summer is being outside and roasting marshmallows over a solo stove
    gardening and landscape

    The Best Part Of Summer

    August 21, 2023 /

    We live in a place on the East Coast that typically experiences four distinct seasons and we’re currently wrapping up one of my favorite seasons – summer. The best part of summer is being outside. In summer it’s like the entire area comes alive with activity. The air is buzzing with positive energy. The trees are leafed out providing shade just when you need it. The flowers are bursting with color. The trails are full of bikes and foot traffic. The water is packed with swimmers and paddlers. The parks have festivals, movie nights, and summer concerts. We see our neighbors more during the summer even if it’s just to…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    succulent in a shot glass

    3 Unexpected Succulent Planters

    June 10, 2019
    colonial farmhouse barn spring on the happy list

    Considering More Rhododendrons For Our Landscaping

    February 20, 2023
    carriage house from the 1700s with solar landscaping lights and stone path

    Solar Landscaping Lights: A Literal Glow Up For Our House

    May 22, 2023
  • the age related reason we are removing tree stumps from our yard to make it easier to maintain our lawn as we get older
    gardening and landscape

    The Age-Related Reason Why We’re Removing Tree Stumps

    August 16, 2023 /

    I’d be willing to guess that most people reading this blog post live on or have lived on a property that has a tree stump or two dotting the landscape. Our property has several tree stumps! It’s not unexpected. Trees do have a lifespan. They become diseased. They might become damaged. They might grow in an area that threatens a structure. When any of these things happen, the tree is cut down and, often, the stump is left to rot away. Do you know how long it takes a tree stump to fully rot away? Decades. It can take decades, especially if the tree was a hardwood species. We recently…

    read more
    annisa 1 Comment

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    Bowling Ball Lawn Orb

    June 17, 2016

    Check Out These Old Photos Of Our House

    October 26, 2022
    black metal roof carriage house

    2021 Outdoor Projects on our To Do List

    March 31, 2021
  • petite outdoor bench as a coffee table next to an outdoor sofa
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Petite Bench For An Outdoor Coffee Table

    June 26, 2023 /

    I spruced up a petite bench to use as an outdoor coffee table and have zero regrets, especially since this was a free project. Free meaning I didn’t have to buy anything new. Those are the best kinds of projects. This petite bench was hiding under a stack of pool chemicals in our pump house. It was left here when we moved in and I’m guessing it was originally part of a kid-size picnic table. Hence, the petite part. The bench needed a bit of love. I sanded off the flaky bits and added a few new nails to hold it together. I didn’t do much about the areas that…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Camouflaging the Dog Door

    October 19, 2015
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    Winter Wreath Ideas To Get You Through To Spring

    January 6, 2025
    Candid Photos of Our House That Give Me Warm Fuzzy Feelings colonial farmhouse with stained glass french doors

    Candid Photos of Our House That Give Me Warm Fuzzy Feelings

    August 17, 2022
  • red flowers with black and white striped towels on a concrete pool deck
    DIY,  gardening and landscape

    Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves

    June 5, 2023 /

    Patience is not one of my virtues but I did wait almost 4 years for us to add a 5-ft x7-ft section to our concrete pool deck. Yes, we poured that concrete ourselves. I should rename this blog “Gluttons For Punishment.” Another suitable blog name would be “We Like To Save A Buck But Dang That Concrete Is Heavy.” Thankfully, Handy Husband has experience pouring concrete and I’m a decent assistant as long as I’m not required to lift more than a handful of 80-lb. bags of concrete. After that, it is possible that whining occurs. It’s ironic that Handy Husband ran a concrete line pump when we first got…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Shed Makeover and Tip for Picking Black Paint

    June 16, 2021
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    Reclaimed Wood Bench With a Story

    September 25, 2024

    Fixing the Rattling Windows in the Back Door

    September 14, 2015
  • colonial farmhouse deck summer ready with back and white umbrella and blue chairs black white and blue deck decor
    decorating,  gardening and landscape

    Our Deck Is Ready For Summer

    May 24, 2023 /

    It’s almost Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off to summer in the U.S., and our deck is ready for summer fun! And by fun, I mean eating. I have my priorities. Most of our dinners in the summer are eaten on the deck. Then there are the Double Ds. Drinks and dessert. Those are best enjoyed on the deck in the summer too. We’ll often turn on the party lights and sit on the deck with a drink in hand as the sun goes down and the temperature becomes tolerable pleasant. New Jersey summers are not to be trifled with. They can be hot, humid, and let’s not forget about the…

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    Arrow Growth Chart – ScrapMaster Project #1

    August 27, 2014

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    October 29, 2014
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    Small Updates in the Kids’ Bedrooms

    November 30, 2020
  • carriage house from the 1700s with solar landscaping lights and stone path
    gardening and landscape

    Solar Landscaping Lights: A Literal Glow Up For Our House

    May 22, 2023 /

    I have a bright idea. Let’s talk lighting today because our Colonial Farmhouse has received a literal glow up with the addition of some solar landscaping lights. One of the perks of living in a rural area without much light pollution is that we can see the stars on a clear night. One of the downsides of living in a rural area without much light pollution is that it’s dark at night. I mean really dark. Dumb ways to die dark. In a ‘better light than never’ decision, I added solar landscaping lights to our, well, landscaping last summer. Every night for almost a year now, I’ve looked out the…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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    Fall Front Porch And The Funny Place I Buy Mums

    October 14, 2024

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    October 2, 2017
    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    Bus Stop Gardening Station

    July 29, 2020
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Hi! I'm Annisa.

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  • Happy List: #404
  • Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 7, The Stairs
  • Curved Fieldstone Wall: Part 6, Demo Section 2
  • Happy List: #403
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