The Best Part Of Summer
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…
The Age-Related Reason Why We’re Removing Tree Stumps
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…
Petite Bench For An Outdoor Coffee Table
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…
Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves
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…
Our Deck Is Ready For Summer
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…
Solar Landscaping Lights: A Literal Glow Up For Our House
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…
10 Fun Gardening Finds
Friends, I am delighted to dig into today’s topic and share 10 fun gardening finds with you. This is an aspirational post for me because I’m delusional convinced that I might grow to enjoy gardening if fun and pretty things are involved. I’m not a one trick peony, I mean, pony, so it could happen, right? By the way, I’m using the term gardening loosely here. If it has to do with plants and I thought it looked neat then it landed on the list. Here are 10 fun gardening finds that caught my eye. COPPER TRELLIS I was today years old when I learned a circular copper trellis was a…
Considering More Rhododendrons For Our Landscaping
I’m considering adding more rhododendrons to the landscaping directly in front of our Colonial Farmhouse. I know it’s not necessarily newsworthy to tell you I’m thinking about doing a thing but I haven’t decided if it’s a good idea and even if it is I might chicken out and do something else. Yet, here we are. Honestly, if someone else wanted to take care of the landscaping decisions for me, I’d be so happy. It’s just not a topic that gets me excited. Unfortunately, there is no one else. I double and tripled checked. I’m stuck with myself on this one. We currently have three rhododendrons. One to the left…
How We Made Our Front Door Look Bigger With Paint
Let’s talk about how we made our front door look bigger with paint and only paint. Once again, the MVP of DIY saves the day. If you want to be all technical about it, I can concede the primary purpose of a front door is to allow access to a home. However, you and I know that the REAL purpose of a front door is to make a darn good impression on all the people who regularly see it like the Amazon driver, the UPS driver, and the FedEx driver. What?!? Am I hearing you correctly? Folks other than delivery people come to your house. Regularly?!? Huh. You must be…
Painted Chainlink Fence Hack
Need a painted chainlink fence hack? You’ve come to the right place. If you’re reading this blog post then it is probably because you have an ugly chainlink fence that is driving you batty. You’ve probably wondered a million times if you can paint that chainlink fence and how much of a pain in the paintbrush is it going to be? You can paint pretty much anything. The question is whether or not it will hold up. In a grand, tedious experiment, I painted our ugly chainlink fence one year ago and discovered a hack that might save your sanity and a whole bunch of wasted paint. Here’s the hack,…
