• quilt and blanket ladder in a farmhouse on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #301

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared the visor I jazzed up with fabric paint. I gave the visor a retro stripe and I love wearing it. I also shared 17 uses for ceramic crocks and how to tell if your crocks are antiques and not reproductions. On last week’s Happy List, I shared a graphic of glimmers. Glimmers are small moments that spark joy or peace. One of my readers commented that the Happy List is a glimmer for them. *Cue all the mushy feelings.* Thank you for all of your comments, support, likes, shares, etc. here…

  • pressed flower art
    happy list

    Happy List: #300

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I hope you’ve had a great week and are ready for my weekly dose of ideas and inspiration. This week on the blog I shared our recently wallpapered kitchen alcove. I hope ‘alcove’ sounds fancier than ‘weird hallway’ because I spend a lot of time workshopping that name. Ha! I also shared a post from the archives about Mother’s Day and my own experience being a mom after my mom died having never met my children. I didn’t share it to be a downer. I think it ends on a hopeful note. I shared my story so that anyone else experiencing what I…

  • raspberry margarita on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #299

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared an old house essential with you – my slow cooker for removing paint from door hardware. It’s really amazing what you can accomplish with water, heat, and a little bit of patience. I also wrote about my hunt for a ceiling medallion for our living room and I learned something about the history of ceiling medallions while doing it. Win, win. As always, I love hearing from you. It makes this whole thing more of a dialogue than a monologue. You can always comment on this blog post or send an…

  • flower basket centerpiece
    happy list

    Happy List: #298

    Hello, hello! Welcome to today’s Happy List. I’m delighted you are here. This week on the blog I shared when a brown paint wash can be used to mimic the look of stain. Spoiler – it’s usually when things have gone awry and you need to salvage your DIY project. Ha! I also wrote a sweet and sentimental blog post about Handy Husband. He has a birthday soon and if you’d like to send him a birthday wish, I’ll be sure to pass it on. You can always comment on this blog post or send an email here. You can also connect with us on Instagram or Facebook. Now, here’s the Happy List!…

  • colonial farmhouse exterior with red barn and daffodils in rural new jersey April 2023
    happy list

    Happy List: #297

    Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you are here. This week on the blog I discussed the perk of decanting my liquid laundry detergent. I didn’t intentionally schedule this blog to run when I was catching up on vacation laundry, but it felt apropos! I also shared pictures of the new denim bunting banner I made and hung in my son’s room. I love that he doesn’t care much about his room’s decor yet and I still get to play around in there. As always, I love hearing from you! It makes my day. It makes your day. It’s also part of the magic that keeps this…

  • easter table with tulips and embroidered napkin with easter egg on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #296

    Welcome to the Happy List and happy early Easter to those of you celebrating! This week on the blog I shared some fun gardening finds. I’m very excited to see plants blooming and the grass turning green again where we live. It’s such a welcome sight after the dreary winter. I also reshared a funny story from the archives about the time when my kids got to throw eggs filled with paint in a park in Ireland. I’d love to know if you can relate to the parents in that story. Were you like me and wary of the whole situation? Were you the parent who planned this activity a…

  • sheet music easter eggs on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #295

    Hi! Welcome to today’s Happy List on this last day of March! This week on the blog I shared how one-lane roads and bridges charm me and give me hope for humanity. I realize that’s a lot of pressure to put on an inanimate object but that’s where we’re at. Ha! I also shared pictures of our newly completed laundry room. I’m feeling very happy with how that space turned out. As always, I love hearing from you! It makes my day. It makes your day. It’s also part of the magic that keeps this blog running. You can always comment on this blog post or send an email here.…

  • marbled faux easter eggs on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #294

    Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted you’re here. This week on the blog I discussed a very niche quirk of old houses. Some old homes, like ours, have field stones or bricks in between the wood studs. These aren’t stone walls in the traditional sense. There’s nothing structural about these stones. In this blog post, I discuss why this might have been done. To keep things interesting around here, I also shared a blog post about how to reuse a Basmati rice bag. These burlap bags are awesome and too good to throw away! As always, I love hearing from you! It makes my day. It…

  • st patrick's day table decor irish flag centerpiece
    happy list

    Happy List: #293

    Hello! Welcome to today’s Happy List and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have fun plans for your St. Patrick’s Day! We attended a parade last weekend and tonight we will be having all the green-colored foods for dinner. This week on the blog I shared a post all about basket walls. If you’ve been watching my Instagram stories you’ll know that I’ve had a go at making a mini basket wall. I also shared one of my favorite blog posts from the archives about the kindness of the Irish people. The people really are the best part of Ireland and I learned that firsthand while living there. But…

  • spring flower on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #292

    Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. This week on the blog I shared some recent photos of my home that made me smile. This old house of ours gives me a lot of heartburn, so I have to balance that out with moments of appreciation! I also shared my idea for creating a utility wall when you don’t have a closet to store all of your brooms, mops, vacuums, etc. I used to work for a national homebuilder and one of my roles was to provide input on new floorplans. My feedback was always “Where does the vacuum go?” Needless to say, utility space is…