Happy List: #334

Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m so glad you are here.

This week on the blog I shared the hidden meaning behind a reclaimed wood tray we made. If you haven’t read it yet, I think you’ll like the ending of that story.

I also wrote about when and where to use rechargeable lightbulbs so that you aren’t disappointed that they don’t work as long as regular lightbulbs.

As always, thank you for being here. Don’t be a stranger. We like talking to you! If you want to connect with us or ask a question, you can always comment on this blog post or send an email here. You can also reach out on Instagram or Facebook.

Enjoy this week’s Happy List!

BASKET FULL

Have you ever seen mantel art like this? I’m still trying to figure out how you’d make it yourself. I think it is doable.

Check out the rest of the home here. It’s gorgeous!

(image: via Homes to Love Australia)

WOOD BOWL MAKEOVER

Pam from House of Hawthornes gave the gold leaf treatment to a wood bowl and it looks so good!

This would be a fun one to recreate with a wooden bowl of your own.

Get the directions here. There are a couple of steps to get the gold leaf to stick and stay.

(image: House of Hawthornes)

PHONE CHARGER

We have SO MANY problems with charging cords in this house. They get frayed. They stop working. Don’t even get me started on why my phone always thinks it has moisture in the charging port and won’t charge.

We finally got a new iPhone charger where we can just set our phones on top of this charging disk. It’s far less drama! As a bonus, it seems to charge much faster than the plug-in charging cord.

Just check that it works with your phone model.

BLACK, CREAM, AND WOOD

My favorite design trio is black, cream, and wood and all are present in this kitchen.

More photos are available in this Domino article.

(image: photo Vivian Johnson via Domino)

SWEATING LIKE A PIG

Did you know the phrase “sweating like a pig” has nothing to do with pigs of the oink-oink variety?

I just learned that the phrase has to do with iron smelting. I feel silly now.

Learn about pig iron and why it sweats here.

P.S. I have no idea why I took a picture of pigs in 2017.

EASTER BUNNY WREATH

Here’s a coffee filter wreath for Easter from Jennifer Rizzo that’s absolutely adorable!

All the details and directions can be found here.

(image: Jennifer Rizzo)

PRE-ORDERED

We are big fans of Stephen Colbert and pre-ordered Stephen and Evie’s cookbook.

Look closely at the picture! Handy Husband and I both laughed out loud.

(image: Amazon)

EASTER EGG WAX DECORATING

Have you ever decorated Easter eggs with wax? Ellie from Le Cafe de Maman has a tutorial that looks doable. She says she remembers decorating Easter eggs with wax when she was 4 years old, so I should be able to do it in my 40s, right?

Maybe you shouldn’t answer that question. Hahaha!

Check out the tutorial here.

(image: Le Cafe de Maman)

IRISH NACHOS

This recipe is decidedly not Irish, but I’m here for it all the same. This Irish Nachos recipe from Culinary Hill looks like the best kind of comfort food.

I think it would be easier to use frozen french fries or tots instead of frying your own potatoes.

However, this recipe calls for parboiling potatoes in water and vinegar. I did not know that vinegar helps the potatoes hold their shape. I’ve learned so much of little consequence this week.

(image: Culinary Hill)

POETRY MOMENT

Love After Love by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Thank you for reading today’s Happy List.

Be good to yourself and others this week.

I’ll see you back here on Monday

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