Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am delighted to see you here.
This week on the blog I shared the changes we recently made to our front porch. That space has slowly evolved in the last six years and I could not be more happy about it. I just need the weather to start cooperating. I’m wearing a sweater and it’s the end of May!
I also shared how we ruined a section of our lime mortar. It was accidental and we were trying to avoid a broken hip, but it cost us! Most everything is fixable though.
I hope this Happy List leaves you feeling inspired, encouraged, and maybe you will even learn a thing or two. I know I did this week! I absolutely welcome the opportunity to connect with you and hear what you are doing and how you’re feeling. If you want to reach out, please comment on this blog post or email me here. You can also reach out on Instagram or Facebook.
Now, here is the Happy List!
LOGGIA
I learned a new Italian word this week. Loggia. It’s pronounced law-gee-uh with emphasis on the first syllable. There’s a long architectural definition, but it basically means a covered patio.
Loggia sounds so much nicer than patio, especially if I imagine it with an Italian accent.
This loggia in Morocco is dreamy. Look at the shelves in the background. They are full of rocks or maybe broken pottery. I might have to steal that idea. The back of the bench is tiled. The matching terracotta pots. The marble floor. We’d have a great time hanging out here.
More loggia ideas can be found at House and Garden UK.
(image: Ngoc Minh Ngo via House and Garden UK)
VINTAGE DOILY TABLE RUNNER
I gasped when I saw Uncommon Slice of Suburbia made a table runner out of vintage doilies. It’s such an amazing and sentimental idea!
See how she did it and check out pictures of the full runner here.
(image: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia)
You’re mentally cataloging how many doilies you have right now, aren’t you? Me too.
WAY BACK WHEN
If you need a good cry, this song will do it. It’s about your kids growing up and the piano accompaniment is perfect for this poignant song.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a snippet of the lyrics:
SWIM SKIRT
I share this every year. I have two of these Baleaf swim skirts and love them because they are a tad bit longer than a normal swim skirt, so there isn’t a cheeky situation if you don’t want one. It also has a zipper pocket.
(image: Baleaf)
P.S. I am not the model for that picture.
LISTENED
Don’t miss the Hidden Brain podcast episode “How Much Do We Really Know?” It is all about the “illusion of knowledge.” We think we understand the world or certain topics to a much greater extent than we actually do. I am totally guilty of this! I appreciated the cognitive scientist Phil Fernbach‘s explanation of how to close this gap so we don’t get ourselves killed doing something dumb.
OODI
Since we are on the topic of knowledge, have you heard of Oodi? It is the Helsinki Central Library, and I think it should be a model for all libraries. Checking out books is just the tip of what you can do and experience at Oodi.
You can use a sewing machine, a 3-D printer, a clothes iron, a photo printer, a cell phone repair kit, an engraving machine, a laser cutter, and more for free. Sometimes you have to pay for materials, but the sewing machines, for instance, provide white and black thread at no cost.
Your library card also gets you access to a recording studio and a podcast studio. There are gaming rooms, study rooms, a kids’ play place, meeting spaces, a cafe, a government help desk(!!!), and more.
This could be the power of libraries in the U.S. to bring communities together. Check it out for yourself here.
(image: Oodi)
P.S. When we lived in Ireland, it was pretty common to hang out at the library. It was ALWAYS busy.
THIS IS REAL
A new Japanese restaurant in NYC, Shirokuro, is designed to look like a 2-D black and white sketch. WHAT?!?
Every detail on the floor, walls, sides of the chairs, etc. is hand drawn by artist Mirim Yoo. I want to go just to experience the decor.
You can see all of the trippy pictures at This is Colossal.
(image: via This is Colossal)
THAI RED CURRY NOODLE SOUP
Speaking of food, I am making this recipe for Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup from Damn Delicious this week. Handy Husband loves curry.
This recipe has 4.94/5 stars from 894 reviews! Seems like a safe bet that it is going to be delicious.
(image: Damn Delicious)
POETRY MOMENT
THE MAPLES by Marie Howe
I asked the stand of maples behind the house,
How should I live my life?
They said, shhh shhh shhh…
How should I live, I asked, and the leaves seemed to ripple and gleam.
A bird called from a branch in its own tongue,
And from a branch, across the yard, another bird answered.
A squirrel scrambled up a trunk
then along the length of a branch.
Stand still, I thought,
See how long you can bear that.
Try to stand still, if only for a few moments,
drinking light breathing
Thank you for reading today’s Happy List.
Be good to yourself and others this weekend.
I’ll see you back here on Monday.
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