Happy List: #408 – A Pretty Happy Home

Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m pleased as punch that you are here.

This week on the blog, I shared how I decorated our fireplace for Halloween. It involved foraging and a potentially embarrassing situation. I also shared how our front porch looks at night, all decorated with pumpkins and solar jar lanterns.

I say it every week because I mean it. Thank you for being here. You have an unlimited number of ways you could spend your time. The fact that you spend a few minutes with me is a privilege. I aim for the Happy List to be a bright spot in your day, and I enjoy connecting with you. If you want to reach out, please comment on this blog post or email me here. You can also direct message me on Instagram or Facebook.

Now that the housekeeping is over, here’s your treat: the Happy List!

FIRED UP

I see people cover up or alter these types of stone fireplaces ALL THE TIME, which is totally their prerogative. But Heidi Caillier shows us that they can look amazing in these modern times with the right decor. I think it comes down to working with the architecture and style of a home, not against it.

See more photos of this home here.

(image: Heidi Caillier Design)

WHAT A HOOT

Why don’t we see more owls as part of fall decor? Or have I just skipped over that part of the internet? It’s possible.

This guy sure does fit in well on these porch steps.

I have a concrete frog. Do you think that would work?

(image: via Gardenista)

CHEESE AND HALLOWEEN CANDY?!?!

Have you heard of people pairing cheese with Halloween candy? Yes. That’s a thing, and I think it would be a fun thing to experience with friends, your book club, Bible study group, etc.

Supposedly, Manchego and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are a delightful pairing. Who knew? Not me.

Brie and candy corn is another combination. I can see that one.

Learn more about these cheese and candy combinations at Food52.

(image: Marissa Mullen for Food52)

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR SUBMARINE

Did you know that in 1864, the Confederate Army in the U.S. had a submarine?

It’s a tragic tale, and it only really worked to destroy a ship one time. But holy cow, the scientific advancements that had to happen to make this in the 1860s! The Hunley was brought to the surface in 2000 and now sits in a specialized tank of Sodium Hydroxide in South Carolina. If you’re in Charleston, you can check it out on the weekends.

Learn more here. I heard about this on the Atlas Obscura podcast (Episode 1153). There also seems to be some controversy over who discovered the wreck, and Clive Cussler is involved with that part of the tale.

QUICK AND EASY

Don’t forget! It’s quick and easy with a little duct tape and parchment paper to make jack o’ lantern or other Halloween decals for your porch planters.

Directions here.

P.S. The metal “planter” is part of an old chicken feeder.

READ, LISTENED, WATCHED

Here are a few noteworthy mentions from my recent media diet.

Read: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. This is fascinating, eye-opening, quirky, humorous, touching, and thoughtful.

Listened/Watched: How It Feels When Your Kid Leaves for College on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast. I laughed and cried while listening to this ON MY WALK when Glennon Doyle described all the moms furiously scrubbing down dorm rooms with sanitizing wipes, like it was the one last thing they could do to protect their children. This was the absolute truth of my experience.

Read: Ground News (website and Instagram). Ground News attempts to counteract media bias by displaying news events with sources from across the political spectrum. It tells you which percentage of left, center, and right outlets are reporting on any given story. They further tell you which side, if any, has a blind spot (meaning not reporting on it) on any given story. I’ve found this to be helpful, and I believe it is a worldwide service.

Listen: Can’t wait for this music collaboration between The Wellermen and Rose Betts to release today. You should know that I like Irish music, sea shanties, and a cappella music.

PLATE WALL

There is not a plate wall or hat wall that I have not seen and loved. Do I have one of my own? No. I don’t even collect fancy plates or wear cool hats.

Check out this plate wall by I Spy DIY. Love how it starts to curve around the doorframe.

(image: I Spy DIY)

SINGLE SERVE COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKE

I am super curious to try Pinch of Yum’s Cottage Cheese Pancake. It is described as having a soufflé-like texture. To me, this is a fancy way of saying, “Get in my belly.”

It also has 15 grams of protein, which seems like a delightfully sneaky way to up your protein intake.

Get the recipe here. Also, read the comments. There are some tips about using an immersion blender instead of a regular blender if yours doesn’t do small portions.

(image: Pinch of Yum)

POETRY MOMENT

More than Happiness by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

I wish you the peace
that comes when we trust ourselves
to meet whatever life brings.
I wish you love beyond
happy endings—
the kind of love
that seeps into everything
no matter where the story goes.
Today, I planted cosmos
in the garden. Inevitably,
they will grow into cosmos.
This is what I wish for you—
the delight of growing
inevitably into yourself.
The thrill of knowing
your beauty makes a difference
in the world—
how, in the garden of my heart,
you are ever blooming,
like a surprise larkspur
brought in as a seed,
and now that it’s here,
it will never leave.