Spring Break and an Irish Blessing
I hope you had a lovely Easter. Here’s an Irish blessing to start your week: May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours! I’m hopping off the blog this week to spend time with Handy Husband and the kiddos. If we end up doing anything exciting, I’ll be sure and post it on Instagram. Have a happy week! Share this:
Happy List: #65 Happy Easter
Hello, hello! Happy Good Friday and early Easter to you! Easter is a huge religious holiday in Ireland, but not as commercial as what I am used to in the U.S. Less commercialism is probably a good thing. This week I shared a recipe that would be delicious to serve for Easter brunch: Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake. I also wrote about my Easter egg crafting session. The result was a spring feeling in my heart and sheet music eggs on my table! Here’s the Happy List. PHOTO COLORIZATION PROJECT Black and white photos can be hard to related to. I think that’s one reason why it is so fascinating to…
Sheet Music Easter Eggs
Confession time. Things don’t feel very Easter-y around here. It’s not a holiday I typically decorate for and with our recent snowstorms, it hasn’t quite felt like spring around these parts. So I decided I would craft myself into a spring mood. Nothing says spring rebirth like styrofoam eggs, so that’s what I started with. My first attempt at decorating my fake eggs was a major flop. It’s also a reminder of why I try to avoid Pinterest. My second attempt was much more successful. I made Sheet Music Easter Eggs, which I’m not sure are actually spring-looking, but they are more my style. Making Sheet Music Easter Eggs is…
Would I Make It Again? Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
Let’s ease into the week talking about something meaningful. Coffee cake. Otherwise known as the cake that is acceptable to eat for breakfast. That’s pretty much heaven on earth, right? This Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake recipe came out of one of the three cookbooks that I own. Two of the cookbooks are out of print. All three cookbooks were gifts. Clearly, I am not a collector of cookbooks, but I’ve kept these three because I actually use them. Not as often as I use online recipe sites though. I equate it to trying out the newest exercise fad – ThighMaster, Tae Bo, pole dancing classes. But then always coming back…
Happy List: #64
Well, hello from the start of my Spring Break! It’s actually called Easter Break in Ireland. My kids have a half day of school today and then TWO WEEKS off. And we don’t have any plans. Should I be worried for my sanity? On Monday I shared a recap of what St. Patrick’s Day is like in Dublin. Then on Wednesday I gave you a glimpse into why I volunteer at school riveting story about my latest rummage sale find. Now let’s get to the good stuff. The Happy List! DOABLE DIY This faux map drawer DIY is awesome! If it looks as good in person as it does in…
My Latest Rummage Sale Find
I don’t want to hurt my brain thinking about it too hard, but I’m fairly certain my ‘latest’ rummage sale find is actually my ‘only’ rummage sale find. But let’s not get bogged down in the details. My children’s school holds a rummage sale before Christmas each year. Parents donate the crud they can’t wait to get rid of slightly used toys and knick-knacks and then give their kids money to buy it all back. It’s the best idea ever a great fundraiser for the school. I have volunteered to staff the rummage sale the past two years because I want to make sure my kids don’t buy their own stuff back it’s…
Visiting Ireland: St. Patrick’s Day
Visiting Ireland any time of year is special. Visting Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day? Well, that’s taking things up a notch or ten million. Let’s start with some basics. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died on March 17 around the year 460 A.D. Record keeping might not have been quite as stringent in the 5th century. Hence, all the qualifying words. It is believed that St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland or, at least, had a large influence on Christianity in Ireland. Many of the stories about St. Patrick aren’t necessarily factual. However, they are impressive if you have certain phobias. For…
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Happy List: #63 St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy almost St. Patrick’s Day!! This week because I have a great sense of timing, I shared a decidedly UN-Irish post – my tips for visiting Paris with kids. It was great! Especially that part where I talk about bathrooms. I like to share the important stuff with you guys! I also shared a new recipe I’ve been snacking on lately – Chile Lime Almonds. Also known as “what to do when your husband buys a bag of raw almonds.” Here is this week’s Happy List! EASTER BUNNY NAPKIN If you are hosting Easter dinner, please tell me you’ll fold your napkins like this! (image: Sand and Sisal) This idea…
Travel: Paris with Kids
When I told a family member we’d be visiting Paris, she said, “That sounds so romantic!” To which I replied, “Did I forget to mention we’re visiting Paris WITH our kids?” So, no romance this trip, but lots of family fun. It’s a good trade-off. Right?!?! While I would love to see Paris in the spring, it was pretty special to be able to ring in the New Year (from our hotel room, of course) in this beautiful city. Here are my impressions of Paris, things we did and my tips for visiting with kids. (Our kids were 7 and 10 at the time of our visit.) GETTING AROUND The…
Would I Make It Again? Chile Lime Almonds
Some girls get flowers and chocolate from their significant other. I get almonds. No, really. I did. It was a sweet and thoughtful gesture from Handy Husband. And I say that with the utmost degree of sincerity, not sarcasm. Sometimes I need to clarify these things. However, I kind of ruined the moment when I said, “You got me UNSALTED almonds?” And he said, “What? No. Why would they be unsalted? Check the label.” This isn’t my first almond rodeo. I know a package of healthy unsalted almonds when I see one. I humored Handy Husband though (there’s a marriage tip for you!) and turned the bag over to find…
