Emoji Golf Balls
We live about a 6 or 7-minute walk from the Irish Sea. What a drag, right? A few Sundays ago I took a glorious walk BY MYSELF down to the beach. Moms need that every once in awhile. It was heavenly. When I reached the beach I realized the tide was out. Really out. In fact, I hadn’t seen the tide out that far in eons. (Take “eons” with a grain of salt – I’ve only lived here 11 months.) I called Handy Husband and told him he and the kids had to come to the beach quickly! The weather was amazing and the low tide had exposed little shallow pools of water…
Another Vegetable My Husband Hates
Here’s the deal. 1. My husband LOVES when I write about him. It makes sense because he is my favorite writing topic. Well, one of my favorite writing topics. He’s definitely up there in the top 10 with felt, bread, embroidery thread and fabric glue. Oh, and my kids. Can’t forget them. 2. I purposefully picked a sensational headline for this post because I’m curious to see how long it takes Handy Husband to notice. Also, scandal sells. 3. This is an absolutely, completely true story. I should feel slightly bad about how it ends, but I don’t. First, a little background information. For the entire length of our 20 some odd…
Happy List #25: Happy Birthday Edition
A HUGE birthday shout out to my two kiddos! My daughter turns double digits today (HOLY COW, TEN!) and tomorrow my son turns SEVEN! I have to admit, I got a lump in my throat last night when I tucked my daughter into bed. I told her, “this is the last time I will kiss 9-year-old you good night.” Then I gave her a million kisses until she finally said, “MOOOM!” I don’t want to make this about me, even though I did grow them, birth them and have spent a decade devoted to their whims and whines health and wellbeing. But, really, it’s their day! After months and months of debate, decisions and…
Vintage Key Project Inspiration
I about tripped over myself with excitement when I realized the keys to our Irish house were old-fashioned. It’s probably my favorite part of the house, even if it did take me two weeks to figure out how to unlock the back door. True story. Vintage locks are tricky! We recently got a new back door with a boring modern key. Sure, the door is more energy efficient and secure, but couldn’t they make the keys just a little more interesting to look at? Now I have two vintage keys that are of no use to anyone, but me!! That’s also why I feel okay sharing pictures of these keys on the…
Slovenian Braided Bread
Here’s the cool thing about going to school in Europe. You get to learn about European countries and history in great detail and so do your parents. Your parents get to learn so. darn. much. with. these. school. projects. Aren’t they lucky? European Union Day was on May 9th. Or 9 May as they would type in Ireland. I’m fairly certain I’m one big walking typo around these parts. Oh well. EU Day is intended to celebrate peace and unity throughout the countries in the European Union. Admittedly, the unity part of this day has been put under some strain of late. Hello, Brexit, I’m talking to you! On 9 May, my…
Happy List #24
Why, hello again! This week was started out as a blur of gorgeous weather. Today is has fizzled a bit. On Wednesday when the weather was amazing, I shared pictures from my commute in Ireland. It was filled with all the good, the bad, the weird and the pretty that I’ve seen in the last couple of months. On Monday, I shared a 15% off coupon code for Anonymous Jewellry. It’s a subscription service that I tried and enjoyed recently. It would be a great Mother’s Day gift and something you can do last minute for all of you pick-up-a-card-on-the-way-to-mom’s-house types. You know who you are! Here’s what’s on my Happy…
Living in Ireland: As Seen On My Commute
Most of us make a daily or weekly trek somewhere. My commute has become a lot more interesting since we moved to Ireland. In the morning I walk the kids to school. It’s 3/4-mile to the train, then a 10-minute train ride and finally about another 3/4-mile walk to school. The kids ride their scooters because it goes faster that way and this is the important part: there’s LESS WHINING. In all of that back and forth during the day, I have the opportunity to see some interesting things. These are just snapshots. I don’t have the context around what I see. I don’t have the backstory. I don’t know…
Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Anonymous Jewellry Subscription Service
A few months ago I gave myself a gift. I’m not in the habit of frivolous spending on myself, but man, let me tell you, spending that 30 bucks felt GOOD. What? Did you think it would be more expensive? It’s me we are talking about. After thinking about it for a good long while (that’s my M.O.), I signed up for an Anonymous Jewellry subscription. It’s a monthly subscription service that sends you a present every month. In this case, 1 to 3 pieces of costume jewelry. I prepaid for 3 months. You have no idea what you’re going to get or if you’re going to like it. That…
Happy List #23
Ah, Friday. How I love thee. This week I shared the story of paddle boarding with DOLPHINS and a MANATEE!!! Yep, I’m type yelling with excitement still. STILL!!!! I also shared my shortcut to making store-bought spaghetti sauce taste good. It is not Italian chef approved, but it totally works. Here are some other random things on my mind this week. DIY Food Wrap Would you make your own food wrap? With beeswax and fabric? Did you know there was such a thing? Do you think it is worth it? I’m full of questions on this one. Here’s a tutorial. It looks pretty easy and uses beeswax pellets. Famous last…
Secret to Making Store-Bought Spaghetti Sauce Taste Good
For all of you Martha Stewart types out there who are canning your organic tomatoes and slow cooking your tomato sauce all day long, please invite me over to dinner. I’ll bring wine. And my undying gratitude. For the rest of us who say “Crud! It’s dinner time. Again!” (and there must be plenty because I see a lot of tomato and pasta sauce on the grocery store shelves) this post is for you. In general and in real loosey-goosey terms, I’ve found the more expensive pasta sauce at the grocery store tastes better than the least expensive sauce. I’m not sure why. Maybe they simmered it longer to let the…
