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…
That Time I Was SURE I Was Going to See a Unicorn
Most of us are never far from a camera. It is 2017 after all. We can document the fantastic and the mundane all we want. I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of the inside of my children’s noses just because they used my camera phone for 4.7 seconds while I wasn’t looking. I especially love the videos they make of their noses when they think they are taking a picture. Don’t worry. I won’t show you pictures of that. How about a nice sunset instead? Ahhh…. Here’s a story of a recent time I wished I had a camera, but didn’t. THE HORROR!!! Over Easter we visited family in Florida…
Happy List: #22
Hello! How are you? After a two week break from school and work, I’ve been humming “back to life, back to reality” and “if I only had a brain” all week. It was a little rough those first couple of days all week! This week I shared a virtual tour of two hardware stores in Ireland and a tutorial on how to embellish a t-shirt with embroidery thread. Here’s what has caught my eye this week. Rubber Boot Racks Or, wellies as they are called across the pond. I deal with a lot of wet shoes, not necessarily rubber boots, but definitely wet, dripping shoes that need to dry. I just…
DIY Embroidered T-Shirt: Nevertheless She Persisted
I don’t usually do step-by-step tutorials because I’m not that detail-oriented, but I’m going to try my best today. My main reason for this is because embroidery thread is right up there with felt on my list of favorite craft supplies! Also, to encourage you to try embellishing a t-shirt with embroidery stitching because it’s not as hard as you might think. I taught myself! If you can do it, the possibilities are endless. Here’s the step-by-step of how I started with a plain white t-shirt and ended up with this result. Step 1: Gather Your Supplies You’ll need a t-shirt you want to embellish, embroidery thread, a sewing needle, backing…
Living in Ireland: A Trip to the Hardware Store
A warning for all of you organized types – the pictures in this post may be disturbing. Now, for the rest of you, let’s head to the hardware store! My little village in Ireland has a small hardware store. It shares space with the post office. I’ll let that sink in. I can buy stamps and then walk three steps over and buy caulk for my shower. I can’t buy the caulk gun though because they are out of those. And have been for MONTHS. Details, details. As a side note, it’s not unusual for post offices to share space with other businesses in Ireland. I have a friend whose…
Thank Goodness for Easter Break
Hello, everyone! I hope you had a lovely Easter. Spring Break in the Republic of Ireland is actually called Easter Break and it takes place the week before and the week after Easter. In fact, today is a bank holiday, which means the adults get the day off too. Hurray! We are more than ready for a break from our routine. Because there’s nothing like a break from your routine to make you appreciate your routine! I’m taking the week off from blogging to spend the remainder of Easter Break doing family stuff. Adventures and, hopefully, an abundance of sunshine are in store for us! As the sign on my local…
Happy List: #21
Happy Good Friday! This week I shared the most recent books my kids and I have read together. Plus, how I’m teaching them how to type. It doesn’t actually involve me teaching, so they are knocking it out of the ballpark! Here’s what’s on my Happy List. Good Friday Newspaper Ad I thought you might like to see an example of how grocery stores in Ireland advertise for the Easter season in the newspaper. At the last count in 2011, 84.2% of people self-identified as Catholic in the Republic of Ireland, so you can see why advertisers are choosing to speak to one specific religious group. Also, fun fact. You…
