Happy List #16
Why, hello again! I hope the first week of March has treated you well! The ol’ blog posts have been Irish-themed this month. Give me a theme and I will run it into the ground. This week I shared an easy felt shamrock wreath craft and some mostly authentic Irish recipes. Someone needs to make the Guinness Brownies – STAT! Okay, I will make them. Today’s Happy List is largely home-focused. While I love Ireland, my Irish home has me feeling a little meh. I’m determined to get out of this decorating funk one way or another and I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration online lately. It’s not always inspiration that helps…
Recipes (Mainly) From Ireland
I’ve done some “research” and came up with a sampling of Irish recipes I’d like you all to try in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day. If I tried them all in the next week, I’m sure my body would protest in one way or another. So let’s spread the love around! While I tried to skew this list in favor of authentic Irish recipes, I did make a couple of exceptions in the interest of culinary expressionism. In other words, I lead with my stomach. Irish Cream The Irish do love their whiskey and Irish Cream is typically made with Irish whiskey. This recipe from Good Housekeeping is not from…
Quick and Simple St. Patricks Day Wreath
My kids are counting down the days until they get the day off from school to celebrate Ireland’s biggest holiday – St. Patrick’s Day. Waiting is oh, so hard! Until then, they did help me make a super simple felt wreath to decorate one corner of our home. We traced shamrocks onto green felt, then cut them out and hot glued them on a wreath form. Super simple and not overly obnoxious! Those are my two main criteria when it comes to holiday crafting. I used a wire wreath form like this one so I could easily remove the felt shamrocks if I want to reuse the wreath form in the future.…
Happy List #15
Hello, hello! How are you? This week I shared what’s happening in my daughter’s colorful room. Emphasis on colorful. I also kicked off March with a burlap pot o’ gold craft. It’s fun, happy and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s what’s making me all happy and inspired this week. Kitchen Makeover Adrienne and her husband started flipping homes in Arizona awhile ago. The before and after pictures of the homes they’ve remodeled are pretty incredible. This is the kitchen in their latest completed project. I’m loving those dark cabinets with that waterfall counter. I’m also a sucker for ceiling beams. See more pictures at Dream Book Design. (image) Bathroom Vanity…
St Patrick’s Day Craft: Burlap Pot of Gold
Happy first day of March! Who’s excited? March is a big month on the little island I currently call home. Ireland. I don’t say that every time to rub it in. I only mention it, again, on the off chance someone is joining the blog today for the first time. It could happen! Anyway, there’s this little holiday on the 17th with leprechauns and drinking. Lots of drinking. You might have heard of it. Well, have you heard of island time? Ireland operates on its own sort of island time. I just started to see advertisements go up for St. Patrick’s Day events. The local newspaper is still asking for entries…
Colorful Wall in a Girl’s Room
It was inevitable. Every parent faces it. That moment when your child develops an…it’s hard for me to say…here goes… An OPINION about what his or her room should look like. Cue the dramatic music. A little bit louder, please. Now, cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mine. Yes, it happened. Opinions, opinions galore. Conflicting opinions that changed without rhyme or reason. It was exhausting to keep up with it all. I’d add a “woe is me,” but I don’t want to sound melodramatic. After much discussion, brainstorming and compromise my daughter and I ended up agreeing to a basic framework for a design plan for her bedroom. The design plan was very specific. It…
School Break – I’m Totally Sleeping IN
Happy Monday! I slept in today because my kids have a midterm break from school. By slept in, I mean 7 a.m. My dumb internal alarm clock cannot pretend it is a teenager. Oh, and by internal alarm clock, I mean bladder. I really think I’ve got this “aging gracefully” thing down. I think I enjoy a week without homework and packing lunches as much, maybe even more, than my kids do! Not even exaggerating. All that to say, I’m taking the week off from blogging to spend time with the kiddos. We’re going to hang out with friends and explore more of Ireland. Follow me on Instagram to see where…
Happy List #14
Hello, hello! This week felt a little long to me, so I’m all about the TGIF today. Earlier this week I took you on a tour of my local grocery store in Ireland and showcased some of my favorite food items for your viewing pleasure. In honor of Valentine’s Day and all of you who make my world a happier place, I also shared two free love printables. Here’s what’s on my Happy List this week. Girl Scout Gum? Someone makes Girl Scouts Gum now. I read somewhere that the gum holds its flavor for an hour. An hour? Really? What can’t those Girl Scouts do? I haven’t tried it though. If you’ve…
Living in Ireland: Grocery Shopping
I don’t want to brag (or do I?), but I feel like quite the pro when it comes to procuring groceries for our family sans automobile. (If you’re new here: We moved to Ireland from the USA. We haven’t tried driving here – yet. Public transportation and walking for the win!) Grocery shopping in Ireland without a vehicle requires a bit of planning. For instance, I don’t want to purchase all the heavy stuff in one trip because I have to carry it home in a backpack or reusable shopping bag. More or less, I’m purchasing what we will consume that day or the next. No bulk shopping here. A jumbo pack…
Free Printable: Love is All You Need
Have you ever noticed Valentine’s Day is quite polarizing? Depending on life situations, people either love the holiday or want to kick it to the curb. Since the 14th century Valentine’s Day has been associated with romantic love and romantic love is fabulous. Handy Husband and I celebrated 18 years of marriage a few days ago, so I have a deep appreciation for all things romance. I also have an even deeper appreciation for all things beginning and ending with “Honey, I’ll do the dishes.” But let’s not talk about me. What I want to say on this Valentine’s Day Eve in the mushiest way I know how is THANK YOU. Thank you to each…
