Free Fall Printable Round Up
When I like something, I really like it. Perhaps that gives me some creature-of-habit tendencies. Therefore, it was no surprise that when we rehung our Pottery Barn knock-off shelves, I propped the same frames up that I usually rest on those shelves. That’s really all the brain power I was willing to devote to Project “We Just Moved In, Now Get All the Things Off the Floor Before I Go Crazy.” What is usually up there are these drawings my mom made in fashion design school in the 1970s. Fast forward a couple of months. Things settled down and autumn rolled around and I was finally in the mood to fall-ify…
The Happy List #5: A Story and Boots
We here at A Pretty Happy Home (and by we, I mean me) are not very trendy and we definitely aren’t going to win any fashion awards for moms. But I do love shoes. They make an outfit, don’t they? I’ve learned the hard way that some shoes are designed to look good while walking to and from the car, but they are not designed for walking miles and miles per day. Case in point. A couple of months ago it was a beautiful, sunny day in Ireland and I had a pair of leopard print flats that I really wanted to wear, so I did. They were fine for about a…
Fall Mantel
If you live in the United States, Thanksgiving is a nice buffer between Halloween and Christmas. No such buffer exists in Ireland. But, old habits die hard and traditions are important. I have no idea if our grocery store will stock whole turkeys in November or if I can find the ingredients to make my grandma’s pumpkin chiffon pie recipe, but I’m curious to find out. Even if I can’t find those things, it’s really the spirit of Thanksgiving that matters. While the leaves are still turning colors here and the temperatures have started to drop dropped, I’m going to savor autumn. Because I get to experience it in Ireland. Because…
Living in Ireland: Groceries
Food. We all need it. We all hope someone else will cook it for us. Am I right? One of the questions I often get about Ireland is how much do groceries cost? Because I’m a smart aleck, I like to say “it depends.” Seriously, though. It really does. In general, I find things like cereal or pre-packaged foods (e.g. macaroni and cheese) to be more expensive – especially if you want a brand name. If you are okay with store brands, then you can find great deals. So far, I find produce and dairy products to be very reasonably priced and of excellent quality. It does crack me up that orange juice…
Happy Halloween
It’s here! It’s here! My kids are busting with excitement. They love Halloween! For those of you who have wondered, yes, Halloween is celebrated in Ireland. The kids do dress up and go trick-or-treating, so that is on the agenda for later today. We also carved pumpkins! The teeniest, tiniest pumpkins. Honest to goodness, I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner. See that little hole in the top of the pumpkin? Mom and dad cannot fit their hands in there. Therefore, mom and dad’s ability to help with this process is very, very limited. Or so I told my kids. Worked like a charm. These were Irish grown, “medium-sized” pumpkins. They…
The Happy List #4
Here’s what’s I’m loving this week! As always, it is quite random. Dublin Marathon Handy Husband is running the Dublin Marathon THIS SUNDAY, October 30. Here’s the link to the live tracker for the event: http://track.rtrt.me/e/TDL-DUBLINM-2016 You can also follow APrettyHappyHome on Instagram to see how the race goes. You should follow me anyway – I often post photos you won’t see anywhere else on this blog! 7 Things You Need to Give Up to be Happy This article was interesting. We’ve all heard it before, but sometimes it takes awhile before it sticks! Songbird Necklace Still missing my piano. Still learning guitar. Sucker for all things musical. (image) Last Minute Halloween…
Wrapped Wheat
I’m going to tell you this straight away. I am not above shamelessly copying someone else’s awesome idea. Today’s craft was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Michael, at Inspired by Charm. It seems he picked an apropos blog name. I’ve wanted to wrap wheat stalks with embroidery thread ever since Michael shared the idea last year. But I guess the wheat stalks just haven’t aligned for me. Until now. Here’s how it went down. Because there’s always a story. A couple of weeks ago I dropped my daughter off at her painting class, which is in a run-down, kind of deplorable-looking building. This really isn’t all that unusual in Dublin. The only…
DIY Palm Leaf Broom
Prepare to have your mind blown. There are palm trees in Ireland. No, not the big, tropical island-type palm trees, but definitely another variety. It’s called the cabbage palm and it is originally from New Zealand. I have two in my backyard (or garden as they call it here). Here’s one of them. The cabbage palm drops its leaves all. the. time. We pick them up weekly. Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I lay in bed thinking of things I want to do around our home. It helps me fall asleep…unless I come up with a really good idea. Then it’s all “who wants to start a project at 3 a.m.?”…
Apple Cider Muffins
You guys. I got my behind kicked this week by a little bug called strep throat. I volunteered at school for the first time and two days later it feels like I’m swallowing glass. Coincidence?!?! Anyway, I walked (yes, walked) myself to the doctor to get some antibiotics and on the way there I stepped in dog poop. If I hadn’t been looking at the sign that says “bin your poo,” I probably would have avoided that landmine. It really wasn’t my day, but I’m sure it could have been worse. By the way, never assume your doctor’s office is sterile. The doctor prescribed penicillin to treat the strep and I can’t ever…
Books My Kids Are Reading Now
My 9-year-old is a bookworm and I’m hopeful my 6-year-old will become one too. His reading abilities have exploded in the last few months. We go to the library weekly – sometimes daily for homework – and here are some books we’ve been reading together this month. Knitbone Pepper – Ghost Dog My kids loved this book – especially my daughter. If you have a pet you love, then you can probably relate to the story. It might even explain some of those strange sounds in your house?! Danny the Champion of the World With the recent celebrations at our local library and the release of the movie BFG, my kids have discovered…
