The Happy List
Very sporadically I like to share some of the random things that put the happy in my day. Here’s what I’m digging this week… WOMEN WHO RULE – Netflix Ad This. All of this. Since getting rid of TV service 6 years ago, I don’t see a ton of TV commercials. It says a lot that I willingly watched an advertisement. As a side note, if you want to have a television set in your home in Ireland, you have to pay an annual tax of 160 euros. https://youtu.be/tw2-K8w8l7I FREE BARBIE CLOTHING SEWING PATTERNS I’m not sure if I should throw Barbie in here with Netflix’s strong women ad, but hey, I’m…
Recipes to Try
Do you ever get in a recipe rut? I do, but that’s mainly because I could eat tacos five nights a week. Okay, it’s 7 nights a week, but who’s counting? Unfortunately, the children in my household aren’t as enamored with tacos as I am. Clearly, I’ve gone wrong somewhere in their child-rearing. I ran across 3 intriguing recipes recently. One of them I tried and loved. Two of them I haven’t tried yet, but for mainly legit reasons. Read on and I’ll justify my inaction… NIGHT CEREAL: SAVORY QUINOA RECIPE I use quinoa in my Dave’s Killer Bread CopyCat Recipe, but other than that, I don’t cook with it regularly.…
Jewelry Organizer From an Old Door
When you move, all of your organization systems are magically *poof* gone. Then you find yourself untangling necklaces day after day that you’ve been storing in a sandwich baggie in the bottom of your carry-on luggage. It’s a quick way to go mad. So I decided not to go mad. At least that day anyway. My favorite salvage item from our house in Oregon are these doors. They were in our basement and when we remodeled, I didn’t want to get rid of them. It’s not often that you find doors with cool details that have not had a circle drilled through them for a doorknob. It’s like winning the…
Friday Funnies
Here’s another edition of Friday Funnies! Who is ready for the weekend? *raises both hands* I’m always ready for the weekend, but September weekends are especially welcome. This lady nails why September is the Worst and does so in a funny and relatable way. Since I’ve been completely serious halfway joking that I’m dying a slow death by homework, I appreciated her take on things. (source) On our train ride home from school recently, my 6-year-old was reading aloud the advertisements inside the train car. He got to this particular ad. It’s an important message. There’s no doubt about that. His finger was pointing to the words and he said them very deliberately and…
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
My children’s new school wants the students to eat healthy. How dare they. Oh, wait. That’s a good thing. I wanted to come up with a healthy-ish, portable snack that would pass muster with my kids and conform to the school’s healthy eating policy. Now listen. I’ve baked some amazing muffins in my time. Delicious, eat-them-all-in-one-sitting muffins. Healthy? Mmm. Not so much. I think all of my muffin recipes fell off the healthy train somewhere between the powdered sugar glaze and the cinnamon sugar coating. I knew I wanted to incorporate apples and oatmeal into my healthy concoction. I made this important decision while lying in bed one night. By the way, 11:30…
Boy Room Vignette
On Friday I showed you the display shelf I made from a silverware tray. Ready to see the rest of the wall? Your wish is granted. Other than the dresser, which is from IKEA, all of the items on this wall are things we already owned. The wood arrow was made with scrap wood. The “T” is one of those cardboard letters from JoAnn’s. It has been painted and repainted over the last 5 years. The step stool was made in high school shop class one million years ago and we finally gave it a makeover. The bookshelf was a found object left in the trash. That painting was made by a…
Display Shelf from a Silverware Tray
Our kitchen in Ireland has no shallow drawer to hold a silverware tray. It’s a conundrum. Instead of throwing the silverware tray away, it was still sturdy and useable, I decided to put it in a box and wait for a silverware drawer to magically appear inspiration. Most of my good ideas, like this one, came to me in the shower. We’ll just stop there because I don’t want to scar your mind. My idea? I could turn that silverware tray on its end and make it into a shelf. SHAZAM! Then I did a little dance and almost slipped in the shower. The first thing I did was notice how truly…
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I’m Starting to Like Zucchini Because I Hide It In All the Foods
It’s true. I’m starting to like zucchini. Not on its own. Goodness no. I haven’t hopped on the crazy train. Yet. I’ve been hiding zucchini in all sorts of meals for the past month or so and no one in my family has noticed. Not even “he who has the refined palate” aka Handy Husband. The trick is to grate the zucchini up so that it blends in well! (I use my cheese grater for this task.) I’ve put grated zucchini in soup and chili, spaghetti, lasagna, pizza sauce and pesto. It blends really nice with the green pesto. Last year I also put zucchini into blueberry muffins. That was more…
Moving to Ireland: Primary School 101
Editor’s Note August 2018: New legislation passed in July 2018 will greatly change the school admission’s process in Ireland. For all of you American expats moving to Ireland with kids in school year 2019/20, I think (and hope) your life will get a little bit easier. I’ve tried to note in the below story where my experiences would now be different when the new legislation takes effect. Last week my kids started school. In a foreign country. I am the first to admit, over the course of my children’s lives, I have spent way too much time worrying thinking about their education. I really thought, at least as it relates…
Moving to Ireland: First Week of School
PHEW! We survived the first day of school. It’s the second day that’s the real killer. And the day after. And the…you get my point. via GIPHY It’s been an awesome summer. It’s also been a long, long summer. My kids were ready to be with their own kind. I was ready for them to be with their own kind – for at least a few hours a day. I was nervous dropping them off though! So nervous. My jazz hands were working overtime that morning to make sure my neuroses didn’t rub off on my kids. Fake it ’til you make it! The first day of school is always a…
