Happy List: #163

Here we are again! How are you this Friday?

We had a trip planned to see family this summer, but ended up cancelling our flights this week. That was hard, but we needed to take advantage of the free flight cancellations being offered. We can always rebook because we have a flight credit now. I’m going to hang on to the hope that it will be safe to travel later this summer, but I’m also not going to hold my breath.

In happier news, I published photos of our daughter’s room on Monday. She’s a super chill individual with a bit of an old soul, so a calm, vintage-inspired bedroom is fitting for her.

On Wednesday I shared the landscaping plan for our front yard. The plan was more about what we are going to take away than what we are going to add. That seems to be a common theme with this house. Take away all the ‘extra’ and then the house can shine.

Here’s the Happy List! Are you ready for it? Of course you are!

FIRST OF ALL, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU

I’m starting off the Happy List by saying THANK YOU to all of you for being awesome human beings. This blog has generated quiet success, but sometimes I wonder if it has run its course. Then I receive comments like this one and I think, “Yeah, maybe this is worth the effort.”

I’m not a joiner/ subscriber normally so this is so out of the normal for me to sub to anyone, Annisa. I say a prayer for you every time I eat a slice of this bread- it’s so good, words fail me- REALLY.

I fell in love with Dave’s bread from the grocery store months ago when I picked up a few loves on sale. But man, that stuff is expensive here and with everyone sheltering in place now, the bread isle is a war zone. I found your recipe online and wow! It’s even better than Dave’s! Yes, it’s that good.

I thought, now, what can I do to show that girl how much I appreciate her for sharing this recipe? So, like I said, I pray to the Lord Jesus Christ to bless you and your family.

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is life changing…

-Anne Marie

I value every interaction we have through this little piece of the internet. I know your time is your most precious resource, so the fact that you give a little of it to me is something I do not take lightly. So, again, thank you!

If you want to know what bread recipe she’s talking about, it is this one from 2015.

GINGERBREAD CHARM

The Victorian gingerbread trim on this house (Lumière Lodge) is absolutely charming. The home is available for photo and video shoots.

(image: Photography by Marnie Hawson, courtesy of Lumière Lodge via Remodelista)

CHALK MAGIC

Can’t go anywhere? No problem. Stacy Lazzara creates scenes out of sidewalk chalk to transport her daughter to a different place: camping, space, a skate park.

More pictures of her creations can be found at Tank’s Good News.

(image: Stacy Lazzara via Tank’s Good News)

SECRET ROOM

When we get back to regular life where we all can travel, the Bella Vista Bed & Breakfast in California would be SO FUN to visit.

One of their suite’s has a hidden room – a library. The story is detailed in this My Modern Met article.

I wish our home had a hidden room.

(image: Marc Bächtold via My Modern Met)

LIVING THROUGH A PANDEMIC OR POTTY TRAINING A TODDLER?

This hilarious list on McSweeney’s made me laugh out loud, but then I sort of wanted to cry because it was SO TRUE.

As it turns out, the authors of this list, Sue D. Gelber and Julie Vick, have discovered there are quite a few similarities between potty training and living through a pandemic.

I wanted a picture to go along with this potty training topic, so here’s this Instagram post that made me thank my lucky stars we are past the potty training stage.

EVERY NORTH AMERICAN ACCENT

This video will crack you up. I had no idea there were so many accents in the U.S., but Fred Armisen proves me wrong.

The nuanced differences between the Southern accents is spot on. Then, since I’ve lived in Oregon and Washington, I really had to laugh at those accents too.

I don’t think that I have an accent, but when we lived in Ireland and traveled around Europe, people could peg my American accent every time. There were a few times that we were mistaken for Canadian and I considered that a compliment. I think that was more about mannerisms than accent though.

OKAY, I CRIED

This is a funny, but incredibly sad TED Talk. I’m including it on the Happy List because it moved me to tears. When something impacts you that much it is worth sharing. Also, sometimes you just need a good cry. If you don’t want a good cry, then for the love of all the tissue DO NOT WATCH THIS.

The TED Talk by Nora McInerny titled “We Don’t ‘Move On’ From Grief. We Move Forward With It.” was poignant, raw, and beautiful.

If you’ve experienced grief, I think her words will feel cathartic to you.

I especially liked this part:

“Because when you watch your person fill himself with poison for three years, just so he can stay alive a little bit longer with you, that stays with you. When you watch him fade from the healthy person he was the night you met to nothing, that stays with you. When you watch your son, who isn’t even two years old yet, walk up to his father’s bed on the last day of his life, like he knows what’s coming in a few hours, and say, “I love you. All done. Bye, bye.” That stays with you. Just like when you fall in love, finally, like really fall in love with someone who gets you and sees you and you even see, “Oh, my God, I’ve been wrong this entire time. Love is not a contest or a reality show — it’s so quiet, it’s this invisible thread of calm that connects the two of us even when everything is chaos, when things are falling apart, even when he’s gone.” That stays with you.” – Nora McInerny