Happy List: #207

Hello and Good Friday greetings to you! I hope you are looking forward to the weekend.

This week on the ol’ blog I provided an update on how the mini makeover we gave our kitchen last year is holding up. I fully believe in the power of mini makeovers. It is time and money well spent to enjoy the home you live in right now. If a little bit of paint and stain will do that for you, then go for it!

As much as I’d like our home improvement journey to be as quick as an episode on HGTV, that’s not our real life. So, thank you for following along!

Speaking of home improvement, now that the weather is warming up, we plan to shift our focus to the outside. On Wednesday I detailed the outdoor projects we are getting ready to tackle just as soon as motivation sets in.

If you aren’t following along with us on Instagram or Facebook, please consider this your official invite! I’d love to interact with you there and here!

Now here’s what you’ve been waiting for, the Happy List!

REPURPOSED

This is the most beautiful and least obvious reuse for a treadle sewing machine that I’ve ever seen. The entire setting is gorgeous.

I don’t know who to credit the photo to, but it first showed up in this Recyclart article about ways to repurpose sewing machines.

(image: via Recyclart)

THE HAPPIEST INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

I just discovered the Keukenhof Gardens Instagram account and it is making me wish I could visit the Netherlands right now. If colorful flower pictures are your jam, follow this account for awhile.

(image: Keukenhof)

INTERIOR WINDOWS

I am very into the idea of transom windows to divide a space.

This entire home by W Design Collective will make your jaw drop.

(image: W Design Collective)

DEAD SEXY HUSBAND OBITUARY

I hesitate to link to an obituary on the Happy List because it means there is a grieving family out there, but I was greatly impacted by the viral obituary a wife wrote for her 43-year-old husband who died from leukemia. Her tribute was a lesson in love and grace.

As someone who has had the unfortunate honor of writing an obituary, I can tell you obituaries are, generally speaking, horrible.

This woman wrote an honest, funny, loving tribute to her husband that, I’m sure, honored him in a way he would have appreciated. My heart goes out to this family in their grief. I wish I would have known Eric Sauser. Through the words of his wife he seems like an awesome husband, father, and friend.

“We are not positive, but we think the cause of death was either leukemia or more likely being “dead sexy”. Eric, we’ve always loved you and miss you already.”

Read the entire obituary here and then for heaven’s sake, go hug your loved ones.

WOW.

I’ve never seen 4 people play one cello. I was blown away. Also, the older guy is hilarious with his antics!

If the video doesn’t load, here is the direct link.

LIT

This lighting situation made me smile. Isn’t it happy?

For more unique lighting ideas, check out the rest of this home. I especially love the giraffe sculpture turned into a lamp.

(image: Homes to Love)

EASTER BUNNY ROLLS

I wasn’t going to make rolls for Easter dinner, but now I’m rethinking that choice thanks to these Easter Bunny Rolls that Julia at Plated Cravings made!

(image: Plated Cravings)

REFRESHING PERSPECTIVE

I really appreciated Prince Harry’s perspective on mental health as he addressed his new job working with a mental health app.

“This is about acknowledging that it isn’t so much what is wrong with us, but more about what has happened to us over the course of life,” he said. “Often because of societal barriers, financial difficulty, or stigma, too many people aren’t able to focus on their mental health until they’re forced to. I want us to move away from the idea that you have to feel broken before reaching out for help.” – Prince Harry

Thanks for reading today’s Happy List.

I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend.