Happy List: #233

Welcome to the Happy List! I hope the first week of November (!) has treated you well.

This week on the blog I shared how to fix a sagging wood bench. No one wants a saggy anything! I also recapped a recent thrifting adventure to two new-to-me antique shops.

If you don’t follow along with us on Instagram or Facebook stories, please join us there! That’s where all the stuff in between the blog posts happens.

Also, here’s your weekly reminder if you create something that makes you happy however big or small, please tag me! I really do love to see what you are making.

Now, here’s the Happy List!

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

This is one of the most architecturally interesting homes I’ve ever run across in the U.S.

Ivy Hall, as it is called, is an 1883 Victorian-Queen Anne Revival home located in Atlanta. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and was restored by Savannah College of Art and Design. Read more about the home’s history and current use in this Atlanta Homes Magazine article.

(image: via Atlanta Homes Magazine)

HAPPY STAIRS

These brightly painted outdoor stairs in Peru are so happy! They are also an interesting juxtaposition with their surroundings.

The stairs were painted by Peruvian artist Xomatok. You can read more about the project in this My Modern Met article.

(image: Xomatok via My Modern Met)

LIGHTS

The lighting in this kitchen stopped me in my scroll!

Pretty much any photo from Heidi Caillier Design stops me in my scroll! Check out her portfolio here for a ton of inspiration.

(image: Heidi Caillier Design)

IRON LUNG

I did not realize there are a handful of people still utilizing an iron lung after contracting polio. Martha Lillard, now in her 70s, is one of them. She sleeps in it every night.

(image: Martha Lillard via NPR)

Gosh, it makes me thankful for infectious disease researchers and scientists who develop vaccines for us. Thanks to the polio vaccine and the mass numbers of children who still receive it, no cases of polio have originated in the U.S. since 1979.

Lillard said in this NPR interview:

“I never got to do all the things that I wanted to, but there was a friend of mine who taught me to look in a way that I had never really looked at things before. She was my neighbor, Karen Rapp. Karen taught me to look at a small world. She noticed a lot of insects, and we would get on the ground and check out the ants and how they functioned. We would build little villages on the ground, tiny little grass huts and things. I learned to look at small things and to really appreciate them. There’s much more to see if you really look for it.”

I was so thankful to Lillard for sharing her story. It was eye-opening, insightful, and made me appreciate my health. We talked about her at our dinner table and my children’s insights into her story were so interesting. Read about Lillard’s lifelong experience with polio here.

PLASTIC RAZOR BLADE

Did you know plastic razor blade scrapers were a thing? I feel like a whole new world has opened up!

My manicures might last longer now if I use this plastic razor blade instead of my fingernails to scratch price tags off things. I just used it to clean up a sheet of plexiglass and it did not scratch it!

(image: Amazon)

MADE ME LAUGH

I laughed because there’s a lot of truth in this chart. Then I sighed.

(image: Truth Facts Instagram)

EMBROIDERED PET PORTRAIT PATCH

For the hard-to-shop-for pet lover in your life, might I suggest a custom embroidered pet portrait patch?

This textile artist is pretty talented! She starts with a picture of your pet, does a digital sketch, and then uses that to embroider your pet’s face on a patch that you can stick anywhere: clothing, bag, etc.

(image: Brown Paper Stitch via Etsy)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The comments section on the A Cup of Jo website is so delightful and insightful. A recent blog post asked the question, “What is the best relationship advice you’ve ever received?”

I loved this comment by Julie:

“After my husband left a few years ago and we divorced (MY SECOND DIVORCE by the age of 35), I was lamenting to a good friend about how ashamed I was of two such failures, two endings of what was supposed to be forever. It didn’t seem possible.

She thought a minute and said, “Some people are meant to have more chapters in their lives than others. And they get more fresh beginnings.”

I’ve since come to appreciate how chapter-ful life has been, despite its pain — and how widely my friend’s wisdom applies to areas outside of romantic relationships, too (career trajectories, friendships, body changes, etc.).”

Thank you for reading today’s Happy List.

Be good to yourself and others this weekend.

I’ll see you back here on Monday.

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