Happy List: #306

Hell0! Welcome to this week’s Happy List!

This week on the blog I shared the bench that I made over to use as an outdoor coffee table. I just need it to stop raining for five minutes so we can use it. Not that I’m complaining about getting rain. We needed it.

I also wrote about the different types of lath art that exist in this beautiful world of ours. Aren’t people creative? I love seeing all the different ways that creativity manifests itself. I recently acquired some lath art that made me smile. I just need to hang it now.

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

SHOWER DOORS

Now THESE are shower doors. Wow.

If you want to shower design inspiration, go check out the Drummonds UK site. You’ll never feel the same about your shower curtain after. Ha!

(image: Drummonds)

TRAVEL HACK

I learned the most interesting travel hack from Chelsea Dickenson of the website Cheap Holiday Expert.

She removes the foam from a travel pillow and packs the travel pillow with clothes instead. It’s still cushy and helps you get away with traveling lighter luggage-wise. That’s so clever! Just don’t lose your pillow.

Dickenson was recently featured in this CNN article.

(image: Amazon)

SODA CRATE CENTERPIECE

It’s a great week to bust out your soda crates and use them for a festive table centerpiece or silverware caddy.

I love how Kim from Shiplap and Shells decorated her table with a crate! See more of her ideas here.

(image: Shiplap and Shells)

THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE’S EYES

Andy Baio wrote a great article for The Verge about what it’s like to live with colorblindness. Imagine avocado toast and peanut butter toast looking the same. Yikes!

Or imagine trying to find a parking spot at PDX when the helpful red and green lights above the parking spots aren’t actually helpful because they all look the same as shown below.

There are actually simple things that designers can do to eliminate this problem. Baio talks about them in this article. If you haven’t considered the problem, it’s really eye-opening and worth checking out the article.

(image: Andy Baio via The Verge)

SKIRTED SIDE TABLES

How do you feel about skirted side tables? I have lived through this trend once.

I suppose like anything, it’s all about how the design is executed. I do like this more structured look though as sold and styled by Ballard Designs.

(image: Ballard Designs)

WOMEN AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

I learned something interesting this week. There is one woman’s name on the Declaration of Independence.

Mary Katharine Goddard was asked to print copies of the Declaration of Independence and deliver them to the colonies. She added her name at the bottom as the printer. No one knows why but she definitely secured her place in history. I love that for her and for all of us.

Learn more about Goddard’s storied life and all its ups and downs in this Mental Floss article. She definitely broke through the gender ceiling a couple of times only to be pushed aside later.

(image: Wikimedia Commons)

SIGNS OF A STROKE

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has produced a very realistic video showing the signs of a stroke. This short video was actually hard to watch but it could be so helpful someday.

Stroke is the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the CDC. It’s also a major cause of disability but reacting fast to the signs of a stroke can drastically improve outcomes.

Watch it on YouTube here.

(image: Screenshot of YouTube video)

Signs of a stroke using the acronym FAST:
Face—Is it drooping?
Arms—Can you raise both?
Speech—Is it slurred or jumbled?
Time to call 911 right away.

ZUCCHINI DOUGHNUTS

Zucchini in doughnuts? I could be convinced, especially if they taste as good as this photo by Half Baked Harvest looks. YUM.

Get the recipe here.

(image: Half Baked Harvest)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“Once you start to appreciate moral complexity, and the way that even one complex issue can scatter a population of decent people into opposing camps, it makes less sense to hate people over disagreements. If you yourself can achieve multiple sensible viewpoints on a given issue, so can a population.” – David Cain

Read the rest of this essay titled, “How To Think About Politics Without Going Insane” by David Cain here.

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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