Happy List: #325

Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am thrilled that you’ve joined us.

Also, happy first day of Hanukkah for those celebrating!

This week on the blog was all about the Christmas reveals. I showed how I decorated our dining room fireplace using origami trees. That’s my favorite one to decorate. I also shared how I decorated our Christmas tree this year using ornaments that I made. I love how it turned out.

As always, thank you for reading this blog. It makes us so happy to share this space on the internet with you. If you want to share the blog or an idea we post on social media, we would be very grateful. We also love talking to you. If you want to connect with us or ask a question, you can always comment on this blog post or send an email here. You can also reach out on Instagram or Facebook.

Here’s the Happy List!

WREATH WOW

I daresay this is the prettiest wreath I’ve ever seen.

(image: Swallows & Damsons via Remodelista)

DOORS

I wouldn’t mind having these doors in my life. Aren’t they amazing?

P.S. If you’re in Sweden, this place is for rent. Check it out here.

(image: Tornet i Pile via My Scandinavian Home

LETTERS TO HEAVEN

Phew, this made me teary-eyed.

A 10-year-old girl in the U.K. came up with the idea for a postbox to heaven so she could write to her deceased grandparents. There are now 40 such mailboxes at cemeteries around the U.K.

I hope this idea comes to the U.S. Read more about this story here.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

If you have a kid who does not enjoy reading, I recommend the National Geographic Kids Almanac. It’s definitely book-sized, but it is formatted like a magazine with little snippets of information about a wide variety of topics.

My 13-year-old doesn’t like to read chapter books. He can and does just fine for school, but he’s resistant to it at home. However, he recently told me that he still really likes the National Geographic Kids Almanac, so I ordered him the 2024 version for his Christmas stocking. This is something he typically reads at night before bed.

Truth be told, I like these books too! I learn something every time I flip through it.

(image: Amazon)

PRETTY

Tanya from the Twelve O Eight Blog created the prettiest Christmas ornaments using a common pantry ingredient.

Get the tutorial here.

(image: Twelve O Eight Blog)

LEGO

Did you know that Lego bricks can withstand compression better than concrete? Legos are made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, which is a surprisingly strong polymer. A regular Lego brick can withstand the pressure from 375,000 other bricks before it collapses. Theoretically, you could build a real tower just over 2 miles high with Lego bricks before it would fail.

Learn more about that and why we don’t use Legos for building materials in this BBC Science Focus article.

This does explain why stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night hurts so bad.

P.S. My kids don’t play with Legos anymore, but I did save all of the Legos for their kids to play with someday. Should be worth a small fortune by that time. Ha!

GIFT BAG

Tatertots and Jello has the cutest idea for jazzing up plain lunch sacks and using them as gift bags!

Check it out here.

(image: Tatertots and Jello)

BOW NECKLACE

I’ve noticed that bows are trendy right now and this necklace would make a great gift.

(image: Pavori Jewelry via Etsy)

CROCKPOT SPICY QUESO BEEF CHILI

I have never once considered putting cream cheese into my chili recipe. Have you? But now I REALLY need to try it after reading this recipe from Half Baked Harvest.

(image: Half Baked Harvest)

P.S. I need to confess I don’t have an actual chili recipe. I make it up every time but it always seems to work out.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“Somewhere, there is the ideal soil for growing mangoes. Or the best possible wave for surfing. Or the most romantic sunset for a proposal. But it’s not right here and it’s not right now. Our success has a lot to do with how we dance with conditions that aren’t quite perfect.” – Seth Godin

I think this mindset applies to Christmas too.

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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