Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It’s pretty darn great to see you here.
Did you plant a summer garden? This year, we haven’t done much. We have some tomatoes and herbs going, and that will be enough for us to stay on top of.
It was a light week on the blog due to the Memorial Day holiday. I did share a hyper-specific blog post about where to buy lime to mix historic lime mortar. Hyper-specific blog posts that hardly anyone cares about are my specialty. One of my favorites is how to fix a stretched-out toe post on plastic sandals.
I don’t take for granted that you’re spending part of your day here, and I hope the Happy List is a bright spot in your day. If you’d like to reach out, and I hope you do, please comment on this blog post or email me here. You can also direct message me on Instagram or Facebook. (P.S. I am much better at answering emails and Instagram DMs than I am at anything on Facebook.)
Here’s the Happy List!
COBBLESTONE CART TRACKS
Who wants to sign the petition to convince Handy Husband that we need cobblestone cart tracks at our house?
More photos of Jasper Conran’s gardens can be found at Frederic Magazine.
(image: Andrew Montgomery via Frederic Magazine)
MARILYN MONROE 100TH BIRTHDAY
Marilyn Monroe was born 100 years ago on June 1, 1926. How wild is that to think about?
She died long before I was born, but it seems that celebrities who die at a young age become frozen in time in our minds.
(image: Wikipedia)
WHY OLD TOWELS ABSORB BETTER THAN NEW ONES
New kitchen towels, even those that are 100% cotton, often work terribly compared to your trusty, old kitchen towels.
There are three reasons. First, the cotton fibers are under tension while being manufactured. Second, brand new cotton fibers have natural oils. Third, manufacturers often put wax or silicone coatings on the fibers to help them go through the weaving looms smoothly.
To fix the absorbency issue, you have to wash your new cotton towels in hot water. Adding vinegar to the load may help, too. (source) Off to try this now with some towels that definitely don’t work well. I use warm, but rarely hot water, for washing.
PATRIOTIC PORCH DECOR
Americans will be commemorating their nation’s 250th anniversary this summer.
Two decorating ideas from this Country Living photo that I like. First, the gingham fabric on the porch instead of flag bunting. You could riff on this idea using other colors of gingham for events like a baby shower. Second, I may hang a flag on our porch. I don’t like the idea of blocking the view from the porch, but we have a blank spot on our front porch siding where this could look festive.
(image: David Tsay for Country Living)
SECURITY STAMP
Question for the class. Does anyone use a security stamp to block out their personal information on mail they want to discard? Do you like it?
I read that shredded documents are very hard to recycle, but these security stamps are super effective at blocking identifying info while still allowing documents to be recycled. Also, it looks kind of fun.
(image: Amazon)
P.S. This and this have saved our bacon in recent times. One of the items I just saw someone online use on a boat. That would not have occurred to me since we don’t have a boat. Both would make great Father’s Day or graduation gifts. They are also cheaper than a boat, and dare I say, more thoughtful.
UNDER-THE-STAIRS NOOK
This is the prettiest under-the-stairs nook I’ve ever seen! It’s a good reminder that the smallest spots can make a big impact.
You’ll also like the “mudler” in this house, or, at least, the term mudler.
(image: Dan Arnold for Domino)
BAKED BBQ BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS
Made this Baked BBQ Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs recipe last weekend, and Handy Husband said, “How did you make that taste so good? Was it the BBQ sauce?”
It wasn’t the sauce. That hadn’t changed. This recipe from Veronika’s Kitchen is “marinated” in a dry rub first. That, combined with the cooking technique, is probably why he enjoyed it so much.
Check it out here.
(image: Veronika’s Kitchen)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This essay by Mike Monteiro, addressing the complex feeling of having a child move out, was so good.
Here’s an excerpt from the essay.
“And when we do our jobs close-to-right, these kids do not go away. They don’t leave us. They check in. They swing by. They come over for dinner once in a while. Our job is to make sure that when they do they’re always made to feel welcomed, and loved, and safe. But also free to take off again.
Our children owe us nothing. We owe them nothing. Love is not based on debt. If you have raised your child with love, as I’m sure you have, they’ll know you’re there. They’ll come back. Not because it’s a requirement, but because love is a beacon.”
Thank you for reading this week’s Happy List.
Be good to yourself and others this weekend.
I’ll see you back here on Monday.
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