Happy List: #425
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am absolutely thrilled to see you here.
This week on the blog, I shared the vintage crate that I turned into a spring wreath. I love reimagining new uses for old things. It’s a great creative exercise.
I also received happy mail from a friend, and that led me down a rabbit hole of looking for cards that look like art and should be framed. That’s just how my brain follows the path of inspiration!
It truly makes my day to connect with you. I work alone, except on snow days. It snowed here this week. It’s fun to talk to kind and interesting people. If you want to reach out, please comment on this blog post or email me here. You can also direct message me on Instagram or Facebook.
Here’s the Happy List!
OLD WORLD SETTING
Of course, this photo is from House and Garden UK.
My interest was in how they latch that door, which is sadly rotting. It looks like there’s a spot to latch it to the ground. Maybe with a peg, bolt, or vertical latch on the side of the door that isn’t visible. This tidbit may come in handy for me later.
Wouldn’t it be fun to have tea and cookies in this spot? I don’t even drink tea, and I’d be down for that.
(image: Simon Upton for House and Garden UK)
COLOR MATCHING GAME
Can you beat my score at this color game? I got 40.52.
It was SO much harder than I thought it was going to be. I seriously thought I would crush it. The joke was on me. Ha! Tell me your score in the comments.
Click here to play. It’s free. No login needed either.
(image: Dialed.gg)
WOMEN’S CLOTHING SIZES
If you have ever had trouble finding clothes that fit well, there’s a reason for that. It’s not a you thing. It’s an industry thing.
This explainer from The Pudding is so well done. It might not make you happy, but it might give you some insight and a little nudge to be kinder to yourself.
This is a bit U.S.-centric, but I believe the concept applies to the fashion industry as a whole. If you have teen girls, I’d share this with them.
(image: The Pudding)
NO FRAME TV NEEDED
If you want your TV to look like a painting when you’re not using it, and don’t want to buy an expensive FrameTV, Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse has a great workaround using the YouTube app.
Check out her detailed directions here.
(image: The Ponds Farmhouse)
READ, WATCHED
Why Office Chairs Have 5 Legs (YouTube) This is more fascinating than you’d think.
Males Are The Secondary Sex (Instagram) – Handy Husband largely agreed with this essay.
How To Give Yourself the Heimlich (Nice News) – Just in case.
NESTING PARTIES
Have you heard of nesting parties? It’s a trend replacing traditional baby showers, or maybe in addition to a traditional baby shower. At a nesting party, close friends and family help the expecting parents prepare their home for their new arrival. This might mean cleaning, organizing, setting up furniture, installing the car seat, washing baby clothes, and prepping freezer meals. With the direction of the couple for what they need and how they’d like it to be done, it’s a way to show practical love. Food and fun are still involved, but it’s way more casual and productive.
I’m too much of a control freak to want this for myself, but I would gladly help someone else out in this way if they welcomed the help. Read more about it here.
P.S. Another version of this is done by Shannon at Living With Lady on Instagram. Once a week, she and her best friend spend two hours helping each other with a task. Anything from gardening, hanging Christmas lights, to cleaning the oven. It requires trust, but I’m always impressed by how much two determined women can get done in two hours.
P.P.S. The above photo is Pottery Barn’s chamois baby blanket. It is my go-to gift for babies. My son has one that is now 15 years old, and it is still almost perfect. Even stains come out. That blanket has been on countless planes, trains, and automobiles. It has been to 15 countries. It has SEEN some things. The quality and softness of this blanket are off-the-charts.
BROOM HANGER
I wanted Handy Husband to make some of these low-tech Amish Wall-Mount Broom Hangers, but then I realized they are only $14, so maybe that’s not a good use of his time for the price.
If you want to see how and why these work, Core77 has a great article on it.
(image: Lehman’s)
P.S. That’s not an affiliate link because the big stores are selling these same Lehman’s hangers for double the price.
BUTTERBEER RECIPE
My kids would LOVE to try the Butterbeer from Harry Potter fame. This recipe from A Beautiful Mess is easy and well-rated.
What I learned from reading this recipe is that butter extract is a thing. Where have I been?
You can get alcohol-free versions of the butter extract, but it seems to be traditionally made using alcohol, like this version by Watkins. You can make it at home. Butter and alcohol (or water) are combined, but then it has to be frozen to scoop the fat off.
(image: A Beautiful Mess)
POETRY MOMENT
I’m Giving Up for Lent by Lyndsay Rush
What would it feel like to give up
self-improvement
for forty days?
Would the tightness in our chests
throat, shoulders, and hips
ease as we contentedly took the easy way out?
Would capitalism crumble if we deleted our wish lists
and framed the before photo?
Sounds holy, if you ask me,
to be sold on life-as-is
to just exist
with only this, only us
only what these two arms can hold
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.
*affiliate links in this blog post*
