From The Archive: A Hardware Store In Ireland
Editor’s Note: This blog post about what hardware stores in Ireland are like was previously published under our “Living In Ireland” series. We moved to Ireland for a work opportunity and lived there, south of Dublin, for two years between 2016 and 2018. I thought this would be a fun post to revisit on St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you enjoy it! A warning for all of you organized types – the pictures in this post may be disturbing. Now, for the rest of you, let’s head to the hardware store! My little village in Ireland has a small hardware store. It shares space with the post office. I’ll let…
Happy List: #382
Hi! Happy early St. Patrick’s Day. I’m thrilled to see you here. This week on the blog I shared how I decorated our dining room fireplace for spring with paper flowers. Stay tuned for another related project on that front! I also shared the reveal, or TADA as I like to call it, of the peg rail in our bedroom. I’m really enjoying the visual interest it adds to the space. The Happy List is one of the ways I try to focus my media consumption on the things that inspire me instead of the things that raise my blood pressure. We all need balance. I also love, love, LOVE…
Bedroom Peg Rail – One Entire Wall of Storage
By adding a peg rail to one entire wall of our bedroom, we gained 15 feet of storage and organization space and an unlimited amount of glee over this addition. Is there a Guinness Book of World Records category for the world’s longest peg rail? If so, I’d like to submit our bedroom peg rail as an entry. You’ll have to use your imagination a little because it was hard for me to get a decent photograph of one gigantic wall broken up by a door. That’s why I’m showing the two sides of the peg rail in different photos in this blog post. The hardship, I know. Thank you…
Scrapbook Paper Flowers – Spring Fireplace Decor
Let’s talk scrapbook paper flowers and all the ways you can use them to decorate your home. I’m craving the color of spring flowers, but it still looks like winter in New Jersey. So, I do what I often do. Fake it till spring arrives I make it. This time, I used scrapbook paper flowers to decorate my dining room fireplace for spring. It looks like I’m ready for spring now, doesn’t it? I still have snow shovels by the front door, but that’s a little detail we don’t need to dwell on. What you need to make scrapbook paper flowers: Scrapbook Paper (I used this paper, but you can use…
Happy List: #381
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List! I’m glad you’re here. We made it to March, folks! What a relief. Spring is coming. This week on the blog, I shared the Easter eggs I made with temporary tattoos. They are the prettiest Easter eggs I’ve ever crafted. I also was feeling optimistic about making it through the bulk of winter and shared how the plants I’ve been overwintering have fared. Mixed bag, folks. It was a mixed bag. The Happy List is one of the ways I try to focus on the beautiful and inspirational things in the world. It’s better for my mental health than doom-scrolling. Funny how that…
A Mixed Bag For Overwintering Plants This Year
It’s been a mixed bag for overwintering plants this year (2024-2025). We’ve had some successes and some unfortunate failures. Have you ever had one of those restaurant experiences where the food was great, but the service was terrible? You think to yourself, “I don’t know if this was worth trying again.” That’s me right now with overwintering plants. Keep in mind, I also forgot childbirth was painful, and I had more than one child. So, take my whining with a pound of salt, and meet me back here next year for another update. Ha! Seriously though, we have the ideal setup for overwintering plants on our sunporch. It’s like having…
Vintage Floral Easter Eggs Using Temporary Tattoos
Breaking Crafting News! I made vintage-looking floral Easter eggs using temporary tattoos. Yes, temporary tattoos…for that vintage look. HA! Until last week, I had lived my whole life not knowing that temporary tattoos can transfer to items other than skin. I saw a video of someone customizing sneakers using temporary tattoos. Do you know what’s related to sneakers? Not wood Easter eggs! But that’s where my brain went, and I needed to see if that technique would apply to Easter eggs. Spoiler: It works beautifully. This is a game changer for someone who can’t paint to save her life. Fake it till you make it, which is kind of the…
Happy List: #380
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m just tickled that you are here. This week on the blog, I shared the evolution of the gallery wall in our living room. It’s comprised of nature art and makes me feel like I’ve brought the outdoors in…minus the maintenance. I also wrote about wood knobs and pulls. You wouldn’t think anyone has much to say about this subject, but then there’s me. I love them in all their shapes and forms. The Happy List is one of the ways I try to focus on the beautiful and inspirational things in the world. It’s better for my mental health than doom-scrolling.…
9 Wood Knob and Pull Ideas For Your Cabinets
It is safe to say I like wood knobs and pulls. I have them in at least four places in our home. Some are painted. Some are stained. I was painting a set of wood knobs a few weeks ago for the desks in our office and thought to myself, “Gosh, I really like wood knobs.” And by “thought to myself” I mean I was talking out loud in that voice you reserve for babies and cute dogs and saying, “You look like a million bucks all painted! Yes, you do!” Embarrassing gushing to inanimate objects aside, there is a certain charm to wood knobs and pulls. I mainly think…
Nature Art Gallery Wall – Oh, It’s Expanded
In October 2023, I shared the nature art gallery wall in our living room here on the blog. In the 16 months since that blog post, it is safe to say the nature art gallery wall has expanded. If you give a mouse a cookie a woman a thrift store painting… Here’s how the nature art gallery wall looked way back in the olden times of 2023. (It wasn’t that long ago and yet it feels like three lifetimes have passed since then. Why is that?) Here’s a pulled back view of how that wall looks now in February 2025. It’s cold and barren outside, but inside I’m faking it…
