Happy List: #22
Hello! How are you? After a two week break from school and work, I’ve been humming “back to life, back to reality” and “if I only had a brain” all week. It was a little rough those first couple of days all week! This week I shared a virtual tour of two hardware stores in Ireland and a tutorial on how to embellish a t-shirt with embroidery thread. Here’s what has caught my eye this week. Rubber Boot Racks Or, wellies as they are called across the pond. I deal with a lot of wet shoes, not necessarily rubber boots, but definitely wet, dripping shoes that need to dry. I just…
DIY Embroidered T-Shirt: Nevertheless She Persisted
I don’t usually do step-by-step tutorials because I’m not that detail-oriented, but I’m going to try my best today. My main reason for this is because embroidery thread is right up there with felt on my list of favorite craft supplies! Also, to encourage you to try embellishing a t-shirt with embroidery stitching because it’s not as hard as you might think. I taught myself! If you can do it, the possibilities are endless. Here’s the step-by-step of how I started with a plain white t-shirt and ended up with this result. Step 1: Gather Your Supplies You’ll need a t-shirt you want to embellish, embroidery thread, a sewing needle, backing…
Living in Ireland: A Trip to the Hardware Store
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 that sink in. I can buy stamps and then walk three steps over and buy caulk for my shower. I can’t buy the caulk gun though because they are out of those. And have been for MONTHS. Details, details. As a side note, it’s not unusual for post offices to share space with other businesses in Ireland. I have a friend whose…
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Thank Goodness for Easter Break
Hello, everyone! I hope you had a lovely Easter. Spring Break in the Republic of Ireland is actually called Easter Break and it takes place the week before and the week after Easter. In fact, today is a bank holiday, which means the adults get the day off too. Hurray! We are more than ready for a break from our routine. Because there’s nothing like a break from your routine to make you appreciate your routine! I’m taking the week off from blogging to spend the remainder of Easter Break doing family stuff. Adventures and, hopefully, an abundance of sunshine are in store for us! As the sign on my local…
Happy List: #21
Happy Good Friday! This week I shared the most recent books my kids and I have read together. Plus, how I’m teaching them how to type. It doesn’t actually involve me teaching, so they are knocking it out of the ballpark! Here’s what’s on my Happy List. Good Friday Newspaper Ad I thought you might like to see an example of how grocery stores in Ireland advertise for the Easter season in the newspaper. At the last count in 2011, 84.2% of people self-identified as Catholic in the Republic of Ireland, so you can see why advertisers are choosing to speak to one specific religious group. Also, fun fact. You…
Quick Tip: Teaching Kids to Type
Do you remember learning how to type? Was it on a computer keyboard or a typewriter? I must have been in that transition period during the mid-1990s because I learned both in high school. While I may be in denial about how much time has passed since then, there is no denying I have two sweet children who will need to learn to type much sooner than I did. Between homework and computer games, my kids are doing more and more that involves typing. Train research, anyone? Watching them do the one-finger keyboard peck is oh, so painful. For my 6-year-old it is often accompanied by the “how do you spell” question and then a…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 3
I was snuggling with my son at bedtime recently and thought he’d fallen asleep. I was enjoying the quiet and psyching myself up to do that slow slither out of bed to avoid waking him. Just as I started to stretch one leg off the bed, my son suddenly says to me, “Mom, I had a good day at school.” Sometimes I second-guess our life choices and then one of my kids will say something like this and I think “Phew. We’re okay. It’s all working out.” I was certain he’d had a good day because it was Active Week at school and they had done tennis and gymnastics that particular day.…
Happy List #20
Hello! My kids have a half-day at school today…the excitement was palpable in our house this morning! But the angst over the one toy they could bring for “toy day” was…intense. This week I shared the gorgeous spring flowers that are blooming in our Irish garden. All thanks to my green thumb, I’m sure. Actually, I think the blooming flowers are proof that nature finds a way. I also walked you through the “should I, shouldn’t I” decision of switching to linen bath towels. Decision was probably the wrong word there. Maybe indecision would be more apt. Here are some things I’m not indecisive about! Old Fireplace I don’t know…
Living in Ireland: Spring Flowers in Our Yard
Can you believe it is April already? Time sure is flying! Last April we visited Ireland for the first time. It was rainy, windy and miserable. To which we said, “Yeah! Let’s move here!” Now that I have an Irish winter under my belt, I can say spring in Ireland means the rain is…a little bit warmer. Ha! There are nice days too. More than you’d think. One thing I’ve learned is that the Irish do not squander a nice day or a nice hour. I’m a quick learner, so I try to follow their example! Sunday was super nice here (upper 50s Fahrenheit – practically summer weather), so I spent…
Linen Bath Towels: Should I Make the Switch?
I keep tripping over linen bath towels. Online, not literally. In my own house I’m tripping over regular cotton towels. Note to self: put towel hooks at height where kids can reach them. It has me wondering, should I make the switch from cotton (terry cloth) towels to linen towels? I know, I know. It’s a big question for a Monday. Real life changing stuff here. Photo by Anthropologie – More bathroom photos According to what I’ve read, linen bath towels are more absorbent than cotton towels. They are faster drying, so no musty smells. They take up less space. They last longer – up to 30 years! Craziness. Apparently, linen towels get…
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