What Should I Do With This Junky Treasure?
If you’ve been following along on this blog – and thank you for doing that – you’ll remember I talked about our sidewalks being torn up and the amazing memento I now have from the tree that was cut down during the process. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but our driveway apron was torn up too. A few weeks after the new concrete was poured, I cleaned out the flowerbeds next to the driveway. Yes, I occasionally do tend to my flowerbeds. I swear! Do you know what I found when I was weeding that day? A glorious junky treasure! Talk about chippy perfection! It’s a piece of gate…
Travel: Barcelona With Kids
When you’re living though a cold, damp winter in Dublin, a quick getaway to Barcelona, Spain, in December is a real treat! Actually, in my mind, a trip to Barcelona no matter the time is AMAZING. This was our first time visiting Barcelona and we only had two days to explore the city. Before we left I did a little online research so I had an idea of what was available to do in the city and of interest to our family (our kids are 7 and 10). When we landed in Barcelona on December 26, it felt like an Irish summer. I kid you not. The locals were bundled…
Happy New Year!
Hello, hello! I hope you had a fun time ringing in (or sleeping through) the New Year! If you’ve been following me on Instagram (@aprettyhapppyhome) you’ll know we are off on a grand adventure. It has been our quest while living in Ireland to see as much of Europe as we can. In this trip alone we will cross three more countries off our list. We won’t have time to do a deep dive into each of the areas we are visiting, but the highlights are pretty fantastic! I’m taking a break from blogging this week to continue with our adventures. I’ll be back next week to tell you all…
Happy List: #53, Happy Birthday Dad
Hello, hello! You are joining me on a very special day. It’s my dad’s birthday! If you know him, feel free to give him a call today. By “call” I mean leave a message without any expectation of a call back – that’s a true gift. Or honk when you drive by his house. The neighbors will love that! Or maybe just bake him a pie. That’s what he REALLY likes. Now on to some other things making me happy today! PUZZLE TIME This was just too fun not to share. Can you spot the bear among the reindeer? Here’s the original image by Budapest-based illustrator Gergely Dudás . Here’s the solution.…
Living in Ireland: Festival of Trees
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Before we say goodbye to 2017, I thought I’d share one last holiday-themed post. One of the things I’ve enjoyed or found the most interesting about living in Ireland is seeing how the locals celebrate the various holidays. Ireland doesn’t have the Christmas markets that other European countries are famous for, but it does have plenty of other events for locals (and visitors!) to enjoy. This year a friend invited us to see the Festival of Trees at Christ Church in Bray. Bray is a cute seaside town south of Dublin. It’s one of the farthest points south that you can live from…
Merry Christmas
From our family to yours, we wish you a merry Christmas! Many thanks to my friend Meg for lugging her camera 7 miles and up a mountain to get this family photo – one of the few we took this year – and to my children for cooperating so well. We hope your Christmas is filled with love, good food and many happy moments. Share this:
Happy List: #52
Merry (almost) Christmas! How are you? I hope you are enjoying this season. Me? I am! I just can’t believe 2017 is almost over. There were hours and days that seemed so. darn. long, but the year flew by. On Monday, I wrote about how our Christmas tree went from bringing me no joy to all the joy. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I experienced mental drama over a tree though. Sheesh. On Wednesday, I shared some far less dramatic Christmas snapshots from around our home. Here’s this week’s moment of distraction, aka The Happy List. PLAYHOUSE DESIGN Playhouse designs have really changed over the years, haven’t they?…
Christmas Around Our Home 2017
While my kids would have loved for us to truly douse the house in Christmas everything, I prefer a lighter touch when it comes to Christmas decorating. In fact, I’ve already donated 5 bags of stuff this month because all the extra decor out for Christmas is making me twitchy. My closets are looking nice and tidy though! The mantel in the living room we never use is decorated with some greenery, ceramic trees and one of my favorite projects of all time – a DIY wood dove. I can see the mantel from the doorway though, so it’s not a complete waste. I made a wreath from yard clippings for…
Christmas Tree 2017
I was gung-ho to decorate for Christmas this year. Then I opened the Christmas boxes stuffed with holiday decor. I looked at all the glitz and glitter and did not feel that burst of fa-la-la-magic. Instead, I felt like a tall, curly-haired grinch. Minus the green complexion. However, the kids were excited to douse the house in Christmas everything! Even though I FELT like a grinch, I didn’t want to BE a grinch. So we blasted Christmas music and got to work spreading holiday cheer around the house. I set the Christmas tree up in the living room in front of the big window. Then I just looked at it…
Happy List: #51
10 days until Christmas! Are you ready? Or are you fa-la-la-la-frazzled? I’m feeling pretty solid. Or as solid as I can be hoping the items I ordered show up on time! This week I finally (a whole 11 days into the month) shared something Christmas-y with you. On Monday it was window shopping in Ireland to see how Irish retailers get in the Christmas spirit. Spoiler alert: no grinches here! On Wednesday I shared the ornaments I made out of my son’s wood blocks. Apparently, nothing is safe in this house from one of my crafty ideas. I’ve got some good stuff for you on today’s Happy List! I do…
