Horseshoe Pumpkins Go Mainstream
Questions have come up recently about my DIY horseshoe pumpkin. This is, in part, because my braided denim pumpkin and the horseshoe pumpkin by extension were honored with a Salvaged Junk feature on Funky Junk Interiors last week. You know how much I love salvaged junk, so this really made my day! When I told my 7-year-old son about this good news, I thought he’d say, “cool.” Instead, he reached over, patted my shoulder and with all sincerity said, “I’m happy for you.” This might not seem like a big deal to you, but I’m living through a very long season of fart jokes. In that moment, hope sprang eternal…
DIY Geometric Mirror Using Children’s Blocks
A friend and I were discussing DIY fails the other day. Always a cheery topic. The reality of my life is that some projects turn out and others…not so much. She mentioned that IF I have flops, I don’t share them on the ol’ blog. Well, duh! I don’t share pictures of the gravity-defying things my hair does when I wake up in the morning either. But maybe I should. It would certainly shock and awe. I do try to share the foibles that inevitably come with most of my projects though. Today I’m sharing a project FILLED with foibles. It’s cup runneth over with what NOT to do. But…
Happy List: #39
Hello again! Our mornings have turned a wee bit cool and it’s definitely starting to feel like fall has arrived. Although, I say that kind of tongue-in-cheek because Ireland is always a wee bit cool – even in the summer. On Monday I shared more about life in Ireland as it relates to ER visits. Thank you for your warm wishes. My daughter is doing much better. Wednesday was all about pumpkins and denim. If you missed the braided denim pumpkin, go back and read all about it! I’ll wait. Here’s what is on the Happy List this week. I try to view these things through the filter of “I…
Braided Denim Pumpkin
I have these illusions that I’m an unique, one-of-a-kind, broke-the-mold sort of person. But I’m really just like most people. In fact, I’m just like the MILLIONS of other crafty people in the world who have fallen down the rabbit hole known as The Dollar Store and emerged with a styrofoam pumpkin. Okay, okay. I have six Dollar Store pumpkins. Six. But that’s all, I swear. And you can’t just buy a Dollar Store pumpkin and be done with it. Nooo. No way. That’s against the code. Something crafty must be done with those Dollar Store pumpkins or you develop an eye twitch and bad luck for 7 years. Or so…
Living in Ireland: Pediatric Emergency Medicine
When our family moved to Ireland 15 months ago, I did what I could from a medical perspective to make sure our transition was as smooth as possible. Today I’m going to share what I did in the hope that you’ll find my list helpful should you find yourself in a similar situation. Then I’ll get to the dramatic part tell you how it all went to hell a story of what happened last week that showed the drastic gap in my planning that most certainly contributed to a new patch of grey hair. BEFORE WE LEFT THE USA: Prescriptions: Before I left the states, I arranged to “buy-out” the…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 5
First week of September and I am up to my eyeballs in lunch boxes and homework! Before I completely forget everything that happened this summer, I want to give you the rundown of some books we enjoyed while school was out. It’s not the entirety of what we or they read, but the ones worth sharing. These are the books my (kids age 7 and 10) enjoyed and said, “just one more chapter! Please!” AniMalcolm by David Baddiel We stumbled into the world of David Baddiel when I picked up this book at the airport back in June. AniMalcom is a book about a kid who doesn’t like animals and then…
Golf Ball Pumpkins
How does a non-golfing family end up with a bucket of golf balls? I imagine it’s the usual way. We scavenged for them. In our version of “I Spy” we search the beach at low tide for golf balls hidden under rocks. At the top of the cliffs above the beach there is a park and it seems some golfers like hitting balls into the ocean. Naughty, naughty. Collecting the golf balls is great fun, but I needed something to do with the growing collection other than take up an expensive hobby play golf. My daughter and her friends transformed the first bunch into emojis. That project was super cute, but…
Happy List: #37
How is it September already? Except for the last week before school started, out summer FLEW by. This week I shared how I repurposed denim belt loops into hanging loops for my kitchen towels. This project was life changing, I tell ya! On Wednesday I shared a story about how accidentally renting a dorm room instead of hotel room got my kids excited for college life. Also (potentially) life changing. Here are a few of the random things that made me smile this week. GET IN MY BELLY Tis the season for pumpkin everything! While I’m indifferent to pumpkin (don’t hold it against me), I’m a fan of Michael from…
How I Accidentally Got My Kids Excited for College
It’s the first day of school (WOOHOO!!!), so it seems like an appropriate time to share this story of how I accidentally got my kids excited for college. Come to find out, August is probably the busiest month for tourism in Ireland. It’s quite possible there are more tourists on the island than there are residents. At least it sure feels that way. Dang tourists. (Oh, wait. I’m practically a tourist myself. Never mind. Tourists are the BEST! Except when you don’t walk fast and I have places to be.) Anyway. Let’s just pretend I didn’t tell you how I really feel. My dad and The Junk Whisperer made plans…
Repurposing Denim Belt Loops to Hang Towels
I recently read a New York Times article entitled 5 Cheap(ish) Things That Could Disproportionately Improve Your Life. I’m ALL about improving my life on the cheap(ish). The author, Tim Herrera, wrote this: “I never would’ve thought a thin, black, six-foot iPhone charging cable would change my life. Yet here we are, and that magic cable is the Amazon Basics lightning-to-USB iPhone charging cable (also available in micro-USB). This little wonder of PVC and copper wiring solves an irritatingly modern non-problem problem: the three-foot leash that is the stock charging cable usually bundled with most smartphones. Cue the tiny violin. But once you’re able to roam just a little farther,…
