Vanilla Coconut Cashews and Almonds
Our household is a bit nutty consumes a lot of nuts: cashews, almonds, pistachios, pecans. In fact, I just ate a handful of almonds while writing this post. I’m all about raw nuts for baking and cooking, but for snacking I like a bit of salt. Sometimes in the afternoons around 3 p.m. I like a bit of sweet. While procrastinating doing important online research, I saw a recipe for Vanilla Cashew Clusters on Kitchn and I could not make the recipe fast enough. But first I had to go to the store. Isn’t that always the case? Motivation strikes and you’re missing an ingredient. But when temptation strikes there’s ALWAYS a pint…
One Touch Cleaning Rule
Do you know how many titles I went through for this post trying to keep it clean (no pun intended) and not suggestive? Ha! Still not sure I succeeded. I recently read an article on Apartment Therapy about a simple strategy for keeping your home tidy. You had me at simple, Apartment Therapy. I was hoping thinking perhaps the simple strategy was to hire a housekeeper. And then the universe laughed. In other words, nope. Not the strategy they were advocating. But it was almost, if I use a very loose definition of that word, as good. It was to use ONE and only one touch to move an item from…
Happy List: #44
Welcome back to the Happy List! This week I shared the Scandinavian idea of using two duvets on one bed. I also debriefed our experience with Storm Ophelia. Here are some other things that floated my boat this week… BROWN SUGAR FUDGE WITH PUMPKIN SPICED WALNUTS Okay. I like the IDEA of this recipe, but I’m wondering if it is all hype because there’s hardly any pumpkin spice in the recipe. I make these controversial declarations in the hope that someone will make the recipe and give me a sampling. Walnuts aren’t my jam, so I’d probably switch them out for pecans. Hint, hint. Check the recipe out for yourself…
Living in Ireland: Storm Ophelia
I had planned to share a delicious recipe with you today, but food isn’t on my mind. Coming from me, this is pretty shocking, I know! I’m always thinking about food. Storm Ophelia, the remnant of Hurricane Ophelia, pounded Ireland on Monday. It was predicted to be the worst storm in 50 years to hit the island. The island, which includes two countries, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is the size of Indiana in terms of land mass and approximate population. If you’re thinking it is extraordinarily rare for a hurricane – even one downgraded to a tropical storm or depression – to make it this far north, you’d…
Sharing a Bed, But Not the Bedding
Editor’s Note: Hurricane Ophelia is expected to hit Ireland today. A ‘red weather warning’ has been issued for the entire country as this could be the worst storm to hit the island in 50 years. The west coast of Ireland is expected to take the brunt of the storm. The Dublin area, on the east coast where we live, will be impacted as well. As of 11 a.m. local time there is no rain, but wind gusts have started and it is unusually warm. Buses and trains are running this morning in the city, but schools and government offices are closed and people are advised to stay home. Thanks to…
Happy List: #43
Here we are again, folks! And it’s a Friday the 13th! Ooh! This week I shared how I used rope to makeover a planter and a list of easy, mostly recyclable Halloween decorating ideas. Also, this mirror makeover of mine made an appearance on Funky Junky Interiors last week. Be sure to check out that post. So many great projects and bloggers were featured! Here’s what else made me smile this week. FUNNY PARENTING TWEETS I love it when HuffPost rounds up funny tweets. This latest article on 23 Funny Tweets That Will Ring True To Anyone Who’s Been Married made my day. Here are a few that made me…
5 Easy, (mostly) Recyclable Halloween Decorating Ideas
My interest in holiday decorating comes and goes. I’m not sure why. Different seasons of life, perhaps? My interest or lack thereof in storing A TON of holiday decor is more steady. I like to keep some Christmas and autumn decor, but I don’t have space or the desire to store items for all the other holidays. If I can make it and recycle the decor when I’m finished, I consider that a holiday decorating win. Here are 5 easy Halloween decorating projects that are low-on-cost, high-on-impact and (mostly) recyclable. I should note that after I wrote this post, I was doing a little fact checking. Yes, I do aim…
MultiTasking Fail and a Rope Planter
Moms of the world, I hope I’m not the only one think you can relate to this scenario. One simple thing you have to do. That’s it. One. simple. thing. And you pick a time to sneak away to do the one simple thing when both kids are entertaining themselves. They are old enough to do that now – thank goodness. My one simple thing was to do something with this planter. It was pink and I started to paint it, which I realized was not going to help. This needed to be a complete cover up job if I wanted to keep the planter. But the project goes sideways…
Happy List: #42
Hello, Friends. I want to start by saying thanks. This blog is my happy place – a creative outlet of sorts. The people I interact with here have always been so positive, kind and understanding. That matters to me – more than I could ever express. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the horrific shooting in Las Vegas. Around the natural disasters in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Texas. In the police and voting incident in Barcelona. In the car attack in Edmonton. You get my point…the list of horrors in our world is long and I haven’t even mentioned wars, disease, etc. Some of these things can be…
Pom Pom Initial Gift Bag
I confess. I’m a gift bag re-user. I’m sure you are all SO shocked to hear this news. Reusing gift bags has its limits though. Especially when your kid notices Santa uses the same gift bags that mom uses for birthdays. EEK! That’s just one of the reasons why I keep a stash of plain gift bags on hand. White or brown paper bags work for every occasion. Girl birthday, boy birthday, teacher gift, special gift from the jolly man in a red suit, etc. The other and perhaps larger part of why I like having plain gift bags on hand is that I have fun decorating them. No surprise there.…
