Dragon Cake
You might think my longest relationship is with my husband. Not so. My longest relationship is with my friend Kari. She moved across the country road from me when we were about 12 years old and pretty much brightened my whole world. She still does that! I’m well aware of the friendship code, so there’s no way I’m going to talk about our actual ages on the Internet. It is safe to say we’ve known each other since big bangs and AquaNet were all the rage. In other words, a really long time. She knows stuff about me that I have long forgotten – sometimes purposefully. And vice versa. One…
Moving to Ireland: House Viewing #2
To recap: We moved to Ireland. We need to find a place to live before our household belongings arrive on the slow boat. Ready. Set. Freak Out! The first house we viewed was in the town of Raheny. The second home we viewed was located much farther north in a college town called Maynooth. This quaint village is home to St. Patrick’s College and Maynooth University. (Mayooth Harbour with train station in the background.) People. I big, fat LOVED Maynooth. I was ready to settle down with my afternoon tea and my new Irish accent and make that place my home. Maynooth is about 40 minutes via train from Dublin’s City Centre.…
From Sea to Shining Sea
It’s a little strange celebrating America’s 4th of July along the Irish Sea. My kids, who love a good 4th of July parade as much as I do, asked me if we could just go throw candy at people on the street today. Um. Well. Let’s see. No. Definitely not. I think that would be an excellent example of good intentions, but poor execution. Besides. We don’t want to waste good candy. What will mommy eat after you go to bed? Whether you are throwing candy in a parade, catching candy, watching fireworks or celebrating the 4th with friends please know we are with you in spirit! Thank you to all…
Free 4th of July Printable
Just a reposting from last year in case anyone wants to print off these 4th of July images. And if the links at the bottom don’t work, let me know. I don’t have a printer setup at our temporary residence, so I can’t actually test it. Details, details. n 1776, the Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia. I don’t know that this group of individuals considered themselves extraordinary. I’d venture to guess they considered themselves quite ordinary. They varied in education levels, in occupations. They disagreed about a great many things. But they had a common ground – declaring and gaining the colonies’ independence from the dictatorial rule of Great Britain. Whether they would…
Great Idea: Stacked Book Pub Table
Eating out used to be one of my favorite things to do. Then I had kids. The restaurants in the United States I frequent the most are Chipotle and Panera because they feature relatively quick, healthy and inexpensive meals in an environment that is kid-friendly. Emphasis on the kid-friendly. Neither of those restaurants are available in Ireland. I’ve had to put on my big girl panties and try new places since we arrived. GASP! Consider my comfort level stretched. Imagine me walking into a new restaurant and in the midst of trying to figure out if we seat ourselves and how we order food (which isn’t as intuitive as it…
Moving to Ireland: House Viewing #1
This is our mission: find a house in Ireland to rent ASAP. For those of you who are curious about corporate moves, they come with a variety of benefits. These benefits vary based on your company, where you are going and your negotiations. For this international move, Handy Husband’s company pays for us to live in temporary housing for 30 days. They also pay a realtor to show us 15 different properties. I’m not sure what happens if you don’t find a home within that amount of showings. No one here, so far, has needed more than that to find a place. *knock on wood* Two days after the kids and…
Moving to Ireland: Human Kindness is Overflowing
Our first week in Ireland has been a WHIRLWIND. Apparently, the motto in our house is “hit the ground running.” Just once I’d like to try dialing it back a notch to see how “hit the ground after this Netflix binge” feels. I’ll bet it feels nice…and not jet-lagged. Jet lag aside, I don’t want to give the impression that this week has been without any bumps in the road. Every good adventure has a few of those. However, as I keep my eyes focused on the big picture, I can’t help but feel I’ve seen the kinder side of humanity this week. Surprising? It sure as heck surprised me! In…
Riveter Tool Turned Hanging Flower Basket Holder
(House hunting in Ireland has commenced! Updates coming soon! If you’re just joining me today, I wrote about why we are in Ireland on Monday.) If chippy paint makes your heart skip a beat, then consider yourself warned. Heart palpitations may follow. Behold the machine I call Red the Riveter. (Rosie was already taken.) This gorgeous, chippy red hunk of equipment is an old rivet press. At least, that’s our best guess. It would have been used to make rivets in leather and textiles. Now it stands tall and proud in the backyard of the Junk Whisperer’s home. (The Junk Whisperer is my stepmom and she really needs her own page on this blog.)…
My Childhood Bathtub
We arrived safely in Ireland (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this post) and are recovering from jet lag. We’re also waiting for our luggage to arrive, but that’s not the end of the world. Enjoy this post while I try to figure out what time zone I’m in. Like a lot of people, I grew up in a house with one bathroom. We had a bathtub and no shower. It was super awesome. Want to see what that bathtub looks like now? Trust me. This is a MILLION times better than the bathtub used to look. I didn’t even know the bathtub had those awesome feet,…
Adventure Awaits
There has been a frenzy of activity behind the scenes of this little blog. This happened. Then this happened. That’s right! We are moving! Again. Ha! Handy Husband accepted a new job with his same company and a transfer to Ireland! IRELAND. As in that foreign country that’s really pretty and green with a pub on every corner. That Ireland. Even though I am mired in all of the moving details, it still sounds unreal when I say it out loud. This has been a collective dream of ours since college, but even more so after we had children. We want our children to grow up considering themselves to be global citizens with a…
