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…
Bowling Ball Lawn Orb
What do you do when your local bowling alley is getting rid of old bowling balls for free? Uh, jump for joy? Not while holding the bowling balls though. I’ve heard bowling alleys often end up with cracked or damaged bowling balls and they’d rather give them away to DIYers than fill up their garbage cans. I imagine the garbage man likes it a lot better too. I’d like to know if this is true in places other than my small hometown. Let me know! One thing you can do with an old bowling ball is make a decorative lawn orb. It’s easy to make one, but it does require a…
Pallet Flag Tip
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays – especially when I can celebrate with a good ol’ fashioned small town parade. Nothing screams “proud to be an American” like your local insurance agent throwing hard candy at little kids who run out into the street to grab these free treats. Seriously can’t wait. Now’s the time to get into the patriotic spirit with a little Americana decor, which brings me to this burning question. Is the pallet flag trend over? I don’t keep up with these things. I’m all about displaying what you love for however long you love it. It eventually all comes back into style anyway. I’m…
Summer Bucket List
Do you guys make a summer bucket list? I’ve never made one in a formal sense, but I do keep a running list in my head. I also keep my grocery list in my head and that doesn’t always work out so well. Take it from me, there is a benefit to writing things down. One thing on our summer bucket list was making s’mores. Simple, but necessary for summer. I was certain my kids had roasted marshmallows before, but my 6-year-old didn’t remember. Apparently we’ve installed a healthy fear of fire into the kids, so the idea of letting the marshmallow catch on fire took a little getting used to.…
The Happiest Place on Earth
Generally speaking, I think my home is the happiest place on earth as evidenced by the fact that I never want to leave. Not even kidding. Yet, here I find myself taking the kids to Disneyland this week! I should really check my temperature. All this to say, I’ll be back next week. After I’ve recovered. That will be long enough to recover, right? My kids are over-the-moon excited to finally be able to experience Disneyland. I’ve been calling it the other happiest place on earth. Share this:
Embroidery Embellished Shirt
My wardrobe is pretty basic. Lots of solids, not a lot of prints. I’m trying to branch out more, but the practical side of me says I can wear a white t-shirt with a lot more than I can wear a wildly-printed one. My practical side speaks REALLY LOUDLY. Perhaps this project was my impractical side finding its voice. I wanted to see if I could use embroidery thread to embellish an old t-shirt. Sew new life into it, so to speak. The problem? My experience with embroidery thread is limited to the friendship bracelets I made when I was 12. I’m a little rusty. Just a little. That’s why…
3 Creative Ways I Store Shoes
The one thing my kids are really consistent about (besides asking for a snack every 5 minutes) is taking their shoes off when they come in the house. I’m not sure if that’s because my husband and I did an exceptional job of training them or if my kids would just prefer to be barefoot. Hmm. Let’s go with the exceptional training. Yeah, I like the sound of that. In reality, if you only knew how many times I’ve left the house and one of my children wasn’t wearing shoes. *sigh* Anyway, shoe containment is a real problem. I’ve never lived in a house with a proper mudroom to hold…
Our Memorial Day Tradition
Our most humbling family tradition occurs on Memorial Day Weekend. Three generations gather at the cemetery to honor and remember those who paved the way for our freedoms, our lives and our heritage. American flags have been placed beside the headstones of those who served in our country’s armed forces. Colorful flowers brighten the landscape. We clean the headstones, reminisce and pause in quiet reflection. My children have never met the family members buried there – not even their grandma. Yet, with a willing heart, they kneel on the ground and scrub the headstones clean. They trim tall grass and pull weeds. They listen to the stories of our family members who are…
