Happy List: #104
Hello, friends! I’m a little late to the ‘new year, new you’ thing, but I started my January diet this week. It’s super effective and definitely curbs your appetite. But it does have several limitations – especially where physical mobility and pain are concerned. Have you heard of it? It’s the ever dreaded stomach bug. I don’t think I’ve been that violently ill since I was pregnant with my first child. Thankfully, the worst of my stomach woes occurred on Sunday and into Monday which everyone had off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Did you know Monday was also National Banana Bread Day, National Museum Selfie Day, National Hugging…
Travel: Niagara Falls in Winter
Niagara Falls has been on our Travel Bucket List for awhile now. Have you been? There are pros and cons to visiting Niagara Falls during the off-peak season or, as I affectionately refer to it, the cold, frozen winter. The pros include lower prices on lodging and fewer tourists to contend with. The cons involve possibly bad weather and not all tourist attractions will be open. Can you guess which option is more appealing to our family? Let me grab my coat and scarf because I really loathe long lines and I’m a big fan of saving a buck! The only caveat that would make this a dealbreaker for us…
$60 Thrifted Dresser
Sometime last year I crowed about a thrifting haul. I scored multiple thrifted items in the course of one week – something that rarely happens to me. In fact, it hasn’t happened since. But not for lack of trying! One of the items I didn’t tell you about was the $60 thrifted dresser with killer legs. See what I mean? Look at those little wooden wheels… I found this dresser at my local Habitat Restore. It has become my go-to place for inexpensive furniture partly because it’s located only a few miles from my house, but mainly because of the ‘inexpensive’ part. I would have bought the dresser on-the-spot, but…
Happy List: #103
Fancy meeting you here again! I hope the week has treated you well. We are crossing our fingers for snow this weekend. Well, my kids are crossing their fingers. I’m a little more ambivalent about it since I’m secretly longing for spring now that Christmas is over. However, I stocked up on eggs, bread and milk because isn’t that what you are supposed to do with a storm on the way? This week I shared a tutorial for how to cinch in the waistband of your jeans without using a sewing machine. If you missed it, don’t expect a picture of the final product on my body. There are some…
Basketball Drills for 4 – 6 Year Olds
A few years ago I had the pleasure of coaching my son’s basketball team. He was 5 years old and it was his first experience playing the game. The stated goal of this particular basketball program was to introduce 4 – 6-year-olds to the game in a fun setting so they would want to continue to play the sport in subsequent years. No problem, right? Hahahahahaha! I say this with all the affection of a mother. It was like coaching a pack of wild animals. Albeit, very cute wild animals. Let me tell you what you will (potentially) be up against. 1) 4 teams of 8 – 10 kids practicing…
Closing Waistband Gap on Jeans with Elastic
Much as we hate to admit it, grandmas are usually right about a lot of different topics. Polyester pants with an elastic waistband? They might not be attractive, but they didn’t wrinkle. I’m willing to bet they were comfortable too and you didn’t ever see Grandma adjusting her pants because the waistband wasn’t fitting correctly, did you? No, you didn’t. If you saw Grandma’s drawers it was because she was drying them outside on the line and not because she bent over and flashed everyone in aisle 12 of Target. Her kids probably never whisper-yelled loud enough for the entire store to hear, “MOM! I can see your UNDERWEARS!” Her…
Happy List: #102
Hello, friends! I know you are busy and I’m thankful you are here today. This week I shared a recipe for biscotti that will change your life. Perhaps also your pants size, but I’m not responsible for that. I also wrote about one of my favorite new towns called Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. It has a little something for everyone and it is worth a visit. Now, let’s get on to The Happy List! POTTERY BARN INSPIRED BASKETS I love this clever idea from Angelica at Once Again, My Dear Irene to add handles to a regular basket. The idea was inspired by a Pottery Barn basket she knew she could…
Almond and Anise Biscotti
Have you ever baked something so mouth-wateringly delicious that you realize you should probably NEVER EVER EVER bake it again? Hear me out. If you bake it again it means you’ve thrown caution to the wind. You’ve chucked your self-control out the window. You may end up binge-eating that baked good just to get it out of the house. And it’s worth every bite. That’s how I feel about this Almond and Anise Biscotti recipe. In fact, I had to move to a foreign country where one of the ingredients wasn’t readily available just so I wouldn’t be able to bake this biscotti. That’s not exactly true, but it was…
Travel: Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
I hope you know by now I wouldn’t recommend taking a trip to visit a small town in the middle of nowhere without good reason. When I say small, I’m not exaggerating. (Not this time!) And when I say good reason, I have more than one! Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, is a historic Victorian town (population 4,633) in the Pocono Mountains. It is situated approximately 1.5 hours from Philadelphia and 2 hours from New York City. (Unless you are leaving on a Friday night at 5 p.m. Then it might take half a lifetime a little longer.) If you don’t like 19th century architecture, great restaurants, quirky shops, eye-opening museums, outdoor recreation…
Happy List: #101
Happy New Year! It’s so nice to be back here yakking your ear off after the Christmas break. Did you miss me? I thought so. Our Christmas break was a blur! We spent a few days adventuring, but other than that we spent our time close to home. We didn’t know what day it was and my kids stayed in their pajamas most of the time. Handy Husband kept asking me if it was garbage day and after I looked at my phone I would say, “No! It’s Sunday!” Or Saturday. Or any other day that wasn’t garbage day. Then on the actual garbage day…we forgot. This week I shared…
