Hello! This Thanksgiving week, as I reflect on the world around me, I realize I have so much to be grateful for. At a very basic level, all of my needs are truly met. I’m warm, safe, fed, and surrounded by the people dearest to me. Not everyone can say that right now and it reminds me to not take my present state for granted. I’m also thankful to every one of you. Your most precious resource is your time and the fact that you spend 2 minutes of your day here does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I’m hoping I didn’t just make you reconsider how you spend your…

I have the best 2023 advent calendars for kids and adults to share with you. After all, the holidays should have a little magic for all of us, don’t you think? We are definitely a chocolate advent calendar family, but sometimes I add in an advent calendar that is not food related too. Oh, and I did just buy an advent calendar for the cat. Yes, the cat. I’ve become that person now. Here are some 2023 advent calendars that would go over BIG in our family and maybe yours too. Elf™ Advent Calendar  | Williams Sonoma Any Elf fans out there? This Elf advent calendar has maple syrup, chocolate,…

Is our house haunted? I am asked that question fairly often. Why do they ask? Is our house throwing off creepy vibes? Well, I don’t think our house is particularly creepy, except for the basement. And the attic. And that spot..oh, never mind. I think people ask the question because the oldest part of our house dates to the late 1700s. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many people have died in this home in the last 250 or so years, which could lead to some hauntings if you’re open to that sort of thing. Am I open to it? Heck, yeah! Not in a scary, horror film sort…

Hi! Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! The older I get, the more interested in history I have become. Learning seems to be a lot more enjoyable when you’re not being tested on it. Have you found this to be true as well? I feel very fortunate that so far in my life I’ve spent quite a bit of time perusing museums in the U.S. and Europe. I’ve visited many historical sites. I love history podcasts and, believe it or not, I read history books from time to time…for fun. 15-year-old me would be shocked! Perhaps like some of you, I grew up with a romanticized version in…

It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day! We had the privilege of living in Ireland for a couple of years, so St. Patrick’s Day is extra special to us now. The best part of Ireland is, BY FAR, the Irish people. Since many of you were not blog readers when we moved to Ireland for Handy Husband’s work, I thought I’d re-share from the blog archives the dramatic and funny story of how we moved to Ireland. Here you go… 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…

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, there are some very interesting things of note regarding this day of love. Here are 14 sweet Valentine’s Day facts that you can share with your loved ones…or not. But I do hope you at least have a delicious piece of chocolate to enjoy while reading this! Valentine’s Day Facts #1: Americans spend A LOT on Valentine’s Day. The National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year. That’s up from the $23.9 billion spent in 2022. (source) Valentine’s Day Facts #2: A slim majority celebrates Valentine’s Day. 52% of Americans plan to celebrate…

If you were to ask me my least favorite color, I’d probably tell you it was pink. Yet here I am feeling quite delighted with my festive pink Christmas tree decorations. Me with a pink Christmas tree. Go figure. Humans are confounding creatures. Was my pink Christmas tree decorated under duress? No. Did I come up with this color scheme all on my own? Yes. If that’s not proof that humans can evolve, adapt, and change their minds, I don’t know what is. But let’s not get carried away. I’m not going to suddenly paint my whole house pink or anything. After all, the dose makes the poison. A little…