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A Pretty Happy Home

Life, DIY and Random Things That Make Me Smile

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
    • Apparel and Shoes
    • Books
    • Crafts and Sewing
    • Decor
    • Furniture
    • Home Improvement
    • Kid Favorites
    • Kitchen
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
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    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
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  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • Shop
    • Apparel and Shoes
    • Books
    • Crafts and Sewing
    • Decor
    • Furniture
    • Home Improvement
    • Kid Favorites
    • Kitchen
  • Projects
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Colonial Farmhouse
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY Projects
    • Holidays
  • Adventure
    • Moving to Ireland
    • Living in Ireland
    • Visiting Ireland
    • Travel
    • Family and Parenting
    • Humor
    • Learning
  • Privacy Policy

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  • hardware store in ireland
    Ireland

    From The Archive: A Hardware Store In Ireland

    March 17, 2025 /

    Editor’s Note: This blog post about what hardware stores in Ireland are like was previously published under our “Living In Ireland” series. We moved to Ireland for a work opportunity and lived there, south of Dublin, for two years between 2016 and 2018. I thought this would be a fun post to revisit on St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you enjoy it! A warning for all of you organized types – the pictures in this post may be disturbing. Now, for the rest of you, let’s head to the hardware store! My little village in Ireland has a small hardware store. It shares space with the post office. I’ll let…

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    annisa 0 Comments

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  • Want to see my hot press? Hot press in an irish home
    Ireland

    From The Archives: Want To See My Hot Press?

    July 31, 2024 /

    Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published way back in 2017 and the experience is still seared into my brain. Enjoy! Moving to a foreign country – even one where you speak the language – is a humbling experience. My advice? Settle into the feeling that you are going to be the biggest idiot in the room. A little humor and humility go a long way toward settling in. When we were looking for a house in Ireland we toured an owner-occupied home they were putting on the rental market. During the tour, the owner made a passing reference to the hot press. “I’m sorry. A hot what?” In hindsight, my…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Living in Ireland: Christmas in Retail 2017

    December 11, 2017

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  • cliffs of moher 2017
    travel

    10 Must See Places in Ireland if You Like Castles and Nature

    March 13, 2019 /

    I routinely receive emails from people asking what they should do when visiting Ireland. It’s an impossible question! Especially if you are only visiting for a week. For a small country, Ireland has a lot to see, experience and savor. I should know – I lived there for two years and didn’t see or do everything on my list. Oh, the regrets! With St. Patrick’s Day only a few days away, I thought it would be fitting to round up my favorite, must-see places in the Republic of Ireland especially if you like castles and nature. I’m leaving Northern Ireland off the list (this time!) only because I’m trying to help you…

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  • blarney castle 2017
    Ireland

    Living in Ireland: Practical Advice for Americans

    July 11, 2018 /

    I realize most of my readers are not expats, but I have to get this information out of my head before I forget! If it saves just one person a tiny bit of anxiety about their move to Ireland, it is worth it. On with the show… We spent two years living in Ireland. I don’t say this lightly. It was the opportunity of a lifetime! People say about our experience, “That must have been amazing. Ireland is so beautiful.” Yes, it was. Yes, it is. However, this is real life and real life under normal circumstances can be freaking hard at times. Throw in a foreign country and you’ve upped…

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    annisa 5 Comments

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    What I Bought While in the United States

    August 21, 2017

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  • Ireland,  moving

    Living in Ireland: When to Move Back to the U.S.

    June 20, 2018 /

    This was a hard article to write. If you’ve been living in Ireland, how do you know when it’s time to move back home? In our case, home is the United States. If you are an American citizen who moved to Ireland for work, then you probably entered Ireland in one of two ways: on a contract or as a permanent hire. If you were on a contract with a set end-date, then you know when you’ll be leaving. If you entered Ireland as a permanent hire, then your end date (if there is one) is more ambiguous and something you’ll have to determine for yourself. My husband works for…

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    annisa 2 Comments

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    Living in Ireland: Exploring Our New Country

    August 19, 2016

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    June 29, 2016

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    April 11, 2018
  • trinity college long room
    Ireland,  travel

    Visiting Ireland: The Book of Kells

    May 14, 2018 /

    It’s hard to prioritize what to do and see in Dublin if you are visiting for a short period of time. You’d think this process would be easier if you are living in Dublin, but NOPE! It took us two years before we got around to seeing the Book of Kells. I’m not sure why we waited so long. No one else does! Close to a million visitors a year view the Book of Kells making it the 5th most popular tourist attraction in Ireland. If you’re a history buff, a book lover, a believer in the gospels and/or a Star Wars fan, this is the tour for you! WHAT IS…

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    Living in Ireland: Festival of Trees

    December 27, 2017

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    August 19, 2016
  • Ireland,  travel

    Visiting Ireland: Kilmainham Gaol Museum

    April 11, 2018 /

    When we arrived at Kilmainham Gaol Museum on the west side of Dublin, we were greeted at a big imposing door by a stout-looking Irish man with grey hair. He looked at me and with all seriousness said, “Ah! I see you’ve brought us some long-term guests!” My kids stared at the man and then slowly looked at me like, “He’s joking, right mom? RIGHT?!?!” Have I mentioned that Kilmainham Gaol is a prison? Technically, it WAS a prison. Kilmainham Gaol opened in 1796 on a site known as Gallows Hill. If that doesn’t set the stage for an 18th century prison, I don’t know what does. WHY YOU SHOULD…

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  • Ireland,  travel

    Visiting Ireland: St. Patrick’s Day

    March 19, 2018 /

    Visiting Ireland any time of year is special. Visting Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day? Well, that’s taking things up a notch or ten million. Let’s start with some basics. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died on March 17 around the year 460 A.D. Record keeping might not have been quite as stringent in the 5th century. Hence, all the qualifying words. It is believed that St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland or, at least, had a large influence on Christianity in Ireland. Many of the stories about St. Patrick aren’t necessarily factual. However, they are impressive if you have certain phobias. For…

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  • Ireland

    Living in Ireland: Surviving a Snowstorm

    March 5, 2018 /

    Surviving a snowstorm. Yes, that’s a bit melodramatic. However, snow is not something I thought I’d be writing about while living in Ireland. This island is supposed to have a temperate climate, after all. But every decade or so conditions are just right to deliver a weather wollup to the country. In this case (March 2018), it was in the form of Storm Emma colliding with “The Beast from the East,” which was a disruption to the stratospheric polar vortex that normally stays right where it belongs – up above the Arctic Circle. (And, yes. I had to google that.) When these two meteorological forces combined over the country of Ireland,…

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  • Family,  holidays

    Happy Halloween

    October 31, 2016 /

    It’s here! It’s here! My kids are busting with excitement. They love Halloween! For those of you who have wondered, yes, Halloween is celebrated in Ireland. The kids do dress up and go trick-or-treating, so that is on the agenda for later today. We also carved pumpkins! The teeniest, tiniest pumpkins. Honest to goodness, I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner. See that little hole in the top of the pumpkin? Mom and dad cannot fit their hands in there. Therefore, mom and dad’s ability to help with this process is very, very limited. Or so I told my kids. Worked like a charm. These were Irish grown, “medium-sized” pumpkins. They…

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