Last week I was tossed under a vehicle by a Brit.
Don’t fret; there’s nary a scratch on me. The vehicle was a figurative bus, as Lizzi tagged me in a lovely one of those pass-around posts that bloggers are fond of because it means they don’t have to think of a topic to write about.
Lizzi asked me to share my “10 in a box,” ten things in my house that make me happy or hold some significance for me. It was the perfect opportunity to walk around my home with my camera, ignore the mess, and focus on the happy.
1. These notes from my kids are scotch-taped onto the side of a bookcase in my office, where I can see them from my desk. They have been there for years.
2. This happy buddha was a permanent fixture in our house when I was a kid. It holds no religious significance for me, but I used to rub his belly for good luck. He is now mine, and he’s still smiling.
3. I love this hand painted piece of furniture. It’s practical with a side of funky, which is how I like to think of myself. Regardless of my decorating style over the years, this piece will stay.
4. This is the onesie and cap that both my kids wore to come home from the hospital after they were born. James’ forearm is now the same length as the onesie, and the cap fits perfectly on his fist.
5. Our wedding ketubah (marriage contract) and a bag holding the pieces of the glass Matt smashed at the end of the ceremony. Both have been hanging in our bedroom for twenty years.
6. My kitchen. The remodeling process inspired me to start this blog, although no one was reading when I wrote about it. Three years later, I still love it. Sadly, I still do not love cooking in it. Or cooking in general.
7. One thing I can cook is chicken soup and matzah balls. My grandmother’s pot is old and stained, and water takes forever to boil in it. So I make the soup in a newer pot, and then pour it into hers. I will never, ever throw it away.
8. This stuffed dog (Gotta Getta Gund!) sat on my bed for four years in college, and now he sits on Gwen’s bed. He is well worn, well loved, and probably very, very germy.
9. I have just a handful of books – I only buy my favorites. My daughter, however, can’t buy enough. This is her bookcase, and I love that she loves reading as much as I do.
10. That tattered album on top of her bookcase is my childhood sticker book; I do not know why it is in her room. That book was once my pride and joy; the pages are filled with unicorns, Smurfs, teddy bears and rainbows.
The world really needs more happy; what things in your home are yours?
I LOVE your kitchen! I could cook up a storm in there! xx
I’d prefer your cooking to mine, I’m sure!
Love posts like this though I don’t really write them. Just have to share I have a similar tiny Buddha on my desk at work. And love the hand painted cabinet.
I have a few tiny Buddhas too – I love them!
I have quite the book collection…I buy my favorites too. And call me silly, but I often forget where I loan one out, and if it doesn’t come back and I notice it gone, I will buy another copy if it was one of my favorites because I can’t bear not to have a favorite book. LOL. I am getting better about that, but I have done it many MANY times! I have lots of favorite pictures scattered throughout the house too, and I never replace them, because they remind me of wonderful memories.
So true. I have three pics of my kids on my dresser, and I never replace them. I love seeing their young little faces and remembering those early years.
the ketubah and the glass are amazing. i love how judaism has a marital contract. we do too as catholics, but it’s not necessarily in a written form that you can look at every day.
I’m so glad we framed it when we were married – I remember thinking how expensive the framing was, and debating about whether we should do it.
What a great idea! I need to do this =) I wish I still had my sticker book, I can still smell my favorite root beer scratch-and-sniff, I bet my oldest daughter would love to make her own. =)
What a cute idea for a post. Mine have all been race recaps, training tips, and healthy recipes recently. I need to get back to writing about life in general stuff again…
You write about what you are doing right now, so at least you are doing good things! And your tips and recipes are so helpful, even for non-runners like me.
Keep the sticker book for any grandkids that come along!
I had an “autograph” book – I would have everyone sign, from Uncle Tony to Mickey Mouse. I remember the puffy cover and the glossy paper pages and some of the autographs, and I would love to still have it to show my kiddos (and flip through myself).
I remember those autographs books! My daughter still has the one she took to Disney when she was 5; I know she’ll hold onto that one to show her own kids.
Fun! I especially love the notes from your kids…precious. “Thrown under the bus by a Brit” I thought you must meant you were in Europe already 🙂 Ha…that will be us this month and I hope we don’t get thrown under any busses!
I hope so too! I wish I could meet Lizzi in England, but she’ll be in the US this fall – can’t wait!
Related to so much in this. Had to laugh at your old sticker book. I still have mine too. What’s up with that, right? I agree, this is a lovely blogging prompt. I enjoyed it a lot.
Thank you Sandra – I love prompts that make me appreciate what I have. Too often I forget to take the time to be thankful.
Hands down, Dana, your kitchen is the cleanest one I have EVER seen! And I adore the hand painted piece of furniture as well. Yes, I would always keep it:).
That pic was taken right after the kitchen was finished…it has NEVER been that clean (or empty) again!
Ohhhh this is spooky. Your pup is just like “Snug” my son’s favourite stuffy since he was wee. Snug has quite a story. He flies (very slowly, using his ears and never in daylight) and owns 72 bookstores. His original bookstore is still in operation in London. Does yours have a special talent? Snug also lost his nose when my son dropped him from a great height.
And that cabinet? I adore it. Yes, hang onto it with all that you’ve got. It’s a treasure.
Sadly, we have no backstory for the pup – I never even named him! Gwen named him Doggy, in the original way that toddlers do.
Made me happy that the sticker book is in Gwen’s room! My daughter has my eraser collection somewhere :).
Loved reading about all the things that make you happy Dana. (And don’t forget you’re going to be thrown under a vehicle by a South African soon too ;)).
I didn’t forget! Fortunately I’m pretty resilient, and small enough to drop and roll right under that bus. 😉
The stuffed dog is very cute! It’s clear that your home is filled with items that evoke lots of fond memories, and create a sense of … well…home-ness! Very cool about the ketubah, but I didn’t know about saving the glass. Don’t know what happened to our glass shards; probably got tossed out after the wedding. Anyway, a fun post — thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, Anna. My aunt gave me that lace bag before we got married, so we could put the glass shards in it. Now they make beautiful vases out of the broken glass, but back then the bag was pretty innovative.
So much happiness! That furniture piece is just gorgeous, as is your ketubah. Right now our upper deck makes me happiest…it just went through a massive transformation and it’s so wonderful to see an age-old image in your head finally come to life.
Oh, how cool! I’d love to see pics of your deck. We are contemplating redoing our very old deck – I love thinking about how great it could look.
What a great idea for a post. I love those notes and the hand-crafted piece of furniture! That has my name all over it.
It was a one of a kind piece, that’s for sure. I hesitated about buying it at the time, but I’m so glad I did.
Oh yes – Gotta get Gund! Always! Although it seems to be TY for my kids now.
We have our Ketubah and it makes me happy every time I pass by it! Plus I enjoy Han Solo very much, as well as Yoda too.
And the photos I took that Cassidy had made into canvases.
You have so many things on your walls to love, Tamara. It’s like they envelope you and your family.
Your picture list is wonderful! Your ketubah is so pretty! I would have framed our wedding certificate if was a nice!
Our official one from the state is in the lock box – definitely not pretty! It is nice to be able to look at the ketubah on a daily basis.
OH Dana!! I LOVE all those treasures you shared here today!! That piece of furniture is just sooo cool!! And those precious notes… oh ALL these things on your list are so beautiful and awesome in every way. 🙂
(Love that your daughter loves books like you.)
So do I! I wish my son did too. Thank you for loving all my treasures, Chris. xoxo
That’s interesting about that pot. Did she cook on a gas stove? We have some very heavy pots that my MIL gave my husband when he got his first place. We still have them and of course will never get rid of them but I only one to make her Crawfish Étouffée recipe. I swear by using that pot it taste as good as hers. But otherwise for other stuff, food sticks, they are hard to wash etc. Anyway she cooks with gas – still. I am still loving my kitchen. It makes me happy everyday. It’s only been a year and a half since the remodel. It didn’t make me love cooking more but I can’t imagine waking up to the old kitchen and having to cook in it.
I think she had a gas stove, but I’m not sure. I’m so glad you love your new kitchen! I know what you mean; I don’t love cooking, but it is much more tolerable in my new space.
Sticker books! I loved those!! And I love this post. I need a dose of happy this morning, thanks 🙂
Yay – I’m glad to give you your happy dose, Jennifer. Have a great weekend!
I love #5. And your kitchen is gorgeous!
Thank you! That pic was taken as it was finished – it has NEVER looked that neat and clean again.
I wonder if my childhood sticker book is still laying around. That is a really cool piece of furniture and your kitchen looks amazing! And those notes from your kids — so sweet!
Aren’t they? They make me smile at least once a day.
I love reading the lists of 10 things each blogger has made. It gives insight into the individual and what is important to her. I’m sure the grandma’s pot is infusing love into the chicken soup – Love makes the best food.
I agree Valerie! And I will admit that most of what I cook is not infused with love…definitely not my favorite thing to do!
Awww, the sticker book brings back lots of memories but I have absolutely no idea where mine is, if I found it I would probably find all the extra pages of duplicate stickers that I never used. I love your kitchen – Greg and I both love to cook but haven’t had the time/ambition/know-how to tackle a re-do. Maybe someday although even as I write that I still don’t have the desire to actually go through with it. So, I guess, maybe we will just make do.
It was a big hassle, but I love the kitchen. It has not improved my cooking skills, sadly. Or the frequency with which anyone else in my household cooks.
I love this, Dana! I want to think about what my 10 most cherished things are now (and get rid of the rest)! I adore that table and love your description of it (and, yes, that does also describe you). Haha. xo
Ha – glad you think so!
Love the list! I had a sticker book, too, although I have no idea what happened to it. I love your kitchen and I’m totally jealous because I despise my kitchen!
I hope you get to renovate it one day, Lisa. It makes cooking so much more pleasant!
Ahhhhhhh you did this BEAUTIFULLY. Ilove the smiley buddha and your marriage contract and the glass. I wonder how you planned on fitting your kitchen or the dresser in a box :p
Great post and gorgeous pics. And YES! More happy is always better.
I need a REALLY big box. I was thinking outside the box for this one. 😉
I love posts like this! They, well, make me happy! 😉 I am doing something similar for my #10Thankful post this weekend, I believe. Your kitchen?? I LOVE IT! Mine is much smaller, but I really love that it has the island counter. It is the center of any gathering I have here. . .
I’m going to link up this weekend – I haven’t done it in forever because I don’t post on weekends. But it’s such a good habit to get into…giving thanks.
I had a sticker book too (and still do although I remain in possession of it). I, too, did the kitchen remodel and LOVE my kitchen but don’t love cooking. Go figure. And YES the world always always needs more happy. Thank you for bringing that happy to Finish the Sentence!!
Always a pleasure, Kristi! I was glad I could respond to Lizzi’s “challenge” and participate in FTSF at the same time- yay for multitasking!
This was such a beautiful blog post. Honestly, I will have to take a short tour in my household to find my fav and happy things cause I think I am taking them for granted.
That’s a good idea, Ruchira – it was a neat exercise. It made me smile!
Sticker books are awesome, and how cool that your daughter has it now 🙂
I’m not quite sure why she has it…once something finds its way into her room, it never comes out!
That was a great post, Dana! Love it! Our ketubah is in the front foyer of our home, just as you come in the front door. The shards of our glass are in a tube that is part of a mezuzah hanging on one of the doorposts. Those are definitely happy things. Have to get our Papal blessing framed and hung up in there somewhere, too. 😀
This was a great way to handle this prompt…I am still struggling with mine. But love yours! I absolutely get the grandmother’s pot thing – that’s a great way to keep the pot in the process and work around it’s age. Lovely.
Thank you, Lisa. It’s funny – I didn’t realize how inefficient the pot was until I was making two pots of soup. The newer pot came to a boil almost 20 minutes before my grandmother’s!
The world needs more of many things, unfortunately. But I think “happy” encompasses most of them.
I totally had a sticker book and am totally not sure where it ended up, but had so many prized stickers in mine, as well. Now I kind of wish I still had it. But still loved seeing all that makes you happy.
Maybe it’s at your parents’ house? I also had another sticker book with only puffy stickers, and that one is sadly long gone. I’ll have to remember to hold onto my kids’ things until they have their own places, so I don’t inadvertently toss something they want to keep.