Friday Finds

Friday Finds – Weekend Links (oops!)

This post was intended to be published on Friday, but I was out of town and it just didn’t happen. Brad had a meeting last week in Berlin, and since my mother was in town to watch the kids, we took in a long weekend. The picture above is the Berliner Dom, or Berlin Cathedral Church. I’ll post about Berlin later this week – such a lovely city! Until then, a few links for your Sunday evening reading.

I love how this veteran saw a gap in the market, and started her own business.

Want to be more organized? You might try one of these habits.

I currently have over 1100 UNREAD emails in my inbox. My email is a monster.

Good for another laugh – how to appear smarter in meetings!

“Please random stranger, tell me all about the challenges of having too many small children.” Ha!

Hello friends!

Happy (almost) Valentine’s/Gal-entines/Singles Awareness Day! Do you have anything special planned? Brad and I have a very romantic day of kid-schlepping and grocery shopping ahead of us. We are avoiding the crowds and staying in for Valentine’s Day. We have become big fans of rugby since moving to Ireland, and the Six Nations’ Tournament is going on right now. Ireland plays France tomorrow!

Your weekly dose of interesting weekend links from around the internet.

Have you heard of M.M. LaFleur? It’s a service that specializes in sophisticated clothes for professional women. You fill out a profile and survey, and they ship you a box of clothes based on your preferences. You’re only charged for the items you keep. I wish they had this service in Ireland!

Stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago. Love the aesthetic. Who says you can’t have great taste and kids at the same time?

Have you ever pumped at work? You’ll love this story.

Considering we got the largest butternut squash I have ever seen in our veg box today, I’m thinking about trying this recipe next week.

I loved this list of 10 “somethings” every child’s room needs.

It rained off and on all day today, but at least it wasn’t windy or as cold as it has been. Patrick enjoyed stomping in all the puddles, as I snapped this pic. I think he would be a great advertisement for Travelers Insurance.

Have a great weekend, and if all else fails, just think: all chocolate will be on sale on Sunday!

x Rheagan

Friday Finds

Happy Friday Friends!

This week has been full of ups and downs, and really crazy winter weather. It snowed yesterday, which is quite rare for Dublin, because we are on the coast. I am thankful that today it was at least sunny, even if it was bitterly cold. Fun fact: Sunday, February 1st is St. Brigid’s Day here in Ireland, and it marks the beginning of the Celtic Spring. Never mind it is supposed to snow again next week! Some weekend links for you:

Have you heard of #usemeinstead? I loved this response to gun violence and racial bias.

For everyone who knows someone selling essential oils. A good laugh!

Would you tell your kids how much money you make?

Food for thought: Why Women Stay Quiet at Work

Watching the Super Bowl on Sunday? What do you think of Marshawn Lynch’s decision not to speak at media events?

And finally, for anyone with a dog in their life.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Super Bowl if you’re watching! (Sadly, it comes on too late to watch here in Ireland, unless you are a die-hard fan, which I am not.)

See you here on Monday!

x Rheagan

Friday Finds

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the radio silence this week. I had some tasks to take care of this week offline that demanded my attention. So while Brad makes yet another recipe out of the Irish Beef Book, and I sip red wine from a friend’s trip to France (thanks Nancy!), here are this week’s Friday Finds:

Did you read Goodnight Moon for the 1,593,254th time today? For a good laugh, be sure to read this too.

Short on time, but craving intellectual stimulation? Watch these.

Pleasantly surprised to find Dublin on here!

As someone who didn’t find out the gender of any of my kids before they were born, I loved this list.

I had read about the Finnish baby boxes awhile back. Have you heard of them?

Did I mention the roads in Ireland were tiny?

I snapped this picture in Castleknock Village earlier this week, as the late afternoon sun hit the village church. The days are getting a wee bit longer now. Here’s to sunnier days ahead!

x Rheagan

Friday Finds

Hi everyone,

I hope your weekend is going well. It was a sunny but COLD day here. And I had to stand out in the cold during Isaac’s GAA practice this morning. Brrr! Also – don’t be fooled by the green grass – it’s astroturf. Friday Finds is one day late due to my previous post about my vegetable delivery. A shorter list of links from around the web this week, because I included my menu plan as well.

Parenting & Motherhood

Do you ever feel like you are “dating” for mom friends? A good article about making friends when the main thing you have in common is your kids.

A few of my friends announced their pregnancies in the past month. Some were a few weeks along, and others were almost halfway through. I firmly believe that every woman should make her own decision about when she announces her pregnancy, but I thought this author put into words the isolation that many women feel in the first trimester. (And no, I’m not pregnant.)

Expat Life

3 American habits I lost when I moved to Finland. Made me laugh. BTW – Matador Network is a great site for travel writing and expat articles.

Why Do the Brits Drive on the Left? Learning to drive on the other side of the road was one of the most difficult things about living here.

Menu Plan for Upcoming Week:

Also, a few of you asked, so here is the Menu Plan for this week, based on the delivery we got yesterday. The only additional vegetables I had to buy were mixed leaf salad and 2 leeks.

Saturday: Beetroot, Jerusalem Artichoke, and Skirt Steak Salad, with Parsnip Cakes. Brad has been wanting to make something out of his new cookbook, The Irish Beef Book, and we had plenty of beets and Jerusalem artichokes leftover from last week’s box. The Parsnip Cakes (from The Country Cooking of Ireland) are basically mashed parsnips, dredged in egg and breadcrumbs, and fried. By FAR the best way to get rid of parsnips.

Sunday: Bacon-wrapped dates and rutabaga oven fries. (The chipotle mayo in this recipe is so good!) A bit eclectic, yes – but trying to get rid of a few bits and bobs over the weekend.

Monday: Pasta with peas, pine nuts, and garlic, from Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi. I don’t own this cookbook (yet), but I found this recipe here. I usually reduce the amount of garlic for the kids, but this is a recipe where almost everything can be kept on hand.

Tuesday: Ham, leek, and barley casserole from BBC Good Food. I’ll be substituting kale for savoy cabbage. New recipe for us, but in general, recipes from BBC Good Food turn out well.

Wednesday: Smoky Cauliflower Frittata from Plenty, also by Ottolenghi. Plenty is another great vegetarian cookbook, especially if you are willing to try new flavors.

Thursday: Baked potatoes or leftovers.

Friday: Pizza. Every Friday night is pizza night at our house.

If you like this addition, let me know. I’ll think about posting it more frequently. In the meantime, if I try a recipe and like it, I will usually pin it to my What to Eat for Dinner board on Pinterest.

Have a great weekend!

x Rheagan

Friday Finds

Hi all!

How was your first week of 2015? Are you easing into the new year, or did you hit the ground running? It was a busy week here, but I managed to post twice, and get Friday Finds out on a Friday. Hurray for New Year Productivity! Given the shocking events happening in France this week, I have intentionally kept the links light-hearted this week.

Interesting Charts

The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People. I was really surprised with how there wasn’t a common routine among the group – they really seemed all over the place!

Eye-opening look at the population density of cities.

Parenting

This is definitely the norm at our house. If only it were possible to get it all done in traditional ‘working’ hours.

What’s it Like Having 4 Kids, by Jim Gaffigan. This is good for a laugh. Thanks Erin!

Fascinating Miscellany

Finally, a way to put those much-maligned skills to use! Thanks Mark!

Explanation of the flat white, the European coffee that is coming to America.

See you back here on Monday!

x Rheagan

Friday Finds – Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It’s Friday already? I hope your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations were great. We had a quiet evening at home, watching college football. Afternoon bowl games in the US = evening games in Ireland! Most of Ireland takes off between Christmas and New Years, so it has been nice to unplug and relax. I love the words above: “Stop the glorification of busy.” No one here feels obligated this week to get anything “done” besides finishing off the Christmas pudding, or seeing friends and family. So relaxing! We have enjoyed two weeks of holiday break, but I’m looking forward to returning to our regular routine on Monday. I have more content planned for the blog, as I move it in a more intentional direction over the next few months. I hope you’ll join me.

For now, a few links to ponder before we all head back to the real world on Monday:

Ireland:

Ireland ranks #1 in The Economist’s Good Country Index. It’s nice to be #1 for something GOOD for a change!

Parenting:

Do you chafe at the girls’ toy aisle? Me too! I loved this article about how things might be changing. Thanks John!

Of course, the more things change, the more they stay the same – as highlighted by the comic. (Legos are a huge hit at our house.)

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids. Lots of food for thought in this article.

Randomness:

I should read more this year…should I follow this challenge? Thanks Karen for the link!

Just for fun. I think this article channeled my brother! ha!

Have a great weekend-

x Rheagan

Photo Credit: ruffledsnob via Flickr

Friday…err…Sunday Finds

Hello everyone!

I hope you have had a lovely holiday week. It has been busy here, (and thus, quiet on the blog). The days leading up to Christmas were quite full, but now we have settled into some nice, peaceful days. St. Stephen’s Day (Dec 26) is also a holiday here in Ireland. The weather was particularly bad, which actually made for a great day for playing with new toys, reading, and generally enjoying the family time. I gathered some bits and bobs, as the Irish would say, from around the internet. Happy Reading!

This Guinness commercial has been around for awhile. Although it rarely snows here in Dublin (too close to the ocean), it’s fun to dream of the white stuff.

Beautiful photos of Ireland captured by the Irish Air Corps

I loved this (annotated!) video of the last episode of The Colbert Report.

This article made me think that perhaps all that Christmas decor isn’t ‘holly-jolly’ after all.

The day I got my first period. Not exactly the type of story you expect to see in the Guardian.

What it’s like to be an expat during Christmas. Ha!

And finally, Tiny Prints has put together a great New Year’s Eve Party Game Planner. It has great ideas on how to fill the hours leading up to the ball drop. With this, all that is left is to send the invites!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! The picture above is from one of our favorite pubs, The Hole in the Wall. They go all out with their Christmas decorations.

x Rheagan

Friday Finds

How are you, friends? It is finally Christmas Break here at our house. I think I have been counting the days since at least 2 weeks ago – mainly because I hate the school run. How I long for a house across from the school, like I had growing up! My kids are definitely ready for a few weeks of low-key down time. They wasted no time getting engrossed in legos this afternoon. Have you finished your Christmas shopping? I finished last week, but I think my husband still has almost ALL his shopping left. (His excuse: “I have nearly all of next week!”)

A few links for your enjoyment – between caroling, gift wrapping, and holiday parties, of course!

This post on Babyccino about kids and electronics. I found it to be such a lovely, non-judgmental post. I have been meaning to write about my thoughts on the same subject, but cannot imagine that I could say the same words with such grace.

What Happened when I Lived According to Pinterest. Hilarious, and yet raised interesting points at the same time.

I gave one of these calendars as a gift this year. I’m tempted to order one for myself!

I made a wreath from the clippings from our Christmas tree last week using this tutorial, which I found on Pinterest. The end result wasn’t terrible:

Finished product, for now. May add more tomorrow.#diy #Christmas

A photo posted by sipsofcoffey (@sipsofcoffey) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:56am PST

A friend of mine made Swedish Vetebröd last week. Her’s looked amazing, and I hope to make this recipe (her recommendation) this coming week.

Why do I see this in my near future? I don’t think we have too much that needs to be assembled…

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends, and everyone else have a lovely weekend too!

xRheagan

Back in the saddle…and a few weekend links

A few fun links as we head into the last 10 days before Christmas:

Did you see this Bailey’s Christmas advert last year? This ad is still one of my favorites. Christmas ads for the UK/Ireland market are longer-form commercials than the 30- or 60-sec spots in the US. The ads are highly anticipated, much like the “Super Bowl” advertising in the US.

A great article written by my friend, Ratha Tep for the New York Times. Despite my rant about costs, Ratha managed to find some great spots for the Frugal Traveler.

We got a new car recently – an uninspiring Ford S-Max 7 seater. It’s similar to a minivan, but it’s diesel. (Yay for lower fuel bills!) It isn’t a glamorous car, but it meets our needs at the moment. The focus on utility and function reminded me of this fun post from years ago on DesignMom.

Why Save a Language? This article captured my attention because I see how much effort Ireland is putting into preserving their language. Less than 10% of Irish population speaks Irish regularly outside the classroom. There is a worthwhile debate going on regarding teaching Irish in the schools. I find points of agreement on both sides, but still think preserving the language is worthwhile.

Thanks to everyone who reached out after my previous post. Be assured that we aren’t planning to move back anytime soon. I was doing so well at the blogging thing, until 2 weeks ago, when I wanted to move back to the US…then Thanksgiving arrived, and my parents came for a few weeks. We had a lovely time, until all 7 of us caught the cold that Liesl brought home from Montessori.

One of the reasons I started blogging was to add some discipline to my personal writing. So I’m back in the saddle. Look for more posts coming soon! Now if only I could have the same motivation when it comes to working out…