Friday Favorites - St. Patrick's Day at Home

 

A little St. Patrick's Day home decor.  It doesn't change too much from year to year.  Still looking for a runner to put on the console under the pieces there.

Nora Fleming Napkin Holder with Leprechaun Hat Mini - I had a really tough time finding napkins and ended up ordering them from Amazon as my local supermarkets had nothing - they moved right on to Easter

 in their seasonal section

Left side of the mantle:  St. Patrick's Day phrase art (Michaels) and two wooden pieces from LacyBelles on Etsy (they are taking a short break), garland at the bottom from an Etsy shop that's no longer available

Right side of the mantle:  Two more pieces from LacyBelles and a plaque from Michaels

Left side of console:  Plaque with an Irish Blessing, stack of books (LacyBelles), Belleek vase with paper straws

Center of console: Mishmash of a plaque, leprechaun, two Belleek pieces, and a rolling pin and beads from LacyBelles

Right side of console:  Wooden jar (Michaels) and vase with clear and green glass beads and faux daffodils

Not sure what the plan is for the day - we went out to an event at a local bar/restaurant last year that had live music, and I'd really like to find something like that again.

RIP Ginger

 

A very sad day for Sophia yesterday when she had to say goodbye to one of her best friends.  She and Ginger were together since 2020 and Ginger brought so much joy to all who knew her.  

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 644

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge!  Here are this week's questions, which you should answer on your own blog and then pop over to Joyce's blog (click on the graphic for the link) Wednesday to add your link to the party.

 

1. Are you a naturally trusting person? Is trust built on logic or 'gut instinct'? Does everyone deserve a second chance? Elaborate. 

Yes, I consider myself a naturally trusting person with trust built usually on logic.  Not everyone deserves a second chance as there are some people who are just evil and they need to be kept away from the general public.

2. 'Beware the Ides of March'...March 15th on the ancient Roman calendar, these words were made famous by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar.  Caesar was assassinated on March 15th 44 B.C. Have you read any Shakespeare? If so, do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to Rome? 

Yes, I've read Shakespeare.  Two years of English literature was full of Shakespeare.  My favorite is Much Ado About Nothing and I love Shakespeare's Sonnets.  Check out this clip of Judi Dench reciting Sonnet 29 - (40) Dame Judi Dench Masterfully Does A Shakespeare Sonnet | The Graham Norton Show - YouTube - she's amazing!  I haven't been to Rome...yet!

3. Do you like a Caesar salad? If given the choice between a garden/house salad or Caesar which do you order? Anchovies or no? What's your favorite salad dressing? 

I love Caesar salad and I would choose it over a house salad any day.  No anchovies.  Our local sushi/teriyaki place has a great dressing that they serve with iceberg lettuce.  This is the closest I have come to its taste, it's yummy.

4. Where do you typically work (or blog if that's easier) at home? Do you have a dedicated home office space? Are you happy with that space? 

I work at my desk in our office - it's a bedroom that we converted to an office/craft room.  My desk faces the TV so there is usually something playing in the background as I blog, pay bills, or scrapbook.  It's an ok space but it needs some decluttering.

5. Snow drops, daffodils, Lenten roses, crocus, hyacinth, or early tulips...what's your favorite early Spring flower? 

Daffodils.  March is the Daffodil Festival just to the north of us, closely followed by the Tulip Festival in April.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Doesn't this just say, "Take me to the Amalfi Coast".  Get your fix at Target!  Looks like a dupe for something much more expensive at Williams Sonoma.

Share Our Lives - March 2026

Catching up on the 2nd Monday of the month's Share Our Lives.  This month we're looking at Grocery List Frequent Buys.

My grocery shopping is all over the place as I shop at the commissary on the military base, Costco, Trader Joe's, and World Market.  I'll need to do a follow-up post with a typical grocery shop.

However, there are three things that I buy every time I go to the commissary, and I took photos of the prices in June 2025 for a comparison feature I was doing in my scrapbooking.  I know the prices have risen since then.  I'll add that the follow-up as well.

We drink instant coffee and Vic prefers Nescafe Clasico

We eat a lot of rice and there's always a 5-pound bag of jasmine rice in the rice container and another one ready to go - we will never run out of rice

Vic drinks a honey, lemon, and ginger drink every morning and this organic honey is the one I buy

Join us in April, the 2nd Monday of the month, for Favorite Cleaning Products.

Life Last Week (2-8 March 2026)

We sprang forward this weekend so it's time for a springy graphic.  Anyone else look this up - Sprang vs. Sprung:  Difference Explained?  I think I should have been an English teacher.

The weather for the week ahead:::

OK, rain, I think everything is green enough!

On my reading pile:::

 

Working my way through this, a recommendation from Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa.

The Champagne Letters

On my TV:::

Outlander did not disappoint on Friday!

Thursdays are for The Pitt - Tanya at The Other Side of the Road said she wished there was more to each episode and I have to agree!  It's a great show.

Checked off the list:::

• Took my car in to get the Check Engine light checked and it was the thermo control valve that failed so they replaced that.  I had a tentative appointment for March 9, but they gave me a loaner (brand new 2026 Subaru Forester, 29 miles on it as I drove off the lot!) and said they should be able to squeeze it in over the next few days.  They also recommended Walnut Blasting since they were working in the intake manifold, and the blasting would clean it out.  Anyone ever heard of this?  Because they were already replacing the valve, the blasting was 50% off.  

• Our Viking luggage tags arrived - it's really getting real!

• Decided to destash some of my rubber stamps - some of them have never been used and never will be.  Do you have craft supplies for that project you're going to do one day and then you never end up actually using them?  Thank goodness for resale sites.
• Lunch Bunch at a local Vietnamese spot which was delicious then a quick trip to Costco (ok, maybe it wasn't a quick trip, could it ever be on a Saturday, lol?).

Crafts roundup:::

Paris planning in full swing so no crafting this week, or for the next few weeks.

And in other news:::

I could get on board with this, but the to-do is long today and the laundry is calling!

Spring Forward

Do you spring forward in your area?

Life Last Week (23 February-1March 2026)

 

How are we in March already?  We are going to France and England NEXT month, can't believe it!

The weather for the week ahead:::

Spring in Washington - keeping things green.

On my reading pile:::

 

Finished this on Saturday, haven't picked up anything new yet.

On my TV:::

Finished up Outlander in preparation for the new season that starts on Friday.

Checked off the list:::

• Watched the Closing Ceremony for the Winter Olympics - great show.  On to the French Alps in 2030!
• A quiet early start to the week.  Vic finished up the project he's been working on - a base for Sophia's cats' litter box.  We are heading up there on Saturday.
• We celebrated our 33rd anniversary on Thursday.

• Vic took Friday off to be on hand for the delivery of the new range.  The installation went without incident, and I am ready to start baking.  Still haven't decided what to do about a backsplash.
• We dropped Malone at the kennels and headed to Bellingham.  About five minutes before we were to meet Sophia to pick up the keys, the Check Engine light came on so we headed over to the local Subaru dealership to have it checked out.  Not much they could do on a Friday afternoon, but they checked the error code and said it would be ok to drive since we were heading home the next day.
• Quiet evening at Sophia's and then on Saturday, Vic and Fayez installed the new dryer parts and got it running without the awful noise that it had been making.
• We headed for home, the Check Engine light came on again after about five minutes on the road, but we made it home safely (switching to Vic's truck when we got home to pick up Malone) and I'm heading to the dealership today to get it checked out.

Vic and the rascals having a little post-dryer repair and pre-lunch snooze - that's a Rover dog on the far left - there are always more four-legged members of the family than two-legged

Crafts roundup:::

My London photos arrived so I'm ready to spread everything out (photos, paper, stickers, embellishments, memorabilia) and make a game plan.

And in other news:::