5 things I love is a monthly feature on the blog which gives you a little peek into my brain by showing you five different things that I just can’t get enough of right at this moment. Links, videos, recipes, books…anything, really, that inspires me and makes me happy.
1. A little bit of history
I stumbled upon this story of an apartment in Paris that was abandoned just before WWII, and preserved exactly as the owner left it ever since. I loved the article, and it made my imagination run wild. It reminded me of reading Gone Away Lake when I was little, and picturing how much fun it would be to stumble upon a whole house full of vintage things just waiting to be rediscovered. It is still a dream to find this someday.
See all the pics of the apartment here.
2. Rhubarb
The superstar fruit of spring! I can’t get enough. This month I made rhubarbaritas (recipe coming soon to the blog!), rhubarb-strawberry schlump (to die for! we had it after our first backyard dinner of the season), and a rhubarb pie, which is shockingly easy and delicious.
My mom has a neighbor with an abundance of rhubarb, which means more is on the way. Stocking the freezer…filling my cocktails…satisfying my tummy…making me happy.
3. Animated gifs
It seems that just lately, I’ve discovered the wonders of animated gifs. I’ve always known they existed, of course, but only lately am I appreciating the brilliance of capturing a few-second snippet of video looped over and over again, often accompanied by a clever caption that makes me giggle. If you don’t know what I mean, here are two blogs to start with.
Some of you will be on board and think this is funny…others will say “What…why?” I don’t know what to tell you. This is where my head’s at right now, that’s all.
Mr. Rogers having swagga. That slays me.
4. WINNING!
I entered a giveaway and OHMIGODOHMIGOD I WON! I won a CUPPOW!
Exactly how it went was, I saw the post on Sweet Paul’s blog, commented with WANT SO BAD, then emailed Jon, “Um, honey, we’re getting this.” But before I had time…I found out I had won one!
This suits us particularly well, because Jon and I recently got rid of most of our “real” glasses in favor of using mason jars for most of our beverage consuming. (I have so many mason jars…and they’re so handy in the kitchen for storing things too. Two birds, you know?)
We’ll still be ordering one or two more (because I don’t really want to share, and it might make a good gift)…but I am so enthusiastic about this. I also won bingo twice the last time I played…maybe this is my year?
5. Blast from the past radio
My husband had the fabulous idea one night while we were making dinner, to make a playlist on Spotify based on top billboard hits from a certain year. “Pick a year,” he said. “1997”, I said. I don’t know if I got lucky (again!), or if I knew deep in my heart that 1997 was a good year for music, but it was awesome.
Now, imagine sipping on some wine while making then eating this for dinner:
I went from having a stressful day at work to having the funnest evening ever. Blast from the past radio and wine. I highly recommend it.
What are you loving this month? And has anyone else out there read Gone Away Lake?
