Beer, Wine & Magnets

I’m sure you’re wondering what in the world beer, wine and magnets could possibly all have in common for this post, but I think you’ll love it once I explain a little further.

I receive a few daily emails from blog/craft/DIY sites – some days I find really cute stuff and some days I don’t find a darn thing that interests me – and one day, a few weeks ago, I found this nifty little project under the “recycled crafts” section.  Love love love! Love wine corks (I have collected them every since I started drinking wine back in college – I use them as centerpieces in bowls, vases, hurricanes, etc. They are just so appealing to the eye and so fun to sift through to see all of the different brands we have enjoyed over the years); Love wine in general (I’m on one heck-of-a Cab Sav kick right now); Love magnets (I mean, who doesn’t?! And it seems like we are always low magnets around our household). So, this fun craft project was so appealing and I couldn’t wait to get started.

Over the next few days I had put the project on the back burner (until I made it to Michael’s for magnets) and started thinking about other items we could use to hold up our photos, grocery lists, tickets from recent concerts, games, etc, reminder notes and anything else we need to hang on the fridge. When I least expected it, I found my next magnet decoration. Caton and I had joined our good friends, Megan & Jason, on the Boulevard Brewery Tour in KC and enjoyed the wonderful free beverage samples at the end (isn’t that the point of the tour?!) before heading out to watch the KU/MU basketball game. Since we were in a bit of a hurry, we didn’t use all of our “free beer tokens” (read: bottle caps that hadn’t been pressed yet) and ended up bringing a handful of them home. I knew the second I left the brewery that these little beauties were going to be part of my current craft project, and I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t excited that they fit the theme I had going on.

The following Monday I was sure to drop by Michaels Craft Store on my way home from work and picked up the perfect, and inexpensive, little magnets for my project.

I rounded up my corks, bottle caps, magnets and super glue (I’m sure you could use hot glue just as easily) and completed the project in less than 5 minutes.

So, what do you think? Aren’t they cute? What other items can be found around the house, receive a magnet and instantly become cute picture-paper-ticket-grocery-list-holders for all to admire? I haven't thought of anything else just yet, but I'm on the lookout. And for those of you wondering, the adorable ‘W’ magnets in the background can be found at Michael’s in the $1.00 section for a four-pack and each one has the same initial, but it is printed in a different font - so cute!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I hope everyone (Irish or Irish-at-heart or Irish-for-the-day) is wearing their green today. St. Patty's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I have fond memories (and continue to make them to this day) of celebrating this holiday with my crazy-big and super-Irish family. The parades in Kansas City, the unforgettable parties thrown by my Uncle Bobby & Aunt Susie (and my parents' friends, the Houlenhans), the corned beef & cabbage, the music, (later in life) the green beer, the beads, the green clothes and hair and fountains you see around town on the holiday, the Claddagh jewlery (like my Claddagh ring Caton gave me before my real engagement ring), and the Kansas City Irish Fest (that actually takes place in September of every year).


I am so proud of my family's Irish-Catholic heritage and the Irish culture of KC. As I've mentioned a few times before, Caton is quite the history buff, so if you're interested in reading about the history of St. Patrick's Day you can check it out here.

I want to share a few fun facts about one of my favorite days of the year:
* My family is very Irish. My maiden name is Fagan, my paternal grandmother's maiden name is Fleming, and my maternal grandmother's maiden name is Murray. My dad (and his 10 siblings) and his parents, and his grandparents, and his great grandparents (you get the idea) are all 100% Irish. The name Fagan is of Irish and Gaelic origin and the surname comes from the Gaelic 'O Faodhagain'.

* My name, Kathleen, is from Irish origin and means 'pure'.

* St. Patrick's Day takes place on March 17th each year. This date is the traditional religious feast of Saint Patrick. Patrick is my dad's name (well, his middle name, F. Patrick, aka Pat), my brother's middle name (John Patrick, aka Jack) and also my nephew/godson's middle name (Aiden Patrick). Let's just say it runs in the family.

* Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patty's Day meal. In 2009, about 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in the US.

* The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in the US in 1762 when Irish soldiers that served in the English military marched through New York City.

* There are four places in the US that are named after the shamrock: Mount Gay-Shamrock, WV; Shamrock, TX; Shamrock Lakes, IN; and Shamrock, OK.

* There are 36.9 million US residents with Irish roots. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).

* Irish is our nation's second most frequently reported ancestry; German is the first.

* Ireland is my top choice for places I want to visit before I die. I hope to travel there sooner than later in life!

Fact Source

I hope you all enjoy your corned beef & cabbage, green beers and kisses... and enjoy a few of my favorite Irish blessings:

Irish Eyes Blessing
When Irish eyes are smiling,
Tis like a morn in spring.
With a lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world is bright and gay
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure, they steal your heart away.

Irish House Blessing
We believe in living deeply,
Laughing often and loving always.
We believe we were brought together
To support and care for each other.
We believe that everyone's feelings count,
And that the uniqueness of each of us
Strengthens all of us.
We believe in the power of forgiving to heal
And the power of love to carry us through.
We believe in one another,
In this family,
In this house.
Failte! (Welcome!)

Irish Marriage Blessing
May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

Famous Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand. 
 

SLAINTE! (CHEERS!)

March 15, 2007

Four years ago today, on March 15, 2007, my best friend, confidant, love, and rock asked me to marry him... and I said YES! He got down on one knee in the exact spot that we had our first kiss and after I said yes, we hit the road for a wonderful spring break ski trip in Colorado. That is a day and week I will never, ever forget.

The day after we got engaged!

This will always be my favorite piece of jewelry!



To Caton, My Love - I love you more today than yesterday, more this week than last week and more this year than the year we fell in love. Thank you for bringing such light, fun, laughter, meaning, joy and blessing to my life. I am lucky to call you mine. Even though July 12, 2008 is the day we officially started our life together, I think four years ago today was the day it truly began. Thank you for choosing me to be your Little Lady. I'll love you forever and ever, amen. ***

Oh Happy Day

I know, I know, it's only Thursday. Most people are all happy and giddy and in a great mood on Friday, but there is a lot to be happy about today, on this wonderful Thursday... and this entire month of March, for that matter. Here is my list of Happy Thursday (or Happy March) items:

March Madness has officially started and KU's first game in the Big XII Tournament is today versus Oklahoma State at 11:30 am CST. Rock Chalk!

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Jersey Shore is on tonight. Oh yes, we love us some JS! 9:00 pm CST. Don't miss all of the fighting, whining, hair-gelling, cab-calling, duck-phoning, sleeping-till-three-in-the-afternoon, partying-till-six-in-the-morning, toilet-clogging, family-mealing, situation-causing, fist-pumping action. It's highly entertaining and I am so mad glad my husband got me hooked on it.

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The Royals regular season starts up at the end of this month! If there is one all-time favorite pastime the hubbs and I have grown to love more than anything else over the last few years, it's Royals baseball. What can we say? We jumped on the bandwagon that is America's Pastime and we just can't get enough. We have been counting down the months until the season starts up again and it's finally here. We already have a few games picked out, including a Saturday day-game to celebrate my 27th birthday next month. Mark it in your calendars friends! Until then, we'll be dreaming of picking up some of KC's best BBQ on our way out to the stadium (our own little tradition as Mr & Mrs), tailgating in the parking lot with an amazing view of Kauffman Stadium, enjoying a few ice-cold beers in the summer heat, the fans, the bright green grass, the fountains, Garth Brooks' 7th inning 'Friends In Low Places' stretch, the Friday night fireworks, and the amazing memories that will last a lifetime.

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I'm working on projects, projects and more projects! I mentioned in this post that I am waiting on some warmer weather (and the weather forecast for the rest of the month has highs in the 50's and 60's - yay!) to get to work on sprucing up some great deals I found during the month of February. In addition to those smaller items, I have one big project on the radar that I hope to complete this month. Here is a little glimpse of what's in the works at Casa Workshop de Walker. Bring on the power sander, power drill and wood stain. I'm so excited for this big reveal!

And last, but not least, this day next week will be my Friday... and St Patrick's Day, one of my favorite holidays! Caton and I decided to take the day off of work next Friday so we can (1) celebrate our Irish (well, my Irish and his Irish-for-a-day) booties off on Thursday afternoon and evening, (2) recover from having so much fun with number one, and (3) have an entire week-day off together to do whatever we want, just the two of us. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

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Happy Thursday and Happy March, friends!