FIVE THINGS MAKING ME HAPPY

Hi friends!

I've seen this kind of post all over other blogs I follow and I figured I'd give it a shot.

I love looking into people's lives and seeing what's making them happy and what they're up to lately. Is that weird? I hope not. In particular, I love seeing weekly "things making me happy" posts, so here's my attempt at it. In a perfect world, I'd actually keep my promises about making this weekly, so for now I'm not going to make that promise because I don't wanna break it. (I have such high hopes for myself.)

Also, before I get started, I'd just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for all of the positive feedback I got on my last post about my struggles with accepting my body and learning to love it. If I can inspire just one person to love their body unconditionally the way I'm trying to, then I'll have made a difference. But why stop at one?

Without further adieu, here are five things making me happy this week.

 1. This weather. 

This summer has helped me realize that I am really, really not a summer person. I like the heat, but the sun just wears me out and I get terrible sunburns no matter how much SPF I wear. Anything above 75 degrees is just too hot for my liking. This week has been pretty overcast and rainy and I've been loving it. I can't wait for fall.

2. Company Magazine

Yesterday, I woke up early and ran a bunch of errands (including donating blood and renewing my passport. blech!) While I was out, I stopped by Barnes & Noble to see if they had the latest issue of Company Magazine. They had it, and not far behind it in the newsstand was the high-street edit, full of affordable fashion. If I have the opportunity to move to London and work for Company, I will take it in a heartbeat. 

3. Cooking / ME-time.

I live in a house with four other girls. Three of them are living and working at home this summer, and the last one is studying abroad in Montreal for three weeks, leaving me alone in a 100-year-old house. This gives me a lot of time to entertain myself.

The other morning, I decided to treat myself to a brunch rather than my usual bagel and cream cheese. I decided to make my dad's french toast and pair it with some coffee, orange juice and strawberries. I sat by myself at the table with my phone in another room playing music and just enjoyed a little bit of good old-fashioned me-time. 

This is the best recipe for french toast I have ever encountered and the few slices I made weren't too shabby — especially considering I haven't cooked french toast in almost a year. Whaaat?

4. Bobby pins!

This is a completely random item to have in a favorites list, but bear with me. 

The other day I went to my local Target in search of some bobby pins. For whatever reason, bobby pins are super problematic. I can never find one when I actually need one, and the second I don't need it anymore I find a pile of eight of them on the counter or in my pocket. Plus, they can be weirdly expensive. I'm sure many people who have long hair and use bobby pins are nodding their heads in agreement. While at Target, I found a standard 50-pack of blonde-colored bobby pins for about $4. I have no idea why bobby pins need to be so expensive, but apparently Goody has some kind of monopoly on bobby pins, because I continued down the aisle to the 2-for-$5 bin and found this handy little pack of 75 bobby pins for $2.50. I have NO idea why these ones are cheaper than a 50 pack because a) CUTE LITTLE CONTAINER! b) SAME BRAND! c) 25 MORE BOBBY PINS THAN THE OTHER PACK! I walked away happy knowing I had found the secret, cheaper bobby pins. So all y'all are now let in on the bobby pin secret at Target.

5. Colectivo stickers!

While I was in Wisconsin this past December, Nathan and I visited Colectivo, a chain of coffeeshops throughout Madison and Milwaukee. I love their design and color scheme. The coffee isn't too bad, either! Nathan and I like to randomly send each other letters and other little goodies, and last week he sent me this little pile of stickers from Colectivo. One of the little buses has already made its way onto my computer. Who knows, maybe I'll be seeing a lot more of Colectivo in the future.

That's it! Those are five things lifting my mood this week. What's been making you happy?

xoxo,