things that make me happy

i had a pretty rough day {/couple days} so i decided to concentrate on happy thoughts instead.

cooking my friend's and my special feta pizzas

{and thinking about how we made so many together}

watching friendly firemen hose down children in 95 degree heat

iced coffee on incredibly hot days

free food and beer at baseball games

air conditioning

running into family members at coffee shops

having time to read good books

trivia games with friends

good {pink} wine

10 things that made my week

1. Former coworkers coming back to visit
2. Meeting new people and making new friends
3. Madison Mallards baseball games
4. Catching up with old friends over ice cream
5. Spending my afternoons outside
6. Picking up a few new books I’ve been dying to read
7. Trying new micro-brews {all were delicious!}
8. Singing along with Tim McGraw at his concert
9. Spending a lazy day golfing
10. Farmers’ market vegetables and treats

just little things

i recently stumbled across a tumblr site counting off the many little things that make people smile. it is definitely the kind of site i could fall in love with; and i did. i've only made it through the first hundred or more posts so far but it's made me smile countless times. it's so cute. i sincerely recommend this site, especially for one of those rainy, gloomy days.

as you can see, these are all high in number. i didn't make it too far into the list for this post because there were simply too many little things that make me smile. i would have been writing {and you reading} all day if i went through the entire site. that makes me smile.

{image via justlittlethings.tumblr.com}

Ten things that made my week

Hazelnut iced coffee on 95 degree days

A new book that I can't get enough of

Mexican & margaritas with friends

Lazy Saturday on a boat

Long walks by the lake

An incredibly sweet letter from a student's mom

Disappearing tan lines

Coffee & conversation with my big sister

Good hits on the driving range

Playing in a sprinkler like a kid

{photo via weheartit}

10 things that made my week

green tea lattes

making friends on the CTA

enjoying the best quiche ever at cafe selmarie

finding new coffee shops with eclectic personalities

exploring new chicago neighborhoods

reconnecting with old friends

celebrating my dad's birthday

making dinner with friends

waking up early to watch the sun rise over the harbor

eavesdropping on old men telling jokes

{image via beeswithhoney}

10 things that made my week

spending the weekend with of my favorite persons ever

visiting an odd, eclectic bookstore

playing Bananagrams, yet again

catching up on missed TV shows: Glee esp.

making vacation plans with friends

seeing Tracy Kidder speak about his books

trains rides with a good book

finally seeing a good movie in the theater

Rwandan coffee {yum, thanks Jessi}

playing trivia with friends {even if we did lose}

{image via weheartit}

10 things that made my week

finding my halloween costume, finally

my students did fantastic work all week

finally getting over my illnesses

the third ward, downtown milwaukee

stepping on crunchy leaves

pumpkin spiced-everything

family parties

emails from friends abroad

seeing halloween decorations everywhere

my sister and brother-in-law are in town from new york

{image via weheartit}

things that made my week

warm, sunny days & cool, crisp evenings

my little sister graduating high school

running into old friends

tomato linguini with roasted red pepper sauce

emails from africa

blackhawks wins

watching kites fly on the lake front

maya angelou

reading on the train

bouquets of colorful daisies

cannoli and coffee

a new book at the coffee shop

{image via weheartit}

happier thoughts

I've been dreading this week for a while now. My coworker is on vacation in Mexico, leaving me in a terrible situation. It's not like work is unbearable without her, but it's a whole lot better when she's there. I know i'll survive but i'm not excited by any means.

S to keep my spirits up, i thought i'd make a list of things that make me happy and concentrate on those...

finishing the last page of an amazing book

making dinner with friends and enjoying wine while doing so

driving with my car windows down

being a kid again and coloring with sidewalk chalk

sipping coffee and reading on a sunny afternoon

writing handwritten letters to friends and family who have moved away

the start of the baseball season and all that includes

trivia nights with friends

text messages from my sister in New York

{image via fffound}

a few things that made my week

watching snow fall from the warmth of my couch

spending nights at the coffee shop

taking the time to make a delicious meal

our mardi gras parade

spending time with a good friend before she leaves

hearing good things from coworkers

seeing lots of good friends

watching hours of good tv {fringe}

picking up a few new books

{image via weheartit}

happy thoughts

I've been having a pretty rough day so instead of being gloomy, I decided to make a list of things that make me happy.

1. christmas music

2. pumpkin spice lattes

3. white wine

4. supernatural

5. fall colors

6. scarves

7. my cuddly cat

8. trivia

9. miracle on 34th street

10. autobiographies

{photo via flickr}

Life's Little Pleasures

checking out library books

starting the day by going out to breakfast

snuggling with my cat clemente

waking up to a cup of coffee

cool clean sheets

playing board games with friends

baseball games on sunny summer days

reading outside

nights with humphrey bogart, cary grant and jimmy stewart

sleeping in late

newspaper ink-covered fingers

... to name a few...

what are yours?

{photo via Lolita blog}

{thanks to megan at Sweet&Low for the idea}

The Best Part of My Day? Making New Friends...

...that happen to be less than three feet tall.

I stopped by my best friend's daycare this morning to hang out with her and her 2 year old friends. I met a little pirate, a speed racer, a mime, an accordion player in a rock band, a silly goose and the cutest little boy with absolutely no trace of a short-term memory :)

I thought coffee was the best way to start a day but I change my mind, short little friends are.

{photo via Flickr}

A Few Little Things That Made My Week

{So happy.}

Visiting two of my best friends

Laying poolside all week

Conquering my fear of heights (sort of) by climbing a mountain

Watching baseball at a park I've never been to

Waking up to coffee with friends every morning

Jumping off swings like a little kid

Reading a good book outside

{photo via youaremyfave}

I Love Surprises

My friend is picking me up at the Phoenix airport Thursday morning. She called me today with strict instructions: do not make plans for Thursday. She has a surprise.

If you know my friend Sam, this could be anything! I love little surprises (nothing too big though because, like I said before, I'm a big planner) and now I'm even more excited to get to Phoenix!

{image via tvloop.com}

Happy Places

Do you have any special places that make you happy just being there?

Me? I have tons: the Terrace in Madison, I could sit outside all day and have before; Wrigley Field, you can't ignore the excitement; the Art Institute of Chicago; and any coffee shop with friends... to name a few.

I get the excited tingles and a cheesy smile whenever I'm there. I love that feeling.

photo via city-data.com

Charming Titles

I love how eloquent it sounds when you refer to people by title... Mr., Miss, Ms., Mrs. Do you have to be a teacher to do that?

I think I'm going to start doing that on a daily basis.

Snow and Hot Chocolate

Do you remember when you were a kid and got really excited whenever it snowed? I still do.

I haven't quite grown into the adult mindset yet. The last thing I think of is that I'll have to shovel later or what driving conditions will be like. I just love snow, especially when it swirls around and hangs in the air, it makes me feel like I'm in a snow globe.

I think I'm going to make some hot chocolate, curl up on my couch, read and watch it snow.