Good Things

My apologies for using Martha's trite and overused phrase. However, I think it's the best phrase to describe the list below. Here are the top 11 things that make me happy these days. I was going for a list of 10, but I have 11 things that make me happy. Deal.

1. Watermelon: I am usually intimidated by the huge watermelons at the grocery store. I've never bought one for this reason. I'm thinking: How do I know if it's good? How do I carry it out of here? How do I even slice this thing up? Can't I just buy the already cut up watermelon in the containers? (nope - too expensive). Yesterday I threw caution to the wind and bought one. This morning I tackled cutting it, and the minute I smelled that wonderful watermelon smell, I was in heaven. I actually was able to cut it up quite nicely, and I have been snacking on it all day.
2. Pool slides: Our new neighborhood has an AWESOME community pool. That is an actual picture of it below. Driving by, I just thought it was awesome for children. Wrong. It is awesome for everyone involved. I went to the pool with my teacher friends today. We sat in lounge chairs and did absolutely nothing. When we were too hot to sit there any more, we ventured into the pool. It was SO FUN. My friend convinced me to go on the giant water slides they have. After saying no about a million times, I finally gave in. Yes, I am 27. It was so fun!!! I will be going back there. Soon.
3. Coffee with Coffee-Mate Creamer: I absolutely love a few cups of coffee as I relax on a summer morning. Preferably while reading blogs or watching mindless morning T.V. I am currently obsessed with the new Coffee Mate flavor: Parisian Almond Creme. It is awesome.
4. L'Oreal Sublime Glow: Have you met me? I'm pale. I will never, ever be tan. Ever. I pray that our children will get Brent's lovely skin. I have tried every self tanner out there. I've tried the cremes, sprays, towelettes, gels, and mousses. And I have finally found my favorite. This year I'm using L'Oreal Sublime Glow. I use the one for medium skin tones. It is a daily moisturizer that leaves a fantastic tan with a little bit of shimmer that doesn't rub off on anything. I LOVE it. Best of all, it doesn't give me "carrot foot". This is Brent's not-so-loving term for the side effect of most self-tanners: they make your feet orange like carrots. Nice visual... I know. I use it every day. It's not much, but yesterday I was at the allergy doctor and he said, "Well don't you have a golden tan! Don't forget to use sunscreen!" It's the small things, really, that make me happy. :-)
5. An Organized Spice Drawer: I simply can not make a meal without a spice. At our apartment, my spices were literally thrown in a cabinet and it took me approximately 10 minutes to find the spice I needed and then another 10 minutes to throw all the spices I didn't need back into the cabinet. Now that we are in the new house and have an amazing kitchen, I actually have EXTRA drawers. But they were not empty for long. I came up with the idea to fill three whole drawers with my spices, laid out so I can see each and every one. I'm proud to say the drawers are still as organized today as they were one month ago. And I can find spices I need instantly.
6. Blogs: During the school year, I do not really have a lot of time to keep up with blogs. But in the summer, bring it on! I have time to spare. I can spend hours clicking from one blog to another. I have been inspired and added many new blogs to my "blogs I love" list.

7. Lemon Drops: I'm not talking about the hard candy, people. This summery drink is simply delicious. It's like lemonade, but with lots of vodka, so be careful! I could drink a whole pitcher of this stuff. Don't do that. It is a little time intensive to make, but it is worth it. It is like summer in a martini glass. This is how we make the Norwood version:

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour into martini glass:
1 1/2 oz. lemon flavored vodka
1/2 oz. triple sec
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup

8. Nothing: Today I was standing in line at the grocery store staring at nothing in particular for about five minutes. Then I realized that my mind was blank. Empty. I was thinking about NOTHING. It was glorious. But of course when I realized I was thinking about nothing, I started thinking about something, and the moment was over. But it was nice.

9. My kitchen sink windowsill: My ever faithful Hobby Lobby delivered yet again. I was browsing the other day and found these adorable letters and cute pink picture frame. When I excitedly showed Brent the new set-up, these were his reactions: To the pink picture frame: "No." To the cute letters: "Oh, good. This will help me if I ever forget where I am." haha. He's very funny. So we'll see how long those get to stick around.

10. Tomatoes: There is NOTHING better than a ripe summer tomato sliced with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. And if that's not good enough, add fresh mozzarella and basil. Brent and I are obsessed. We will have sliced tomatoes with every dinner from now until the end of summer.

11. Flowers: I'm currently in love with having flowers whenever possible. I just love the pop of color they add to any spot in the house.

Happy summer!