Well it sure has been a minute since I wrote on this series! I can’t believe my last happiness post was in August. That’s really a shame that I fell off writing these posts before our wedding. I’m sure I would have had some really good stuff to write about over those months. I am determined to pick it back up though and get back in the habit of thinking about five of the things that made me happiest this week. It is so fun to go back and look at these posts and remember both the big and small instances that made a difference for me.
I thought it would be really tough going back to work on Wednesday after almost two full weeks off, but it was surprisingly a smooth transition. The week flew by, and it was actually nice to get back into my routine. I have a lot of things that made me happy, but here are my top five:
1. Setting up my Simplified Planner
Emily Ley is every organization junkie’s dream. I am pretty sure that I saw her first book on Julie’s blog about a year ago and ordered a copy on Amazon right away. Now I just finished reading her second book and also ordered a copy of her Simplified Planner. It is just what it sounds like – a beautiful, simple 2018 agenda. I actually got the same design in the one I linked above, too.
It gives me this weird high to open up a brand new planner and fill in all my important dates for the year, little appointments, and to just have one spot to organize all my thoughts floating around in my head. I keep it open on my desk at home almost all of the time so I can easily check what I have going on each day and what tasks I have on my to-do list. It also has space for me to meal plan in it, which I love. I know most of the world has adopted the digital approach when it comes to calendars, but this is more than just a calendar for me. It is a way of helping me to feel like I am in control of my life, and it brings me more peace than I could probably explain in words.
2. Finding Tone It Up protein bars at Target
I have known that Karena and Katrina had products at Target for a while now, and for some reason I just hadn’t picked any up until today. I was absolutely tempted to pick up their entire display of fitness equipment (SO cute and obviously affordable if it’s at Target!), but I refrained for now and just bought a box of their chocolate peanut butter protein bars. And of course I opened the box the second I got in the car. They were super tasty and filling, and I’m sure I will be trying out their other flavors and products the next time I find myself in Target, which could very well be today.
3. Getting a much needed haircut
I have been growing my hair out for as long as I can remember. A few weeks before the wedding I started seeing a new hair stylist who is amazing and has been working with me to get the color how I want it and to get my hair as healthy as possible. Up until now I’ve stuck with a blonde balayage and basically just long layers for the past few years, with touch ups here and there. Now that I’m getting older and more serious about hair care and not just how it looks, I am so grateful I found someone who can help me out with it.
Yesterday afternoon I spent about two hours at the salon getting my hair washed really well, a toner treatment to bring out the color she did at my last appointment (I re-do my color every other appointment and just do a little refresher on the other ones), a protein treatment to help keep my hair strong and healthy, and a cut. I didn’t want to go too crazy this time, but she did chop off about four inches and added in a bunch of layers and face framing. You can really see the color in this picture below – the second picture makes it look way darker than it actually is.
My hair was well below my chest before the cut, so this was a big change for me! I am loving it so far, so maybe next time I will go even crazier. I’m thinking potentially a few more inches off and maybe even bangs?! I’ll probably change my mind a million times before I go back, so we shall see. For now though, I am so happy with what she did.
4. Having a quiet morning to myself
After all of the family time, running around, and traveling over the holidays, I was so happy to have some time to myself this week. I spent a particularly wonderful morning at home yesterday with some of my favorite things.
I woke up around 6:30 am, made some mint tea, lit a candle, and curled up on the couch under a comfy blanket with a book my grandma let me borrow when we were visiting her up north. Then after some time I got up to make some oatmeal and had a little friend waiting for me when I sat back down. She actually comes to cuddle with me any time I have food, so it’s nothing new, but I’ll pretend that she actually wanted to sit with me. 😉 Our poor little (big) cat needs to go on a diet – bad.
5. The Greatest Showman soundtrack
You guys. This movie was SO GOOD. I have been thinking about it so much since we saw it last week, and I have been listening to the soundtrack just about every time I am in the car. It makes me so happy. See the movie. Listen to the music. I promise you that it will bring you so much joy. And this video of one of the stars recording a song from it will probably make you happy cry like it did to me. I have watched it an embarrassing amount of times.
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We have just about nothing planned for this weekend, and I am so excited about it. I really want to get to work on organizing/cleaning out just about our entire house, and with the temperatures below freezing here in Michigan and no chance of us doing any outdoor activities, now seems like the perfect time.
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, whether you have exciting plans or will just be sitting home like me, and get some time to yourself like I was lucky enough to have this week. See you Monday. 🙂
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