Hey guys! How’s your Saturday going? Today’s post is going to be an easy one because the weather here is absolutely gorgeous and I’m trying to soak in as much of it as I can before it disappears for the next 6 months. True story.
I’ve been seeing this “Simple A-Z” survey pop up on a number of blogs over the past couple of months, and I wanted to fill one in myself because I think it’s a really great idea. I’m a firm believer that it’s the simple, everyday things that add up to make life great, and that taking the time to stop and appreciate those things helps us see how blessed we really are. But enough with the chit chat; let’s get going!
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[A] Autumn: Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite season. The gorgeous colors that come with the changing leaves. The smell of warming spices and freshly baked treats in the kitchen. The chance to finally bring out the boots, scarves, and chunky sweaters. The cozy feeling that comes from cooler/shorter days. Mmm yes. I love this time of year.
[B] Baking: Ahh baking, what’s not to love? Not only do I find the process itself to be wonderfully soothing, but getting to enjoy a warm piece of whatever comes out of the oven? Heaven. Being in a warm and fragrant kitchen when it’s cold outside is probably one of my favorite things in the world… along with cookies and banana bread.
[C] Cereal: I’ve always been a cereal lover, but perhaps even more so now that me and oatmeal are taking a break. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or midnight snack… With milk, with yogurt, or straight from the box… You really can’t go wrong with this stuff. In fact, I think I’ll go fix myself up a bowl as we speak…
[D] Driving: Driving has always been my therapy of choice. Whenever I’m feeling stressed, or I need to clear my head, I hop in my car, throw on some good music, and go. No goal. No direction. Just me, my thoughts, and the open road.
[E] Early Mornings: I went from being a complete night owl to a complete morning person. When I was younger, you would not find me out of bed before 10 AM, but now I rarely ever sleep in past 6:30. I like having time to start my day off slowly. I eat breakfast. I blog. I enjoy the peace and quiet. The rest of the day is crazy enough, so I really treasure those few tranquil hours that I can get in the morning.
[F] Family: I don’t even want to think about where I would be without the love and support of my family. They’ve talked me down from every ledge and picked me up from every fall. I don’t see them as often now that I’m no longer living at home, but we always make sure to put aside some time during the week to grab a coffee or have dinner.
[G] Greek yogurt: I remember when I first started blogging, Greek yogurt was nowhere to be found in Canada. I had my first taste of it when I was on vacation in Europe, and came back home absolutely heartbroken. Thankfully, Canada got with the program, and although we don’t have the selection that our neighbors to the south do, we still do alright. Oh, and if you’re still eating 0%, do yourself a favor and switch to 2%. Your tastebuds will love you for it.
[H] Health: Without health, nothing else matters. Not money. Not success. Not looks. Nada. You can lie to yourself and pretend all you like, but if you’re not healthy then you can’t truly be happy. I had to lose my health completely to realize how much of a blessing it truly is, and I never want to find myself without it again.
[I] Ice Cream: Does this one even need an explanation? I think not…
[J] Java: I couldn’t stand coffee when I was younger; it wasn’t until I entered university and found myself drinking it out of necessity that my love for coffee really started. Now, I drink a cup or two everyday more for pleasure than anything else, and always look forward to enjoying that “me” time.
[K] Kaiah: My little buddy! I couldn’t take her with me when I moved because I didn’t think it would be fair to keep her cooped up inside a condo when she has a big yard at my parent’s place, but I still make an effort to go see her and take her on the trails whenever I can.
[L] Laughter: There’s almost nothing better than those moments that make you laugh so hard that you start to cry. I think that not taking life too seriously and learning to laugh at things (yourself included) is a key part of living a happy life. And speaking of laughs, I hope you guys get a good one out of this, because I sure did…
[M] Makeup: Although I wouldn’t consider myself a complete girly-girl, I can’t deny that there’s a side of me that adores getting all dolled up. Along with healthy living, I have a huge interest in all things beauty related and my makeup collection is probably getting a little out of hand. I don’t tend to wear a lot of it on a daily basis, but I still love trying out new looks and new products. Sephora has truly become the bane of my existence…
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Eep! This is starting to get a bit lengthy, so I’m going to cut it here and post the rest tomorrow. I hope you guys are all having a great Saturday! I’m off to enjoy an evening BBQ at the park, so I’ll see ya tomorrow!
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What are some simple things that make you happy? Pick a few letters and share!
This may be a weird question, but do you go to the park/lake to BBQ with friends or do you go by yourself? I am only curious because I often go by myself and was hoping I’m not the only one! Ha 🙂
When I head out to the lake or a BBQ, it’s always with friends because it’s a little bit further away. But I often go to the park to enjoy a nice quiet walk by myself. Nothing wrong with enjoying your own company 🙂
I love these little blog surveys…when done right (instead of just barreling through it to get a post up), you really get a chance to know the person behind the blog. There are SO many things I agree with you 100% on…first and foremost that FALL is the BEST season ever! I’m excited for hot apple cider, bon fires (with at least ONE s’mores…ok, maybe two!), scarves, and of COURSE the return of my walks in the park near my house. I love hiking through the woods with my camera…the only noises you hear are the animals and the wind. So peaceful. I also like to go for long drives to clear my head (as long as I can make it out of the city in a reasonable amount of time). There are some really good, LONG backroads around here and it’s nice to just “lose yourself” in it all.
You may not have the “selection” we have down here, but relish in the fact that I am totally jealous over your 2% Oikos! That has been my brand of choice here lately since I can usually find the singles for a dollar a piece (this week the store had them on sale for 75 CENTS! Score!), but alas it is only the fat free ones that I can find! I am obsessed with super thick yogurt…I think that’s why I fell in love with that Whole Food’s brand I tried recently (even the fat free was amazing!)…and you definitely don’t get that with the fat free Oikos! 🙁
Ahhh, I want to rub my face on Kaiah’s soft fluffy puppy ears! How do you say her name? In my head, I’m saying “Kay-ah”
I actually couldn’t believe the difference that going from fat free to 2% made! I had to buy a tub of fat free a few weeks ago because they were out of 2% at the store and I couldn’t help but wonder how I ate that stuff before. Nowhere near as tasty or satisfying.
And we say her name Ky-ah 🙂
Driving is often times my therapy as well. Actually, I don’t think it’s the drive as much as the actual music that calms me. Nighttime driving is the best though, especially on those warm summer nights when you can roll down the windows and exhale (literally and figuratively).
Health really is absolutely everything. The older I get the more I realize the importance of caring for myself and my family. It takes time (and personal experiences) to learn this, often times the hard way, but you are lucky to have learned this before it was too late.
I can agree with every single one of these things! By the way, I am in love with your pup…mine is at home, too and I miss her terribly. It really makes such a difference when you have a cute face to cuddle with at the end of the day…but like you, I didn’t want to take away her big back yard to play in!
P.S. how amazing is 2% greek yogurt?! The difference is shocking. Love that stuff!
These posts are so fun to read and learn about people! That Cinderella picture makes me laugh in disbelief at how strange it is that it seems slightly real paired with the real life pictures! that makes no sense. Just know I am laughing!
I did this survey a while back and of all the surveys floating in the blog world, this is most definitely my favorite…both reading other people’s answer & filling it out made me so happy. Java makes me happy on a daily basis too…and it has nothing to do with the caffeine effects. The ritual of my morning iced coffee & evening hot mug of coffee is such a highlight in my day! Some more things which made me smile today are freshly baked cookies, seeing a friend after months and catching up with my cousin :)! Hope you had a fab weekend, Amanda!
This post reiterates how it’s the simple things in life that are often the best 🙂 Love this!
Happy Sunday, dear Amanda!
This is a great little post. Im SUCH a morning girl, its not even funny. I crash around 9pm each night lol And yaaay for coffee!!! The caffeine has ZERO effect on me, but the taste and smell are what I adore! Just walking by a starbucks makes my soul happy. Whats your favorite brand of coffee? Dunkin is pretty amazing to me!!
And a new thing that makes me happy??
My new puppers 🙂
Oh and meeting you soon of course!! I’m making you something, and Im really hoping you dont think Im a total dork for it lol
Caffeine doesn’t really seem to have an effect on me either, but I LOVE the taste and smell. The other day I was in the elevator and whoever was on before me must have had some coffee and omigosh… it got me craving some so bad! We don’t have Dunkin up here, so I’ve never actually tried it. I love Green Mountain Coffee for my Keurig, otherwise I usually go to Bux. Eep. Yeah it’s an expensive habit 🙁 And don’t you worry! I’m like the biggest dork there is 😀
Loved this! You take beautiful pictures. 🙂
I’m a cereal lover too. I always eat more than one bowl 😀
I love autumn too. It’s such a cozy feeling season! I just wish it wasn’t so short – it seems like it goes from shorts weather to winter jacket weather in the span of a just few weeks here! 😛
Some things that make me happy are:
– Exploring and walking around new cities. I just love seeing new things!
– Food. Everything about it. I love the science of it, the history of it, the social aspect of it… This summer I got really into going to food festivals because I just love the creativity that some cooks put into their food and the passion they have for it. And I love getting to taste delicious food. 😉
– Farmer’s markets!
Our Fall is pretty short here too 🙁 The colors stick around for a little while, but it gets coooooold quick. Also, I know you have a peanut allergy – do you have a hard time going to food festivals and restaurants because of it?
It depends! For most restaurants I’m usually ok eating there because the chef/cook take a lot of care to prevent contamination if you tell them about your allergy. That being said I avoid all Thai/Chinese/etc restaurants because I know they use a lot of nuts in their dishes so I’m sure there are nuts all over the kitchen haha. And for food festivals I just avoid the booths that have nuts, but there are actually a surprising number of them that are safe for me.
What about you? What are your experiences with eating out with an allergy? 🙂
I don’t really have an easy time eating-out, but I kinda blame this one on my parents. I don’t think they handled my allergy very well while I was growing up – they used a lot of scare tactics to make sure I didn’t accidentally eat nuts when they weren’t around, and so they basically ended up traumatizing me when it comes to eating out. Definitely trying to get past it, but it’s hard to undo 20-some years of habit/belief. It’s great to hear that you can enjoy it without having any negative experiences though!
Our allergies definitely aren’t the curse they used to be – restaurants are so much better at accommodating allergies these days! And there are lots of places that don’t even have nuts on their menu (Greek and Japanese are always safe for me). Do you think you want to try eating out more often?
i love your comments on baking. last night i watched this documentary called ‘happy’ where it talks about the different ways that happiness is achieved. one of these was ‘flow’- the process where you forget everything else and kind of lose yourself in something. forget all your worries and responsibilities – it is doing these activities every day that really lead to happiness. for me, i find flow when i run. but i ALSO flow when i cook – ESPECIALLY when i bake.
Fall baking truly is best! Whenever the temperatures drop, I head to the kitchen…and stay there. Nothing warms me up–both physically and emotionally–more than fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffins. The sun satisfies those physical and emotional needs during the summer, but baking does it even better in the fall and winter. 🙂
Kaiah looks like such a sweetheart! My dog, Cali, lives across the country (labradors are not very compatible with city life), and I miss the laughter she and her whip-lash-wagging tail bring to my day. 😉
Two things that brought happiness to my day today were 1) speaking with my German “sister” on the phone (we hadn’t talked in well over a year!) and learning that she’ll be visiting me in DC; and 2) a dollop of whipped cream atop my pumpkin spice latte.
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, Amanda! <3
I can’t live without my family either! Being 3 hours away from them at my own place is kinda hard but I’ve gotten used to it over the past 2 years. But I do love when I get to come home for the weekend and see them again!
Makeup makes me happy too. I’ve gone into Sephora a few times and I want to buy so many of their products. Maybe someday when I have a real job!
So glad I found your blog 🙂 Your answers are so similar to how I view things, especially early mornings. I live with 4 other people including my boyfriend and I’m up at 5 on weekdays and 630 sat/sun and no one seems to understand. I love the peace and quiet of taking my time and soaking in the early morning 🙂 Great blog!
Thanks for stopping by to say hi, Beth!
all those things make me happy too! 🙂 – is that the urban decay naked palette i see? i adore that palette! – the colors are just so perfect for all occasions.
hope you had fun at the bbq!
It is! It’s pretty much my go-to palette, since it covers all the bases. Have you tried Naked 2? There are some really nice ones in there as well!
Glad I found your blog and even more jealous of your weather. It’s been super dingy here today. You are so pretty girl! I love getting my makeup done but I cannot do it to save my life seriously. Sephora makeout wns though!
Awwr thanks for stopping by, Hollie! Our weather has actually been pretty nasty since September hit… It’s only this weekend that things turned around, so I’ll send some good-voodoo-weather vibes your way!
let me guess – lipgloss is turkish delight? nars blush is orgasm? 🙂 I love some sephora too! Lately I’m obsessed with the Tarte Amazonian clay blush in blissful – you should definitely try it!
Haha!! Ohhhh very good! It is indeed Turkish Delight and Orgasm. I’ve actually been really curious about the Tarte blush! Right now I’m using Benefit’s Coralista, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time (or another trip to Sephora) before I break down and pick up the Amazonian clay blush…
I seriously want to kidnap Kaiah– she’s the definition of adorable!!! SO FLUFFY!!! 😀
Hmmm some simple things that’ve been making me happy today: birds singing, cloud watching, finding a quarter in the parking lot, and getting my favorite steak on sale at the grocery store!
PS– that ice cream bowl is calling my name…I’ll be right over for a scoop…or five haha 😉
Yessss, come over for ice cream! Bring Kovu so Ky can have someone to play with 😀
Omgsh errmmmm can I have Kaiah? She is beautiful and so cute 😀 Wow you and I have a lot of similar likes (aside from greek yogurt cuz that’s so many food bloggers’ fave snack lol) I agree that every little plant, every beam of sunshine as well as the vast mountains are all reminders of life’s awesomeness. Stop and smell the roses y’all.
H: Hot chocolate! Especially during the winter.
B: Books. THis is a recent one. I was never one for reading but now I have turned into a complete book worm!
Love your posts, Amanda 🙂
Thanks Katy! And I didn’t recognize you at first from your new profile pic! You look fabulous!!
Naaaw thanks Amanda!
These kind of posts are my personal favorite! I share many of your answers – I love to drive and my family and my health are the most important things in my life!
Others things that make me happy are flowers – more specifically sunflowers – I love their radiant shades of yellow and their big green leaves!
I really enjoy reading these sorta posts, especially from someone who I share lots in common with:).
Except for the letter J, hence why I was so curious yesterday about the iced vanilla lattes I see popping up around here frequently. Iv never actually tried coffee . I think I’m going to have my 1st sip soon though, all my favourites blogs are tempting me over to the dark, caffeinated side!
I spy BadGal, I use the navy blue ( it’s supposed to make the whites of the eye look WHITER, or something like that)version, on occasional nights out. Actually I hardly ever wear make-up ,but I’m a sucker for nice packaging- Benefit’s lures me in!
Have fun at the BBQ:)
Xxx
Hehe! I adore coffee, but if you get by fine without it, then don’t start up -just because-, unless you’re really curious to see what all the fuss is about. You may not even like it at first! I know I didn’t.
And Benefit has some really great stuff! I’m in love with their boxed blushes.
Haha, thanks for the coffee advice. Gotta say, I’m pretty curious about trying it & I’d hate to be missing out on something awesome. There’s no saving me anywayz, diet coke runs through my veins, eek.
OMG, we like all the same stuff! I have Georgia & Dandelion- those lil’ boxes are too cute. Plus, I was running out of my Lush lip scrub, so I bought mint julips( I live RIGHT next to that store, it’s dangerous I tell ya), per your recommendation. I’m in love, it smells fantastic:).
Xxx