10 Things That Make Me Happy

The title of this post suggests it will be one of those popular posts in which the blogger glorifies or laments in list form. Well, it is. Not only that, it’s going to be drawn out across 2 posts.

Last Sunday I watched the new Bravo TV show, “Ten Things That Make Me Happy”. They featured celebutante Kyle Richards of "Housewives of Beverly Hills" Fame, and the self-described “Maker” Jonathan Adler. Richards came off as superficial, naming her Chanel Bags, hair, and a 10 carat diamond ring, but she also included her sweat pants and her homemade lasagna. Adler included a local pizza, a ping pong table, his husband’s shirts, and a hilarious picture of a 3-year-old pageant toddler he has framed at his apartment entrance.

It got me thinking what I would choose if I were to pick 10 things that make me happy – not experiences, or people, or activities, or places – but 10 actual things that I can touch. Here’s my list:

1. White Noise Machines, which for me is a fan I got for $15 on Amazon. I love that it drowns out the noises of the neighbors. It’s something I either adopted from or inherited from my mother, who packs her fan in her suitcase whenever she goes on a trip. I also sometimes use www.rainymood.com when I'm especially missing the Florida daily summer storms.

2. Candles. My favorite candle I’ve ever burned is made for Anthropologie by Illume. It’s called Sweet William’s Way, which is very fitting. The first house I lived on was called Sweet Leaf Lane and the second was called William James Way. I can’t find it for purchase anywhere so I no longer burn it, I just take the lid off and allow the mix of chamomile, lemon and amber to permeate the air.

3. This skirt by J. Crew. I seriously lived in it when I first got it. I even once got an offer from someone to literally buy it off of me. I mainly wear it around the holiday season, but really it can be paired with anything. Except maybe not more sequins. Though I must say, I’ve never met a sequin I didn’t like. And I adore each and every one that adorns this skirt.

It's good for Taylor Swift concerts as well.

4. Bubby Water. I love it. I drink so much more water now that I use the Sodastream machine at home. I like bubbles in the air, bubbles in my bath, and bubbles in my drinking water. Bubbles. They’re the best. 

5. Recipes handwritten by my mother and grandmother. They taste familiar and like home and I love the fact that they took the time to write them down so carefully. I would just send myself a link or pin it or bring Better Homes and Gardens to the store with me, but there’s something that so vividly recreates my ancestry and the bond created between female family members when I think of how recipes were passed down from mother to daughter for centuries. If you don't have the handwritten version, you can give your favorite recipe to Articipe, and then you can have art + your recipe combine.

Those are my first five. The second five will come in my next post. I'm afraid to post it all at once because because what if I think of something BETTER that I didn't think to include when I first wrote this? This does not seem to be a list you can edit.

What are your favorite material things?