Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Staying ahead

(Via Lilly)

Last week, in an effort to stay ahead of the winter doldrums, I made a list with everything I could think of that makes me feel happy. Turns out, I'm easy to please. It included things like make a yummy dinner, have flowers in the house, get a hair cut (I seriously love to get my hair cut!), and keep my house clean. 

In a happy turn of events, Peter came home with a bundle of pale pink tulips the exact day I wrote the list (he's so good!), and a humble, thrown together dinner of spaghetti, white beans and Meyer lemon turned into something divine and supremely comforting. My house isn't the cleanest, and I haven't made a hair appointment yet, but the week is young. More happiness is on the way!

This was sort of a silly exercise, but for me, it's always sort of a "duh" moment when I realize how simple, inexpensive things make a huge difference in my outlook, especially this time of year.

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend! 

13 comments:

  1. such a good thing to do when you need a pick me up - would love to hear the entirety of that 'thrown together' dinner...on my list - candles, a bath, painted toes, and a facial (which i happily indulged in this weekend!)

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    1. brie, I'm always bad at taking pictures/remembering to post dinners I throw together on the fly with pantry stuff. I should try to be better because those are the things I search for on blogs, too! Anyways, I made spaghetti (brown rice version). In a wide sauce pan I sauteed a few cloves of garlic, then added in a drained and rinsed can of small cannelloni beans. I grated the zest of half a Meyer lemon in, and then when the pasta was nearly done, I ladled about 1/2 cup of cooking water in with the beans. After the pasta was drained, I added in the beans, squeezed out the juice from my half lemon, and stirred in some tuna. Some toasted bread crumbs or chopped parsley would be delightful on top, but I went with what I had :)

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  2. I love this idea. I need to buy some flowers too! And make some scones, and go to the library, and paint my toenails. Little things do make a huge difference.

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    1. Going the library and painted toes are great additions to the happy list! Hopefully your paperwhites will be blooming soon!

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  3. Great idea Julie! :) We've had the craziest winter. Last night it was in the 60s & this morning it was 28 degrees.

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    1. It's been mild here (mostly) with a few v. cold days. I'm almost afraid to write that for fear of jinxing it!

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  4. Oh man, I so needed this post! I have definitely been down in the doldrums (a seriously bleak movie at the theater yesterday didn't help). I'm off to make my own list now...

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    1. Kate, I avoid dark movies for that exact reason - they haunt me for days! Hopefully your list helps you break free.

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  5. Amen, I couldn't agree more! It's always surprising to see how little we actually need to make us happy!

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  6. i like to get my haircut too often as well. it's addicting! like starting fresh... as weird as that sounds.

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  7. Sometimes you need a "duh" cheer me up--I know I do! (And romantic husbands certainly do help.) Happy winter, Julie!

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