Things that made me happy this week!

     1.  My first ever attempt at making French macarons, which are notoriously tricky to perfect. They tasted good but were crazy messy. That's ok. In my book, tasty comes first, pretty comes second. I'm thinking of making them again soon with a few changes to my recipe that should improve the end result a fair amount.

Maybe not as nice-looking as the ones in pretty food magazines, but not half bad for a first attempt, either.

      2.  My new blanket from Target.  It's a material they're calling "micromink," which I'm calling "OHMYGLOBSOSOFT." Amanda bought one first, and when I was curled up in a ball on the couch willing myself not to vomit (fun week!) she came by and draped her new blanket over me in a somewhat rare moment of sweetness. It was so soft and cozy and generally delightful that I went out and got one for myself as soon as I was feeling better. As an added bonus, it really helps contribute to the whole "Pottery Barn catalog" aesthetic (you know, fluffy to the point where you might actually have a hard time getting into it) I strive for in my bedroom; basically I want my bed to be so cloud-like and soft and enticing that even someone with a whacked out/non-existent sleep instinct like mine will look at it and get sleepy.

The fact that the shades are uneven is going to drive my mom batty. Sorry mom!

      3.  Getting a paint color picked out for the nursery. One less thing for my sister to stress about, and I'm just plain excited to see how it looks. We picked a very pale, silvery-blue metallic that we (I say we, but obviously she's not allowed near all the fume-y paint -- my Mom and I are going to paint it over the weekend) plan to do a color wash of over the same tone, but in a semi-gloss. It sounds confusing, but after having the process explained (and the paint cans labeled for dum-dums) by the super-helpful paint guy at Lowe's, I feel pretty confident that it will end up looking swirly and soothing and pretty. 

A teaser of paint samples. None of these are the one we actually ended up picking, though. Like I'd just give away the surprise like that!

     4.  New boots!  I finally broke down and replaced my favorite pair of boots, which were unfortunately rather cheaply made and falling to pieces after two years of heavy wear. To be fair, I'm also unusually hard on my shoes somehow; I once had a pair of Keds fall apart after less than 2 months of wear, and I wasn't exactly mountain-climbing in them. I guess it's just the way I stomp around like Godzilla destroying the city all the time. So I decided that I should bite the bullet and replace the boots with a high-quality pair that I won't destroy within weeks. I'm generally pretty frugal, so it's hard for me to justify spending a lot on something, but when it truly is an investment piece that will last for a decade, I think it's worth it. Otherwise I'd just rack up the same expense over that time period buying pair after pair of cheap, poorly made shoes. And now that I have the boots in my hands (and on my feet), I can tell they're going to be worth it. The materials and construction are so much nicer, and they're incredibly comfortable straight out of the box -- no breaking in required. Also, LOOK AT THEM. THEY ARE AMAZING. 

Do you know how difficult it is to take a decent picture of your own feet? Surprisingly so.

     5.  Lego Lord of the Rings. Legos! Lord of the Rings! GIMLI! I respect everyone's right to have a favorite character, but if yours isn't Gimli then you're wrong and we can't be friends. Just kidding, Gandalf is an acceptable favorite too. This game is really fun, first because the Lego videogames are legitimately fantastic. Seriously, if you think they're for kids and you won't like them, give them a shot anyway. You get to run around smashing everything in sight and snatching up money, like King Kong the day rent's due. Second, the Lego games have a great sense of humor to them. It's easy to make the Lego cut-scenes funny in something comparatively light-hearted like Indiana Jones, but even in a serious story like Lord of the Rings, they manage to make me laugh out loud even as Isildor is refusing to cast the ring into the fires of Mt. Doom. And I mean literally laugh out loud, not a text message "lol" where you really mean "smile and snort a quick woosh of air out your nose." Finally, they're fun because it's an opportunity to quote all the best parts of the movie, or if you're a weirdo like me, to pretend you're Legolas and identify every single thing around you in a worried tone like no one else noticed when they totally did, LEGOLAS, they all have eyes and ears even if they're not pointy. Ahem. Anyway, it's fun. 

All of my pictures look like they were taken in the dark of deep space because I have the nerves of a chihuahua and can't hold my hands still long enough to get a clear photo without the flash. Now you knoooow.

Those are five little things that made me happy this week. If you feel like leaving a comment telling me what put a smile on your face recently, that would be thing #6 on my list!