For several years now I’ve maintained my own personal Happy List, first to acknowledge and affirm and then to remind myself of life’s beauty, richness, and blessings. I hope that by sharing some of the items on my list I will inspire you to slow down for a few minutes and think about the things in your life that bring you joy and contentment… and perhaps even create and maintain a “Happy List” of your own!
236 Things That Make Me Happy
- rustic sourdough bread, toasted crisp and served hot spread with melting butter and blackberry jam
- surprise recurring characters
- sukiyaki with friends
- shower puffs and fragrant, foaming shower gel
- Japanese restaurant décor
- supportive and encouraging friends
- the weekly ritual of watching favourite TV shows with my husband while munching popcorn
- caramel steamed milk
- a freshly-done manicure
- a simple Italian salad of fresh sliced tomatos and garlic, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and freshly-ground pepper
- unwrapping a Mini Babybel cheese
- achieving a long-awaited goal
- a refreshing shower with nice-smelling soap
- the brilliant green of steamed broccoli
- “AHA!” moments
- a place for everything, and everything in its place
- making a fresh tossed salad that’s a medley of colours and flavours: mixed leafy greens, ripe red tomatoes, red and orange and yellow peppers, white mushrooms, shredded purple cabbage, celery, cucumber, shredded carrots, chopped green onions
- Nag Champa incense
- clear, crisp, pure, icy-cold drinking water
- dried strawberries
- satiny embroidered Asian handbags
- paper cranes
- solving all the world’s problems over multiple cups of coffee throughout an evening
- a lit votive candle in a clear glass holder
- black enamelled chopsticks
- the artistry and beauty and goodness of sushi
- Simon & Garfunkel
- watching a dry, thirsty plant come back to life after giving it a drink
- a successful trip to the library – lots of intriguing books to read, and all for free!
- rich hot chocolate with real whipped cream on top
- going blackberrying – buckets full of yummy free treats… making blackberry apple crisp and eating it hot, with whipped cream and strong black coffee
- glass bricks
- Grandma’s tiered wooden sewing box… her gift to me
- milk chocolate
- stationery and office supply stores… strolling the aisles with my sister, under no time limits or restrictions, with money in my wallet
- brewing espresso in a pot on the stove… heating and frothing milk… making a perfect little cappucino sprinkled with cinnamon
- chocolate pudding
- playing a game or two of Boggle
- Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Maple tea with milk and brown sugar
- the purity of clear glass canisters filled with supplies – epsom salts… coarse salt… sea salt… baking soda… cornstarch… skim milk powder…citric acid – for homemade bath products
- collecting magazine pictures of pretty things
- the smell of movie popcorn
- making decoupage light switch plates – mini pieces of art
- spiral-bound notebooks
- spicy chai lattes sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg
- William Shatner’s “Has Been”
- swirly designs
- getting “real” mail or e-mail from friends or family – not junk mail or bills or spam or mailing list stuff… but real, personal correspondence
- plump Shanghai noodles with stir-fried bok choy and spicy pork
- curling up for a mid-afternoon nap under our “How Do I Love Thee” Boyds Bears blanket
- paisley
- the feeling of confidence after having a professional haircut and style with good-smelling hair products
- a cat’s purr
- the feel of cool, creamy moisturizer on warm skin
- peppermint tea
- a sense of pride in making a good choice
- cooked beet greens
- the moment in a song where you start to sing along
- a special new mug
- the warm smell of roasting chicken
- listening to the comforting swish of the dishwasher running in the background
- cheery yellow, brown-flecked, sweet and juicy, ripe Bartlett pears
- hours-long conversations with friends at a local café
- buying fruit and veggies in Chinatown or at a farm market
- freshly ground black pepper
- cosy grey-and-red white-heeled-and-toed work socks
- finished projects
- flannel shirts
- little, out-of-the blue kindnesses that take you by surprise
- collecting pebbles… mottled, striped, spotted, marbled, smooth, weathered… while walking on the beach
- Sharpies
- weekend secondhand book store prowls
- vanilla
- sitting in a cozy café all by myself… listening to music, drinking black coffee, journalling, people-watching, reading
- petting a friendly neighbourhood cat
- cutting open a fresh bag of coffee beans
- sandalwood
- writing on black paper with soft milky-pastel-coloured pens
- handmade crocheted scarves
- enormous marinated green olives and crusty Portuguese buns with Genoa salami and havarti
- Moody Bee lip balm
- knowing how to hand-code HTML
- small successes
- Montreal-style bagels, fresh from the bakery in a brown paper bag
- getting organized in the fall and thinking towards the year ahead
- fun interior design, home improvement, and craft shows on TV
- ten unbroken fingernails of decent length
- being tired in the evening, but knowing you can sleep in the next day without guilt… then waking up in the morning with that delicious feeling of knowing that you can go back to sleep if you so desire
- the crisp, smoky smell of fall in the air
- tassels
- Mom’s Italian cheese ball soup
- staying cozily inside on a bleak, rainy day and drinking Earl Grey tea with milk
- sweater season
- fall leaves in brilliant shades of gold, amber and crimson – gilding the trees, crunching underfoot, being raked into piles
- the contrast of silent, still, cool night air after leaving a noisy, crowded, hot club
- butter soft black leather gloves lined with soft white rabbit fur
- perfect, intricate seashells
- thinking you have no cash in your wallet because there are no bills… then discovering $10 in toonies
- creamy, spicy pumpkin pie with rich whipped cream and dark, strong coffee
- sand dollars
- closets and drawers full of clean, mended, wearable clothes
- lightning storms
- wrapping presents
- Christmas oranges… sweet, juicy, fragrant, easy to peel
- playing “Dutch Blitz” with family and/or friends… and being really good at it
- chocolate-scented MAC “Desire” lipstick in a matte black and silver case
- getting great coupons for something you were going to buy anyway
- tiny brown dropper bottles filled with fragrant essential oils
- the Lee Valley Christmas gift catalogue
- old houses – coved ceilings, hardwood floors, crown moldings, wood trim, deep baseboards, filigree grilles, built-in cabinets with stained glass doors, dark wood panelling
- enormous black cherries, sweet and juicy and firm
- frothy bubbles on the top of a freshly-poured cup of strong black coffee
- new makeup
- hot ginger tea with honey
- the potential of a thick blank book
- sterling silver
- thick black cotton turtleneck sweaters
- spicy incense with lazy, curling trails of soft grey smoke… inside when it’s cold, outside on a warm summer evening
- White Rabbit candies wrapped in rice paper
- brown paper grocery bags
- lazy, cozy, puttering weekends
- cleaning a chalkboard with a shammy
- a win by my hockey team
- Body Shop eye pillows
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – especially the crunchy ones!
- our 4-CD set of favourite music, played at our wedding reception
- scented tea light candles – café latte and ginger pumpkin
- hand-me-downs from my sister
- the sound of the breadmaker kneading dough… then the warm, yeasty smell of fresh bread baking
- Indian food
- flower baskets hanging from lampposts
- finding all the “freebies” in a handful of sunflower seeds
- wasabi rice crackers with wasabi peas
- feeling loved… nurtured… cared for
- thick white terrytowel bathrobes
- watching a glassblower at work
- hot, crisp buttered toast spread with Mom’s pear-ginger marmalade
- metal-handled Chinese food cartons
- laughter – laughing so hard it hurts… laughing uncontrollably… laughing until you cry
- toasted cheese and peanut butter sandwiches
- making books by hand
- cinnamon sprinkled over coffee grounds before brewing the pot
- honey pots with honey drippers
- Deluxe Scrabble
- waking up to find my love holding my hand
- Genmaicha – Japanese green tea and roasted rice… nutty and flavourful, with a few pieces of “popcorn” popped grains of rice included in the mix
- sleeping in
- a goosedown duvet and plump feather pillows
- new shoes
- unpacking and setting up a new home or office space
- perfect, seedless green grapes… sweet and firm, almost crunchy
- a “defined curls” hair day
- a perfectly straight hair day
- thick greenish glass bathroom counters with shiny silver fixtures
- the mixed-up collection of dishes at the cottage… choosing a “special” mug to use throughout your stay
- aromatherapy facials
- true freebies
- the way yarn comes out of the middle of the ball – magic!
- live theatre
- More-with-Less Cookbook (Doris Janzen Longacre) – more than just recipes… a whole philosophy of life
- A&W root beer in a frosty mug
- the silkiness of loose face powder
- watching grown men play like little boys
- brightly-coloured, plastic-coated paper clips
- twisted ropes of seaweed left on the beach at low tide
- old-fashioned clawfoot bath tubs
- a thick, clear glass bowl of ocean-polished beach glass
- pictures of Greece… blue sky, sparkling blue water, whitewashed houses
- Kinder Egg vehicles with moving parts
- vintage Pyrex mixing bowls and baking dishes with glass lids
- my love’s smiling blue eyes
- ocean air… salty, seaweedy, fresh, envigorating
- thick, fluffy, soft, absorbent bath towels
- warm raisin scones with butter and honey
- the soft trickle and bubble of a water fountain
- cinnamon
- amber perfume oil in a delicate glass-stoppered bottle
- pure white, silky-smooth sand
- organizer wallets
- burgundy velvet
- sweet and spicy freesias
- finding your favourite brand of anything on a phenomenal sale, and having the money to be able to stock up
- the greyness of the ocean on a rainy day
- refreshingly soft, misty rain
- the smell of a secondhand book store
- fresh flowers on your desk
- soft ice cream
- mason jar mugs
- old round Volvos
- the aroma of dark roasted, freshly-ground coffee beans
- basic black
- speckled enamelware
- the feeling of satisfaction when a project is completed
- “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil” monkeys
- electric trains
- wooden back scratchers
- popping bubble wrap
- drops of lavender essential oil in an unglazed ceramic jar beside the bed
- peel-and-stick postage stamps
- milk in glass bottles
- discovering a secondhand shop full of treasures and possibilities and bargains
- strings of sparkling white lights
- pretending (just for a moment) to be Amélie while cracking the top of a crème brûlée with your spoon, then letting the crisp brown sugar shards and creamy, rich smoothness melt in your mouth
- creating something
- the fragrance of lilacs
- games nights with friends
- those first few seconds when your head rests on a perfectly plumped-up pillow
- a heartfelt compliment
- vintage typewriters with round keys
- potluck parties
- learning another language
- jeweled chandeliers
- losing yourself for awhile in the beauty and inspiration of Pinterest
- the sensory perfection of real, live, hard copies of books
- the convenience, portability, and accessibility of e-books
- iPhone photo editing apps
- Mom’s melt-in-your-mouth whipped shortbread cookies
- wearing a pair of warm knitted slippers around the house
- skewers of fresh fruit dipped in a Nutella fondue
- Depression Glass
- clean eating
- tangling
- birdsong through an open window
- cheerful orange day lilies
- cats with big fluffy paws
- the mouth-watering smells and tastes of an outdoor meal grilled on the barbecue
- the ability to connect with people all over the world via social media
- a re-run marathon of a favourite TV series
- front porches
- the soft leather and functional beauty of my purple Filofax Malden organizer
- art supplies
- the delight of seeing the first firefly of the summer
- the ever-changing moods and colours of the river
- fabulous thrift store finds
- the aroma of a freshly-mowed lawn
- friendships that pick right up where you left off, even after a long time apart
Now, I challenge you to come up with your own list of at least ten things that make you happy! Once you’ve done so, I’d love it if you’d either post the list in a comment below or write out your “Happy List” as an entry in your own blog. (Be sure to share the link to your post in the comments below so that we can all visit your blog and revel in the goodness!)
So, what makes you happy?
Please share!
