Happy Things Friday: 18 September

Happy Friday. Taking the week off blogging was wonderful, but I really did miss prepping a Happy Things Friday post. It’s become such a gratitude constant in my life and I felt a bit bereft not writing one last week.

I’m back (obviously!) and I have a jam-packed list for you.

SNAIL MAIL

First, a confession. I have been utter rubbish at sending snail mail lately. I finally got around to buying some American stamps, which was what I had been telling myself was the final hurdle.

But then… life.

Anyhoo. I will get back to writing letters and postcards at some point, but clearly that “some point” is not now.

In the meantime, other people are making up for my lack of motivation in this category.

Namely Engie and Melissa.

Melissa’s postcard from Noosa has been my go-to bookmark for the last week.

And Engie went above and beyond sending me a lovely handwritten note (and sticker!) and a mini book.

I repeat. She sent me a mini book.

It is teeny tiny and utterly adorable and I wasn’t quite sure where to put it and then I thought it would be fun to play hide-and-seek with the book. I want to see how many visitors to our house spot my pint-sized Anne of Green Gables book in its current hiding spot.

I’ll let you all in on the secret. Shhhhh.

FREE HEART-SHAPED CHOCOLATE

John recently got home from a whirlwind trip to Zurich. His hotel had some Swiss chocolate as a welcome gift, and I was the beneficiary of an adorable Lindt heart-shaped chocolate.

If I had been thinking less about delicious chocolate and more about the photo optics, I would have remembered to take a picture of the tinfoil wrapping. Alas, I didn’t. You’ll have to use your imagination. It was adorable.

And delicious!

BATCH COOKING

I have been on batch-cooking whirlwind lately. So much of the time it only adds marginally more time to cook extra and freeze what’s left.

That included a double batch of these Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites. John and Indy, in particular, love them. The texture is amazing (they’re cooked in a water bath and are soooo smooth) and they pack a good protein punch with cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and eggs being the main ingredients. They also freeze really well!

I had some leftover smoked salmon, so one dozen egg cups got that for an added protein boost, and the next batch got a bit of crumbled bacon.

SPROUTED COVER REVEAL!!

I had the cover reveal date written inside my Sprouted Weekly Planner (obviously) and I LOVE Morning Bloom. I tend to alternate between florals and a more understated cover and 2027 is my year for FLORAL. Be still my paper planning heart.

Then again, I love polka dots—they’re my favourite pattern, hands down. I asked Belle and she was adamant Moonlit Dots was the superior option.

2027 Sprouted planners—which I’ve used for 5 years now—will go on sale September 22nd. I have an affiliate code that will get you 15% off your first order: follow the link and use ELISABETH15.

A DEEP-CLEANED BATHROOM

On Sunday afternoon, John and Belle headed off on a walk, Indy was at a friend’s, and after spending a bit of time in bed luxuriating in a book (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, if you were curious), I decided to deep-clean our ensuite.

This did not actually take very long. I took everything out of the bathroom/off the counters, dusted every surface (including the wall tiles), scrubbed the sink and toilet, and then sprayed everything down with diluted disinfectant and wiped every surface.

It’s a job that can get done at any time or no time, but I had been wanting to get it done (TMI: there was a slightly funky smell that just would not go away and I knew that spraying EVERYTHING was key to solving the problem.) I was alone in the house, felt total freedom to NOT do it, and felt a tiny sense of adult rebellion that I was doing it.

I turned on Spotify, cranked tunes, and in less than 15 minutes had a bathroom smelling and looking very clean.

It was immensely satisfying.

TANGENTIAL PODCAST MENTION

I was on Laura’s Before Breakfast podcast… in a way.

I left a comment on one of Kristen’s Frugal Girl posts a few months ago, Laura saw it, and crafted a podcast episode around it: Increase your money’s happiness ROI.

So, while you won’t hear my actual voice, you’ll hear a bit of my budgeting philosophy.

A shout-out to Kristen for letting me know; I hadn’t heard this episode yet, so it was fun to hear about a podcast episode where we were both mentioned together.

Here’s the comment I left, in case anyone was curious:

BORROWING SHOES

It’s official: I can wear (some of) INDY’S shoes.

Belle’s feet are adorably small (and positively tiny compared to mine), but Indy is catching up to me. One day this week I needed to run a quick errand. My Birks are sandals with a toe thong so I can’t wear socks, but I didn’t want my feet to get cold.

I COULD WEAR HIS BIRKENSTOCKS. How did this happen??? I will admit, I don’t hate this development.

PICKLEBALL

After 6+ months of being away from the sport, we’re back to church pickleball. It’s so fun. Belle gets time home alone (which she adores), and John, Indy, and I get to spend time playing together.

I am the weak link in the system. I know this, but everyone is very gracious and it’s so much fun. I feel like any improvement on my part has stalled, but watching my two boys get better and better is a lot of fun.

I left the evening tired and woke up sore (it’s not tremendously physically demanding but uses muscles I don’t tend to use in ordinary life), but can’t wait to go again next week!

BONUS HAPPY THINGS

• Seat warmers. There is a tiny bit of melancholy associated with this Happy Thing because it means the weather is officially cold enough that I need help keeping my derriere warm. BUT, there was also a tinge of delight because it’s Fall Cool, not Winter Frigid, and I am delighted I have a vehicle that will warm my butt. I really wish we had heated car mats (do these exist?), but am grateful each and every time I click a button and heat magically zooms to my posterior and, if I’m driving, my hands.
• She has done it again, folks. Michelle has created even more dollhouse magic. SHE’S DESIGNING A BEACH HOUSE and the backstory on this project and her progress to date is every bit as delightful as you might imagine.

• Belle wanted more socks but didn’t want to come run errands. I could call/text her pictures and get her what she wanted. AND, I kept the receipts because she’s paying me back for said purchases (I had recently bought her socks, but she wanted some fresh updates). Yes, please!

• Freshly washed sheets. I HATE changing the bed with the heat of a thousand suns, but I do love climbing into clean sheets.
• Opening up the windows to air out the bedrooms. This is not really an option in the humid summer, but the air is fresh and cool and the whole house has that crisp outdoor smell that I love.

• I have had a backlog of shredding to do for over a year. And I finally finished. Which felt like a huge victory.
• Drinking decaf. Go me. I have been having decaf tea anytime after 10:30 am and… sleep has been great. Shocking, I know.

• We had a coupon for 5 cents off gas, which I can pair with our CAA discount (3 cents off) and can also collect Scene points. I love when you can TRIPLE load up on a deal, especially with the insane price of fuel right now.

• This meal was SO GOOD. John makes the best mashed potatoes. Full stop. We had fresh green beans ($1 for 5 POUNDS!), and I made pork tenderloin in the Instant Pot. I seared it on the Saute function, and then cooked it for 15 minutes on high pressure with zero recipe, but it was this: a healthy splash of apple cider vinegar (1/3 cup, maybe?), a splash of balsamic vinegar (a tablespoon?), a dash of Worcestershire sauce (a teaspoon?), a sprinkle of brown sugar (1/4 cup, maybe?), and a dollop of BBQ sauce (2-3 tablespoons) and salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste. I let it slow release for 15 minutes, then removed the meat, sliced it, and thickened the gravy with a slurry of cornstarch and water. My mouth is watering just typing this out.

And that’s a wrap on Happy Things from my world this week.

Happy weekending, friends.

Your turn:

• I’d love to hear your Happy Things from the week.
• Tell me all about your favourite Instant Pot (or fall-weather) recipe!