The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Happy Things Friday: 16 May

We’re at the point in the spring where All The Things start happening. My American friends talk about Maycember and I tend to roll my eyes…but I’m coming to realize Maycember is really more…

Top Five/Bottom Five: Smells (The Household Edition)

It’s been a long while since my last Top Five/Bottom Five post — so long, in fact, we were still talking about winter (praise be, ice is finally behind us). Tobia recently mentioned that…

Why Not Make the Little Things Beautiful?

In the comment section of a recent post, mbmom11 mentioned how much joy her $9 (purple, sparkly!) phone case brings her — and it got me thinking about the surprisingly big impact small aesthetic…

Creativity, Favourite Things, Gratitude, Joy, Personality Insights
May, 14, 2025
48 Comments

Best Beaches in Nova Scotia (Local Guide + Map)

Jana asked me to talk about beaches in Nova Scotia, and now that I’ve shed my winter duds for another season, it seems like the perfect time to discuss a warm-weather topic!

Nova Scotia is…

Some Things We Ate in April

Apparently, people are interested in what ends up on our dinner table. (Wait – is it dinner? is it supper?) Either way, I’ve been asked to share more about our everyday meals, so I…

Family, Food, Life
May, 12, 2025
43 Comments

Happy (and Hard) Things Friday: 9 May

This week was not my favourite. Nothing objectively terrible happened, but it felt like walking around with pebbles in my shoes. (For people I care about, it was more like giant boulders.)

If you’ll allow…

Gratitude in Practice: Laura Vanderkam!!

If you’d told me five years ago that I’d have a blog, I probably would have believed you. After all, I’ve always loved writing and seem to have an endless supply of things to…