What Little Things Do You Love?

The way my kids’ hair smells after a bath.
But also – the way my kids smell after playing outside all day :)
The smell of coffee shops
Cracking open a new book to read
Driving with the windows down on the first beautiful, warm Spring day
Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

I love the cute things my kids say. My daughter is two and still looks like a baby, but her newest phrase is, “Sounds like a plan?” The other day she had a toy ice cream in our living room and she said, “I’m going to put this in the play room and then I’ll be right back. Sounds like a plan?” It sounded very professional.

Cat purrs
Tacos
Tea with milk and honey
That first crunchy leaf of fall
Small talk with farmers market vendors
The smell of baking bread
Diving into an icy cold lake
Holding hands with someone for the first time
Mom hugs
Living room dance parties in your underwear
Feeling all the feels with a roomful of people at a show

Having the bathroom window open next to me while I shower – the way the breeze feels on my wet skin is amazing!
Crushing spices to make masala chai, watching goldfinches pick seeds off coneflowers in my garden, folding my son’s cloth diapers.

Bus drivers wearing really cool sunglasses.
The epic view from Lidl’s carpark in Tain.
Putting on mascara with a hard brush.
Downward dog.
Cold broccoli.
The 4 blinks from Portmahomack lighthouse in the dusk.
How grey my hair is getting!

This is absolutely the hug I needed today. Little things I love:

– walking past an apartment on a chilly evening and catching the scent of sheets in the dryer
– the crooked little tilt of my husband’s front tooth
-when you hear a song for the hundredth time and for some reason, in this moment, its meaning for you has completely changed and you feel like you’ve found a new friend

The world has felt so big lately and I have felt so small, but it’s catching these little joys out of the air that ground me and walk me home.

-My 6 year old son wearing dinosaur socks AND a pink unicorn shirt: he is more free than the boys I grew up with and it gives me hope.

-watching the dahlias I planted grow and bloom. They change a little every day, and then follow all that small, gradual change with a dramatic opening, like “hello bitches! It’s August and I’m fabulous!”

-coffee, everything about it. Pulling the lever on the bonevita to decant it, my husband and I expressing love for each other by taking turns making it, the smell, the connection to Pacific Northwest cultural traditions

-a very stretched out, faded, soft as all get out, ancient v neck black t-shirt

-the curve, tenor, and general beauty of my mandolin, and also that my husband calls it my Spooky Fairy Banjo

My simple pleasures include: Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Snickerdoodle Cashew Milk Ice Cream, the sound of my husband’s voice, the way the air feels just before rainfall, the entire Swan Lake score, and forehead kisses from my husband :)

my 4 year old’s insistence on wearing a ballet outfit everyday possible

When we cuddle, my daughter closes her eyes and rubs her cheek on me like a little cat. It’s a moment of pure joy for both of us!

On sunny afternoons, my cat naps in a shady spot under the rosemary bush. I love when he comes in for dinner smelling like rosemary. I tell him he smells so delicious that no coyote could be blamed if they ate him for dinner. He meows in agreement, and I lock him in for the night.

i am grateful for electricity…i never take it for granted ✨🙏🏼🔌💛

My daughter’s two front big baby teeth when she smiles :)