Small Joys: volume 21

We skipped a week of Small Joys posts thanks to a week of vacation down in Tampa, but I think breaks are good sometimes.  I had the immense joy of hearing Shauna Niequist speak today, and while I would truly love to quote every thing that she came out of her mouth, I'll instead paraphrase something she said about writing that is just SO true, particularly for those in the business of memoir writing and writing about real, every day life.  She said, essentially, that in order to write, she needed time to live her life and to be in the midst of her neighbors and children and husband and community.  It makes her writing that much richer when she's been able to live a full life outside of her writing.  She referred to it as stocking the pond, which is something I do in my daily life.  It's taking in everything around you and seeing it with clarity and full dimension.  That's why pauses between posts can be good for me, and it's why pauses in even book writing are good for me.

No. 1: Meeting Shauna Niequist. Yep. This is definitely #1 on the list this week.  I discovered Shauna's writing just after college in our little Chapel Hill book club as we read Bread and Wine.  I remember sitting in sweet Shannon's living room tucked away behind Franklin St. as we ate berry crisp and drank wine and laughed about all of the things.  I loved Shauna from the moment I cracked open that book, and my love affair with her writing has continued ever since with devouring each one of her other books.  In person, she is just as lovely, if not lovelier, than she is in the pages of her books.  I'm definitely planning to go back when she releases her next book, Present Over Perfect.  So worth the three hour drive.  Also, major props to my dear friend, Laura, for road tripping with me!  I also blame her for the cute mint bag I bought at Charming Charlie and for all future deficits in my bank account in the name of this store.

No. 2: READING FOR FUN. Yes. In all caps.  This week I raced through 4 books and started a 5th one on our plane ride back from Tampa.  There is something so enchanting, so mesmerizing about winding through a story and immersing yourself so fully that you forget that it's a story written on pages. I love the feeling of being in a book and in a story.  Book reviews to come soon, but for now here's the list of what I read.

-The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner

-Scary Close by Donald Miller

-Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (which has now lead to me reading The Husband's Secret)

-Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (this one was finished just before vacation!)

No. 3: Warmer weather. I was worried that we would be too spoiled by the 80 degree Tampa sunshine to return to normal life here in Indianapolis.  However, we were greeted with 60 degree breezy days in Indy and even let our optimism run as far as to remove the snow tires from Heidi the Honda.  I'm reading for frozen margs, running downtown along the canal, and laying out by the pool.  

No. 4: Coral nails. With the warm weather come my favorite spring and summer nail colors, and this week I'm sporting Essie's Cute as a Button.  It satisfies my need for pink with a teeny twist and lots of promise for hot summer days.  

No. 5: Savor. Oh, yes.  How could I forget the book that prompted my visit to Chicago in the first place today to meet Shauna? This book is a daily devotional that includes excerpts from many of her other books in combination with some new material.  It's rich with new recipes, and today she encouraged readers to essentially check themselves if it had been more than two weeks since they had shared a meal from those recipes with friends and family around the table.  

No. 6: Darjeeling tea. Ok. You all know how very much I love Earl Grey tea.  But lately I've been drinking Twining's Darjeeling (pronounced like dar-heeling) and can not get enough of the stuff.  It's a delicate black tea that is just perfect for mid-afternoon or even a late-night cup as you enjoy a book.  Try the stuff. It's divine. 

No. 7: Pi day.  Today was a LEGIT Pi (π) day.  3.141592653.  So if you ate pie on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 in the morning, you did a good, good thing.  The pie pictured above is Angus Barn's chocolate chess pie which is so divine and scrumptious and diabetes-inducing that you'll just have to eat the entire thing with a large glass of milk or maybe a small cup of Darjeeling tea (as pictured above).  As a former unicorn (an entirely respectable high school mascot) and NCSSM nerd, I had to celebrate today.  

No. 8: Florida sunsets.  Maybe not just Florida sunsets.  Maybe all sunsets.  I think sunsets are one of those things that most people love, just like the beach or ice cream or fuzzy pets.  But Scott and I especially love them.  Growing up at Wrightsville Beach, we spent many date nights watching sunsets (and early mornings watching sunrises), to the point that Scott proposed down by the jetti at Wrightsville Beach two years ago.  There's something so lovely about sitting together and watching the light fade as yet another day ends, bringing with it the sleepiness of nighttime and the anticipation of a brand new day come morning's first light.  

No. 9: Butterbeer.  Maybe my favorite part of Harry Potter World was the frozen butterbeer.  Trust me, if you go, get it frozen.  My brother, Christian, got the regular and it just wasn't as good.  Also try butterbeer ice cream.  Eat and drink all the butterbeer! (Particularly if you are a cream soda fan!)

No. 10: King sized beds.  Scott and I consider it a pure delight when we can sleep in king sized beds instead of our queen that we have at home.  We always joke, "I didn't even know you were there all night!" We aren't cuddlers when we sleep; I always thought I would be but I honestly can't stand touching someone when I sleep, even if it is Scott.  There was something sweet about coming home and sleeping in our own bed again and knowing that Scott was there all night without the luxurious space between us.  I think one day we'll be excited for a king sized bed, but for now the queen will do just fine.  

That's all for now friends.  After spending 6+ hours in the car today, I'm wiped and feeling like maybe I need to turn my brain off for the night.  Or maybe I just need to go read for a few hours before bed.  I feel some Darjeeling tea coming on, either way.  

Lots of love and happy Saturday! I'm trying to reserve Saturdays for Small Joys,  but please forgive me if I slip up every so often.  Sometimes tan lines and good books consume me and I forget to check in!

Love,

C.