Simple Joys of the Week, February 17th Edition

Welcome to SJOTW, bloggies! I hope you've had a wonderful one :)  

The past 7 days have been busy for me, but that hasn't stopped me from indulging in my biggest simple joy ever--getting LOTS of sleep! So, as I sip on my mango black tea and revel in my 9 hours of rest from last night (yes, I got in bed at 10pm! I was pooped...), I wanted to share a few more of my simple, sensory pleasures from the past week...what were yours? 

Hear: Adele's performance on the Grammys

Adele=perfection. Really! As most of you who have been readers for a while know, I am obsessed with Adele and have been from the second I heard "Chasing Pavements" back in 2009. And then this year? It has been HER YEAR.  6 Grammys by the time you're 21 and I'd say you might be *kind of* good at what you do...so, if you missed it, check out her performance of "Rolling in the Deep" from Sunday night (below). My favorite part is at the end, when the camera shows all of the celebrities and singers in the audience giving her a standing ovation and making faces that mean, "WOW?!?!? she is AMAZING!!!" Watch her do her thing below:

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See: This Valentine's Day card I made for Ben ---> 

For those of you who have seen him lately, you have to admit that he looks exactly like this little faceless hairball that I drew (haha!). He opened it and said, "Oh my gosh! That looks exactly like me! Its creepy!" And it is. Who knew my best portrait of all time would be faceless? I know it's kind of conceited to post a card that I made as a Simple Joy of the Week, but it really made me laugh and I definitely know it's not a work of art, just a weird, funny fluke that somehow turned out to look just like him. An even bigger SJOTW that goes along with it? Watching Ben's face as he read the inside of the card. Awwwwww ;) PS. This card was the entirety of our Valentine's Day celebration, although we do have a fun dinner + movie date planned for tonight!

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Taste: Ben's CrossFit Valentine's Day Cookie

Yep, that's right, I ate it :) The guy left it on the counter for 4 days (4 days!) and on Wednesday when I asked if he was ever going to eat it, he said no and gave me the go-ahead...so what did you expect!?!? I enjoyed every last bite with a big glass of milk. Did I feel slightly guilty eating an icing-kettlebell across the room from all of the real kettlebells on the floor (saying to me, "you should be swinging me to get a workout, not eating that cookie!")? Yes. But did that stop me? Absolutely not. After my dessert-and-sugar-less January, I now truly appreciate sweets when indulging. 

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Image via cwgala.wordpress.com

Touch: Hot Showers

I know this is weird, but for some reason this week I've been REALLY appreciative of my showers. I had this moment in the shower earlier in the week, where I realized that my mind was 1000 miles away from what I was doing, and thought, "I should try to be more present in the shower--I should work to focus on the way the hot water feels on my skin, to revel in the heat and relaxation of the experience, instead of planning, dissecting my day, and mindlessly washing my hair, etc." So that's what I've been working on this week--doing a shower-mindfulness-meditation, if you will. And it's been great. Try it! Hot showers really are amazing when you stop and think about them...

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Smell: Antica Farmacista Pompelmo (Grapefruit) Oil Diffuser

One of my super-thoughtful clients gifted me with this "home ambiance perfume" this week, and it. is. divine. It smells absolutely amazing, and it's subtle-yet-strong scent has really permeated our small apartment. I'm always amazed that oil diffusers work as well as they do, and this one is no joke. I adore grapefruit, and this scent is simply divine. I'm definitely a new convert to Antica Farmacista--and think their products are a GREAT gift! Every time I get a whiff of it, I smile--and to me, that's what Simple Joys of the Week is all about :)


So here's to a wonderfully relaxing and joyful Friday and weekend for all! Mine is relatively open (compared to some of the past few weekends!), so I look forward to finding a bit of time to unwind, too...

Don't forget to stop and smell the grapefruit scent (or your equivalent!) this weekend!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine

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