Simple Joys of the Week, March 15th Edition

Holy moly, mid-March. Can you believe it? Life is so crazy like that. Lets slow things down for a moment and reflect on our simple, sensory joys from the past week, shall we? Here's what made my heart smile over the past 7 days. What did it for you?

HEAR: The Lone Bellow's "Tiny Desk Concert" by NPR Music
A few weeks ago, I mentioned my newfound love for The Lone Bellow. This week, my dad sent me this amazing "Tiny Desk Concert" with the band (below), and I fell even deeper in love. You don't have to watch the video, but I highly recommend putting it on in the background and listening while you work--it's amazingly beautiful and truly shows off their voices. I simply adore this group. 

SEE: Gillian Flynn's books--Gone Girl, Dark Places, and Sharp Objects
Although I'm not usually a suspense novel reader, I wasn't able to put down any of Flynn's books--I've read all 3 in the past few weeks (just finished Dark Places this week) and thoroughly enjoyed them. Her writing style is really intriguing, as she presents her stories/mysteries from a number of viewpoints (many of them pretty skewed and distorted), and her characters are often very troubled. Yes, her books are twisted and pretty upsetting, but they're also quite the page turners. I recommend them, but get ready to be a little freaked out!

TASTE: Gluten-FULL Thin Mints
Since I went gluten-free back in January, I've eaten gluten-full foods only 3 times: when indulging in a cupcake on Valentine's Day, when at the ski lodge one night (there were no other dinner options I could eat), and last weekend, when enjoying some Thin Mints. Come on, who can resist them? Going non-gluten-free for one night to enjoy some Girl Scout Cookies = totally worth it. I just wish we'd also gotten some Samoas... ;)

SMELL: Peanut Buttah
I've always been a peanut butter girl, but for some reason lately, I've been craving it like no other. Pnut b. + bananas, pnut b. + apples, pnut b. + jelly on gluten-free crackers (weird, I know, but it's really good--trust me).  So yes, as simple as it may be, this past week, the smell (and obviously, the taste) of peanut butter has been a great pleasure for me. It really is the little things in life, people!

TOUCH: Outdoor workouts
Twice this week, I was able to get outside and head over to the track for an outdoor workout. There's just something about being outside in the spring that makes my heart sing, and this week, it was the pick-me-up I needed (this was a very full week for me, with lots of time spent in front of a computer). The sun, the breeze, and the cool air all contributed to energizing my mind, body, and soul--and giving me a much-needed dose of Vitamin D, one of my favorite vitamins ;) Yay for spring!!!

Other SJOTW? Seeing my favorite little bird's nest (pictured above) on my walk to the studio each day, two early morning yoga classes (they really make my day when I can wake up for them!), an overdue pedicure, a luxurious bath with trashy magazine in hand, watching my fellow CFDC-ers complete Open Workout 13.1 (I'm not doing it this year...sigh), and a day full of watercolor painting (I'm working on two logo commissions and am loving it). 

What made your heart sing this past week? I hope your week--and weekend ahead--is full of many simple joys. 

If you're in the DC/VA area and need a little relaxation, yoga-style, join me for my Restorative Yoga workshop, "Spring Awakening," on Saturday from 5-7pm at TSA. You can sign up here.

Namaste!
Mary Catherine