my top five: ways I treat myself

This has been a week (I never believed in astrology until I saw that Mercury is in retrograde and I was like, at least maybe there's a *reason* this week was so crummy!) and I thought I'd share some of the ways I treat myself when I need a pick-me-up!

1. Laying in bed and reading when I should be doing something else. Sometimes I just really need to get out of my head and relax and nothing does that for me as well as reading (especially Obama era White House staff memoirs) Bonus points if I'm also drinking a cup of maple tea.

2. Getting my nails done. I don't actually enjoy the act of getting a manicure (I'm so painfully introverted and not very touchy-feely so having someone sit in silence with me while they touch my hands is actually super uncomfortable for me) but I LOVE having a fresh manicure. I used to have the worst hangnails and cuticles but ever since I started getting my nails done that issue has gone away. Plus I love tapping the nails on hard surfaces and making clicking sounds.

3. Sumo oranges. If you haven't tried these oranges... actually don't, because they are so addictive that you'll probably end up like me and blow your whole grocery budget on like five overpriced oranges. They're so sweet, easy to peel, seedless, and not pulpy. I honestly reduced my dinner portions and have tried stretching one can of beans out into four meals just so I can work sumo oranges into my budget more often. They are SO good!

4. McDonald's unsweetened iced tea. It's the same price-point and same feeling as indulging in a giant coke without all the sugar. I get some caffeine, I get a giant cup filled with ice cubes that I can sip on to get me through a nice chunk of my day, and I feel like I treated myself but really all I did was spend $1 on flavored water. It's such a simple and cheap way to feel indulgent.

5. Trying on clothes and dancing with my headphones in. I usually do this one super late at night, like 2am, if I had a bad day. I'll put on a dress that I know I look good in, and then hop around my bedroom dancing like nobody's watching (because nobody's watching.) Pretty much the only thing in the world that cheers me up this much is my cat. Otherwise, dancing alone tops the charts!

things that cheer me up!

Day one of good mood week is almost over, and I think it went swimmingly. I had a lot of minor inconveniences like I do most every day -- losing the internet, and the like -- but I took it with a grain of salt. I focused on the happy things and didn't let other stuff bother me. Also, I've realized that it is physically impossible to feel grouchy whilst My Boy Lollipop is playing on repeat, so I intend to keep it going all week, or for my entire life if necessary.

For the duration of good mood week, I'm going to post some things that cheer me up. If the week goes well, I'll probably continue this series but if I feel like crap by Sunday then I'll chuck it and do a "things that make me angry" series instead.

Just kidding! ;-D


Ok, first up is I Dream of Jeannie. I got the complete series recently and have been watching it a lot while I work. My favorite character is Major Healey, but unfortunately the only good photo of him from the series that I could find online was like 200 pixels wide and really stunk so you get this one of the equally cool Jeannie and Major Nelson instead... my favorite episode is Divorce, Jeannie Style which *yay* is available on hulu so you can go watch it and see why I love it so much :)

(I love the look on Major Nelson's face. GOSH this series cracks me up!!)

By the way, I have this thing about characters and actors names... if I watched shows when I was a kid I still refer to the characters by their fake names. Whenever I watch Fail Safe I say "Look! It's Major Nelson!!"


Also, I adore the smell of blown-out candles. It's almost enough to celebrate my birthday twice each year so I get one more opportunity to smell burnt out birthday candles more often. (The extra helping of presents and cake wouldn't hurt either, I guess...)


ANYTHING grapefruit. Seriously, anything. Confession: I do have pink grapefruit body spray and shampoo. I know, I have a problem.

But I just found this recipe online for pistachio & grapefruit macarons, and I think it is the single best reason that somebody needs to invent a machine that lets you eat things you see on your computer screen. Wait to go to the grocery store, buy the ingredients and make these myself? Ok, that's all well and good but I'd much prefer to reach into my screen and eat them this minute.

Photos link back to their original sources :)