The Little Things That Make Me Happy

Everyone has them, you know, those little things that make them happy. Maybe it's a cookbook you were handed down from and aunt or a grandma, maybe it is a cherished love letter from years past, or maybe for you, it's a picture you've had hanging on your wall for as long as you can remember. Whatever it may be everyone has something, or in my case, many things. Over the years I have taken pictures of the little things that bring me joy, they are simple and small but they are things I can make or return to if I'm in need of something to appreciate. Some may think these things are silly, and a lot of them are, but that's the beauty of it! Do we really need big things to make us happy? Over the years I have found that those big things we are striving for actually just drain me instead of fill me up. I challenge you to look around at the small things that are right in front of you and maybe you will find a sparkle of joy that is waiting to be discovered. 

Crisp hand towels hanging on the clothesline.

First thing on my list is laundry. Not laundry like dirty laundry, but freshly washed hand towels hanging out to dry. It's such a simple thing, the very necessary act of drying clothes, but I find beauty in it. I can't exactly say why, but it probably has something to do with my love of dishtowels. I do not buy paper towels because I think they are a waste of recourses in more ways than one, but with four children we have many spills so I need to keep many hand towels near by at all times. I often ask for hand towels as gifts when my children or others ask for gift ideas, then when I use my newly gifted hand towel, I think fondly of the person who gave it to me. 

Blue eggs

I am in love with blue eggs! As you might imagine, with four kids in my home, we use a lot of eggs. Eggs seem to go with and in everything. Muffins, lemon bars, cookies, some breads and oodles more goodies all require eggs. Eggs are also a breakfast staple in my home, with us eating eggs in some form five or six mornings per week. What a joy it is to open an egg carton and see a light blue egg! Everyone in my home wants a blue egg because of its pale beauty. 

 

Annual blueberry picking.

Every year around Memorial Day for the last eight or nine years we would load up in the car and travel the 20 mins to a near-by town to a u-pick blueberry farm! At only $15 a gallon we left loaded down with blueberries to spare. Fruit in a bucket makes me happy! Not only did my family help me pick each berry, but we often would use the berries fresh for snacking, or we would freeze them for later use, give away to friends and loved ones, turn them into blueberry fruit leather or make sweet blueberry jam. This is something I'm really going to miss since I have not found any blueberry farms here in Nevada. 

Fresh Picked Figs

A few years ago, we lived in a rental that had a huge fig tree. We would check daily to see if those figs were ready for picking. Wait too long and the birds will get them before we could, eating away to the sweet, seedy insides. Pick them before they are ripe and they do not taste to great but pick them right on time and they are wonderful, and my daughter always ate them almost as fast as I can pick them. 

Homegrown veggies

Have you picked up on a pattern here? Homegrown or home picked food brings me joy! Some of my favorite things to grow are rainbow carrots and purple (red) onions. I find simple joy in putting a seed into the ground and giving it water and watching God do the rest of the work. When it's time, pull on the carrot top or onion stalk and pop! Out comes a treasure! It makes me smile not knowing how big or even the color of the carrot that will come out of the ground. Sometimes I would uncover the top of the carrot to try to see the color before pulling its roots from the ground, but I have been deceived by the carrot top's color in the past. The top of the carrot may look greenish yellow, but once pulled from the ground I have found it could be a deep purple or brilliant red! Carrots are a favorite snack in my house, and I love to grow them as much as my kids love to eat them. 

  

Hatching baby chicks

Have you ever hatched your own baby chickens? It's an experience every chicken lover and their children should have. Looking at these eggs you can see they are a dark chocolate brown and they come from the Black Copper Maran chickens. These are another favorite type of eggs for me! Not only do I love the pale blue eggs, but dark chocolate brown eggs because they are just so rich in color, and they are absolutely lovely!

A surprise in the sink

Dishes. They never seem to end. Dishes are not the thing that brings me joy or makes me happy. But if you look closely at this picture you will see that there a bunch of tiny bubbles in the shape of a heart floating in my dirty sink. As simple as it is, it makes me happy whenever I see it. 

Homemade Yogurt

Yogurt is another one of those breakfast staples in my home, so I bought myself a gift of a yogurt maker to try my hand at the art of yogurt making. The process is so exciting! Put milk into jars, turn on the yogurt maker and head to bed only to wake up and find yogurt waiting for you walk into the kitchen! 

Home brewed kombucha.

Kombucha! I love the stuff, as does my family. I read an article about how to brew Kombucha at home, so I took a shot at it. I brewed Kombucha a few times and it turned out wonderful! I flavored my batches with strawberries and raspberries. My daughter will even drink it plain. If I buy it by the bottle, it can run $3.50-$4.29 a bottle, but if I make it buy the gallon it saves me tons and saving money also makes me happy.

    

Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products.

If you have never used Mrs. Meyer's products you are truly missing out! I absolutely love these products. They do cost a bit more than traditional cleaning products, however, since I do a fair amount of cleaning and I use a lot of cleaning products, and these products that smell amazing and make me happy! I often give Mrs. Meyer's dish soap as gifts to my friends and loved ones. Giving these as gifts makes me just as happy as it does when I use these products myself. 

Check out this post to see what Mrs. Meyer's dish soap scents I use each month! 

 

Eggs in many shades

As I said before, I love pale blue and chocolate brown eggs! It puts a smile on my face every time I go to check the eggs and find eggs in multiple colors like these three!

Shortbread cookies

Homemade shortbread cookies are the best, take only a few ingredients and are so rich that every bite almost melts in your mouth. As you can see by the picture, I like mine extra thick and with a little glaze on top. Yum! These make me smile every time I make them and every time I eat them! 

If you are wondering why I'm dressed like Ma Ingalls, it's because I was making these cookies for my Pioneer Christmas Outschool Class! 

Vintage Pyrex

I took this picture a few years back of my vintage Pyrex collection at its height! What I mean is, since I took this picture, I have lost a few of these pieces due to them breaking or getting lost in a move. Weather it is a random piece I pick up at a thrift store, a piece given to me as gift or one handed down from my great-grandma, vintage Pyrex brings me joy. 

Homemade butter and buttermilk 

Homemade butter. There really is nothing quite like it. It is something that is easy to make and delicious to eat. The kids think it's amazing to watch the process of a liquid becoming a solid to then again becoming a liquid and a solid! Homemade butter makes me happy, and it's wonderful to use in those shortbread cookies we just talked about! Also, never waste your buttermilk, I use mine in pancakes! Yum!

My great-great grandmother's canning jar from the early 1900's

For as long as I can remember my great-grandma has this jar in her front porch. Every time I walked through those doors I remember seeing this light blue jar sitting on her bookshelf in an otherwise wooded brown room. Years later, right before she passed away, I asked her about the jar. She told me that it belonged to her mother who use to can often back in the early 1900's. After my great-grandma passed away in 2012 the jar was passed down to me. I had it on my windowsill for years and enjoyed it every time I walked up to the sink. Currently it is in the possession of my grandma, as I gave it to her for safekeeping.... my children are at the age where they are constantly breaking things. I asked my grandma to keep it for me since it seems like everything special comes to my house to die and that is the last thing I want to happen to this precious jar that has brought me so much happiness for most of my life. 

Homemade Old Fashioned Nutmeg Doughnuts 

My mouth is watering. I love these doughnuts. Seriously. Nothing says fall like a nutmeg doughnut. No joke, it's like eating a bite of fall. Easy to make, a little time consuming, but worth every moment. If you haven't tried making old fashioned doughnuts before you should I'm pretty sure they will put a smile on your face!

A box of fruit.

As we had previously discussed I love fresh fruit! This box of fruit is very special because it will be turned into something equally as wonderfully preserved for the months to come...

Apricot jam

Apricot jam is literally sunshine in a jar. Come the dark, cold months of winter I am always so glad that I saved some of the sweetness of summer in a jar.

Note: I've provided links to some of the items mentioned in this post and these are things, (or similar items) that I have used and enjoyed. If you choose to purchase these items from Amazon, that's great, but just know that I do not expect you do. I buy most of my items second-hand and I hope you can do the same. I've included links to certain items so you can gather more information about the products I'm referring to or you may purchase them new if you wish. Rest assured; I do not earn any commission from your purchases on Amazon for the items I've provided links to. 

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