C'mon Get Happy

I have no other reason for this post other than the fact that a few things have climbed to the top of my “favorites” chart this week and have made me happy...

First of all, I love New York. No really, I love New York. Until very recently, I had no idea what it meant to call one place home. Is it the place where your parents reside? Maybe the house that you’ve lived in the longest? Or simply, is it the place that makes you feel your most comfortable? My entire life I have envisioned it as a singular concept. Sure, “home is where the heart is,” but that doesn’t necessarily get me anywhere. What if your heart is in two different places, how do you explain that? There is no doubt that Texas is my home...the South is where I was made, it’s my fiber. To some degree I cannot even fathom a childhood without the space and safety that mine had to offer, however, something has always drawn me to New York. I remember sitting in bed at night and dreaming of what my life would be like, would the City energize me? Would I find love? Would it change me forever? To all of those questions I asked, the answer is yes. There were times that I felt practically electric, I would walk around and think, “I can’t believe I live here.” Everything felt bigger, brighter and faster...sometimes I kept up, and the rest of the time I just watched. For every second that I am in Texas and think “this is me, this is who I am,” I get pulled into my desire for NY and realize that a (huge) part of me belongs there too.

This past Sunday I saw Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform “Empire State of Mind,” at the VMAs. This song just oozes New York. Alicia Keys’ voice...oh that voice, paired with Jay-Z’s passion, practically radiate through this special beat that feels old-war, and yet, is still a rap song. Anyway, I downloaded it (along with about 1 Million of my other friends...New Yorkers, no doubt) and have floated on a cloud all week. Now if only that cloud could float me right up to NYC...

Jay-Z - New Music - More Music Videos

The other two things that have given me elevated levels of joy are more of the tangible kind. I went to Super Wal-Mart for a little bit of grocery shopping this week and found myself in an experimental mood. I decided to go out on a limb and try a new cereal, because let’s face it, the other 4 boxes sitting on my shelf were starting to get lonely and I’d like to continue my research on the nutritional debate concerning cereal for dinner. I stumbled upon Banana Nut Cheerios and thought to myself, “why not?” Now, I will leave out the fact that it was on sale and possibly on display for discontinue aside, and tell you that this is the most wonderful breakfast discovery that I have made in a long time. I kid you not, I wake up excited to eat this cereal. It really is that.good. I tell you this for two reason, 1. spreading culinary joy, 2. the possibility of it being taken off of the market due to consumer apathy makes me sad. So try and buy, my friends!


The next product is also food-related (I know, terrible), Smuckers Natural Creamy Peanut Butter with Honey. Y’all, it is amazing. I am not kidding, it’s like candy! And, this is coming from someone who grew up not even liking peanut butter! I literally started eating pb in college and would have a jar on my shelf for at least a year. It’s just never been a staple in my eating habits. I have lived with some serious pb lovers over the years and realized that people are downright passionate about pb. Creamy v. crunchy, natural v. unnatural, flavored v. regular, almond v. peanut, I mean...I can see where it gets confusing. Me, being the granola girl that I am, (read: Bueno is a food group) has heard the warning call from Dr. Oz and purchased natural pb for quite some time now and you can only image how thrilled I am to eat something with the consistency of plaster...it literally requires a glass of milk per bite, no thanks. Anyway, I had been told about this honey-flavored goodness and decided to try it for myself. Let’s just put it this way, I could slather it on a sock and probably still eat it. Again, that.good.


That's all I have for now, I hope you guys are having a great Friday!

This week's happiness runner-up: The return of Gossip Girl & The Office