28 Days of Adding Happiness – Deliciousness in Lehi, UT

It feels so strange that this is my final post in this series. It seems so strange that this is the end of the series. 28 days has gone so fast! To end the series, I want to share another little business here in Lehi, UT with you.

My husband and I had been out and about running errands and taking care of some important stuff (aka boring stuff grownups have to do that we wish we didn’t) and we got some pretty great news that put us in the celebrating mood. Now, when I want to celebrate there are two things I do: 1) I go to Dippidee, or 2) I eat ice-cream! That particular day I was in the mood for ice cream, so I made the Mr get out his smart phone and look up a good ice-cream place. The first place that popped up was a fast-food chain that serves some pretty amaze-balls shakes, but I was in the mood for some thick and creamy ice cream, so that was out. The next place was one I had never heard of, Mia’s Italian Ice!Okay, okay, you are probably going to think I’m nuts, but I had no idea what Italian ice actually tasted like. I was kind of hesitant, but the next place on the list was 10 minutes away in the opposite direction and I didn’t really feel like driving all that way either. Yup, I’m lazy, and driving is still no fun for me after having my surgery. So, Mia’s it was.

The great news was that I was completely impressed with this little shop from start to finish! The moment we walked in the door we were greeted with a smile by the owner who obviously loves his shop and loves what he does. His face lit up with excitement as he explained how he makes everything from scratch. Then came the samples…. and we finally made a choice on what treats to order. They were amazing! This is a new favorite place to go, and I’m recommending it to everyone for any occasion whether they are celebrating a summer afternoon or a wedding, Mia’s is perfect!Not only do they offer Italian ice, but they offer custard which they make right there, cakes, and custard cakes. Word around town is that with the falling temps, they are even offering gourmet hot chocolate! Score! Seriously, if you are in the area, you cannot miss this place!

Today might be the last day of the series, but don’t think for a second that I’m going to leave this subject alone. Stay tuned for some more happiness, more celebrating, and upcoming announcements, and don’t forget to continue checking in at Sarah’s blog. I know that even though this fun series is over, she has a heart of gold, a creative spirit, and a lot of amazing ideas that will be sure to become great blog posts for your reading pleasure!

Much Love!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – 5 Strategies for Being Happier

I cannot believe that it has been almost 28 days already! I really hope that this blogging series has helped some of you and has in itself added some happiness to the world. It has been an incredible project, and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to work with Sarah and to create such a positive project in the blog community.

Throughout this project we have posted up things that make us happy, things that make you happy, and things that make others happy. We have shared positive links, ideas, projects, and posts with each of you. Hopefully each day you were able to look forward to the information and creative awesomeness that we wrote to the world.

The saddest part of accomplishing a big project like this though is that it will eventually and inevitably come to an end. At some point there is a stopping point, or a point in which we must move on to the next project or the next thing. As one of my last posts in this series, I want to NOT say goodbye. I am hoping that you will continue to join me here at my blog for positive posts that celebrate life and bring happiness to others. In the mean time, I wanted to share a few ideas/ strategies for being happier:

1. Choose Happiness – Happiness is a choice that we make for ourselves each day. We can choose to me weak, sad, upset, or unhappy. Or we can choose to be strong, happy, kind, loving, and positive each day. It is our choice and that is what makes it so beautiful! Sure, there are tons of things that can drag us down each day, but if we wake up and say to ourselves, “Today I choose happy!” it’s going to be a huge step toward making that happen in our lives!
2. Be Grateful – Without a sense of gratitude, happiness can diminish. We become bitter and sad. We can feel alone or grouchy. However, when we learn to be grateful, even the small triumphs, tokens, and achievements become something to celebrate. Be grateful for what you have, who you have, and what you are able to do. Being here on this earth is a blessing. Don’t forget to be grateful for that!
3. Forgive People – Holding a grudge is such a heavy burden. It brings us down, handicaps us, and eventually defeats us. When someone is truly sorry, forgiving them will free up all sorts of time and energy in your life. You will no longer need to worry about your hatred, your bitterness, your sadness. You will have so much more time for positive, wonderful, and happy emotions. You will feel so much better!
4. Accept Your Flaws – We are all flawed and that is one of the most beautiful things in this world. Being flawed is what allows us to connect with others! Think about it, if you were perfect in every way, you would never need others to make you feel complete. If you were perfect, you wouldn’t need anyone because you could do everything for yourself and do it perfectly. There is a reason that we have people in this world that are talented in Art or Science, or Math or Writing, and the reason is because we can’t do it all ourselves. Once we accept this, we can begin loving ourselves for our own strengths!
5. Laugh – Laughter is healing. It gives us the opportunity to feel good. Laughter reminds us that every moment of life doesn’t have to be series. It gives us a chance to let go a little, and as a little extra bonus, it ensures that we smile. Have you ever laughed without smiling? I challenge you to try that! Laughter is a real medicine for sadness and the best prescription for happiness. Do it every day!

 

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Celebrate Everything Printable

Who did not run right out and buy a bunch of apples as soon as they read that post yesterday on Sarah’s blog? Wow! They sound delicious! I can’t wait to bake some up! This calls for a celebration…..in fact, until further notice, Celebrate everything!

Happiness is about celebrating all the little adventures in life, about celebrating the small triumphs, and about making the best of every single day of our lives here together. Happiness is about encouraging those around us, embracing those that we love, and supporting those that love us in return. Happiness is about being positive and giving people hope. It’s  about making this world better than it was when we got here. Most of all, happiness is about love – any and every kind of love that exists in your heart to give, and since I love all of you, I made a printable for you to celebrate with. Yes, I did! I hope you love it!

Click on the picture to download the printable!

Head over to Sarah’s blog tomorrow because there are still a few days left of this fantastic blog series. Give Sarah some love!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Adding a Little Love DIY

I have to admit that I originally wrote this post for the Courage and Dash website that I currently create DIY posts for once per month. Next month I will begin writing over there every-other week. I’m kind of excited! I was planning a new post for today that was very similar but not quite the same. I had planned to DIY a lovely welcome sign for your door. We all know that welcoming friends into our home will add a bit of happiness not only to our lives, but also their lives as well. The problem occurred when I was cutting out the material and completely sliced across the entire project. Talk about some crazy arm strength! So, I decided to share this lovely post with you all instead.

One of my college professors always had us going around searching for inspiration. We were required to find something inspiring or take a picture of something each day and then use it to inspire us on our latest projects. This became such a habit, that I still do it despite not needing to turn in my findings to my professor. One day I was walking through a craft store and saw a really neat piece of artwork for sale. It instantly gave me an idea, and I knew I had to create some artwork for our bedroom.

Today’s DIY tutorial makes use of a really fun product that I love to use: foam board! Foam board is so versatile. It can literally be used for about a million different types of projects. It works really well in for projects when you want to create dimensional artwork or when a lightweight product is necessary. Today’s project can be created for any room or any occasion. It will work for artwork in your home or for a party decoration.

What you will need:

• 2 colors of foam board (unless you wish to paint it.)
• A template (unless you wish to use your own handwriting)
• Sharp Craft knife
• Pen
• Scissors
• Adhesive of your choice
• Spray glitter if you wish

***Step one and two can be skipped if you would rather use your own handwriting. Simply draw out your word or words of choice onto one of your foam board pieces.

Step One:

First, using a document program or perhaps Illustrator, create and print a template. Or if you prefer, you can use your own handwriting. Personally, I do not care for my own handwriting, so I always use templates. They can be so easy to create. I created mine to scale, and then printed it to scale as well in reverse. Then I pieced it together like a puzzle and taped it into place. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect because you can always adjust it as needed.

Step Two:

Cut out your template using your scissors. Don’t worry if it is not perfect. When I printed mine, I used the quick print function so the letters were not quite solid, but it saved a lot of ink. It also didn’t print all the way to the edges. Once your template is cut out you can trace it on the back of one of your foam board pieces. I find it best to trace a mirror image onto the back of the foam board so that there are not any extra marks or coloring on the front side.

Step Three:

Using your sharp craft knife, cut out the letters from your foam board. Make sure that you push through both layers. Once you have cut out your letters, you may need to clean up the edges. I turned my letters over to view them from the front. It makes it a bit easier to determine whether it looks nice.

 Step Four (Another Optional Step):

If you are anything like me, I can’t have enough glitter! I choose to use a spray glitter to coat the letters. You could also use spray paint to change the color of the foam board if you only have one color of foam board. Make sure that if you are painting the foam board, you wait until one coat is completely dry before adding a second coat.

Step Five:

Using the adhesive of your choice, mount the letters to the second piece of foam board. I prefer to use double-sided tape. Foam board is so light that tape is perfect for this project. I like it for this project because it’s easy and clean to use, and it doesn’t require time to dry!

Step Six:

Hang your masterpiece and Enjoy!The best part about this project is that you can change the words, change the fonts, change the colors, and change the purpose. You can make literally anything with this tutorial once you figure it out! So, what are you going to make? Leave me a comment, and tell me what you plan to make. I’d love to see your pictures too. Share them with me!

Don’t forget that this week is the last week of this blog series. Are you sad? I’m sad! Working with Sarah has been such an amazing experience. She is a wonderful and beautiful woman both inside and out. Her heart is bigger than the sky and her smile is infectious. Meeting Sarah has been an enormous blessing in my life, and I am hoping that it has been a blessing for all of you considering all the lovely posts she has shared with us on With Love Paper Goods. I can’t imagine not know this lady, and I can’t wait to see what projects we might team up on in the future. Head over there tomorrow to see her latest post.

Until next time,

Love!

 

28 Days of Adding Happiness – 12 Links From Around the Web

So, last night I was trying very hard to finish up yesterday’s 28 Days of Adding Happiness post, which I have been super excited about and looking forward to for a while now, but I could barely see! I’m seriously not exaggerating. You see, ever since we moved to Knoxville in 2010, and then, even more so since we moved to SLC area in 2011, I have been stalked like prey by allergies. They have chased me tirelessly no matter where I run or where I hide. I’ve managed to remove myself from their radar through the use of incredible vacuums, out-of-this-world air filters, essential oils, local honey, and what I considered to be the greatest allergy medications ever, but this year, they have caught me by the shirt tails and dragged me down to my knees where i grovel and beg them to release me.

Last night was completely and utterly horrible with eyes so itchy and watery that i could barely see and sneezes coming at regular intervals. I had taken two different allergy medications (don’t worry, the double up was approved by my allergist) in addition to a nasal spray, but nothing was giving me any relief. the misery was over the top, and there was nothing I could do.

I’m so sorry. Can you all forgive me? Please? Oh thank you a million times over!

Okay, so moving on….the post!

Here are the links that I’ve been dying to share with you all:

This woman’s slightly harsh but very real talk about business has helped my so much! (some foul language)

I have been dreading my next birthday, but this post has me feeling a little bit better about it all. I feel like I’m actually prepared!

Success is something we all aim for, right? Here are some secrets to it!

I’ve been waiting very impatiently for this book to finally go on sale.

I’m pretty certain that fitted sheets are the enemy of all women, but this just might even the score.

I love this lady, and this idea is the greatest thing ever! What a grand idea!

This Oat and Pecan cake with vanilla ginger frosting recipe that is nothing but raw vegan goodness! I can’t wait to try it!

This sugar rush in a box!

Bugs have never been this cute!

Loving this adorable and simple garland DIY!

These awesome party favors can make any party that much better!!

And finally…. cupcakes are my favorite, but this cupcake kit brings them to a whole new level!

Happy weekend, and don’t forget to hop over to Sara’s blog to see her awesome posts tonight! I happen to know that you will not be disappointed! She has some A-MAZE-ING stuff going up tonight!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – 28 Ways to Bring Happiness to Others

As I read Sarah’s post yesterday, I was so touched by her honesty. She is so right about our purpose here to love each other. If we are all honest, isn’t it really the relationships that we have that are what make life worth living? Its the people that we love and the people that love us that make each day worthwhile and that make our lives complete.

Lately, I’ve been feeling that stretch she talked about. In a year’s time I’ve gone through two huge yet rare medical diagnoses, a major life changing surgery, losing my job due to disability, my husband getting laid off a week after my surgery, learning to walk again, opening a business, going to school full time, and testing our vows in our first year of marriage. Every day I go to bed exhausted! I go to bed wondering how I’m ever going to get up the next morning and face the world again. But, each day I wake up next to my best friend, and I know that no matter what, he is going to love me, and no matter what, I am going to love him!

That relationship is what makes life worth living. It’s what brings a smile to my face throughout each day. Most of all, it’s the thing that life is beautiful, and crazy, and wild, and fun, and adventuresome, and perfect in its imperfections!

Sarah’s post yesterday leads right into what I wanted to share with you today. Other people can be a huge part of our lives, yet we don’t always show them how much they mean to us. It’s important to show people, whether they are our spouse or the stranger that took our order at the ice-cream shop, that they are important to us. Who knows, you might be the only person that shows them a smile today or the only person that thanks them for working so hard.

I’ve compiled a list of 28 awesome ways to show some appreciateion to others and give them a reason to smile. Today is about not being happy yourself, but about spreading that happiness out and sharing it with others. Today is about adding happiness to our life by adding happiness to the lives of people who matter. So, here you go, 28 ways to show some love:

1. Call a family member.
2. Compliment a stranger.
3. send a handwritten note.
4. Ask people for their opinion. It will make them feel valuable!
5. Leave a positive comment for management about a hard worker that you noticed.
6. Bring a treat to work to share with your coworkers.
7. Leave flowers on a neighbor’s front porch.
8. Give out a hug!
9. Send a text to let someone know you are thinking of them.
10. Send flowers to you mom for no reason.
11. When somebody helps you, thank them, and use the name on their name tag.
12. Leave some change at the vending machine.
13. Sing and dance in the car at a stoplight. Instead of stopping when somebody looks at you, look them in the eye, smile, and keep on singing!
14. Leave a note for your loved one where they will find it later.
15. Walk an elderly neighbor’s pet for them.
16. Buy an extra newspaper at the dispenser machine and leave one for the next person.
17. Tie some balloons to the playground equipment at a local park.
18. Donate to a local food pantry.
19. Drop some quarters where a child might find them.
20. Send your pastor or church leader a card.
21. Tip your grocery bagger.
22. Help a mother by taking her cart back to the cart corral.
23. Leave a note on a public bathroom mirror.
24. Write “thank you” on your restaurant receipt and leave it for the waiter or waitress.
25. Leave one of these for someone.
26. Hand out these to someone.
27. If you and your spouse or your roommate have designated chores, go ahead and do theirs without telling them. When they realize what you’ve done, it will make their day!
28. Go ahead and hold hands! It reminds people that you need them!

I agree with Sarah that this experience of blogging back and forth with Sarah and sharing all of this happiness with each of you has been such an awesome experience. It has been both challenging and rewarding. This series has made me realize some wonderful things, and I’m having so much fun. I hope each of you reading our posts is loving the series just as Sarah and I are loving the experience of sharing each post. Stop in at With Love Paper Goods tomorrow for Sarah’s new post, and don’t forget to come back here on Friday for some great linkups around the web! I can’t wait to share some pretty things I’ve found with you all!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Kale Chips that Taste Good? Oh, yes!

I just love Sara’s unique style! Her flowers are always so pretty. Wasn’t that flower frame she made with paper flowers, just stunning? I loved it!

This Labor Day weekend, how many of us overindulged in all kinds of yummy picnic foods like hotdogs, hamburgers, cookies, or chips? It’s so easy to do, especially when we are surrounded by friends and family members that are eating the same things. As somebody that regularily eats really healthy foods like fruits and veggies all day every day, I can understand how hard it can be to eat healthy in social situations, but I’m also here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be hard.

Two years ago when I switched over to a raw vegan lifestyle, I had a ton of friends that were actually very curious about the food choices that I was making, so I decided to have a dinner party and share my lifestyle with them. I went all out with fancy table clothes, real dishes and glassware, etc for 17 people! It was a ton of work, but I prepared 5 courses (3 of which had more than one option) plus, tons of appetizers for everyone to munch on while we waited for everyone to arrive. Yes, I might be insane! The best part was that everyone loved almost everything, and several people left with recipes so that they could make some of it at home.

One of the favorites that night were the kale chips. There has been a ton of chatter about Kale lately both in and out of the health food world. People are finally starting to notice it for the amazing nutritional value and for its awesome versatility. These kale chips were a huge hit, not only because they shocked everyone with their taste, but because everyone was interested in actually eating this healthy little plant and couldn’t believe how easy it was to prepare!

I originally got my recipe from Carmella at her blog, The Sunny Raw Kitchen. She has a ton of yummy recipes, and I’ve used several of them. Check out her website, and try some of them yourself! Her recipe was found on another site called Raw Food Talk which is another really great source for raw food ideas. For more sites or more information about vegetarian eating, veganism, or Raw veganism, check out this previous post I wrote.

Here’s the recipe:

Chrissy’s Goddess Chips
Posted by Chrissy on Raw Food Talk

2 bunches kale, broken into large pieces by hand (preferably dino kale)

Dressing:
¾ cups sesame tahini
¼ cup nama shoyu
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water ~ more if needed
2 scallion
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, juiced
¼ t. sea salt
¼ cup fresh parsley

Place kale in a large mixing bowl. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth to get a thick consistency. You may have to add more water. Pour over kale and mix thoroughly with your hands to coat the kale. You want this mixture to be really glued onto the kale.

Place kale onto a Teflex sheet, on top of a mesh dehydrator screen, and dehydrate for 4 hours @ 110 degrees. You’ll need to use two trays. Rotate kale occasionally to dry uniformly.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, HAVE NO FEAR! You can still create this yummy snack. Use your oven on the lowest setting and crack it open so that it doesn’t get quite as hot. Keep checking on the chips until they are light and crispy. They will nearly fall apart in you mouth when they are done.

If you try this recipe, leave me a message and tell me what you think, then head over to With Love Paper Goods tomorrow to see what Sarah has in store for you. Don’t forget to come back on Wednesday for another dose of Adding Happiness!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – The Best of Cakes and Cupcakes

Planning our wedding from the other side of the world was nearly the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Two months before the big day, I arrived back in the US and literally started running around like a crazy woman trying to make the last minute arrangements, checking up on vendors, Letterpressing 125 wedding invitation suites (3 color, 6 pieces each) by hand, and designing and creating 8 million different decorations, paper goods, favors, and other items for our special day. It’s no wonder that it did not occur to me until 2 weeks before the big day that we had nothing planned for dessert! Oh my!

We were that crazy couple that showed up at a bakery two weeks before our wedding day and asked to try one of their cupcakes. Once we realized that they were the most incredible cupcakes either of us had ever tasted, we decided that without a doubt, this was the place that absolutely must bake our wedding cake. Luckily for us, the little shop and the amazing owner was more than happy to bake up tons of beautiful desserts for our special day despite the complete lack of notice. We ordered up just about everything they offered too. We had cupcakes, and cheesecakes, cake pops and brownies, cannolis and lemon bars, and of course, a two tier wedding cake! They did an amazing job!

Image by WhiteNoyes Photography

Ever since the day we just happened to stop in to that little bakery, the Mr and I have been in love. Whenever we have a special occasion worth celebrating, we just have to stop in a grab up a cupcake. The Mr has also been known to stop in there on his own to surprise me when he feels I’ve done something worthy of a celebration such as my first etsy sale or the launch of my new website. It’s become a pretty special little place to us.

On our wedding day, we ran into a small little issue with our wedding venue completely disregarding the entire request to save all of our left-over desserts and especially the top tier of our wedding cake. Once we realized all of this, I wanted to cry. Not only did we not have yummy desserts to serve to our guests the next day at our farewell brunch, but we also couldn’t uphold the tradition of cutting into the top of our wedding cake on our first anniversary. That day, however, my hero of a husband made me a promise that no matter what, every year on our anniversary, we would get a Dippidee cake to celebrate! I’m pretty certain that if for no other reason than that, my husband is definitely a keeper!

Without fail, today we hopped in the car and took a little ride over to our favorite little bakery, Dippidee. We picked out a small vanilla cake (which in true Dippidee fashion was filled and topped with frosting) and a little cupcake for good measure. Tomorrow is our one year Anniversary and you better believe that we will be cutting our little cake, and celebrating a whole year of crazy, wild, awesome marriage!

I strongly recommend that if you are a bride in the Lehi area Utah period, you absolutely must head over to Dippidee and get them booked for your big day. You will not regret it! If you are a mother, buy your child’s birthday cake here. If you are planning a bridal shower, a baby shower, a birthday, a New Year’s Eve party, St. Patrick’s Day party, Easter brunch, etc etc. etc… you must stop over to Dippidee for all your dessert needs. This place is just a little bit of Heaven on earth. This place is what happiness is all about. Dippidee is that only place to get your cakes, cupcakes, or other baked desserts. It’s delicious!

Well, if these lovely desserts don’t make your mouth water, I don’t know what would! They sure add a little happiness to my life! If you want to know more about Dippidee, you can check out their website, like them on Facebook, or head over to the Dippidee blog. Do you have a favorite bakery in your town? I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below. Make sure to head over to With Love Paper Goods tomorrow to catch Sarah’s new DIY post. Her projects are always the sweetest! and I’ll see you back here on Monday – Happy Labor Day! – for a super yummy recipe that would be perfect for your end of Summer picnics and barbeques!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – 10 Easy Ways to Create More Happiness in Your Life

Hello Friends! I’m really, really sorry that I didn’t get this post up yesterday. As you all know, sometimes in life, the unexpected happens. At those times we can choose to panic and still try to get 28 hours worth of life lived in one 24 hour day, or we can take a few deep breaths, prioritize it all, and get done what we can get done. Yesterday was one of those days for me. It couldn’t have been a more appropriate time for my world to fall apart seeing as how yesterday I was going to write about 10 ways to create more happiness in your life, and I actually had to take my own advice yesterday. It’s crazy how things happen sometimes!

10 Ways to Create More Happiness in Your Life

1. Move! Park a little further away, take the stairs, stand up while you fold the laundry, chase your dogs around the yard for a few minutes…These are all ways to get you moving. If you can’t commit to 20 -30 solid minutes of exercise each day, at least try to get in 30 minutes of movement spread out throughout the day. Getting up and moving will make you feel so much better, and in turn, add a little happiness to your life.
2. Sleep! When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies don’t function as well as they could. Sleep is so important. I always find that I can accomplish things a lot faster and better when I am well rested. Sleep makes me less grumpy toward others, too. Adding even an extra half hour of sleep to your day can add just a little more happiness to you life.
3. Eat! These days, everywhere you look there’s another diet popping up with promises to make you the next Victoria’s Secret model. Nearly every one I know seems to be on a diet., but what if we stopped with the whole diet game and just chose a lifestyle? What if instead of counting every single calorie you take in, you simply started eating in a way that made your body feel good? Fruits and veggies are important, and we all know that. Try to include a few more of them in your day, and they will be sure to add some happiness to your life!
4. Make lists! You know you have about a million things going through your head each day and all kinds of things to remember. Write those things down. It will save you the stress of remembering them…or worse – forgetting them. Making lists will ensure you always remember the things you need to do, the places you should go, and all the little things in between. Making lists will add just a little more happiness to your days.
5. Prioritize! We can only do so much. Every day, we are given 24 hours and in those hours we still have to sleep, eat, exercise, work, etc. and that all takes time. Each day when you get up, take some time to think about the really important things you need to do that day. When you prioritize everything, you ensure that the things with high priority are sure to get done, and the things with lower priority can be done if you have time. Since we aren’t all superheros, if we don’t get it all done, at least we know that the most important things got done.
6. Smile! Right now I want you to try something. I want you to smile, and I don’t want it to be just a small curve of your lips, I want it to be a big, huge, genuine smile; I want it to be the kind of smile you smile when you can’t stop laughing! Sometimes the simple act of smiling can be enough to brighten your day and add a bit of happiness to your life!
7. Connect! Get off Facebook and actually connect with somebody in you life. Social Media is a fantastic tool, and it certainly has a place in our lives, but it cannot possibly replace human interaction and connections. pick up the phone, make a dinner date, play a game! These are the real life things that matter. Connecting with the people you love instead of staying glued to a screen all day or all night will add some happiness to your life!
8. Journal! I know we don’t all have the time or even the patience to sit down each day and write pages and pages about how our life is going at the moment, and you don’t need to if that isn’t your thing. I found a great way of journaling a few years ago that has become a daily habit of mine. Each day at the end of the day, I write one sentence detailing something important that happened that day. It could be as simple as “I made it to work early today, and it felt so good to not have to rush.” or as huge as “I got married to my best friend today!” Taking a moment each day to reflect on your day and find one positive thing about your day that you want to remember, will add happiness to your life!
9. Say No! In the past I found myself stressed out because I always seemed to have a million things I needed to do, and a lot of the time they were things I didn’t really even want to do or have the time to do before I even committed to doing them. If you find yourself always saying yes to people and filling your calender up to the brim, go ahead and stop. When something really doesn’t interest you, it’s okay to say no. When your schedule is already full, it’s alright to pass on something. Saying no every once in a while will free up your schedule a bit, take your stress levels down a notch, and add more happiness to your life!
10. Free Time! Are you one of those people that have every minute of your day planned out from the exact minute that the alarm goes off and you hit the snooze button twice, until the minutes you close your eyes at night? If you are, you need to give yourself a break! Give yourself a half hour or even an hour each day to do nothing, or at a minimum, to do exactly what you want to do at that given moment in time. Even if you have to write it down in your planner “free time to do anything I want” it will be worth it. In that free time, go ahead, read a book, take a bath, sip on a glass of wine, meditate, do what makes you feel good. Giving yourself this opportunity to do what you enjoy, will absolutely add happiness to your life!

Do you have some other suggestions for adding happiness to your life? I’d really love to hear what you do each day to bring about some happiness in your life. Leave me a comment below telling me all about it. Then click on over to Sarah’s blog for today’s 28 Days of Adding Happiness post. She’ll be sharing some great links with you today. I’ll be back tomorrow to share one of my favorite places to go for some yummy happy treats here in my town!

Have a great afternoon! Oh, and a fantastic weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

 

 

 

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Happiness Printable

I’m just about certain that I need to head to the market to get some sweet potatoes so that I can try that yummy sweet potato fries recipe Sarah shared with us yesterday! I just love sweet potato fries and I have ever since I tried them for the first time while living in Tennessee.

Last week Sarah talked about building happiness in her home by placing inspiring messages where her and her husband will see them most. This week, I have another inspiring printable message to remind you that happiness is a choice. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Click o the image below to download this printable.

Sarah has another something wonderful for you tomorrow that you won’t want to miss. Make sure you stop by With Love Paper Goods for another dose of Adding Happiness!

Enjoy the rest of your week!