Challenge: Are You Too Busy To Be Happy?

Today is Day 8 of my 100 Days of Happiness Challenge. I am officially over a week in and already enjoying going back to remind myself of happy moments over this past week. It also has me looking ahead to fun activities and opportunities that will keep me smiling.

Admittedly - and I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it - my initial reaction to seeing friends post pictures with the #100happydays trend was "are you trying to prove something?" or "is this some kind of who has a better life competition?" Once I'd seen more than a handful of "happy" photos flood my Instagram I actually decided to do some research about the challenge. All I had to read on the website to be completely hooked was the following stat:

It's hard to believe that anyone could be "too busy" to be happy and yet I can just hear myself saying I "didn't have time" to take a solitary photo for Day 9 or 10, etc. It takes less than 30 seconds to snap a photo and upload it to some form of social media. And yes, I realize you can be happy and not take a picture but this just seems like a nice thing to try and follow through on.

The challenge has made me recognize and appreciate the little things in life more - things like a pretty landscape, a free coffee and bagel and time spent with people I love. Oftentimes, it's the things that drive me crazy or make me unhappy that are more obvious to me but this exercise in happiness has made me realize that sometimes I take the little moments of happiness for granted.

Above are some of the happier moments - planned and unplanned - from this past week that have kept me going. It's also a relief to not over think each moment and just snap a photo when the time is right without worrying too much about the lighting in the photo or how the colors appear.

You'll just have to follow along and see what the above photos meant to me and what else I have to share with you along the way to Day 100! I'm hoping to keep the daily photos going long after the challenge is completed. Is anyone else trying the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge? I'd love to hear what makes you happy each day & if you're not thinking about it, I challenge you to try this!

It's The Little Things In Life

Weekends are for relaxing and doing exactly what you enjoy doing. For me, it's the little things that keep me happy. It's seeing friends, checking things off my to-do list, relaxing and not feeling like I have any obligations hanging over my head. Nowhere I need to be but don't actually want to be. Last weekend was the perfect example of that for me.

On Friday, after a long work week (they all seem long these days), I grabbed drinks with coworkers and it was the perfect start to the weekend. Little thing #1: the bar still had Shipyard Pumpkinhead on tap. It was a welcome surprise since everything fall seemed to go out the door as quickly as my Halloween candy wrappers went in the trash. With or without the cinnamon rim, that's my go to & I was happy to could order it and not just default to whatever the previous person got. I'm not exactly a beer connoisseur..

[[Side note: my boyfriend tells me that no one actually says "grabs drinks" but I beg to differ. Sometimes I think I like to differ just to be difficult but this one I really believe. There have to at least be some gals out there on my side?]]

Little thing #2 was finally having a weekend where people's schedules just worked. I'm not one to plan social activities far in advance and to be able to text a couple of friends and successfully make plans for that same night seemed like a small victory.

We went shopping and strolling on Newbury Street since it was such a nice evening and little thing #3, I found the perfect brown booties at +Nordstrom Rack. I'd been searching for ankle boots to wear with jeans all fall and was excited to stumble across them - reasonably priced to boot (pun intended)! Because I knew they were something I'd been needing - I use the term "need" loosely - I decided to treat myself.

After, we had a dinner at nearby Parish Cafe on Boylston Street. We didn't even have to wait for a table because Little thing #4...wait for it...we ate dinner outside in the middle of November! I won't go so far as to say we were hot or anything but we were comfortable enough to linger over our meal and enjoy it outside sans heat lamps. The food was delicious and I'm already craving their onion rings again.

Sunday was a day to check off all of my mundane to-do's like go to the gym, clean up around the apartment and go grocery shopping. It's little things like feeling slightly productive that make me feel good. And, o yeah, little thing #5, getting an unexpected discount at +Dunkin' Donuts for buying a coffee during their daily happy hour from 3 - 6 p.m.

Here's to hoping for a similar weekend as the rain clouds roll out & Friday night rolls in!