Happy Little Gems

1. My West Coast Sister recommended this documentary to us last week. She demanded I skip my Monday night shows to watch this 70 minute film. I'M SO GLAD THAT I DID. The warm and glittery feeling has not left my heart and I am highly recommending it to all of you. Being Elmo is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Uplifting, inspirational, and just full of GOOD, this is a great story with applicable lessons for life that anyone will enjoy! Go watch it. Now. (we watched it on Netflix)

2. Another gem from Danica- chocolate covered pomegranate seeds that she included in my birthday package! I cannot get enough of these. They're chocolatey, tart, and oh so addictive. Pomegranate + dark chocolate equals an antioxidant packed treat, wouldn't you agree? I'm also happy to have a treat in my kitchen from her beloved health food store, Sprouts!

3. Thanks to this post on one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes and Cashmere, I was inspired to make some simple stationery this week. I like to keep plenty of notecards on hand so that I never run out of snail mail happies to send to family and friends. Plus, as my little love muffin Crystal says, "nothing says I love you like lined envelopes".

4. The April issue of Southern Living has an entire section of bite sized Southern favorites. I want to host a party that revolves around these small Southern bites. Mini grits and greens! Are you kidding me!? Meghan and I are already thinking these need to be on the menu for the already anticipated 2012 Moore-McConnell New Year's celebration.

5. Lionel Richie. Like I need to say more. I have always been a fan but as of late, I may be a little obsessed. To further feed my obsession, Lionel released a new duets country album last week, Tuskegee, and every song is a winner. He collaborated with some of my favorite pop-country artists and I'm loving belting out all of my favorite Lionel songs set to a little country beat.

6. It's another swoon-worthy Spring weekend! Being the gem that he is, Mark helped me with a few Pinterest inspired projects that have been on my to-do list for awhile. I can't wait to share the finished products.

7. My sweet and perfect little lovie nephew, Jack, turned ONE today! Jack, I love you so much. I speak for myself and your two other Aunt Lovies when I say that you make the world a sweeter place just by being in it! (and your parents are pretty fantastic, too!)

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Misc. Monday

Happy Monday! As I sit here, finishing my second cup of coffee, I'm listening to Michael Buble's new Christmas album! Be. Still. My. Heart. (the album was just released today and you can download all 15 tracks on iTunes) I realize it's only October 24, and Halloween has not yet arrived, but I couldn't resist previewing the album once through. Blogging + coffee + Christmas music is a delightful combination on a Monday morning and I hope you would agree. So far I am loving Michael's sweet voice singing holiday songs to me. I'm also happy to add him back to my playlist rotation. I was desperately in need of new Buble tunes in my life. I am not getting to ahead of myself here though. As soon as this album finishes playing on my iTunes, I'll be returning to The Monster Mash station on Pandora. I'm not ready to give up the Spooktacular tunes until next week!

To top off a weekend filled with great and guilty pleasures in the food department, I whipped up a quick dessert. My dear friend Julie posted this Two Minute Personal Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake about a month ago and my belly has been screaming for it ever since. I love her for sharing this recipe and hate that this personal sized dessert is so easy to make. This is a dangerous recipe to add to my rotation of sweet treats I tell you!

In my whining and complaining about missing my beloved Queen City, I forget to mention that I found a little piece of the South right here in the Midwest! Much to my surprise, our local liquor store has a giant supply of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka! This makes me a very happy girl. There are several brands out there, but Firefly is by far my favorite. And it's made in South Carolina! Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE this stuff? I get warm, fuzzy, happy memories of fun tailgates with my sisters in Boone with each sweet sip.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Stacy from How He Asked {dot} com. My dear friend Ashley got engaged a few weeks ago and in my excitement, I tweeted that sweet friends getting engaged made me so happy. Stacy saw my tweet, tracked me down via my little blog, and told me about her website. How He Asked is a fun way to share your engagement stories on the web! What's better than a space dedicated to magical love stories? Please check out this darling website! You may even see someone that you know (wink wink). If you or any of your friends have recently gotten engaged or married, send your stories to Stacy via the website. She would love to hear from you!

I realize that it is Monday and while many people loathe Mondays, I happen to love them. It's like a fresh start and a new page. As I go through my Twitter and Facebook feeds each Monday morning, I notice so many negative thoughts and comments. Smile, people! Find something to be thankful for and just choose to be happy. Others around you will appreciate you for it, and will spread the happiness forward. Trust me on this. It's a basic result in the art of happiness. So if you are in one of those Monday moods, snap out of it and count your blessings. Turn on some Christmas music if you have to! And if you are still not smiling, hopefully this picture will help change your mindset.

Happy Monday!