weekend recap + a happy list = ♥

This weekend was a fabulous little glimpse of what my life will be like this year...and I couldn't be more excited to get back in the swing of college!

A brief recap of my weekend:

Friday

- Set up my bed frame (I now have a bed that isn't on the floor - score!)

- Worked two soccer games for my internship with the athletic department (this involves updating the game tracker throughout the game)

- "Decorated" my room (aka putting up my bulletin boards and adorning them with my pictures and quotes)

- Hung out with my roomies (this involved the awful-yet-delightful show Four Weddings)

Saturday

- Chopped my hair off

- Got ready for work with my roomie/co-worker (walking into each other's rooms to discuss outfits and when to get to work is far more fun than texting each other about it)

- Worked at the football game ("I'm not the biggest football fan" would be the understatement of the year for me, but I managed to make it through the game without getting too bored...I forgot how much I love my coworkers!)

- Returned to my lovely house full of roomies

- Went over to my sister's apartment to hang out

Sunday

- Church

- Went shopping with my momma and younger sister for back-to-school things (I found nothing I needed, but enjoyed being out with my mom and sister anyway)

- Relaxed

It was a full weekend, which I loved, but I haven't had a lot of time to write. I realized that I'm a much happier person when I'm utilizing some sort of creative outlet (and writing is about the only creative thing I can do, besides think...don't get me started on my lack of ability for anything remotely artistic), so I've decided that even when I don't have time to write about something deeply fabulous, I should still be writing something.

This decision caused me to remember the early days of my blog, when I made happy lists, much like this one. Remembering this led me to remembering how much happy lists improve my mood - for one, they're lists, but they're also reminders to me of just how blessed I am.

I think a lot of people (myself included) need a swift kick in the pants every now and again to remind us just how blessed we all are. Even in the worst times and darkest of days, I believe that there is something (or several things) to be grateful for.

Enter the happy list. I never want to be so bogged down in my own ish that I forget how fortunate I am. I find that to be inexcusable behavior in myself - it doesn't matter if I feel like my life is going the wrong way or if I've had a particularly awful day - there is no reason to let myself have such a negative attitude that it brings down everything good in my life.

And even when things are great, that doesn't mean I don't need my happy lists...in my opinion, those are the easiest times to make those lists because there are so many things to put on it.

All of that above rambling is my way of announcing to the world (or my three readers, whatever) that happy lists are going to be showing up in my blog more.

So here are some reasons as to why I'm happy these days...

1. J. Crew Factory Store has launched an online website.

This suddenly makes J. Crew affordable to me, which is dangerous, but I'm okay with that. Because, honestly? How cute is this top?

(image courtesy of jcrew.com)

Yeah, that's what I thought. Online shopping for me is like playing with fire...but don't worry, I limit myself!

2. How I Met Your Mother was back tonight.

I got hooked on this show this spring. I was having a hard time of being alone without some sort of distraction after my breakup, so I filled the silence with this fantastic show...I watched all five seasons. Three times. Each. Needless to say, I am addicted. I got my older sister and younger brother addicted as well, so we were all very excited for it's return tonight. My brother and I watched it together and were not disappointed. Oh, the return of fall TV...I love and loathe it. But right now, mostly love.

3. Glee is back tomorrow.

I watch too much TV. I'll admit that right now. But I figure as long as everything I need to do gets done and I don't turn into a complete couch potato, I'll be okay. I started watch Glee a few weeks ago with my younger sister after she got her wisdom teeth out. She started watching it online and I fell in love. We are beyond excited for tomorrow's episode.

4. Accomplished everything on my to-do list today.

It was a long list, which makes that even more exciting. I had quite a few errands to run, and I accomplished them all in about two hours, which I consider to be very successful. One of these errands was depositing $42 in the bank...in coins. And no quarters were involved - just nickels, dimes, and pennies. I think the teller was very grateful that I had already rolled everything...and I was very grateful for money for new shoes!

5. I sent people mail today.

I love receiving mail, so I'm assuming other people do as well...I love writing letters, so I did just that today. Two friends will be receiving things from me in the next few days, which makes me very happy. See this post for more details about my love of letters...did you know they're raising the cost of postage again? That makes me sad for our mail system...I love old-fashioned mail! I'm making it my mission to give our postal carriers something to do, so I think I should invest in stamps again before prices are jacked up on me!

6. I'm loving my new haircut.

I have this weird thing about not taking pictures by myself, so I won't be able to show the world my new do for a while, but I can just tell you - I'm obsessed. I hadn't gotten it cut for six months (gross), so it was getting pretty long and raggedy...any semblance of bangs I used to have were gone, and the ends were split up the wazoo. I decided to be brave (my roomie had to coax me a little bit) and cut it right to my shoulders with a lovely little sideswept bang (that cannot be tucked behind my ears, which was always my cop-out on getting bangs). I love love love it.

7. I am all packed for school.

On Sunday after my shopping expedition with my momma and sista, I decided I would clean my room and pack for school. Cleaning my room proved itself to be a huge challenge...for some reason I feel the need to save everything I have ever received/made/stumbled upon. In my entire life. What do I really want with old, dried-up corsages from homecomings and proms? Or post-it notes with cryptic notes scrawled on them? Nothing, that's what! So I threw out and recycled most of my high school experience (or so it seems), and packed up what was left...save from the items on hangers in my closet, everything's packed up and ready to go to my new room at school.

8. I am SO excited to get back to school.

This year is going to be great...I can feel it. I love my house and its location, I love my job, I love my room, I love my roommates, I love the direction my year is taking. I am so ready to dive into new classes, new school supplies, and new experiences.

9. My cousin wants to be pen pals.

My uncle is in the Navy, so my cousins have lived all over the place for as long as I can remember. When we were younger (aka before the days of facebook), we kept in touch via snail mail. Today he asked if I wanted to start that up again, and it made my day. I really need to go get those stamps now! (See number 5. But surprisingly, he wasn't one of the people I sent letters to today.)

10. "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver.

I can't explain my love for this song. Please just listen to it here. Be prepared to fall in love.

11. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

This was recommended to me by a friend. I read it in one day - I loved it. Granted, it doesn't take a lot for me to love a book, but this one was actually of good quality. The writing was beautiful and the story was intriguing. The movie came out (in select theaters, which means no where near me) last week, and I'm anxious to see it. I definitely recommend reading it!

And this concludes this evening's happy list...why are you happy today?

♥ abigail

old-fashioned letters ♥

I absolutely love letters.

I love everything about them. I love the envelopes they come in that smell of glue and office supply stores. I love the crinkled folds of the envelopes that contain letters slightly smaller than they could hold. I love tearing open the envelope and delving into the treasure inside, whether it's a brief note or a long one. I love reading and rereading something that was just days before in someone else's possession, in someone else's home. I love when someone cares enough to take a moment to write down their thoughts for me to read. I love looking at someone's handwriting or printing, and seeing their personality in how they write.

I love writing letters. I love sitting down with a stack of paper and my favorite pen, and putting words to the pages - where I feel like words should always be. I love my pen and my brain working together to get my thoughts out, resulting in a creation that reads like a journal entry that is made for public viewing. I love the brief moments where I stop to consider the best word to articulate my exact thought and emotion. I love reading my letter over, for an instant wondering if I'm prepared to let whoever is meant to receive it see so much of me on paper. I love the fact that I usually decide I'm not ready, but always fold it neatly into thirds and seal it away, not to be opened until it's in someone else's hands. I love the vulnerability of letters, of knowing that once you send it, it belongs to someone else.

I love the idea of old-fashioned letters, written on beautiful paper with a pen reserved especially for letter writing. I love the idea of spritzing perfume on the pages before sending it away with the postman. I love the idea of waiting for a response to a letter. I love the anticipation of the mail carrier's arrival, the awkward peeking out the window until the coast is clear before running to the mailbox to see if anything is in it for me.

I'm very passionate about letter writing. I wrote one tonight, and after sealing the envelope I sat and thought about how sad it is that letter writing is considered to be a lost art. There are kids all over the place who have never written a letter, who don't know how to address an envelope...that is so sad to me.

I spent my childhood writing letters to various cousins, pen-pals, and friends. I spent my teenage years writing letters to my friends every summer, even though we had outlets like myspace and e-mail where we could have written to each other. I hadn't written one for a while, but tonight all my love for letter writing came screaming back to me.

There's something so therapeutic about putting your thoughts on paper for others to read, which is one of the biggest attractions I have to writing letters. I'm a huge fan of the anticipation of receiving a letter. Unfortunately, today's society is all about instant gratification. If you want to write someone, you shoot them an e-mail (you would never use the expression "I'll shoot you a letter" when referring to snail mail) and usually have a response within the day (unless you e-mail me...I avoid my e-mail at all costs, because something about it makes me so nervous. I don't like the fact that when people e-mail you they expect a response right away, as if I am required to constantly be checking my e-mail and sending replies as quickly as I possibly can).

With letter writing, you don't receive it right away...and once you do finally receive it, you don't have to write back that instant. You can take a moment and enjoy the fact that you just received a letter, then take your time forming a response before sending one back.

It's all so poetic and wonderful to me.

loving letters,

♥ abigail