These Are a Few of My Favorite Things on a Tuesday...

I hate to say it...but nothing gets my attention in a store like an embroidered purse. Maybe it's because I embroider and want to make one. But, I have, over the years, narrowed my taste in what kind of bag I will pay money for and bring home. On this shopping trip I was looking for a cute straw clutch like I've seen Princess Kate carry--afterall, who doesn't want to do something to look a little like Kate? Love her! But anyhoo...I just wasn't feeling it for the straw clutches I was finding, and then, laying under a pile of cute India-style embroidered bags, was this embroidered clutch! It was less than twenty dollars...and soon it was mine! I can't wait to carry it out to a nice dinner wearing a white summer dress. I can just picture it. And now, I think Princess Kate should have an embroidered peacock clutch too! Hmmm...I always wonder what she carries in her little clutch bags. A tissue and a lipstick maybe? Some of her bags are tiny! I think this one will hold my phone, a lipstick, and my debit card for sure.

So here, on a simple Tuesday, I'm thinking about how it doesn't take much to make me happy--I'm a simple girl. So here are a few of my favorite things from the past few days.

My Hello Kitties! I was thinking about cleaning off this toy shelf on our Greenhouse--it houses the many many McDonalds Happy Meal toys the kids have gotten over the years. Hello K makes me happy--and there's a whole shelf devoted to her. Smile, smile.

Bowl-o-Goodness

An all salad dinner is one of my very favorite things. This weekend I had a big fresh salad for dinner one night, and fruit salad for dessert! Yummy!

Banana and mandarin oranges is a classic. Some people love it with a sprinkle of fresh grated coconut.

Cute little basil seedlings

Growing tomatoes in the raised bed garden

Growing lots of basil in the garden is a favorite thing. Besides the seedlings coming up in my garden, I've also got pots and pots of baby basils sitting on the deck. Basil is so easy to grow. It's the companion plant of the tomato--so I sprinkle basil seeds around my tomato plants all summer.

Sitting around thinking, planning, watching the birds, watching the cats, imagining my whole deck re-do, planning next week's menu in my mind...this is some of my favorite stuff. So, I love this picture of my Uncle Sonny and my Aunt Margaret (my mother's brother and sister) on a trip to the country...just sitting around.

Hanging around with my cat Minnie. I have a wicker coffee table on the deck, and I call this her "kitty shelf." She was doing an interesting pose for me. Every table should have a kitty shelf!

Visiting my Mom and her three chihuahuas. This is Cupcake. She has a look on her face like, "Someone hand me my clothes!" She's very sweet. When I get a good picture of all three of them, I'll share it!

Sewing on fabric...sewing on paper...doodling on paper...these are some of my favorite things!

On clearance--this incredible-smelling soap and adorable soap dish! Had to have it. I love yummy milled soaps.

This cute plant on my greenhouse is called my "heart plant." I don't remember what kind of plant this is--but I received it as a birthday gift some three years ago, and it is one of the happiest plants on my greenhouse! I love heart-shaped leaves.

My walk to my office is a favorite thing. I work in a little office at university and I love my little job! I have a less-than-10-minute drive to work, then park in a covered garage, and have a choice to ride a shuttle to my building, or walk the little 1/2-mile. Of course, I prefer the walk! This is the fountain I pass by each day I go to work, and I took this picture just this morning.

I hope you know what all of your favorite things are today--this is what you should surround yourself with every day. Eat, write, dream, and stitch happy!