It's certainly easy for me to forget how good, comfortable my life is. Recently, I have been grumbling about still having to scrape the frost from my windshield in the morning, acting shamelessly moody with my family, and feeling stressed about sleeping too little and eating too much.  However, it was the moment I turned on the radio to hear about the news from Japan that I knew things with me really weren't so bad at all.

Last Friday's unimaginable events have left the world in shock and sadness. I hope that our empathy can somehow help even in the slightest of ways.

The "Have Courage" Bag

For those who do not know, my love affair with Kate Spade began in high school. It was during a school trip to New York City that I made it my singular mission to find a knock-off of the classic Sam bag. I still have my black boxy bag with the gingham red lining and even with its fraying corners and peeling sticker, I still love it and use it (around forgiving company), if for no other reason than its acquired sentimentality.

Since that bag, I've been gifted a real Kate Spade (and much beloved) wallet from some very generous friends which I use everyday. And now that I'm finally a working woman, I've invested in my own purchase (on super sale, of course) and I'm in love with its balance of iconic New York City style and utilitarian functionalities: the gold hardware, the understated feminine bow, the deceptively many and spacious compartments. My favorite detail, however, was a complete surprise. On the zipper is this message:

The Land of Greek Yogurt and Honey

My favorite snack these days is a small bowl of plain Greek yogurt with a spoonful of honey, bananas and blueberries, and a handful of dried fruit and nut-filled granola. It is so simple and seriously, seriously delicious. I'll have this for a lazy weekend breakfast, or a post-work-out boost (I KNOW. Unbelievable.  Me? Working out?), a snack to tide me over to my next meal, or a late-night dessert....

Ok, wow. Now that I actually see that pretty much everything results in another serving, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've gone through 3 pints of this stuff in the past 2 weeks. Foodzilla strikes again.

Quotability

Happy thoughts, happy life to you today!

"The thoughts you sow become the life you reap."

my yoga instructor

(Photo via weheartit)

Onward and Upward

Happy Birthday to my sister!

(Photos taken with the much-hyped, free Instagram App for the iPhone - totally worth all of the praise, right?)

"Well, that's about it"

I must be hearing the ticking of the biological clock more consciously this week because I'm apparently drawn to the doings of children.... Anyway, Anthony Tommasini recently wrote about his top ten favorite classical composers for the New York Times. It's extensively well researched and it really shows how passionate (and nerdy) the classical music world can be. This article is a reader's response to his list written by an obviously musically oriented 8-year-old:

How cute! I also love how his favorite piece is the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. I must admit to a list of my own of my favorite classical music works. That one's definitely on my list too.

"Litany" by Billy Collins

So impressive and dare I say, ironic? A 3 year old reciting a satiric poem about over-the-top love metaphors found in classical poetry.... But really, he doesn't sound at all comedic. Isn't he just so earnest? Though the humor is all but lost when he sounds so sincere and innocent - as I'd imagine good 3 year olds and good love metaphors are wont to be - don't you almost wish this was just a simple love poem? Happy Valentine's Day.