Happy Sunday! Welcome to another Small Collection, a new series I started to help me focus on the things that bring me joy.

Without further ado, here a few joyous things from the past week:

*On Wednesday night, I went to see the astrologer I check in with every few years. The first thing she said as we sat down to talk planets was, “The crisis is finally over.” About damn time. She also gave me the best advice I think I’ve ever gotten: Before you go to sleep, no matter how tired you are, take a shower. During the day, we pick up so much energy—the last thing you want to do is carry it all into bed with you. Noted.

Astrology may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I find it a very useful tool to get me thinking about the different forces at work in my life and how best to approach various situations to help me move in a positive direction. What I like about this particular person is that she’s also a licensed social worker, so she has a great way of talking through the different elements in normal people-speak. She does sessions in person and over the phone, so if anyone would like her information, send me an email: keepingitrealfood(at)gmail(dot)com.

*These mason-jar recipes from Well & Good.

*Stumbling on $1 iced coffee in my neighborhood the other day. And the hilarity that ensued when I  tried to take a “look at me and my $1 iced coffee” selfie—nothing like sweaty gym hair in your mouth. 

*When I went to sign up with a local (kind of picky) consignment store, they actually took all the items I brought with me that day! Since I know I’m going to be feeding another (very tiny, not-human) mouth very soon, I’ve been looking at ways to save/make a few bucks  here and there. We’ll see if anyone actually buys the clothing I brought in, but you never know! It totally made up for the womp-womp I felt when the hipster girl at the hipster thrift store to which I had brought some castaways from the “hip” end of my closet spectrum,  said, “Um, we’re not going to take any of this.” I will never be cool enough for Beacon’s Closet, but that’s just fine with me.

*I’ve been reading Ruth Reichl’s Delicious on my Kindle—perfect for some indulgent summer reading! I was so sad to finish it the other night!

*Spending an extra hour at the gym chatting with my neighbors about puppy things. #crazydogladyoriginstory

What’s brought you joy lately?