Lifes Little Pleasures

January 20, 2007

As I age, I find that it is the little things in life that make the most difference. Not too long ago, I used to get excited at each new purchase. I was somewhat of a shopaholic. I was always buying new clothes. And when I wasn't buying new clothes, I would do my "weekly watch," which involved a trip to the mall on the weekend to see when the outfit I wanted went on sale. It was usually a Jones NY outfit, in autumn colors. They were my favorite suits or ensembles for work.

Now, I get excited by the little things in life. Yes, I do still shop for clothing, but not as much as I did several years ago. And Jones NY clothing just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Beyond the bath (as I've mentioned in previous posts), I also enjoy:

- Hot chocolate with marshmallows on a winter day. It was so cold today that I went and bought mini-marshmallows and went home and made a hot cup ofchocolate and topped it with lots of min-marshmallows;

- Starbucks decaf skim latte (grande-size). These lattes are good warm in the winter and chilled in the summer. It's lighter on the calories with skim milk so I don't feel guilty;

- Buying an issue of People magazine and taking an hour to read it from cover to cover;

- Reading chicklit. This usually only happens when I'm on vacation. I never read books anymore when I'm not on vacation...either I'm too tired at night...or I'm reading the newspaper or a magazine;

- Watching an old Audrey Hepburn movie. My kids bought me the Audrey Hepburn DVD collection with Roman Holiday (my absolute favorite Hepburn movie); Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's;

- Exercising on at the gym on Sunday. While it used to be my shopping day, now I'm a weekend athlete;

- Eating pancakes for breakfast on a Sunday morning (before exercising!);

- Reading the Sunday New York Times (cover to cover). This may soon require a sabbatical with all the sections that now are in this paper;

- Going out to Panera Bread for a cup of hazelnut coffee (mostly decaf mixed in since I'm not supposed to have any caffeine) and a cranberry walnut bagel with cream cheese.

I'm sure I could think of more of life's little pleasures. Even a good night's sleep would do. I think I'm going to try to treat myself to these pleasures more often on the road to 50. Notice I'm not committing to anything...I did commit to writing everyday in this blog and have not held true...but, at least I'm trying.

That's why I'm signing off now to go enjoy my new issue of InStyle magazine...or maybe my new issue of Vogue... What's your list of life's little pleasures...write a comment and let me know.

Judi