Sweaters, grilled cheese, and real mail. It is all about the little things.

I feel like appreciating the little things this week was more important than ever. I have been stressed, exhausted, and a bit overwhelmed, and remembering the things in life that make me happy really helped me get through a challenging week.

My sweaters are back. Since it snowed over the weekend, I thought it was probably time to pack away my summer dresses and shorts and hang up my cozy sweaters. I love unpacking my old clothes, which seem new again after being stored away for a season. 

Work buddies. Each year, we are assigned buddies at work. We are responsible for checking on our buddies throughout the year to make sure they are taking care of themselves and not feeling too overwhelmed with all that comes with being an educator. How wonderful, right? To help us feel more connected to our buddies, our amazing Community Development Coordinator Sahba gives us monthly buddy challenges. October's challenge was to simple do something nice for your buddy. I was delighted to enjoy a delicious breakfast on Friday morning compliments of my buddy, Michelle. I feel so blessed to love the people I work with!

A delicious grilled cheese sandwich. My mom and I sampled the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich last weekend at Trader Joe's and immediately picked up all of the ingredients to recreate it at home. I have been enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches with mango ginger chutney all week. Yum!

A thoughtful gift. Back in September, I taught my second graders about how writers find inspiration all around them for their writing. Over the course of several days, I wrote in front of them during my mini-lessons and thought aloud about where I got my ideas from. One day, I happened to write about my first peppermint mocha of the season. I shared it with my class, referred to it once more a week later while teaching the kids how to organize their writing folders, and then completely forgot about it.

On Monday, one of my kids walked into the classroom and handed me this...

I said, "Oh, thank you so much Z.! Did you get this for me because I always drink coffee?"

She responded, "No, you said you liked this."

I gave her a puzzled look, and asked her what she meant.

She replied, "You wrote about it. You told us how much you liked peppermint mochas during writing, so I got this for you."

I think my heart might have exploded in that moment. It was the sweetest and most thoughtful gesture. I am so blessed that I get to spend my days with the most amazing seven year olds.


A special Halloween delivery. Real mail makes me so incredibly happy. My wonderful sister and nieces sent me a nice Halloween package that arrived on Halloween night. Reese and Sage always make sure to color me at least one Aurora picture, my favorite Disney princess.

A birthday. Our little Boo turned 4 on Halloween. We celebrated with wet cat food right out of the can (only for Boo, of course) and Drake's Coffee Cake. Our little girl loves her processed desserts (Twinkies are her favorite!).

I hope you are all having a wonderful week full of little things that bring you joy. Happy November!